Pluck tops 10-horse field in opening-day Transylvania at
Keeneland
Team Valor International’s Pluck, winner of the Breeders’
Cup Juvenile Turf last November, heads a field of 10 three-year-olds in
Friday’s 23rd running of the $100,000, Grade 3 Transylvania, the opening-day feature
of Keeneland’s 15-day spring meeting.
The Transylvania, run at 1 1/16 miles on the turf, will go as the 9TH race on
Friday’s 10-race card with an approximate post time of 5:23 p.m. (ET). First
post time on Friday is 1:15 p.m.
Trained by Graham Motion, Pluck finished fourth when kicking off his
sophomore campaign in a March 12 allowance at Tampa Bay Downs. He’ll regain the
services of Garrett Gomez, who was up for the Breeders’ Cup victory at Churchill
Downs as well as a triumph in the Grade 3 Summer at Woodbine but missed the
assignment in his 2011 opener. Pluck will break
from the far outside post position under a 123-pound assignment.
Stakes winner Adirondack Summer and Air Support will also carry 123 pounds.
Air Support defeated Soldat when capturing the Grade 3 Pilgrim two starts back and will make his 2011 debut in the Transylvania for Shug McGaughey.
He was last seen recording a ninth in the
Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. Regular rider Rajiv Maragh has the call.
Adirondack Summer, who exits a win in the January 16 Dania Beach at
Gulfstream Park, has
captured two-of-three career starts for Christophe Clement, who will be seeking
his second straight Transylvania win following the success of Nordic Truce in 2010. Alan Garcia will retain the mount.
Powhatan County, who concluded his juvenile season with a
runner-up to Soldat in the Grade 3 With Anticipation in early September, figures to attract plenty of support
following a smart victory in his 2011 bow, a March 3 allowance/optional claiming
event at Gulfstream Park.
The George Weaver pupil came back from the six-month layoff with a head score over subsequent
Grade 3 Spiral hero Animal Kingdom, and Powhatan County’s connections were considering next
Saturday’s Grade 1 Blue Grass on Polytrack. The bay colt will be a much shorter price
in the Transylvania.
The Steve Asmussen-trained Great Mills invades off a wire-to-wire
score in the March 12 Grindstone at Fair Grounds, and Stormy Rush will make his first appearance since a fourth in the
Grade 3 Bourbon at Keeneland last October. Last-out allowance winners Lil Bit
O’Fun and Ronin Dax will return to stakes competition on Friday, and outsiders
Memen and Legendary King round
out the Transylvania line-up.