Keeneland April 15 Barn Notes

By Amy Owens —-

Keeneland’s 15-day Spring Meet runs through Friday, April 28, with racing
on Wednesdays through Sundays. Post time for the first race each day
is 1:05 p.m. ET.

Keeneland is closed tomorrow: Easter Sunday.

• TOM LEACH INTERVIEWS TRAINERS OF HORSES IN TODAY’S STAKES
• SIGN OF THE TIMES: PLETCHER REWRITES HISTORY WITH MAKER’S 46 MILE VICTORY
• LIVE OAK PLANTATION ON VERGE OF KEENELAND MILESTONE
• GALLOPING OUT
• DEFENDING CHAMPION OLORDA (GER) TOPS NOMINATIONS
FOR CLOSING-DAY BEWITCH
• BEHIND THE SCENES: RETIREE FINDS PERFECT POST AT KEENELAND’S LOST AND FOUND
• UPCOMING STAKES PROBABLES
• SPRING MEET SPECIAL EVENTS
• SPRING MEET LEADERS

TOM LEACH INTERVIEWS TRAINERS OF HORSES IN TODAY’S STAKES
Keeneland Racing Analyst Tom Leach, the “Voice of the Wildcats” for University of Kentucky football and men’s basketball, interviews these trainers about their horses in today’s Keeneland stakes:

Kenny McPeek on Senior Investment in the Stonestreet Lexington (G3).

Arnaud Delacour on No Dozing in the Stonestreet Lexington and Exaggerated in the Giant’s Causeway.
 
SIGN OF THE TIMES: PLETCHER REWRITES HISTORY
WITH MAKER’S 46 MILE VICTORY

Trainer Todd Pletcher rocketed to the top of the Keeneland record book for most stakes victories Friday when WinStar Farm’s American Patriot rallied to win the $300,000 Maker’s 46 Mile (G1) by a neck.

The triumph was his 51st here, breaking the mark established by his mentor D. Wayne Lukas. Pletcher tied Lukas last Sunday when Sweet Loretta won the Adena Springs Beaumont (G3).

“That was pretty good to get two in a week,” said Ginny DePasquale, who is overseeing Pletcher’s Keeneland string this spring. “That was something yesterday.”

Keeneland presented DePasquale with a sign signifying the accomplishment and it now has a temporary home in the tack room at the barn.

“I told Todd he has to carry the sign with him on stage Monday night,” DePasquale said, referring to the Consignors & Commercial Breeders’ Association’s annual symposium Monday in the Keeneland Sales Pavilion. That event will feature Lukas and many of his protégés, including Pletcher. “He said, ‘No way,’ but I said he had to do it.”

Pletcher earned his first Keeneland stakes victory in 1996 when Turkappeal won the Valley View. American Patriot’s Friday victory marked the 14th Grade 1 tally for Pletcher here with the first Grade 1 coming in the 2005 Toyota Blue Grass with Bandini.

DePasquale was not sure how many of the Keeneland stakes winners she had saddled here for Pletcher.
“I started working for Todd in the fall of 1997 and Turkappeal was still around,” DePasquale said. “I am in and out of here. I was here last fall and this spring, but then I may go for a couple of years without being here.”

After the race, American Patriot’s connections indicated a start in the $500,000 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (G1) at Churchill Downs on May 6 was a possibility.

However, that 1 1/8-mile race is not in the plans for runner-up Heart to Heart.

“That would be coming back too quick,” trainer Brian Lynch said of Heart to Heart, who still is seeking his first Grade 1 win to go with a Grade 2 victory and seven Grade 3 triumphs.

“He always lays it down, but that was the toughest loss in a Grade 1 he has had,” Lynch added. “He is quiet this morning, but good. Fortunately, he is a lovely little horse and sound and he’ll be back to give it a try next year. He’ll be back in the fall for the Shadwell (Turf Mile-G1).”

Finishing a nose behind Heart to Heart was Conquest Panthera for trainer Mark Casse.

“I thought he ran super,” said David Carroll, who is overseeing Casse’s Keeneland string. “I had never seen him until he shipped in yesterday (from Churchill Downs). I looked at his form and his last race (the Canadian Turf-G3) was not bad.

“He came out of yesterday’s race good, cleaned up his feed and is perfect this morning.”

The connections of Ballagh Rocks were excited by his fourth-place finish – beaten less than a length – in the Grade 1 race said Riley Mott, assistant to his father, trainer Bill Mott.

“We’re thrilled with how he ran,” Riley Mott said about the 4-year-old son of Stormy Atlantic who had won his past three races. “First time in stakes company, and that was a pretty deep field. It was encouraging.”

Heading back to his home base Monday will be Bolo, who finished ninth as the favorite.

“That’s it. He’s never leaving California again,” trainer Carla Gaines said with a laugh as she held up her hands in mock surrender. “He came in here 110 percent, but two jumps out of the gate (jockey) Mike (Smith) knew he was in trouble. He was struggling on (the surface).”

Bolo has shipped four times from California and never finished better than ninth.

“The turf courses here are different from the ones in California,” Gaines said. “When Mike asked him to run, he bobbled badly and he basically took care of him the last sixteenth of a mile.”

Gaines said Bolo came out of the race fine and would be pointed to the $400,000 Shoemaker Mile (G1) on June 3 at Santa Anita

LIVE OAK PLANTATION ON VERGE OF KEENELAND MILESTONE

If Live Oak Plantation’s Souper Tapit wins today’s $200,000 Stonestreet Lexington (G1), owner Charlotte Weber will earn a Keeneland Tray to signify her eighth graded stakes victory at the track. The Keeneland Tray is part of the track’s signature Milestone Trophy Program, which recognizes owners for their graded stakes success here.

A total of 20 owners in Keeneland history have received a Keeneland Tray. On Thursday, John C. Oxley joined the list when La Coronel won the Appalachian (G3) Presented by Japan Racing Association.
 
GALLOPING OUT
Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G2) winner Irap is scheduled to work the next two Fridays at Keeneland before going to Churchill Downs for the $2 million Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1), trainer Doug O’Neill indicated via text.
Owned by Reddam Racing, Irap galloped Saturday morning on the all-weather training track with exercise rider Antonio Romero aboard.
Tapwrit, fifth in the Toyota Blue Grass, was scheduled to move to Churchill Downs Sunday but will remain at Keeneland a little longer.
“(Trainer) Todd (Pletcher) has some horses flying in here Monday from Arkansas, and Tapwrit will go to Louisville with the horses that are going there,” assistant Ginny DePasquale said. …
Conquest Enforcer, who is racing today in the Ben Ali (G3), was named Canada’s champion turf male Thursday night at the 42nd annual Sovereign Awards Ceremony in Toronto. Loooch Racing Stable, which owns the 4-year-old Into Mischief colt in partnership with Imaginary Stables and Raquel Ritchie, purchased him for $785,000 at Keeneland’s 2016 November Breeding Stock Sale from Lane’s End, agent for the Complete Dispersal of Conquest Stables. …
Trainer Sam Logsdon earned his first Keeneland victory when Gunpowder Farms’ Pour Girl won Friday’s fourth race, a 1-mile allowance race on turf. Declan Cannon rode the 4-year-old Twirling Candy filly to a nose victory in 1:36.64.

UPCOMING STAKES PROBABLES

$100,000 HILLIARD LYONS DOUBLEDOGDARE (G3) (Entries taken Tuesday, April 18; race Friday, April 21) – Lady Fog Horn (trainer Anthony Granitz), Power of Snunner (Joe Sharp), Unbridled Mo (Todd Pletcher). Possible: Dear Elaine (Charlie LoPresti), Fleet Bertie (LoPresti).
$250,000 DIXIANA ELKHORN (G2) (Entries taken Wednesday, April 19; race Saturday, April 22) – Bigger Picture (trainer Mike Maker), Bullards Alley (Tim Glyshaw), Charming Kitten (Maker), Danish Dynaformer (Roger Attfield), Grey Wizard (Jose Fernandez), Interpol (Jimmy Toner), Itsinthepost (FR) (Jeff Mullins), Red Rifle (Todd Pletcher), Taghleeb (Maker), Twilight Eclipse (Graham Motion).

DEFENDING CHAMPION OLORDA (GER) TOPS NOMINATIONS
FOR CLOSING-DAY BEWITCH

Martin Schwartz’s Olorda (GER), who posted a wire-to-wire victory in last year’s Bewitch (G3), heads a list of 19 fillies and mares nominated to this year’s 56th running of the $150,000 turf marathon.
The Bewitch is run at 1½ miles on April 28, the closing day of Keeneland’s 15-day Spring Meet.
Trained by Chad Brown, Olorda was second in Orchid (G3) at Gulfstream Park on April 1 in her most recent start.
Other nominees of note include Team Valor International and Green Lantern Stables’ Arles (FR) and Out Of This World Racing’s Try Your Luck.
Arles is trained by Graham Motion, who has won the Bewitch four times, including three in row from 2013-2015. Arles has three third-place finishes in three Grade 3 starts in the U.S.
Mike Maker trains Try Your Luck, a two-time graded stakes-placed filly who won the Dueling Grounds Oaks at Kentucky Downs by 7½ lengths last September.

BEHIND THE SCENES: RETIREE FINDS PERFECT POST
AT KEENELAND’S LOST AND FOUND

Carol Sue Ray is quick to share a smile and a joke but she is plenty serious in her role as overseer of Keeneland’s Lost and Found booth located on the second floor of the Grandstand near Elevator B. The position is a perfect fit for her affable personality and past work experience.

“I was with Delta Airlines at the corporate headquarters in Atlanta in various jobs,” she said. “My last eight years were in emergency management, where I started the Delta Care Team and trained people to help families in the event an accident. It was very rewarding work and allowed me to incorporate my training in psychology and customer service skills.”
After retiring and moving back to Central Kentucky, Ray realized she wanted to learn about the Thoroughbred industry. Despite growing up in the famed Bluegrass region, she had no contact with the racing world.
“I thought having a job at Keeneland would allow me to ask questions of people who are extremely knowledgeable and willing to share that with me,” Ray said.
Her first visit to the track was in the spring of 2012 when she interviewed for a Guest Services position. She was hired to welcome guests at the Kentucky Room on the fourth floor. She transferred to Lost and Found in October 2015.

Ray is endlessly intrigued by items that find their way to her area and by predictable patterns with other pieces. She knows that she will see a parade of umbrellas during a rainy season.

“We had about 60 unclaimed umbrellas one race meet but none during that spectacular stretch of weather last fall,” she said.

Mobile devices frequently become separated from their owners but usually find their way home thanks to Ray’s battery chargers. Eventually the phones ring and Ray cheerfully asks the caller to notify the owner of its location.

Ray can bet she will have a steady stream of jewelry and accessories in her collection amid more unusual things such as partial dentures, stuffed animals and medications.

In addition to the knowledge she has gained by working at Keeneland, Ray stays informed by reading about Thoroughbred racing online and at the Keeneland Library. She shares this information while working as a Keeneland tour guide in the off-season.
“My favorite part of working for Keeneland is being with our guests who enjoy the experience we create with them,” she said. “The spectacular grounds make Keeneland a gorgeous place to work.”
SPRING MEET SPECIAL EVENTS
Saturday, April 15
Budweiser Clydesdales. The famous Budweiser Clydesdales will perform on the main track after the fourth race (post time 2:45 p.m.). The hitch will enter the track by the Racing Office, proceed down the track in front of the Grandstand to the Club Lawn, turn around and head back to the Racing Office.

Keeneland Shop’s Milliners Corner presents Christine A. Moore Millinery and Polly Singer Designs adjacent to the Walking Ring to the last race.
Tailgating on The Hill. Keeneland’s popular tailgate lot, located adjacent to the Keene Barn & Entertainment Center, features local food trucks, a jumbo television screen, wireless wagering and wagering terminals, race-day programs, a Keeneland Shop kiosk and free shuttles to the track. One of Central Kentucky’s favorite bluegrass bands will perform from 12-4 p.m. BETologists will be available to answer fans’ questions.

Sunday, April 16 – Easter – Keeneland is closed.

SPRING MEET LEADERS
Through April 14 (six days of racing)
Jockey Starts Wins 2nd 3rd Purses

Julien Leparoux 35 8 4 6 $1,007,614
Javier Castellano 19 7 1 2 $532,694
Joel Rosario 23 6 4 2 $712,170
Corey Lanerie 31 5 7 3 $564,792
Jose Ortiz 29 4 4 3 $414,471

Trainer Starts Wins 2nd 3rd Purses

Wesley Ward 18 4 3 2 $171,783
Mark Casse 18 4 2 2 $480,029
Chad Brown 11 4 2 2 $553,077
Eddie Kenneally 12 3 0 2 $382,780
Todd Pletcher 6 3 0 0 $342,547

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