Highway Robber prevailed in a driving finish to earn a head victory over Ole Crazy Bone to win the Listed KY Downs Preview Turf Cup at Ellis Park on Aug. 3.
The five-year-old Hard Spun gelding won the ten-furlong turf contest for the second straight year. The victory was his sixth from 15 career starts and earned him $180,210, increasing his total bankroll to $1,315,573.
The field of eight broke cleanly with Sugoi hustling to the front from his inside draw. He led the way into the first turn, carving out a composed opening quarter in :24.07 while Highway Robber trailed the field early.
Positions remained unchanged through the opening half mile as Dashman advanced to challenge Sugoi nearing the far turn. At the top of the stretch, Anglophile rallied four wide to take a narrow lead, with Dashman and Sugoi battling gamely along the inside.
Highway Robber, still bottled up, was searching for running room as Ole Crazy Bone unleashed a strong rally down the center of the track. Inside the eighth pole, jockey Cristian Torres angled Highway Robber off the rail into the clear and the gelding burst through with a powerful finish to edge Ole Crazy Bone by a head.
Bred in Kentucky by Foxpointe Thoroughbreds, Highway Robber was purchased by Jim and Susan Hill out of the 2022 OBS April Two-Year-Olds in Training sale. The chestnut gelding is out of the Lemon Drop Kid mare, Yabba, and hails from the family of Stakes winners See The Wind and Fly Smartly.
Highway Robber was the second Stakes winner of the weekend for his sire, Hard Spun, at Ellis Park. On Aug. 2, his three-year-old daughter, Pondering, was victorious in the KY Downs Preview Ladies Turf Sprint, which was her first Stakes victory. Hard Spun is also the sire of recent top performers Sparkle Blue (G3 Hillsborough Stakes), Elysian Field (G3 Maple Leaf Stakes), and Spinning Colors (Mount Vernon Stakes).
