B G Warrior the one to catch

The local prowess of B G Warrior may give her an edge against invading Honey Pants as the two bring strong Beyer Speed Figures into the $125,000 Queen Stakes for female sprinters on Saturday night at Turfway Park.

B G Warrior, trained by Hugo Andrade, announced herself with a strong 2022-23 winter at Turfway. The filly won the Valdale Stakes, finished third in both the Cincinnati Trophy and Serena’s Song, and crossed the line first but was disqualified to second for interference in the Gowell.

B G Warrior has started this season off well, finishing second by a neck to fellow Turfway lover Marissa’s Lady in the Holiday Inaugural, but then was an uncharacteristic fourth in an allowance – the winner of which, Current Climate, and third-place Hit the Whoa are back for the Queen. B G Warrior bounced right back to win the Wishing Well on Jan. 27 by a geared-down 5 3/4 lengths over fellow Queen entrants Baby No Worries and Ravella. The performance earned B G Warrior a Beyer Figure of 94, the highest last-out number in this field.

Albin Jimenez, aboard B G Warrior last out, keeps the mount on the filly, who would like to snag an early lead from post 6 in a large field.

Honey Pants will break from post 12 under first-time rider Luan Machado. There are plenty of firsts for Honey Pants, who will make her first start for Jonathan Thomas and her first outing on synthetic surface in more than two years. Most recently, she had been running on turf in California for trainer Phil D’Amato. In her final start for that barn, she won the Grade 3 Las Cinegas by a head in January, earning a 91 Beyer.

Jeff Ruby has 103 nominees

Led by Encino and Epic Ride, the one-two finishers in the John Battaglia Memorial on March 2, 103 3-year-olds have been nominated to Turfway’s signature Kentucky Derby prep, the Grade 3, $700,000 Jeff Ruby on March 23.

The Ruby, at 1 1/8 miles, awards points toward the Kentucky Derby starting gate on a 100-50-25-15-10 basis. Post positions will be drawn Saturday in Turfway’s event center.

The Ruby highlights Turfway’s marquee day of racing, which also includes the $300,000 Kentucky Cup Classic, elevated to a Grade 3 this year; the $300,000 Bourbonette Oaks, which awards the winner 50 points toward the Kentucky Oaks; the $250,000 Latonia, won last year by Idiomatic as part of a championship campaign; and the Animal Kingdom and Rushaway, worth $250,000 each.

◗ Agent Doug Bredar will represent jockey Corey Lanerie, in addition to James Graham, beginning with the Keeneland spring meet, which opens April 5.

◗ Horses will begin returning to the Churchill Downs stable area starting Tuesday, with the first day of training at the track scheduled for Friday. Churchill Downs opens its spring meet on April 27, leading in to the following weekend’s Kentucky Oaks and Derby.

◗ Ellis Park, in Henderson, Ky., conducted a routine controlled burn of its turf course on Thursday, a regular practice conducted in many jurisdictions to help healthy grass grow through. The season at Ellis opens in early July.