Long or short? That’s the question on Wednesday at Keeneland, where a pair of turf allowances for fillies and mares – one marathon and one sprint – serve as nominal features.
All seven entrants in the sixth race, a $130,000 allowance going 1 1/2 miles, are stretching out. Meanwhile, several runners in an overflow cast for the eighth race, a $120,000, 5 1/2-furlong tilt, have success at the distance, while several others are cutting back. The two races are sandwiched around an intriguing 2-year-old maiden special weight on dirt.
Cozee Rags is the only entrant in the sixth race to have previously run 1 1/2 miles, and she did so against stiffer competition in the Grade 3 Dowager here last October. After being checked approaching the stretch, the filly stayed on well to be sixth, beaten three lengths. Her best effort in three starts this year came when she was third going 1 1/4 miles in an allowance on Turfway Park’s synthetic surface. She is winless in those three starts this year, although she likely needed her most recent outing in August at Ellis Park off a five-month break.
Arya Stark, Kiss Blue, Statement Made, and Vinos Angel – who was pulled up and walked off – are all coming off starts going 1 5/16 miles at Kentucky Downs. That was shorter than Wednesday’s race, but likely felt longer than the carded distance due to the undulations and uphill portions of the Kentucky Downs course.
Of that quartet, Arya Stark faced the stiffest company, but Kiss Blue had the best finishing position. The Riley Mott-trained filly, who has been consistent throughout this year, was making up ground late to be third in allowance company, just missing second by a neck.
Arya Stark is dropping in class Wednesday after finishing eighth in the Grade 3 Ladies Marathon. Prior to that, the mare, who was an Argentinian group stakes winner at 1 3/8 miles, won an allowance race at 1 3/16 miles at Colonial.
Later, as the full field zips 5 1/2 furlongs in the eighth race, Lovely Emma may be a value play as she gets back to an appropriate level and distance after recent outings. The filly scored a front-running maiden win at this distance last December at Fair Grounds. This year, she was well beaten in a pair of turf sprint stakes before finishing fourth after setting the pace in a mile allowance at Ellis.
Lovely Emma will have to contend with plenty of company on the lead, as last-out winners Judith and Bundchen have both shown speed. Mechaya, Grade 3-placed at 5 1/2 furlongs at Churchill Downs earlier this year, and Bundchen were second and third, respectively, in a 6 1/2-furlong Kentucky Downs allowance last out and are cutting back on a more straightforward course here.
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Mechaya was gaining late to be second in that Kentucky Downs allowance, while Lost and Found closed for a maiden win at five furlongs in her turf debut at Horseshoe Indianapolis. Both should have a sharp pace to close into.
The seventh race, a $110,000 maiden special weight for 2-year-old fillies going seven furlongs, has a worthy morning-line favorite in Bonne Sante, but several likeable alternatives should appreciate the added distance.
Bonne Sante finished third on debut at Churchill Downs, posting a 70 Beyer Speed Figure, easily the best of any in this field with prior experience. The filly, who goes from six furlongs to seven, is from the immediate family of Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies winner and divisional champion British Idiom.
Tam Tam, by Medaglia d’Oro, is a granddaughter of another Juvenile Fillies winner and Eclipse champion, Folklore. Another who should appreciate the distance, she was third on debut going 6 1/2 furlongs. She earned a 59 Beyer for the effort in a well-meant field at Saratoga in which she dueled, led, and was beaten half a length.
Essential Coffee, by Nyquist and out of the graded stakes winner Winding Way, is intriguing in this maiden spot in that she has actually crossed the line first in a race. The filly led home by 8 1/2 lengths in her debut at Churchill Downs, but she was disqualified to second for interference. She was subsequently seventh in the Debutante, then third in a Saratoga maiden race behind a next-out winner. She hits the reset button two months later.
Rose of San Antone, by Justify and out of a Tapit mare, should appreciate this distance and has a good foundation for a testing career debut, as she has a long work tab decorated with several bullets. She is also from a family of two-turn winners, as she is closely related to Grade 1 winner In Lingerie and from the extended family of juvenile champion Phone Chatter.
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