Undefeated Gelding Seeking Second Consecutive Stakes Win
Among Five Turf Stakes on Saturday’s Fall Festival of Racing

BALTIMORE – There is serendipity in Lynn and Mark Ashby’s undefeated stakes winner being named Epic Luck. The 2-year-old gelding came along at a time when the trainer and co-breeder saw an entire division of her operation suddenly cease while her husband and co-owner has been battling cancer.

Epic Luck has proven to be a respite for the couple, bringing a two-race win streak into Saturday’s $150,000 Laurel Futurity at Laurel Park. Though his stakes win came on the same surface and at the same distance in the Aug. 31 Kitten’s Joy at Colonial Downs, the Futurity will be his biggest test yet.

“I was really emotional when he won. My husband has been real ill so he stayed home and watched it. It was our first one to breed,” Lynn Ashby said. “We’re kind of pinching ourselves. It’s really nice to have this going on with the negativity of Mark being sick. It’s something to look forward to with this horse. It’s very exciting.”

The 94th running of the Futurity for 2-year-olds, and the 91st renewal of the Selima for 2-year-old fillies, both at 1 1/16 miles, co-headline a 10-race Fall Festival of Racing program featuring five stakes worth $600,000 in purses over Laurel’s world-class turf course.

Also on tap are the $100,000 Japan Turf Cup for 3-year-olds and up going 1 ½ miles, $100,000 All Along at 1 1/8 miles for fillies and mares 3 and older, and $100,000 Laurel Dash for 3-year-olds and up sprinting 5 ½ furlongs.

First race post time is 12:40 p.m.

William Gotwals bred Epic Luck with Lynn Ashby in Pennsylvania and co-owns the horse with Mark Ashby. He was raised and continues to train at the couple’s 500-acre Middletown Training Center in Middletown, Del., just across the Maryland border.

According to Equibase statistics, Epic Luck is one of six 2-year-old winners from 12 starters this year for Ashby, herself a breast cancer survivor best known for breeding and training several major stakes winners and competing around the world with Arabians. When Delaware Park ended a nearly 40-year run of Arabian racing this summer, she put more focus on the Thoroughbreds she primarily in past years helped break and prepare to go to other trainers.

“These 2-year-olds, when they start blooming in the summer and fall they kind of really come into their own,” Ashby said. “I’m not necessarily an advocate to run 2-year-olds. We’ve just had an incredible year this year. We don’t push them. We just listen to them, and so far we’ve been lucky to have been in some good races. I think this will be a good test. It’s an open race. We’ll see what we’ve got. We’re going to come to play.”

Epic Luck was a 10 ¾-length winner of his debut, a one-mile maiden optional claimer July 28 at Delaware where he went all the way up front under jockey Aubrie Green. Ashby put him on the turf for his next start in the 1 1/16-mile Kitten’s Joy Aug. 31 at Colonial Downs, where he again found himself on the lead and won by 2 ¼ lengths. He was not favored in either start.

“It was kind of an easy field, I guess, when he broke his maiden on the dirt. It was a very slow time. That day all the times were pretty slow at Delaware. It was pretty deep,” Ashby said. “Next time we thought we’d just kind of break with the group and have him come from off of it but then it set up that we were the only ones out on the lead again. That’s one thing about Green, she’s very good at walking the dog. Even though it was a new venue I knew he’d love the turf because we have two turf courses at the farm. I already knew he was going to be a little better on the turf.”

Green gets the return call on Epic Luck from Post 3 for Ashby, who owns three graded-stakes victories with Thoroughbreds – the 2017 Cardinal (G3) and Violet (G3) and 2018 Robert G. Dick Memorial (G3), all with Tricky Escape.

“We’re going to see if we’ve got just a ho-hum horse or whatever. He has grown a whole hand since I saddled him at Colonial. I really like how he has put on some muscle and weight,” Ashby said. “They’re still 2-year-olds. They do funny things sometimes when you don’t expect it. He seems pretty solid coming into it. We breeze here at the farm with him against some good company and he’s right there. I think he’s going in the right direction, for sure.”

Among the competition are a pair of recent maiden winners, Ready to Purrform and High Stock. Donegal Racing’s Ready to Purrform, trained by reigning Eclipse Award winner Brad Cox, rallied for a nose maiden special weight triumph going 1 1/16 miles on the Ellis Park turf Sept. 3 in his lone start. Jevian Toledo gets the riding assignment from Post 6.

Fortune Racing’s High Stock debuted in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight moved off the Colonial Downs turf Aug. 17 and finished well back. Most recently, the Noble Mission colt was a front-running six-length maiden special weight winner going a mile on the Laurel turf Sept. 18 on the Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash (G3) undercard.

“His first race was a disaster. I’d taken him to Colonial twice to run him on the grass. The first time he spiked a little temperature so I scratched him,” trainer Graham Motion said. “The second time he went down there it came off the grass, but I just felt like I had to run him.

“We knew all along he wanted the grass. That’s what we wanted to do,” he added. “I was a little surprised how nicely he did it, but he seemed to come out of it well. Ideally you’d rather [have] another week but I think at this time of year you’ve got to take a shot.”

Victor Carrasco, up for the maiden win, will be back aboard from outside Post 9.

“It seemed like he did it well within himself and he’s done well since,” Motion said. “Victor did a great job on him. He’s not a real robust horse. He’s got more of a sprinter’s frame but certainly we think he would handle the two turns.”

Peter E. Blum Thoroughbreds’ homebred colt Stride broke his maiden first time out against High Stock at Colonial then came back to be fourth, beaten four lengths, in a one-mile optional claiming allowance Sept. 6 on the turf at Kentucky Downs, known for its unique and undulating course.

“He was a little surprised I think. Kentucky Downs is kind of a very particular track. He ran OK. I’m not sure he finished on the right ground. He was a little trapped where he was but he ran a decent enough race that I’d like to take a shot,” trainer Arnaud Delacour said. “He came back pretty tired from his first race so we gave him a little bit of time. I’m pleased with him. He’s a horse that keeps improving and seems to be in good form. He’s full of himself the last week training so I’m happy to go in that spot.”

Charlie Marquez is named to ride from Post 2.

Owner-trainer Gregg Sacco supplemented maiden King of Hollywood to the Futurity after finishing third in back-to-back maiden special weights on the turf going 5 ½ furlongs Aug. 6 at Saratoga and one mile Sept. 11 at Monmouth Park. The winner of the latter race, Shimmering Leroid, went on to be fourth in Monmouth’s Sept. 26 Nownownow at odds of 100-1.

“He missed the break, got checked in the race, came rolling and finished third by a length and a quarter,” Sacco said of the most recent start. “We were encouraged to see that the horse that won our race was fourth in the stake at big odds and we thought we were much the best in that [maiden] race. We know it’s not going to be easy, but he’s talented so we’ll take a shot.”

Julian Pimentel has the call from Post 1.

Completing the field are Three Diamonds Farm’s City At Night, second in a Sept. 5 maiden special weight at Kentucky Downs who was scratched out of the Nownownow by trainer Mike Maker; Jeremy Brooks’ Wow Whata Summer, fourth to Epic Luck in the Kitten’s Joy; and Phil Schoenthal-trained stablemates Wish Me Home, third in the Aug. 31 Rosie’s Stakes at Colonial, and Sept. 1 Jamestown winner Determined Kingdom.

The Futurity has a rich history dating back to 1921 inaugural winner Morvich, who would go on to win the 1922 Kentucky Derby. The Futurity has also been won by Triple Crown champions Affirmed, Citation and Secretariat along with Barbaro, Spectacular Bid, Tapit, In Reality, Honest Pleasure and Quadrangle. It lost its spot on the 2020 stakes calendar amid the coronavirus pandemic.