‘He was very impressive. He is a horse with a future,’ Bridgmohan on Attribute

Shaun Bridgmohan stayed home in Kentucky for the first time this summer because he believed he could win the more races here than Saratoga. And Saturday at Ellis Park, he won three and added a pair of seconds in five mounts.

Bridgmohan now is 7 for 32 at the meet. His last win Saturday was for major client Brad Cox, whose meet-best record improved to 11 wins in 23 starts after the 2-year-old filly Katie’s Reward captured the eighth race at 5 1/2 furlongs on turf.

The jockey also seems to be back in the fold with 2016 Ellis champion trainer Steve Asmussen, for whom Bridgmohan won the third race on WinStar Farm’s very nice and extraordinarily-bred 3-year-old maiden Attribute and the sixth race on the $10,000 claimer Candir. Bridgmohan’s seconds also were for Asmussen, who is gaining in the standings on Cox with nine winners, albeit out of many more starters (59, of which 13 are seconds).

“You can never go wrong doing that,” he said of riding for the meet’s two winningest trainers.

Attribute, a son of Gainesway Farm’s world-renowned stallion Tapit and out of the  fine millionaire Leah’s Secret, won by by 14 1/2 lengths over Fault Line, covering 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:15.42 while cruising home. It was Attribute’s first start wince finishing fourth Nov. 20 at Churchill Downs in his debut.

“That horse ran absolutely great today,” Bridgmohan said. “Very, very nice horse. I rode him first time out, and he obviously hadn’t run for a while. Today he was very impressive. He is a horse with a future. He did everything I asked him to do. I got after him a little bit, he got to idling around. I just said, ‘I’ll keep your mind on your business.’ He was very responsive and ran really, really well.”

Dawn and Ike Thrash’s favored Katie’s Reward had raced once before, finishing second at Churchill Downs June 24 on dirt. She prevailed by two lengths at Ellis over the late-running Ippodamia’s Girl.

“She ran very well first time out, obviously,” Bridgmohan said. “Thanks to Brad for giving me the opportunity to break her maiden and win on her. Won a couple for Steve today, which I also have to thank him. He gave me an opportunity to win a few today.”

Bridgmohan was Asmussen’s go-to rider a decade ago, teaming with multiple Grade 1 winner Kodiak Kowboy, Louisiana Derby winner Pyro and a plethora of other major winners.

Landeros finally makes it back home

Jockey Chris Landeros gave new meaning to the racetrack saying “getting home in time.” Landeros rode at Saratoga Thursday for his father in law, trainer Ian Wilkes, but because of storms in the northeast didn’t make it back to Kentucky and Ellis Park until shortly before the eighth race. He was seventh on Gymnastic in that race but then took the featured ninth race, a $41,000 allowance, for the Vicki Oliver-trained Valentine Wish, a two-length winner over Wolf Gourmet in the 1 1/16-mile grass race.

On Friday, Landeros missed out on a pair of Ellis winners because of weather-induced flight issues.

“Sometimes it goes that way,” he said. “I was fortunate to get out of New York today, though. I rode Thursday, and everything was on time. We got a call at 1 in the morning. My wife woke me up and said, ‘Chris, the flight’s canceled.’ We were on Southwest. We called Southwest and it took us an hour and a half to get to somebody, because it was so busy and overwhelmed with people changing their flights. The earliest we could get out on Southwest was Sunday morning.  So we tried American. We even thought about driving. We wouldn’t have made it. It’s 14 hours.

“Thank God I have some good people behind me. They said, ‘Chris, you aren’t getting out tonight (Friday). There are some bad storms coming. Go out in the morning.’ So that’s what we did. We flew out (Saturday) morning. We got lucky; two seats left on the plane. We flew to Philadelphia, and then we were delayed three hours. It was unfortunate I missed the second and third race. Just bad luck. But, hey, you know what? I got to spend some quality time with my family. We stayed in Saratoga because we couldn’t get out of Albany. So I went to the sales all day Friday with Ian. I got a different perspective of the sport, that’s for sure. I loved every bit of it. Hey, we could have been stuck in a lot worse places.”

Landeros watched from afar as two of his mounts won at Ellis, including the Wilkes-trained Giant Payday, with Jon Court picking up the mount.

“That’s OK. I’m hoping I can get him back,” he said the mount. “Ian knows the situation. We’ll see what happens. Jon rode a heck of a race on him. He’s a horse we’re just starting to figure out and knowing what he likes.”

Is it painful watching his horses win without him? “It’s not,” Landeros said. “I wasn’t hurt. My family is OK. My father in law is a very, very good guy. He’ll take care of you and he knows the situation. I was happy for Jon. He’s having a heck of a summer. I texted him a little while ago and said, ‘I hope when I’m 57, I look just like you.”

Sprinting out: Meet-leading rider Corey Lanerie, Court, Brian Hernandez and Robby Albarado were out of town to ride at Mountaineer Park for its West Virginia Derby card. Court, whose 17 wins are second in the rider standings behind Lanerie’s 22, continued his hot streak by winning the $750,000 West Virginia Derby aboard front-running Colonelsdarktemper, trained by Court’s father in law, Kentucky-based Jinks Fires, and owned by auto-racing great A.J. Foyt. Colonelsdarktemper, the Indiana Derby runner-up, won by a length over Game Over, with Kentucky Derby runner-up and 2016 Ellis Park Juvenile winner Lookin At Lee third under Lanerie. Hernandez was fifth on the Randy Morse-trained Silver Dust and Albarado ninth on the Dale Romans-trained Impressive Edge.

The Cox-trained La Piba, with Lanerie up, won the $75,000 West Virginia Senate President’s Cup on grass by a neck over the Brendan Walsh-trained Corby and Court. Corby was second and La Piba third in the $50,000 Ellis Park Turf Stakes won by Inveniam Viam.

The Asmussen-trained Gun Runner, ridden by Louisville resident Florent Geroux, captured Saratoga’s Grade 1 Whitney Stakes by 5 1/4 lengths over 2015 Travers winner Keen Ice.

Hall of Fame trainer Jack Van Berg’s streak of four straight wins at Ellis ended when Indian Trick was fifth in the fifth race.

Wiener-dog qualifiers: The first half of the field has been set for the Aug. 26 Wiener Dog Derby, with Donna Smiley’s Ellie Smiley shooting up the outside fence to edge Mike Hayes’ Itty Bitty in the first heat. In the second heat, Erin Nixon’s O-Lee ran to his practice session, overcoming decidedly short legs to prevail over Milo Seals. The top two in both heats advance. The final two qualifiers will be this coming Saturday, Aug. 12.

The Evansville Otters have signed veteran pitcher Trevor Walch and he will start tonight at CarShield Field at 6:35 p.m. against the River City Rascals.

The Eufaula, Okla. native rejoins the team after pitching with Evansville in two games last season. In 2016, Walch went 0-1 with a 10.24 ERA in 9 2/3 innings of work on the mound.

Walch also appeared in the Frontier League Championship Series last season against River City and didn’t allow a run in two postseason appearances.

This is Walch’s fifth season with Evansville. He made his debut with the Otters in 2013 and has a 3.43 career ERA.

Walch posted his best year with Evansville in 2015, finishing 8-8 with a 2.77 ERA while only surrendering 122 hits in 133 1/3 innings that season. In 40 starts with Evansville, he has a 16-15 record and has struck out 211.

Evansville returns home to Bosse Field on Aug. 8 to open a series against the Florence Freedom, the first game of a six-game homestand.

Tickets for remaining regular season home games are still available by going to evansvilleotters.com or calling 812-435-8686.

Subscriptions for ODN are now on sale and more information can be found at evansvilleotters.com.

‘It’s exciting for all of us, but it’s got to be really exciting for Mike,’ — trainer Mike Tomlinson, who is running Put Da Blame On Me in Ellis’ Grade 3 Groupie Doll 

HENDERSON, Ky. (Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017) — Mike Bruder has raced at Ellis Park throughout his 40 years owning racehorses. But the retired Evansville businessman has never had a horse in his hometown track’s marquee race — something he hopes to rectify in a week.

Bruder owns Put Da Blame On Me, a 4-year-old filly who comes into the Aug. 13, Grade 3 Groupie Doll off two big allowance victories at Churchill Downs, both at the $100,000 stakes’ mile distance.

“I’m happy just to have the opportunity to run in it,” he said. “This horse is doing really well,and I sure hope she performs for us. I’m thinking she will. When we first started with her, we thought she was really going to be something.  Then we had little problems with her, and we corrected that, you’ll notice in her last three starts. So I expect her a big run out of her.”

“It’s exciting for all of us, but it’s got to be really exciting for Mike,” said trainer Mike Tomlinson. “It’s home for him, and to have a live shot at winning the Groupie Doll, the only graded race at the track, I’m tickled to death to be in this position. All systems are go. She’s hitting on four cylinders. We’ll keep our fingers crossed and hope things stay that way until the 13th.”

Put Da Blame On Me has thrived since Tomlinson added blinkers, taking second in her first start racing with the equipment change before reeling off the two scores.

“When we first got her, we added blinkers, thinking she needed them,” Tomlinson said. “For whatever reason, at Churchill she broke dead last and didn’t run until late, ran a decent race but was totally different from what we thought. So we took the blinkers back off her and probably waited too long to put them back on. But since we’ve added them this time, it really has made a big difference.

“But she had like most 3-year-old fillies, little nagging issues, and she’s worked her way through those. Just a combination of things I think is what turned the corner for her.”

While Put Da Blame On Me showed speed before blinkers were added the first time, Tomlinson’s exercise riders all said filly was easily distracted.

“They said she watches everything around her,” Tomlinson said. “We were just trying to focus her on running as opposed to what’s going on around her. Then we come back almost a year later, add the blinkers again and she shows even more speed. These horses just mature and change.”

On May 28, Put Da Blame On Me set a very solid pace before drawing off to prevail by 7 1/2 lengths. A month later, she she again was in front but engaged in a protected duel with Groupie Doll nominee Mines and Magic before winning by a head. She was ridden in both starts by James Graham.

“The first race, she just scooted the lead and just outclassed them and out-sprinted them for home,” Tomlinson. “Any time you can dictate the pace and finish, you’re going to be tough. The second race, Mines and Magic was a real grinder and our filly just showed the most guts and heart to persevere at the wire.”

Put Da Blame On Me was third in last year’s Grade 3 Iowa Oaks, but a victory in a graded stakes like the Groupie Doll would be huge for her prospective broodmare value. Bruder purchased Put Da Blame On Me privately after she failed to sell at Keeneland’s 2014 yearling sale. He remembers paying about what her final bid of $55,000 was.

The owner loves playing the Blame game, being an admirer of the Claiborne Farm stallion who in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs became the only horse to beat the great mare Zenyatta.

“It seems like I always buy one or two Blames every year at the sale,” said Bruder, who has 11 horses with Tomlinson. “After that race, I said, ‘My lord, Blame won this race. Maybe I better buy me a Blame.’”

Bruder, a long-time board member of the Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association that represents owners and trainers, campaigned multiple graded-stakes winner Guys Reward. He won Saratoga’s Grade 2 Hall of Fame Stakes with Quick Wit in 2012, and Keeneland’s Grade 3 Fayette with M B Sea in 2003. But he can’t recall winning a stakes before at Ellis. Whether Put Da Blame On Me wins or not, look for the owner to keep trying.

“I started in 1977, and I had a lot of inexpensive horses back then,” he said. “That’s where they ran: Ellis, Turfway and River Downs. I beat that road up with a lot $5,000, $3,500 claimers. Probably around 2000 I started buying a little bit better-grade horses, a bit more quality. I guess I’m probably spending some of my kids’ inheritance, but I enjoy what I do. As long as I’m breathing, I’m going to do it.”

(Photos below: Put Da Blame on Me fended off Mines and Magic to win an allowance race at Churchill Downs under James Graham. Put Da Blame On Me owner Mike Bruder. Credit: Coady Photography.)

Upcoming promotions

Sunday Value Day: Every Sunday enjoy substantial savings on draft beer ($2 for 16 ounces), hotdogs and 12-ounce Coke products ($1.25) and chips and peanuts ($1).

Kids on the Track: Kids 12 and under square off in heats by age group for foot races on the racetrack, the winners getting a pair of jockey goggles and all the fame they can stand. Simply meet in the winner’s circle after the last race every Sunday during the live meet.

Friday: Meet the Announcer – Sign up for a chance to meet announcer Jimmy McNerney and hang out in his booth while he calls a race. Contact Brianna Vitt at bvitt@ellisparkracing.com for more information or to sign up.

Saturday: “Making of a Racehorse: Let’s Get Started” – The weekly fan-education program returns every Saturday through August with the goal of showing the public what goes on in the mornings to get horses ready for the afternoon. The free, family-friendly event begins at 7:30 a.m. Central by the starting gate positioned for schooling in the mile chute, with plenty of parking in the south end of the lot. Learn how horses are taught to break from the gate, with kids getting the chance to stand in the gate. From there we go to the backside for a visit with a changing menu of horsemen and racing officials. Sponsored by Ellis Park and the Kentucky HBPA. Contact Jennie Rees at tracksidejennie@gmail.com for more information.

“Inside Track with Joey K. and Jimmy Mac” — Join analyst Joe Kristufek and announcer Jimmy McNerney every Saturday at 10:30 a.m. Central in the clubhouse’s second-floor Gardenia Room as they handicap the afternoon’s races. Free with programs, coffee and donuts available to participants.

Junior Jockey Club — Kids between 5 and 12 can sign up to be the week’s designated Junior Jockey, serving one race as the honorary paddock judge and telling the jockeys “Riders up!” and watching a race from the winner’s circle. Contact Brianna Vitt at bvitt@ellisparkracing.com for more information or to sign up.

Next Sunday: Ladies Day — Free admission in the Gardenia Room, where women can check out cool stuff from area boutiques and get a chance to win a Michael Kors purse.

Aug. 20 live-money Bluegrass Tournament: Ellis Park is back with a handicapping tournament, this a live-money event presented by AmWager. Entry fee is $500 ($200 to prize money and $300 bankroll), betting minimum of $20 on each of 10 races from Ellis Park’s card and optional races to be announced. Top four finishers get trip to 2018 National Horseplayers Championship in Las Vegas, plus hotel and airfare up to $500. Top 10 finishers earn prize money. Register at www.amwager.com/bluegrasstournament.