Brass Hat Seeks first Turf Win at Churchill Downs - 05-23-08

May 23 - According to Buff Bradley, trainer of talented gelding Brass Hat, the Grade 3 Louisville Handicap at Churchill Downs tomorrow (Saturday, May 24th) may just be the occasion for Brass Hat to win his first-ever turf race.

While the 7-year-old has enjoyed ample success on the main track, winning three Grade 2s and a Grade 1 at Massachusetts H last year, a turf win has managed to elude the gutsy horse in every one of his four previous turf attempts.

Brass Hat will be running against 10 other starters tomorrow, each of which has won on turf before. This means he and jockey, Calvin Borel, will have their work cut out for them during the 1 and 1/2-mile Churchill Downs race. No wonder Brass Hat is the race favorite.

Said Buff Bradley, 'Brass Hat can handled any kind of surface, except for turf. However, his last performance on the Keeneland turf was excellent, and just this morning he came bouncing off the track. As his form is right now, we believe he's got a real shot on Saturday.'

With over $1.75 million in career earnings to date, there is little doubt amongst horse racing experts and pundits alike that Brass Hat is the most accomplished runner in the Grade 3 Louisville Handicap field, and will certainly be the horse to watch out for.

However, the race many not be a walkover for Brass Hat given some of his high-class competition.

These include Silverfoot, an 8-year-old gelding that won three straight races in Louisville from 2004 to 2006, Transduction Gold, winner of the Grade 3 Sycamore at Keeneland last fall, Birdbirdistheword, winner of a main-track race in Kentucky two weeks ago, and Pickapocket, a Keeneland turf winner last month.

Interestingly, Calvin Borel will be the first jockey to ride Brass Hat in over four years, taking the reigns, so to speak, from Brass Hat veteran jockey, Willie Martinez, who no longer rides on the Kentucky circuit.