Talent no secret as Rumor Ridge powers to maiden win
by Frank Vespe
A horse named Bullet Catcher briefly achieved if not fame at least notoriety a couple of years back when he made his escape from Laurel Park and trotted off down Route 1.
Trainer Ferris Allen is hoping that Bullet Catcher’s half-sister Rumor Ridge achieves an entirely different kind of renown, and today, the three-year-old Yes It’s True filly took the first step on that road.
Under jockey Elvis Trujillo, Rumor Ridge today sat off the early pace of Poco Del Sol before taking over nearing the head of the lane and powering to a four-and-a-half length victory in a $40,000 maiden special weight test at Laurel Park.
“She’s been everything we thought she’d be,” Allen explained. “She’s a big classy filly, and she’s got a lot of speed.”
In her debut, Rumor Ridge had led for a long way before Dictate Cool, a well-bred Sagamore filly by top sire Curlin, powered past her to win. Dictate Cool, out of the stakes winner Walkwithapurpose, subsequently was sold to owners connected with trainer Chad Brown.
“I knew that the horse that beat us (Dictate Cool) that day was a real horse,” Allen said. “I thought she had to be to beat us. I thought we were good the first time.”
This time, Rumor Ridge left no doubt. She quickly attained a perfect stalking position and fired nicely when turned for home. She traveled the last quarter-mile in 24.45 seconds en route to a solid final running time of 1:11.36 for six furlongs. The very slight favorite, Rumor Ridge paid $6.40 to win and topped an exacta, with 9-1 debut runner Piece of Candy in second, worth $64.60.
Rumor Ridge was a purchased for $45,000 by Burning Daylight Farms out of the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Fall Yearling sale in 2016. She’s a half-sister to four multiple winners, and was bred by Mr. and Mrs. Charles McGinnes, who operate as Thornman Farm.
“This filly was my number one pick out of the mid-Atlantic yearling sale,” Allen said. “We bought her from Thornmar, and we were very excited to be able to buy her for the kind of money we spent. She was absolutely our top pick, and we thought we’d have to spend a lot more for her.”
Allen said he didn’t have a next step mapped out and wasn’t sure if she would want to go farther, given her sprint-oriented pedigree. Then again.
“She didn’t look like she had any trouble doing what she did today,” he added.
