By Alan Carasso
Making his second start off an apparently audacious $100,000 claim, Flying P Stable's Ole Crazy Bone (Ghostzapper) raced prominently throughout Saturday's running of the $2.5-million GII KTDF Kentucky Turf Cup Invitational Stakes at Kentucky Downs and came away in the final eighth of a mile to punch his ticket to the GI Breeders' Cup Turf at Del Mar on Nov. 1.
Haltered out of a runner-up effort over the Churchill turf course on June 26, the 5-year-old was last seen in the Turf Cup Preview race at Ellis Park Aug. 3, when he was checked at a crucial stage in upper stretch and flew home to just miss.
Unlike other of Maker's claims to fame, Ole Crazy Bone had a bit of experience over this 12-furlong trip, including a third in the John B. Connally Stakes at Sam Houston over the winter and an unplaced effort, though not beaten far, in the GIII Elkhorn Stakes at Keeneland in the spring when under the care of Bret Calhoun.
But everything came together Saturday afternoon. Ridden forward here with Flavien Prat taking over, Ole Crazy Bone raced in third position turning down the backstretch as Corruption (Medaglia d'Oro) showed the way through a half in :48.87.
Up into a clear second at the midway stage, Ole Crazy Bone continued to stalk the front-runner into the sweeping far turn and was poised just off that one's flank with a half-mile to travel.
Nudged along five-sixteenths from home, Ole Crazy Bone claimed Corruption with a furlong and a half to travel and raced away to score convincingly. Tawny Port (Pioneerof the Nile), third to Grand Sonata (Medaglia d'Oro) last year and runner-up in the Gold Cup over an extended two-mile trip here on Aug. 30, ran on for second just ahead of Corruption in third. It was a sixth Turf Cup for trainer Mike Maker. The defending champ was a mild fifth, while favored Fort Washington (War Front) sat a torrid trip from the outside gate and was never able to land a blow in sixth.
“Honestly, I had a good trip, but when I got to the three-eighths pole I didn't have much horse,” Prat said. “(Corruption) looked like he was traveling so well, and then all of a sudden, (Ole Crazy Bone) turned for home, he went to his right lead and he really engaged and went on and got the job done. Here, it's a bit different. They usually do that turning for home because of the track, it's a bit different. This horse he just went on.”
Explaining the claim, Maker added: “I wanted a horse that looked like he'd appreciate a mile and a half. We had the race at Ellis in mind (second by a head at 1 1/4 miles in the Kentucky Downs Preview Turf Cup) and this race, of course.”
Speaking to the Kentucky Downs media team from his home on Long Island, New York, Flying P's Jay Provezano said: “Listen, I couldn't wait to run this horse there. He ran so big last time, it felt like I got kicked in the groin when we lost. Because we gave up 30 lengths the last race, and we just got beat. I'm so happy to win this race. I have never won a $2.5-million race before.”
Provezano was willing to forego the chance at the $1.8 billion pot that was up for grabs later Saturday evening in exchange for the Turf Cup victory.
“I'm at a loss for words right now. It's like I won Powerball already tonight,” he said.
Pedigree Notes:
Ole Crazy Bone is the 107th worldwide black-type winner and 60th group or graded winner for the now 25-year-old Ghostzapper. The late Smart Strike was being represented by his 208th stakes winner and 92nd graded/group winner as a broodmare sire.
Bred on the exact same cross as champion Goodnight Olive, Ole Crazy Bone has a 2-year-old half-sister named Bird the Banker (War of Will), who fetched $180,000 at last year's Keeneland September Sale and a weanling half-sister by Yaupon. Southern Gem was covered by Forte this past season.
Saturday, Kentucky Downs
KTDF KENTUCKY TURF CUP INVITATIONAL S.-GII, $2,496,667, Kentucky Downs, 9-6, 3yo/up, 1 1/2mT, 2:24.72, gd.
1–OLE CRAZY BONE, 122, g, 5, by Ghostzapper
1st Dam: Southern Gem (SP, $249,122),
by Smart Strike
2nd Dam: Cherie Yvonne, by Vice Regent
3rd Dam: Igmaar (Fr), by Don Roberto
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($190,000
Wlg '20 KEENOV; $150,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP). O-Flying P Stable;
B-Adena Springs (KY); T-Michael J. Maker; J-Flavien Prat.
$1,446,300. Lifetime Record: 19-7-5-2, $1,759,254. Werk Nick
Rating: B. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click
for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Tawny Port, 122, h, 6, Pioneerof the Nile–Livi Makenzie, by
Macho Uno. ($430,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Peachtree Stable;
B-WinStar Farm, LLC (KY); T-Miguel Clement. $473,000.
3–Corruption, 122, g, 4, Medaglia d'Oro–Thundering Sky, by Sky
Mesa. ($220,000 RNA Ylg '22 KEESEP; $220,000 2yo '23
OBSAPR). O-Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Harry Colburn; B-Spendthrift Farm LLC (KY); T-Mark E. Casse. $236,500.
Margins: 3 3/4, HF, 1. Odds: 6.75, 15.59, 6.25.
Also Ran: Mercante, Grand Sonata, Fort Washington, Anglophile-(DH), Divin Propos (Fr)-(DH), Utah Beach, El Rezeen, Vote No. Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
Ole Crazy Bone wins easy in the G2 Kentucky Turf Cup Invitational at Kentucky Downs at 6/1! 🍀
Mike Maker trains and Flavien Prat was aboard!
🎥 #TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/FaAKQ0pLTH
— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) September 6, 2025
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