Keeneland Daily Notebook

KEENELAND DAILY NOTEBOOK

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2005

by Brian P. Turner

Friday's feature race was the Perryville S. (G3) for three-year-olds going

about seven furlongs on the main track. Diligent Prospect (Diligence) was sent

to the post as the favorite off of his three-race win streak, which included a

win in the Foothill S. at Fairplex. Unfortunately for chalk players, though, the

gray bounded onto the lead out of the gate but quickly gave way and staggered

home last, beaten by well over 20 lengths. In the end, it was the Todd

Pletcher-trained VICARAGE (Vicar) who took the lead when the favorite vacated

the spot and guided the field through a half that went in :44 4/5 en route to an

impressive 10-length score. The dark bay has always been an erratic sort but

showed his best here as he absolutely dominated a competitive field of

three-year-olds.

Long shot Straight Line (Boundary) was clearly the best of the rest and

crossed the wire in second, 2 1/2 lengths clear of Social Probation (Jules) in

third.

In addition to the feature, there were four other sprints contested on the

main track today and horses on or near the pace won three of them. As for the

two main track routes, both were won in gate to wire fashion. There were also

three turf routes today and horses coming from off the pace won all of them.

Jockey Rafael Bejarano entered the day needing one win to reach the 1,000th

of his young career and did it in the very first race on the card as he guided

home NORTHERN VACATION (Yankee Victor) for an easy 3 1/2-length victory. The 23

year-old jockey added another couple of winners as well on the day to widen his

lead in the jockey standings. He now has 12 for the meet. Robby Albarado booted

home two winners today and remains in second with eight, three ahead of Edgar

Prado in third.

As for the trainers, Nick Zito saddled one today to give him the outright

lead in the trainer standings with four winners for the meet. J. Larry Jones,

Graham Motion, and Bobby Frankel are in a tie for second with three winners

each.

Horses to Watch

3RD - ORMOND BY THE SEA (Cape Canaveral) is now a perfect two for two in his

brief career after his solid score in this six-furlong claiming event. The

chestnut stalked the pace early through opening fractions of :22 3/5 and :47 3/5

before opening up through the stretch drive to hit the finish line 5 3/4 lengths

in front. The gelding could pose a threat in his next start as well provided the

connections don't become too ambitious with his placement.

5TH - WATERSHED EVENT (Charismatic) was at the back of the pack through the

early stages of this eight-furlong grass allowance. Once the field came off the

final turn, the chestnut had done little to improve his position but then

absolutely exploded through the stretch drive, gobbling up the competition with

every jump, to hit the finish line a length in front.

Tomorrow's Outlook - Saturday, October 15

The last Grade 1 stakes event of the meet will be contested on Saturday as a

field of eight three-year-old fillies has been entered for the Queen Elizabeth

II Challenge Cup S., which will be contested at nine furlongs over the Keeneland

turf course. This is an extremely well-matched field as six of the eight have

been given a morning line of 5-1 or less with LUAS LINE (Ire) (Danehill) being

installed as the 5-2 favorite. The bay is coming off of a 1 1/2-length victory

in the Garden City Breeders' Cup S. (G1) at Belmont but this was against a field

of only three other runners.

GORELLA (Fr) (Grape Tree Road [GB]) definitely appears to be the value in the

field as she is coming off of a tremendous effort against older males in the

Prix du Moulin de Longchamp (Fr-G1), where she ran second to multiple Group 1

winner Starcraft (Soviet Star), who, in turn, is being pointed toward the

Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). In the French event, Gorella handed defeat to

multiple Group 1 winners Whipper (Miesque's Son) and Valixir (Trempolino). A

repeat of her latest effort would make her one tough customer here.

SINGHALESE (GB) (Singspiel [Ire]) and THREE DEGREES (Ire) (Singspiel [Ire])

are a couple of others in the field to keep an eye on as they finished first and

second, respectively, in the Del Mar Oaks (G1) with only a half-length

separating them. KAREN'S CAPER (War Chant) has been running behind some of the

best fillies in Europe and could definitely have an impact here with a top

effort. NAISSANCE ROYALE (Ire) (Giant's Causeway) had an impressive North

American debut last out as she took the Lake Placid S. (G2) at Saratoga by a

head and she is more than capable of having an impact here.

Saturday's forecast calls for mostly sunny skies and highs in the mid-70s.

Saturday's Best Plays

7TH - SEAFREE (Chief Seattle) absolutely crushed the field last out at

Monmouth in her first start for Bobby Frankel. The three-year-old filly

contested the pace early before opening up in the stretch drive to hit the

finish line eight lengths clear of the field. Though she was facing only three

other rivals, she posted an impressive 98 BRIS Speed rating and that should be

enough to get her into the winner's circle here. Seafree has already shown that

she has an affinity for the Keeneland strip as she broke her maiden here at last

year's fall meet. In addition, the bay tops the field in BRIS Prime Power and

Frankel wins 33 percent of the time in the "Winner Last Race" trainer category.

John Velazquez has been enlisted for the ride, only adding to the list of things

to like.

9TH - Gorella could be tough to handle returning to face other three-year-old

fillies after putting in such a strong performance against older males. One also

has to like the fact that Stevens, a solid 21 percent grass jockey, has been

enlisted for the ride.