Keeneland Daily Notebook

KEENELAND DAILY NOTEBOOK

SUNDAY, APRIL 23, 2006

by Brian P. Turner

A field of nine three-year-old fillies was entered but only five went to the

gate for Sunday's Appalachian S. which was contested at eight furlongs on the

lawn. The Todd Pletcher-trained J'Ray (Distant View) was sent off the favorite

based on her perfect four-for-four record over the grass, which includes a win

right here at Keeneland. After laying near the pace through early fractions of

:24 3/5 and :48 1/5, the chestnut just didn't have the needed kick through the

stretch and crossed the finish line in third.

In the end, it was the Patrick Biancone-trained LADY OF VENICE (Fr) (Loup

Solitaire), making her first start in North America, who rallied from just off

the pace for the victory. From the moment the gates opened, the filly appeared

to be full of run but relaxed nicely for jockey Julien Leparoux through the

early stages of the race. Once the field hit the stretch and her jockey asked

for her best, Lady of Venice responded with a powerful late kick that propelled

her to the wire 2 1/4 lengths clear of her nearest rival.

May Night (Gulch) rallied from off the pace and closed with a nice turn of

foot through the stretch to cross the wire in second, three parts of a length

clear of J'Ray.

There were five sprints contested on the main track Sunday and horses on or

near the pace won of four them as well as the lone route on the day. In addition

to the feature, there were two turf routes on Sunday with horses coming from off

the pace winning both of them.

Leparoux teamed up with trainer Biancone for a pair of winners on the day to

firmly solidify his place atop the jockey standings with 16 winners for the

meet. Shaun Bridgmohan booted home a winner today to move into a tie for the

second spot with the sidelined John Velazquez. The pair has 12 winners each.

Javier Castellano added a win to his total today and is in fourth with 10.

As for the trainers, both Pletcher and Nick Zito added no winners to their

totals today and remain in a deadlock atop the standings with 10 winners each.

Dale Romans also went winless on the day but remains in third with eight.

Horses to Watch

2ND - SENTRY (Silver Deputy) is yet another talented two-year-old from the

barn of trainer Steve Asmussen. The colt vied for the lead through an opening

quarter that went in :22 before taking command shortly after and cruising to the

wire for an easy 6 1/2-length victory under little more than a hand ride.

8TH - Lady of Venice looked extremely impressive in the feature and could

prove to be a solid stakes performer for Biancone.

Outlook for Wednesday, April 26

A small field of six is entered for Wednesday's Bewitch S. (G3) for fillies

and mares, four-years-old and up, going 12 furlongs on the lawn. NOBLE STELLA

(Ger) (Monsun) appears to be the class of the field and is coming off of a

third-place effort in the Orchid H. (G3) at Gulfstream Park. The five-year-old

mare has had a bit of trouble getting into the winner's circle as of late, as

she has finished third in each of her last three starts, all against graded

stakes company. Trainer Roger Attfield may have found a nice spot for her here

though.

SWEET SCIENCE (Diesis [GB]) loves the Keeneland lawn, as her record of

3-2-1-0 will stand testament. The bay is coming off of a nice 3 3/4-length

victory against allowance company at this distance earlier in the meet. The mare

has only finished out of the money once in 11 tries over the grass. SHARED

DREAMS (GB) (Seeking The Gold) will be making her second start in North America

for trainer Christophe Clement. The bay is coming off of a nice win at this

distance on the lawn at Gulfstream Park and could be sitting on a top effort.

LOUVE ROYALE (Ire) (Peintre Celebre) is a steady competitor on the lawn and

already has a win here earlier in the meet. The chestnut comes from Biancone's

barn and could surprise with a top effort.

Wednesday's forecast calls for mostly sunny skies and a high of 60.

Wednesday's Best Plays

3RD - AUDACIOUS CHLOE (More Than Ready) is coming off an impressive bullet

clocking of :48 from the gate here over the Keeneland strip. The chestnut comes

from the barn of Pletcher, who wins with 20 percent of his debut maiden special

weight starters and 25 percent of the maiden special weight races he has a

starter in overall. Progeny of More Than Ready win 16 percent of the time in

their debut races, which only adds to the list of things to like.

8TH - Noble Stella appears to be in good form right now and is due to return

to the winner's circle.