Jeff Ruby Steaks 2026: McCarthy Sends Stark Contrast and La Ville Lumiere to Turfway Preps
- Kaeli Bartholomew
- 8 hours ago
- 3 min read
Southern California-based trainer Michael McCarthy will send two of his young turf talents to Turfway Park this weekend to compete in the track’s final Kentucky Derby & Oaks preps of the season, the Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) and Bourbonette Oaks.
G3 winner Stark Contrast invades Kentucky for Jeff Ruby steaks (G3)
Stark Contrast aims for the large purse of $777,000 in the Jeff Ruby (G3). The Amerman Racing homebred by Caravaggio boasts a strong turf record, going 3-for-5 over the turf in California. Last fall he captured the Zuma Beach Stakes (G3) before running second to European invader Gstaad in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1). He returned this season with an impressive win in the Eddie Logan Stakes, scoring by a strong 2¼ lengths.
Stark Contrast is the first foal out of the Quality Road mare Catch the Eye, also bred by Amerman Racing, who was Grade 2–placed during her racing career.
[Video: Watch Stark Contrast win the Eddie Logan Stakes]
2024 Jeff Ruby Winner Endlessly Returns for Kentucky Cup Classic (G3)
A win in the Jeff Ruby would give McCarthy his second in the race. He won with Endlessly in 2024, who, like Stark Contrast, had won the Zuma Beach and the first start of his three-year-old season, the El Camino Real Derby, before heading to Turfway. Endlessly had also competed in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf but finished a well-beaten eighth. McCarthy and Amerman Racing opted to utilize the Kentucky Derby points won in the Jeff Ruby to run the colt in the Kentucky Derby, where he finished ninth.
Endlessly will join the McCarthy contingent, which also includes maiden Sun Chaser and an Animal Kingdom Stakes contender Small Town, at Turfway Park this weekend, as he is entered in the Kentucky Cup Classic Stakes (G3).
La Ville Lumiere looks for oaks points in bourbonette
McCarthy’s filly La Ville Lumiere already has a small number of Kentucky Oaks points thanks to a third-place finish behind Explora, the current Oaks points leader, and La Wally in the Oak Leaf Stakes (G2) in October. After finishing off the board in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1), she returned to the turf — the surface of her maiden victory — and finished third in the Jimmy Durante Stakes (G3). She closed out her juvenile campaign with a narrow win in the Blue Norther Stakes but finished 10th of 11 in her seasonal debut in the Sweet Life Stakes.
Bred in Kentucky by Corser Thoroughbreds, La Ville Lumiere is sired by City of Light out of the Malibu Moon mare Malibu Drive. Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners purchased her for $475,000 at the OBS March Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale and races her in partnership with Sabby Racing and Ken Reimer.
[Video: Watch La Ville Lumiere win the Blue Norther Stakes]
Race Information
Jeff Ruby Steaks (Grade 3)
Purse: $777,000
Date: Saturday, March 21st, 2026
Location: Turfway Park
Post Time: 6:25 E.T.
View Full Field
Turf Star: J. Velazquez up for G. Motion
Fulleffort: I. Ortiz, Jr. up for B. Cox
Baytown Dreamer: O. Bocachica up for P. McEntee
Two Out Hero: G. Corrales up for K. Attard
Black Hornet: D. Cannon up for B. Walsh
Medici: M. Demuro up for R. Mandella
Maximus Prime: J. Ramos up for A. Mitchell
Chaos Agent: J. Rosario up for J. Carroll
Brave Force: V. Cheminaud up for J. Sisterson
Argos: L. Machado up for B. Cox
Stark Contrast: K. Kimura up for M. McCarthy
Stop the Car: E. Morales up for B. Walsh
Bourbonette Oaks
Purse: $300,000
Date: Saturday, March 21st, 2026
Location: Turfway Park
Post Time: 5:43 p.m. ET
View Full Field
Resplendence: A. Burgos up for P. Lobo
Resist: I. Moncada up for T. Drury, Jr.
Beara Peninsula: L. Machado up for J. O'Dwyer
Blazing Brat: J. Ramos up for D. Beckman
Scratch It: I Ortiz, Jr. up for B. Cox
CallMeYourMajesty: V. Cheminaud up for W. Catalano
Maximum Offer: E. Esquivel up for K. McPeek
Bless Her: J. Velazquez up for G. Motion
Lovely Grey: J. Rosario up for K. Danner
La Ville Lumiere: K. Kimura up for M. McCarthy
Lorelei Lee: F. De La Cruz up for M. Maker
Wonzee Weather: D. Machado up for D. Miller
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