The Kentucky Downs meet has made more than a splash on the racing calendar for Kentucky-breds racing for the lucrative purses supported by the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund. However, not to be slept on is how much the base purses have risen thanks to the state’s historical horse racing machines.
The story of the meet’s richest race, the $2,337,160 Nashville Derby Invitational (G3T), was not that of a Kentucky-bred taking home the monstrous purse. Instead, Bellum Justum secured a good-looking 2 1/4-length victory Aug. 31 to show that Europeans will have something to say during this meet for years to come.
“It’s advantageous to be a Kentucky-bred, but the base payment is so fantastic, we’re going to keep coming,” said Adrian Beaumont of the International Racing Bureau.
This was the first year that the International Racing Bureau was utilized to recruit horses to travel across the pond for the Kentucky Downs meeting. Bellum Justum’s success will only encourage more owners and trainers to take the opportunity to travel.
“We made a big splash of it,” said Beaumont. “It was my first time here, I can go back and explain to trainers what the track is like, what the surface is like. The fact that we had success here is a huge thing. Word of mouth is the best thing to encourage people to come.”
Bred in Ireland by Rabbah Bloodstock, Bellum Justum raced for the base purse of $1.9 million and pocketed $1,054,310 for his victory.
“This would be with the very top races,” Beaumont said of how the purse compares to the options that would have been available to the son of Sea The Stars in Europe. “The money here is amazing.”
The money was enticing enough to the winning owner King Power Racing and trainer Andrew Balding to take the chance and travel the colt for the first time.
“He has plenty of options at home, but the race looked like such a great opportunity,” said King Power’s assistant racing manager Pippa Tuthill. “(King Power) enjoys traveling their horses. As long as the race is suitable for the horse, they’re happy to go.”
Pippa Tuthill (middle), Adrian Beaumont (right), and jockey Frankie Dettori celebrate their Nashville Derby win
The Nashville Derby proved more than suitable for Bellum Justum. Racing near the tail of the 12-horse field, jockey Frankie Dettori found himself further behind than he anticipated.
“He absolutely flubbed the start,” said Dettori, who won three races on the card. “I was way too far back, but lucky Jamie (Spencer on pacesetting Navy Seal) was so fast.
“On the back straight, I was able to make good improvement to get a slot, because I knew he would stay very well. … I knew he’d gallop out to the line because he stays a mile and a half.”
The early move into contention down the backstretch behind fractions of :24.95, 49.18, and 1:13.02 proved the right decision as it got him clear enough to hold off the late charge of Carson’s Run , who finished a nose ahead of Rothschild for second.
Bellum Justum returned $6.44 to win while completing the 1 5/16 miles in 2:07.28
Tuthill said the bay colt will head back to Europe, but a return for the Breeders’ Cup is not off the table for the Epsom Derby (G1) participant. Meanwhile, a more certain prediction for the future would be King Power’s return to the Kentucky Downs turf course.
“It’s our first time at Kentucky Downs,” said Tuthill. “We could very well be back with the right horse.”
