Blue Grass winner Art Collector goes wire-to-wire in Ellis Park Derby

Blue Grass winner Art Collector led all the way in winning the $200,000 Ellis Park Derby by 3 1/4 lengths on Sunday, and he earned 50 qualifying points for next month’s Kentucky Derby.

Ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr., Art Collector ran 1 1/8 miles in 1:48.02 and paid $2.80, $2.20 and $2.10.

“This is huge,” Hernandez Jr. said. “We’re going into the Derby now with a legitimate horse. Like we said after the Blue Grass, he’s proven he’s getting better and better with each race. He showed it again today. He put everyone away. He did it all on his own and ran away from there.”

Attachment Rate returned $8 and $5.40 and earned 20 Derby points. Necker Island was another 2 1/2 lengths back in third and paid $8 to show. He earned 10 points. Rowdy Yates was fourth and earned five points.

“How do you knock a horse like that? He’s pretty versatile,” Joe Talamo, jockey for Attachment Rate, said of Art Collector. “He’s won in front, come from behind. He’s a really good horse, for sure.”

Art Collector improved to 4-0 since joining trainer Tom Drury’s barn. The colt has 150 total points and is third on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard for the Sept. 5 race.

“I’m surprised that my legs are still holding up underneath me,” Drury said. “It’s a big day for us. We got what we were looking for. We wanted to get enough out of this without overdoing it. Brian (Hernandez Jr.) even mentioned coming to the eighth pole that he was going a little too easy, so he let the reins out a notch just to let him finish on up. He was going away from the end of it and that’s kind of been him every race this year. That’s all you can ask of one. Every time we throw something at him, he answers the question and handles it with flying colors.”

It was the first time in the track’s 98-year history that it hosted a Kentucky Derby qualifier. It did so as a result of changes to the qualifying races caused by the coronavirus.

▪ Mundaye Call, the daughter of Into Mischief, flaunted her speed and took down a 16-year-old Ellis Park in the process when she led every point of call during a 7¼-length triumph in the Audobon Oaks.

Her time for the 7-furlong was 1:21.17 over a surface rated fast to establish a new track mark for the distance.

“Not surprised (about track record),” winning jockey Florent Geroux said. “The filly has been working extremely well in the morning. We’ve been very high on her. You never expect a track record. But we expected a big race for her today.”

Ocean Breeze was second, besting third-place finisher Sconsin by a neck. Race favorite Hello Beautiful finished last of 11.

▪ An extra furlong of distance was enough to allow Pico d’Oro to turn the tables on Medicine Tail in their latest meeting at Ellis Park and earn the son of Curlin his first career victory when he rallied from well back to capture the $100,000 Juvenile Stakes.

Trained by William Morey, Pico d’Oro was making his third career start and first try against stakes company when he headed to post for the 7-furlong Juvenile Stakes. Though he finished off the board in his career debut at Churchill Downs on June 16, the bay colt showed promise when he ran second to Medicine Tail going 6 furlongs in a maiden special weight race at Ellis Park on July 19.

“He ran a really good race today,” winning jockey Joe Talamo said of his mount. “I was actually pretty confident after watching his last replay. He ran a really good race to run second and galloped out really well. So we definitely thought the seven-eighths would help. I tell you what, he ran, too.”

This story was originally published August 9, 2020 at 8:12 PM.