Turf Star storms late to win James W. Murphy Stakes at Laurel Park

Turf Star turned the James W. Murphy Stakes into a late-running turf statement at Laurel Park, rallying from near the back of the field to beat My Favorite Bird by a half-length and earn his first stakes victory. The Calumet Farm homebred covered the mile on the firm All Along turf course in 1:35.82, paid $10.40 to win, and gave Graham Motion another familiar kind of result: a turf horse that kept finding when the pace setup called for patience.

The shape of the race mattered. Turf Star was next to last early, but the mile unfolded in a way that rewarded a horse willing to settle and produce a sustained run rather than chase speed through the first turn. Jorge Ruiz, riding Turf Star in the stakes for the first time, guided him through a clean late advance as the colt switched gears and kept passing horses to the wire. My Favorite Bird could not hold him off, while Attfield completed the top three.

That made the 61st running of the Murphy more than a simple upset on the Preakness undercard. It was the fifth race on a 14-race program that featured nine stakes, four graded stakes and $3.15 million in purses, with Laurel Park serving as the center of Maryland racing while Pimlico Race Course underwent renovations and the 151st Preakness Stakes was staged there. In that kind of setting, a colt who can win a one-mile turf stakes on firm ground moves from promising to relevant very quickly.

Motion’s record in the Murphy now stands out too. The veteran turf trainer won the race for the fifth time, adding another chapter to a long run of success in a stakes that was renamed in 2010 for Maryland trainer James W. Murphy. Turf Star’s profile strengthens the case that he is more than a one-run closer. He had placed in graded company before, came into the race with seven career starts and a 2-for-7 record, and answered the question that often defines 3-year-old turf horses: can they reproduce that finish when the race is on the line?

This one suggested he can. After a return to the grass, Turf Star did not just pick up a stakes win. He showed the kind of late kick and composure that can carry into deeper turf spots later in the summer.