Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey this past Tuesday was bemoaning the Keeneland weather. McGaughey had entered horses every race day this week, Wednesday through Sunday, and nearly all of them were in for turf. “I hope at least some of them stay on,” McGaughey said. Wednesday was a washout, Thursday the same – no turf for the McGaughey barn. A Friday allowance race in which he also had a horse was rained off turf, though McGaughey was set to send out Integration on Friday in the Maker’s Mark Mile. One of the horses McGaughey mentioned by name, Ohana Honor, is in race 9 Sunday, and with the waves of wetness expected to end by later Friday afternoon, this horse ought to get his chance on turf. Even on grass, Ohana Honor, stakes placed in a turf mile last season, is entering unknown territory. This second-level allowance is carded for 1 1/2 miles, three furlongs farther than Ohana Honor has ever raced, and before his decent third March 2 in a Gulfstream Park handicap run over the track’s Tapeta course, Ohana Honor never had gone as far as 1 1/8 miles. :: Bet with the Best! Get FREE All-Access PPs and Weekly Cashback when you wager on DRF Bets. The 4-year-old colt is by Honor Code, also trained by McGaughey during a career that included a win in the 2015 Whitney at Saratoga. Honor Code was a dirt horse but his offspring frequently prefer turf. Ohana Honor is out of the Awesome Again mare Spacy Tracy, whose racing career hit a peak when she won the 2010 Top Flight, a Grade 2 dirt race at a one-turn mile. Ohana Honor has shown more of a steady grinding run than instant acceleration in his best showings. He might suit the distance while some of the competition more proven over the trip return from layoffs. Chief among that group is Foreign Relations, last seen losing by a nose at this class level and distance during the Keeneland fall meet last year. At Keeneland in April 2023, Foreign Relations would have cleared his first allowance condition in a romp, winning at 1 1/2 miles on grass, but was disqualified for interference. The gelding, a 6-year-old by Karakontie, went on to capture the Grade 3 Louisville Stakes going 1 1/2 miles on the Churchill Downs grass course. Those races came in the middle of a form cycle, and trainer Conor Murphy now is tasked with having Foreign Relations ready to roll following a half-year layoff. He’s Got Swagger also returns from an extended break having won his final start of 2023 at 1 1/2 miles on dirt. Race 9 is the second division of a race that attracted so many entrants the racing office split it into two contests. Race 5, the first division, could have a heavy favorite in Headline News, most recently a mildly competitive sixth in the Grade 2 Mac Diarmida over 1 3/8 miles at Gulfstream. Bo Cruz stays at seven furlongs Bo Cruz, a definitive winner of the seven-furlong Commonwealth Stakes on April 6 at Keeneland, is likely to remain at that distance in the $1 million Churchill Downs Stakes on May 4. Bo Cruz returned from a lengthy layoff in a Fair Grounds route allowance and finished a solid third, but connections decided to try Bo Cruz at an extended sprint, and the 4-year-old Creative Cause colt won the Commonwealth by 2 1/2 lengths with a career-best 96 Beyer Speed Figure. Bo Cruz pressed a soft pace and got a great trip in the Commonwealth but has shown the ability to adapt to more demanding circumstances. “He’s not a little wimp of a horse. He’s been in behind and stuff before,” said trainer Al Stall Jr. ◗ Trainer Phil Bauer had considered training Buchu into the Edgewood Stakes next month at Churchill, but instead brought her back from a winter break April 6 in the Appalachian Stakes and got a second Grade 2 Keeneland turf win for the 3-year-old turf filly. “She got ready quicker than I expected,” Bauer said last weekend. Buchu won the Grade 2 Jessamine Stakes last fall at Keeneland after routing maidens over the Churchill course. She’s still likely for the Edgewood, but with her 3-year-old debut already behind her. ◗ The 4-year-old debut for the exciting turf miler More Than Looks has been put on hold. More Than Looks, who finished furiously from last of 13 for a close sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, was scratched from an intended comeback start at Fair Grounds late this winter when his race was rained from turf onto dirt. More Than Looks subsequently injured himself in his stall and won’t be ready to run until later this summer, trainer Cherie DeVaux said. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.