Lexington J

Keeneland’s speed bias is well known and the pace in Saturday’s $325,000 Lexington S.
(G2) figures to be hot. MORE THAN REGAL (More Than Ready) owns the tactical
speed to sit a perfect stalking trip behind the front runners and is our pick to
be along in time for the victory. Trained by Steve Asmussen, the dark bay colt
came running too late when fourth in the Lane’s End S. (G2), but the results
from the Polytrack event couldn’t have been much stranger and we’ll look for an
improved effort in his return to dirt. More Than Regal impressed in a listed
stakes win two starts back at Evangeline Downs, earning a solid 99 BRIS Speed
rating, and he broke his maiden in good fashion three starts back over a sloppy
track at Oaklawn, racing close to the pace in second before pouncing. He can
handle any conditions and drew a favorable inside post.

Gotham S. (G3) winner LIKE NOW (Jules) will try to take the field as far as
he can. The Kiaran McLaughlin runner surprised at 36-1 last time, his first
attempt at a route, and outsprinted some talented front runners to the lead that
afternoon. He’ll have to deal with the ultra-quick FAST PARADE (Delineator)
here, but Like Now is drawn inside of that rival. The bay gelding has
captured his last three starts wire to wire, and jockey Fernando Jara will
attempt to get to the rail early from post 8. Like Now earned triple-digit Speed
ratings in his three starts, including a 108 in the Gotham. Those numbers and
his speed are very appealing attributes here.

SHOWING UP (Strategic Mission) is a bit of a wild card. Unbeaten in two
starts, the chestnut colt opened his racing career with a sharp four-length
maiden special weight score at Gulfstream in mid-February and then easily
handled a tough group of allowance/optional claiming rivals on March 11, dueling
for the lead before drawing off in the one-mile, one-turn event. He earned a
terrific 107 Speed rating and immediately had his connections thinking Kentucky
Derby (G1) afterward, but the chestnut colt missed the April 8 Wood Memorial
(G1) due to a foot bruise and wound up settling for the Lexington. Trainer
Barclay Tagg would probably prefer to have Showing Up tracking the pace
under Cornelio Velasquez, but it will be interesting to see if the sophomore
comes out gunning for the lead off the freshening. The colt has the talent to
win his stakes and two-turn debut, but we’ll try to beat him at low odds given
his lack of experience and recent physical problems.

GREELEY’S LEGACY (Mr. Greeley) didn’t fire over the sloppy track in the Wood
Memorial, but he ran well late to finish a close fourth in the Gotham and
appears capable of a much improved showing here. The outside gate won’t aid his
chances, but the George Weaver trainee will have plenty of pace here to set up
his rally and owns very solid Speed and Pace numbers.

HEMINGWAY’S KEY (Notebook) went two for two last year and entered this season
as a Kentucky Derby candidate for Nick Zito, but nothing’s gone right for him in
three attempts. All came against graded rivals and Zito’s horses tend to run
much better at Keeneland, but Hemingway’s Key doesn’t own much tactical speed
and could have too much to do here from off the pace. We wouldn’t be surprised
to see him come running late for a minor award. GONE PROSPECTING (Way West [Fr])
exits a decent second in his stakes debut and is eligible to keep improving for
McLaughlin, but his Speed figures are a little low.

BEAR CHARACTER (Dixie Union) appears to be training well for his third start
of the year, but the Canadian stakes winner doesn’t appear fast enough to make a
significant impact. Fast Parade is dangerous with his early speed, but he’s
never been past 6 1/2 furlongs and will have to start from post 9. We’ll look
for more from him when he returns to sprints.

CHIN HIGH (Smart Strike) surprised at 68-1 in the
Transylvania S. (G3) last time and returns to the main track for trainer Neil Pessin. The bay colt earned only an 88 Speed rating when breaking his maiden at
Evangeline two starts back, and we’ll just watch to see how he fares. SPECIAL
INTEREST (Stravinsky) got drilled by maiden special weight rivals last time and
is entered over his head here. We would wonder why a trainer would do this to a
horse in his/her care, but we know Wayne Lukas doesn’t have a Kentucky Derby
starter. This desperate attempt looks doomed for failure.