This Friday the 5th of October sees the beginning of opening weekend at Keeneland racecourse, and what an opening weekend it promises to be!
The first weekend will see a total of 9 graded stakes races, including 5 Grade I’s, with a total combined purse value of $3,075,000.
On Friday we have the Grade 1 Darley Alcibiades, a “Win and You’re In” for the $2 Million Breeders’ Cup Grey Goose Juvenile Fillies (G1). There are three multiple winners within the field who are led by the two-time Calder stakes winner Rose to Gold. Rose to Gold already has two impressive victories in the past two months by a combined 26 lengths. Right on her tail will be Gold Edge, Lon Wiggins’ undefeated charge who most recently saluted in the G3 Arlington-Washington Lassie and also Tara From The Cape, a winner of two of three starts that included the Tuck Greene Memorial at Delaware Park. Trained by Todd Pletcher, she will be aiming to give him his first victory in the Darley Alcibiades.
This Saturday will see the busiest day of the weekend with three Grade 1 races that have all attracted quality fields and some real genuine superstars. The showcase event is the $750,000 Shadwell Mile, again another “Win and You’re In” race, this time for the Breeders Cup Mile. Headlined by Wise Dan, Charles Lopresti’s impressive charge is coming off consecutive Graded Stakes wins, including most recently a sterling performance at Woodbine in the Grade 1 Ricoh Woodbine Mile. Fourth in this race last year, he will be looking for a far better result on Saturday and is in career best form. He won’t get it all his own way though, Data Link trained by Shug McGaughey, will be chief amongst the opposition, looking to become the first horse to win both the Makers Mark Mile and the Shadwell in the same year. Alex Solis will be charged with piloting him to this record breaking effort. Finally, we will see promising 3-year-old Silver Max take on the older horses for the first time. Trained by Dale Romans, a winner of the Transylvania (G3) here at Keeneland in the spring, which was the starting point of five consecutive post to post victories that culminated in the $600,000 Virginia Derby (G2).
The Dixiana Breeders’ Futurity Grade 1 had an overflow field headed by Balance the Books and Pataky Kid who is undefeated on Polytrack, both already graded stakes winners. Another Breeders Cup “Win and You’re In” this time for the $2 million Grey Goose Juvenile (G1). Other stakes winners that will line up are Bluegrass Equine Bloodstock’s Joha, winner of the Colin on Polytrack at Woodbine; Charles Fipke’s Java’s War, winner of the Sunday Silence on turf at Louisiana Downs; John Oxley’s Dynamic Sky, winner of the Simcoe on Polytrack at Woodbine; and West Point Thoroughbreds’ Tree of Life, winner of the Barretts Juvenile on dirt at Fair
The third Grade 1 on Saturday will be the First Lady. A field of only six fillies has been assembled for this running, but it promised to be a great race. Grade 1 winners Summer Soiree, Tapitsfly and Daisy Devine will be right in the thick of things with rest of the field rounded out with Snow Fall, Brilliant Future and Hungry Island.
Finally on Sunday we will see the final Grade 1 of the weekend, The Juddmonte Spinster, which will see the winner earn a free passage into the Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic at Santa Anita. The race will be dominated more than likely by Shug McGaughey, Bill Mott and Todd Pletcher who are providing 5 runners between them and have who collectively have won three of the last four editions. McGaughey will bring Protesting and Theyskens Theory, Pletcher has contributed Embur’s Song and Super Espresso, while Mott will send out Dynazapper to chase her first graded stakes win. It promises to be a very hotly contested race with solid arguments to be made for a number of runners.
The weekend promises to be a fantastic advertisement for racing and also for Keeneland, so if you’re anywhere in the vicinity you would be crazy not to take yourself out to the famed grounds and have a look at some great racing.