Mena, Lanerie tied for jockey lead at 17;

Court joins Torres at Sat. AM fan event

For immediate release

HENDERSON, Ky. (Aug. 19, 2016) — Whyruawesome won for the fourth time in the gelding’s past five starts and fifth time in his past eight, taking Ellis Park’s featured fourth race Friday by 3 1/4 lengths over favored Starship Zeus.

The 5-year-old Whyruawesome led all the way in the $39,000 first-level allowance race that had a $25,000 claiming option, drawing away through the stretch. He covered the mile in an excellent 1:35.47 under Brian Hernandez Jr. and paid $6 to win as the second choice in the field of seven older horses that happened to all be geldings.

Trainer and co-owner Conor Murphy claimed Whyruawesome for $30,000 during Keeneland’s 2015 spring meet for a partnership that also includes David Caskey of Evansville and Steve and Blake Turner of Louisville. The son of Whywhywhy won that day, but lost his first seven starts for his new connections before winning a $50,000 claiming race at Churchill Downs last fall.

Whyruawesome finished a tiring fifth in his last start, a tough allowance race July 16 at Indiana Grand, for which Murphy took some responsibility.

“He won three in a row in the spring, one at Keeneland and two at Churchill,” said Murphy, who is based at the Skylight training center in Goshen, Ky. “We were kind of in no-man’s land on where to go. In a last-minute decision, I ran him in an allowance race on the Indiana Derby undercard, and I didn’t have him near fit enough for that. We said instead of playing the guessing game with him, we’d map this (race) and train him hard. He ran huge today.

“We gave him a few months off in the winter to freshen him up, and he seems to have responded well. He’s improving all the time.  He’s a lovely, sound horse — a great claim for the owners…. David Caskey is from like five minutes down the road. This is the greatest day of his life. This is his hometown track, so he’s over the moon to get a win.”

Trainer Joe Sharp and jockey Jon Court each won two races, including teaming with each other to take the fifth as Majestic Gale held off the Hernandez-ridden 15-1 shot Wicked Lick for a 1 1/4-length triumph in the $38,000 maiden race for 2-year-old fillies on turf.

It was the first start on turf for Majestic Gale, a daughter of Majestic Warrior and who is out of a mare by turf champion Theatrical. Majestic Gale was eighth in her debut on dirt at Churchill in June then a well-beaten fourth in an off-turf race won by the ultra-impressive Sully’s Dream. Majestic Gale covered the mile in 1:38.96, the last eighth going in 12.19 seconds. She paid $13.20 to win as the fourth choice in the field of 11.

Court, a six-time Ellis Park riding champion, also won the second race on the Benjie Larue-trained Luvurita. Sharp won the third with American Sailor and jockey Miguel Mena. Corey Lanerie also won two: the first on the Dale Romans-trained Sweet Betty and the seventh on the Paul McGee-trained first-time gelding Go Navy Go. That pulled Lanerie into a tie with Mena for the meet lead at 17 wins apiece.

Court will join Francisco Torres as featured jockeys on the Saturday morning fan experience dubbed “Making of a Racehorse.” The free event, open to all ages, begins at 7:30 a.m. Central by the schooling starting gate in the mile chute on the first turn, with plenty of adjacent parking in the south end of Ellis’ parking lot by the Ohio River levee. The casual program also includes a visit to trainer John Hancock’s barn, where young kids can get a spin around the barn on a stable pony, director of stalls J.J. Gloria and track announcer Jimmy McNerney, who also is a jockey agent. Making of a Racehorse will be held for the last time next Saturday, Aug. 27.

Reminder that Ellis Park will race Thursday, Sept. 1, as a makeup day for the canceled July 4 card. Ellis closes out its meet racing Sept. 2, 4 and 5, but does not race on Sept. 3, as that day was given to Kentucky Downs for its meet opener.