Whisper Hill Farm’s homebred Grand Sonata finished with a crescendo to surprise Saturday’s $1.995 million Kentucky Turf Cup (G2) in course-record time at Kentucky Downs. Overlooked at 15.39-1, the Todd Pletcher veteran scored a new career high in this “Win and You’re In” for the Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1).
Integration, the 1.07-1 favorite, wound up fourth in his initial attempt at the 1 1/2-mile trip.
The first plot twist came shortly before the start, when the Aidan O’Brien-trained Chief Little Rock was a last-minute vet scratch. Another likely pace factor, Sugoi, had been withdrawn earlier.
Their defections appeared to give defending champion Get Smokin a better scenario on the front end. A wire-to-wire upsetter here a year ago, Get Smokin just held on in the July 20 United Nations (G2) at Monmouth Park last time out.
Grand Sonata, the near-miss runner-up in the United Nations, came back to finish fifth in the Aug. 24 Sword Dancer (G1) on Travers Day at Saratoga. That continued his prolonged frustration in stakes dating back more than two years.
Ever since his narrow victories in the 2022 Dania Beach S. and Kitten’s Joy (G3) early in his sophomore season at Gulfstream Park, Grand Sonata had kept losing in black-type events. The well-bred son of Medaglia d’Oro was usually thereabouts, with placings in the Transylvania (G3), Audubon S., Dueling Grounds Derby (G3) at this track, Hill Prince (G2), and Gio Ponti S. He didn’t collect a stakes credit in a truncated 2023 campaign, but his United Nations effort suggested that he still had it in him.
“He is a horse that has knocked on the door on numerous occasions,” Pletcher said. “He has run well at Kentucky Downs. He is a hardy horse, and he came out of the last race in good shape. We kind of thought, ‘you know what? Maybe we’ll take a chance and run him back in a couple weeks.’ He got a beautiful trip today.”
Reunited with Tyler Gaffalione, who has been aboard for all of his wins, Grand Sonata bided his time well off the pace. Get Smokin went to the lead, but unlike last September’s edition, he had to run faster early.
Balladeer, the other main pace player, pursued Get Smokin through fractions of :23.65, 47.53, 1:11.21, and 1:34.97 on the firm course. Both paid the price as they set it up for the closers.
As the stalking Cathkin Peak pounced at the 1 1/4-mile mark in 1:59.57, Grand Sonata made smooth headway on the inside and wrested control. Also joining the fray were Highway Robber, Tawny Port, and last year’s Dueling Grounds Derby hero Anglophile. Integration was trying to get involved, but he wasn’t going well enough to maintain his position.
Grand Sonata kept grinding to stave off Highway Robber by a half-length in 2:24.93. The former mark had stood for barely two days; Harrow just set it on Thursday when clocking 2:24.97.
Tawny Port checked in another length adrift in third. Fourth-placer Integration arguably didn’t stay the distance, crossing the wire a further 2 1/2 lengths back. Anglophile’s bid petered out in fifth. Cathkin Peak faded to sixth. There was an 11 1/2-length gap to Get Smokin, followed by King Curlin and Balladeer.
Grand Sonata rewarded his loyalists with $32.78. Eligible for all of the enhanced purse as a Kentucky-bred, the five-year-old pocketed $1,195,200. He’s now bankrolled $2,057,635 from a record of 23-5-6-2.
Pletcher expanded on the decision to go for the Kentucky Turf Cup after his fifth in the Sword Dancer, an atypical two-week turnaround.
“We didn’t think he handled the course that day very well,” Pletcher said of the Spa. “It had a bit of a cut to it, and he didn’t seem to enjoy it. The good thing is that it didn’t take much out of him, and he bounced out of it in good shape, and we kind of started thinking, ‘you know, I wonder if we could run him back in two weeks,’ and it all kind of came together when Tyler was available.
“Glad it worked out for Mandy Pope and all the Whisper Hill connections. We thought about it and, with the Sword Dancer being a Grade 1 and when he bounced out of it well, kind of mentioned to Todd Quast (general manager of Whisper Hill Farm), what do you think about running him back in a couple weeks? He said they were all for it if the horse was doing well. That was kind of the deciding factor.
“He and Tyler have always gotten along really well, and it was great for him to have that breakthrough win that he has been so close to having so many times.”
Gaffalione, who last rode Grand Sonata to a close fourth in the Dec. 23 Ft. Lauderdale (G2), recalled their past wins together.
“I broke his maiden (in 2021). I won two stakes at Gulfstream. I won an allowance race at Saratoga on him (in 2023). He’s just a really cool horse,” Gaffalione summed up.
“He’s one of those, he’s just had a lot of bad luck and rough trips, but today everything opened up when we needed it, and he finished the job well.
“The main thing we wanted to do was break and get position. He broke alertly. They quickened up down the backside; they kind of got away from me. But my horse was traveling well, well within himself and he just kept building and building. By the time we got to the quarter pole, he was full of himself. A spot opened up, and he didn’t hesitate.
“I’m so thankful to Kentucky Downs for putting on this event. It’s a pleasure to come here every year. I know the horsemen and the riders are all thrilled to be here.”
Out of the A.P. Indy mare A. P. Sonata, who is a half-sister to Grade 2 scorers Beethoven and Wilburn, from the family of champion Abel Tasman, Grand Sonata has run himself into the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar.
“I guess that was a ‘Win and You’re In,’ right? I guess we have to put that on the radar for sure,” Pletcher said. “If we were to do something between now and then, I don’t know. I would think running back (from the Sword Dancer) in two weeks, we wouldn’t look to run back real quick. I’ll talk to the connections and come up with a game plan, but I suppose the Breeders’ Cup is on the radar now.”
