KEENELAND DAILY NOTEBOOK
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2005
by Brian P. Turner
A field of seven went to the gate for Wednesday’s 8TH race, an allowance
event for three-year-olds and up going eight furlongs over Keeneland’s lawn.
AMERICA ALIVE (American Chance) took a drop out of stakes company to compete
here and headed to the post as the betting public’s overwhelming favorite. Once
the gates opened, the four-year-old colt was content to lay at the back of the
pack through opening fractions of :24 2/5 and :48 1/5. Gradually, he began to
move up before settling down for his run through the stretch. What appeared to
be an easy victory for the colt on paper though proved to be anything but as he
was forced to give everything he had, hitting the finish line a head in front.
Scooter Roach (Mi Cielo), under a nice ride by Gary Stevens, fought the top
choice all the way to the wire but was forced to settle for second, 1 3/4
lengths clear of long shot Wayuphi (Alphabet Soup) in third.
There were five sprints contested on the main track today and horses on or
near the pace won all of them. As for the two main track routes, one was won by
a horse closely stalking the pace while the other was won by a deep closer. In
addition to the 8TH race, one additional turf route was also won by a runner
closing from off the pace.
Rafael Bejarano picked up a win on the day and still has command of the top
spot in the jockey standings with 24. Robby Albarado booted home three winners
Wednesday, including two for trainer Neil Howard, and now has 16 for the meet.
Shaun Bridgmohan picked up three winners on the day, two in tandem with Steve
Asmussen, and has a firm hold on the third spot with 13 winners to date.
As for the trainers, Asmussen’s two winners moved him into the top spot in
the standings with eight winners thus far. Nick Zito remains in second with
seven. Howard’s two winners on the day catapulted him in to the third spot with
five.
Horses to Watch
5TH – PACE YOURSELF (Kris S.) has now reeled off two wins in a row on the
lawn after taking the victory in this 12 furlong allowance event. The chestnut
was content to lay just off the pace early through opening fractions of :25 4/5
and :50 3/5 before gradually moving into contention and taking over in the
stretch drive on his way to a dominating 5 3/4 length victory against a very
respectable group of allowance runners.
6TH – TIZTIMETOKINECT (Tiznow) ran evenly in his career debut but really came
to life in this maiden special event as she guided the field through early
fractions of :22 1/5 and :45 before absolutely exploding through the stretch
drive on her way to a commanding 19 1/4 length victory.
Tomorrow’s Outlook – Thursday, October 27
An evenly matched field of 10 is scheduled to go to the post for Thursday’s
featured Jessamine S. for two-year-old fillies going 1 1/16 miles on the grass.
BEAU DARE (Military) will take her fair share of the betting public’s money as
she is coming off a gate to wire victory in the Kentucky Cup Juvenile Fillies S.
at Turfway Park. Though that victory came on the main track, the bay broke her
maiden on the grass and has a solid pedigree for the lawn.
Standing in her way will be the Todd Pletcher trained DYNA’S DESTINY (Dynaformer),
who exits an impressive maiden score at the Meadowlands where she stalked the
pace before recording a devastating 10 3/4-length victory. It took the bay three
starts to break her maiden but she definitely appears to be on the right track
and looms a solid threat here. Pletcher will also be sending out READY TO TALK
(More Than Ready), who missed by a nose against allowance company here on
October 12. More Than Ready has proven to be a bit of a surprise as a turf sire
with his progeny winning 20 percent of their starts on the lawn.
PERILOUS PURSUIT (Lemon Drop Kid) has looked good in both of her starts on
the grass, including a troubled third place finish against stakes-company.
Jockey Jose Santos will be making the trip in from New York for the ride.
Thursday’s forecast call for mostly cloudy skies and a high in the 50s.
Thursday’s Best Plays
1ST – HOPPLE (Mercer Mill) appears to be a standout in this maiden claiming
event. The bay will be taking a bit of a class drop as the connections try to
get her into the winner’s circle and her BRIS Speed ratings tower over any of
the field who has a start to their credit. A look at Hopple’s BRIS Pace ratings
indicate that she should be able to have things her own way on or near the lead
with plenty left in the tank for the run to the finish line. Trainer Jeff
Thornbury wins 17 percent of the time in the “Down One Class” trainer category
and he has two wins to show from five starts for the meet. Talented young jockey
James Graham has been enlisted for the ride and has combined with Thornbury for
a 30 percent win rate over the last 60 days.
2ND – STAR OF WHITNEY (Bernstein) will be making her first start for trainer
Tom Amoss after being claimed out of her last start. Amoss is an impressive 32
percent in the “1st After Claim” trainer category and also wins 32 percent of
his starts when bringing a horse back at the same level at which it made its
previous start. Star Of Whitney’s best BRIS Speed ratings top this field and she
also holds the advantage in BRIS Prime Power and in BRIS Class rating.