KY Cup Classic (Grade 3)- $300.000 Purse
TP- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
March 22, 2025

With the field being as strong as it was for the KY Cup Classic, it could be understood that others would attract more attention than Face The Lunatic. That said, it was a surprise to see him go off as an 11/1 longshot for the race. He was our second choice, but many were not convinced he could bounce back after his prior three races. On Saturday, this five-year-old horse trained by Martyparty would do exactly that, winning by a length. This is the first KY Cup Classic victory for Martyparty as well as jockey A A Gallardo. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:47.50, the third quickest in the race’s history. Let’s take a look at it:

(½ Mile- :47.17)- From the outside, Propel goes to the front for Team 7 Illusions and will run three wide around the opening turn. He is not able to fully clear the two to his inside, which are General Zod and Disciplinary, respectively trained by Royalty Stables and Nakamura Stables, and these three will have about a two-length lead on the rest of the field. That is where we find our eventual winner, Martyparty’s Face The Lunatic, as he sits comfortably in the fourth position, nearly a full length ahead of Bad Debt (D J C Racing Stables), who is similarly about a length in front of Themefrom Antarctica (Ajm Stables). It’s a break of about another two lengths to Fusaichi Future (Rock Creek) and Everything Fine (TwinTowersRacing), then it’s the post time favorite Walk Em Down (Mb Stables) and Master And Commander (John Henry).

(3/4 Mile- 1:11.09)- Propel will continue to lead the field as he works his way down the backstretch while still in the third lane. General Zod remains his shadow to his inside, and on the rail Disciplinary is keeping pace for now. Face The Lunatic is still fourth in the running order, at the end of the backstretch, we see him cut into that two-length gap that had existed between himself and the top three. He’s fully cleared Bad Debt and Themefrom Antarctica while having his sights set on the frontrunners. Further back, Fusaichi Future, Walk Em Down, and Everythings Fine are three wide. Behind them, Master And Commander still trails.

(Top of Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- It’s still Propel out in front, and he’s looking good as he tries to go wire to wire here. General Zod continues to run within a length of him but had not made a stronger push to actually complete the pass. He couldn’t wait too long, because Face The Lunatic was looking good as A A Gallardo moved him to far outside to make his push for the win. Disciplinary is fourth on the rail, still trying to stay with this group. Bad Debt and Themefrom Antarctica were running evenly but lost important ground to Face The Lunatic here if they had a push coming. Walk Em Down was looking the best of those that were at the back.

(Finish- 1:47.30)- Into the stretch, Face The Lunatic would work his way past the top two, and surged to the front with about a half furlong to go. At this point, the race was his, as there were no new challengers that were close enough to concern. Face The Lunatic goes on to win by a length, with General Zod working his way by Propel eventually to complete the exacta and Walk Em Down’s late bid getting him the fourth-place check. Themefrom Anarctica and Bad Debt go fifth and sixth, with their jockeys each looking for lanes in the final furlong that they probably should have considered taking earlier. The rest of the order will read Fusaichi Future, Everythings Fine, Disciplinary, and Master And Commander.

About The Winner- Face The Lunatic, trained by Martyparty and ridden to victory by A A Gallardo, is a five-year-old horse by Face Your Fears and is out of Partywithalunatic. He was bred in Florida by Martyparty as a third quarter two-year-old, the only trainer for which he has ever known. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his eighth in 26 starts, his fifth stake win and first graded victory. His career earnings are now $1,126.330.

Track: Fast
Time: :47  1:11  1:35²  1:47²

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 6 – 4 Paid 145.30
$1 Trifecta: 6 – 4 – 10 Paid 1,324.40

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES