Atta Boy Roy leads throughout in Churchill Downs

Atta Boy Roy barely got dirty leading all the way in the Churchill Downs (Neville Hopwood/Horsephotos.com) A good horse can come from anywhere, even Emerald Downs and Turf Paradise. Those two locales have been the primary bases of R.E.V. Racing’s ATTA BOY ROY (Tribunal), who pulled off the 10-1 upset of Saturday’s $250,000 Churchill Downs S. (G2) with a front-running, inside trip under Calvin Borel. In its own way, Atta Boy Roy’s victory, in the last race main track race prior to the Kentucky Derby (G1), suggested that speed on the rail could be effective when evidence to the contrary was abundant earlier in the program. “I worked this horse twice, and I thought he was good and impressive when I worked him,” Borel said. “He worked :46 and change (for four furlongs). He’s a nice horse. He might look a little outclassed with these kind of horses, but the work was unbelievable. “The track is a little sloppy, but it’s good. Inside, outside, it’s all good.” Atta Boy Roy outbroke the field and was rushed to secure position along the inside from post 9. Setting fractions of :22 1/5, :44 3/5 and 1:09, the bay ridgling was under no serious threat until very late when Carter H. (G1) winner Warrior’s Reward (Medaglia d’Oro) made a belated bid from near the back, but it came far too late to catch the Valorie Lund charge, who scored by a half-length and paid $22.20, $9.20 and $4.80. Warrior’s Reward gave back $5 and $3.40 at 7-2, while 5-2 chalk Musket Man (Yonaguska) rallied for the show, 2 1/4 lengths behind Warrior’s Reward, and paid $3. The exacta paid $152, the trifecta $500.20, and the 9-7-12-8 superfecta with Ventana (Toccet) gave back $3,800.20.

Following Ventana under the wire was defending champ Accredit (E
Dubai), Victory Notion (Victory Gallop), Kensei (Mr. Greeley), Hamazing
Destiny (Salt Lake), Hull (Holy Bull), Country Day (Speightstown),
Munnings (Speightstown) and Wall Street Wonder (City Place). Cool Coal
Man was withdrawn after competing in Friday’s Alysheba S. (G3).

In addition to Emerald and Turf Paradise, Atta Boy Roy also raced at
Canterbury and Prairie Meadows earlier in his career. His first taste of
big-time racing was in the Ancient Title S. (G1) at Santa Anita last
October, but he faltered to seventh there in his Pro-Ride debut. He set
or equaled the six-furlong track record on two occasions at Emerald in
2009, the year he added the Governor’s H. and Chinook Pass Sprint S. to
his resume. Ironically, he placed second in the 2008 Luke Kruytbosch S.
at Turf Paradise, a race named in memory of Churchill Downs’ late track
announcer. With this first graded win, Atta Boy Roy has now won $265,785
from a line of 18-9-4-0.

Lund, who was saddling her first graded stakes winner, explained the decision
to ship to Churchill.

“The Breeders’ Cup,” she said, alluding to the fact that the two-day
extravaganza will return to the Twin Spires this November. “We took him to
California because we were going to run in the Breeders’ Cup last year. He hated
the Polytrack. It was a bad race for him. So we said, ‘We’ve got to come to
Churchill and see if he likes the surface. If he does, we’ll stay out east here
and we’ll run in the Breeders’ Cup.'”

Lund also revealed that she got Borel to ride because of a suggestion by
racing secretary Ben Huffman.

“I said, ‘I need a patient rider, guy who rides with a nice long hold and
isn’t going to rough up his horse.’ He said, ‘I will suggest Calvin Borel.’ I
said he might be a little flamboyant for me. He said, ‘No, he’s who you want.'”

Bred in Washington by Patricia Murphy and Mr. and Mrs. Frederick
Pabst, Atta Boy Roy was a $4,500 yearling at the Washington September
sale. Produced from the stakes-placed Irish Toast (Synastry), Atta Boy
Roy is a half-brother to 2007 Longacres Mile (G3) winner The Great Face
(Cahill Road) and that one’s unraced juvenile full sister Amazing
Legacy. Irish Toast is out of the multiple stakes-winning Bix’s Bet
(Just the Time) and is half-sister to the stakes winner She’s a Sure Bet
(Staff Writer) and the Grade 3-placed Moving Right Along (Leroy S.).

“This horse, I picked out as a yearling,” Lund said. “I fell in love with him
the minute I saw him. We thought he’d sell high and he didn’t sell at all. We
stole him for $4,500. I’ve galloped him since he was two years old.

“He’s just come along.  We’ve been patient; he’s had trouble with
quarter cracks. I really think that this is his year. He’s a better
five-year-old than he was last year. He’s a really outstanding horse to be
around. Very calm.

“You can place him. He’s very calm. We like to sit and let him kind of pick a
pace. We could send him early, but we don’t want to. Early in the race, he was
running fast relaxed. That’s what he does. Our strategy today was to sit and see
what everybody else did. If somebody did something stupid, then hang back. If
not, let this horse canter on. And run for home.”