Tobys Heart Catches Goin' Good in Limestone Turf Sprint

Like sire Jack Milton, Tobys Heart has an affinity for turf racing—and for racing at Keeneland. Three-year-old Tobys Heart notched her third grass victory and second black-type score in four career starts when she rallied past Goin' Good to win the $100,000 TVG Limestone Turf Sprint Stakes April 9 at the Lexington oval. The half-length victory came on the same course over which Jack Milton won the Maker's 46 Mile Stakes (G1T) six years earlier. Tobys Heart carried the hot pink silks of co-owner Gary Barber in the Limestone Turf Sprint. Barber, who also owned Jack Milton, recently bought an interest in the Brian Lynch-trained Tobys Heart, who previously raced for the two-owner partnership of Terry Hamilton and Lynch. One of eight fillies that went to post following five scratches, notably morning-line favorite and group 1 winner Campanelle (IRE), Tobys Heart tracked the pace in fifth for much of the 5 1/2-furlong Limestone Turf Sprint. A couple of lengths off fractions of :22.35 and :45.39 set by Phantom Vision, the winner rallied from fifth in the final furlong after racing between rivals around the turn. "I handicapped the race with (trainer Brian) Lynch. He told me in the paddock: 'There's a lot of speed in the race. Let her fall out of the gate. Be patient turning for home and let her use one kick,' " noted winning rider Javier Castellano. Tobys Heart ($6.40) completed the distance in 1:02.29 over a good turf course in the second running of the Limestone Turf Sprint, improving upon the time of 1:03.59 from the race's 2019 winner, Ginger Nut (IRE). The race was not run in 2020 due to COVID-19. Campanelle, trained by Wesley Ward, "wasn't quite herself this morning," owner Stonestreet Farm tweeted while also noting that she would undergo a veterinary exam with hopes of still pursuing a race this summer at Royal Ascot. In taking Friday's race, Tobys Heart rebounded from her first defeat when sixth in the Herecomesthebride Stakes (G3T) Feb. 27 at Gulfstream Park. That race was her 3-year-old debut and first route. All three of her victories have come in grass sprints, with her earlier victories coming in the Bolton Landing Stakes at Saratoga Race Course and a maiden race at Churchill Downs, both at age 2. "She shortened back up to what she wants to do," Lynch said. "Am I surprised she won? Not really. Am I grateful? Very much. We got Gary involved with this filly, which is great because I think she’s got a big future." Goin' Good, who pressed the pace three-wide before taking command just inside the eighth pole, fended off the winner until the final strides. The runner-up finished 1 3/4 lengths in front of Navratilova, who edged pacesetting Phantom Vision by a neck to grab the show. Bred in Kentucky by Trackside Farm, Tobys Heart is the lone stakes winner out of the Lil's Lad mare Pick of the Pack, a producer of three winners. The dam also has an unraced 2-year-old colt named Principality (Commissioner) and an unnamed Commissioner yearling filly. He was a $45,000 2-year-old purchase by bloodstock agent Alistair Roden at the Ocala Breeders' Sales' March 2020 2-Year-Olds In Training Sale from the Bold Arrow Thoroughbreds consignment. That followed an earlier sale when Valentine Jimenez bought her for $5,500 from the Trackside Farm consignment at Fasig-Tipton's 2019 Kentucky October Yearling Sale.