Keeneland April 25 Barn Notes

By Amy Owens —-

Keeneland begins the final three days of the Spring Meet on Wednesday. Post time
for the first race Wednesday through Friday is 1:05 p.m. ET.

On Wednesday, Keeneland will offer a Pick 6 carryover of $13,950 and
a Super High Five carryover of $7,160.

• DARING DUCHESS HIGHWEIGHT IN CLOSING-DAY BEWITCH
• GALLOPING OUT
• NEW HALL OF FAMERS HAVE KEENELAND CONNECTIONS
• SPRING MEET SPECIAL EVENTS
• SPRING MEET LEADERS

DARING DUCHESS HIGHWEIGHT IN CLOSING-DAY BEWITCH

Ken and Sarah Ramsey’s Daring Duchess is the 120-pound highweight in the field of six fillies and mares entered Tuesday for Friday’s 56th running of the $150,000 Bewitch (G3) on closing day of Keeneland’s 2017 Spring Meet.

The Bewitch, run at 1½ miles on the turf, will go as the ninth race Friday with a 5:30 p.m. ET post time. First post for the 10-race program is 1:05 p.m.

Daring Duchess, a 5-year-old daughter of Arch, is trained by Mike Maker and will be ridden by Julien Leparoux, who rode Olorda (GER) to win the Bewitch last year. Daring Duchess finished fifth in the Rood & Riddle Dowager (G3) at Keeneland in October.

Trainer Graham Motion, who entered Team Valor International and Green Lantern Stables’ Arles (FR) in the Bewitch, is bidding for his fifth victory in the stakes. Motion has won four of the past five runnings of the Bewitch, winning with Kitten’s Point (2015), Inimitable Romanee (2014) and Strathnaver (GB) (2013) as well as Bursting Forth (1999).

Arles, who will be ridden by Joel Rosario, is coming off four consecutive runner-up finishes with the past three in Grade 3 races. In her lone start of 2017, she was second in the La Prevoyante (G3) on Jan. 28 at Gulfstream Park.

Roger Attfield, who trains Charles Fipke’s Dyna’s Recoleta, has three wins in the Bewitch, including the 2010 running with Fipke’s Lady Shakespeare. Attfield also won with Noble Stella (GER) (2006) and Sweetest Thing (2002).

The field for the Bewitch, with riders and weights, from the inside is: Inchargeofme (GB) (Edgar Prado, 118 pounds), Daring Duchess (Leparoux), Dyna’s Recoleta (Jose Lezcano, 118 pounds), Earring (Florent Geroux, 118 pounds), Quiet Business (Brian Hernandez Jr., 118 pounds) and Arles (FR) (Rosario, 118 pounds).

GALLOPING OUT

Reddam Racing’s Irap, who has remained at Keeneland following his longshot victory in the April 8 Toyota Blue Grass (G2), galloped about 1½ times around the main track around 9 a.m. with exercise rider Antonio Romero aboard for trainer Doug O’Neill.

Irap, who worked a mile in 1:44 on Friday, is to work again this Friday with jockey Mario Gutierrez aboard. O’Neill, who was at Keeneland for Irap’s earlier work, plans to return to Keeneland on Friday.
Irap is scheduled to ship to Churchill Downs April 29 or 30. …

During today’s NTRA Communications National Media Teleconference, trainer Joe Sharp said Brad Grady’s Girvin, winner of the Risen Star (G2) and Louisiana Derby (G2) and the top point earner on the Road to the Kentucky Derby (G1), galloped over Keeneland’s all-weather training track Tuesday morning and would do so again on Wednesday.

NEW HALL OF FAMERS HAVE KEENELAND CONNECTIONS

The 2017 class of inductees into the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York, announced Monday include three jockeys with Keeneland connections: Javier Castellano, Victor Espinoza and the late Garrett Gomez.

They will be inducted along with Goldikova (IRE) and previously announced steeplechase selections Tom Voss and Good Night Shirt on Aug. 4.

Castellano, the leading rider during Keeneland’s 2015 and 2016 Spring Meets, has received the Eclipse Award as North America’s outstanding jockey for the past four years. He has accumulated 159 wins at Keeneland since 2002, scoring 12 victories during the first 12 days of the current 15-day Spring Meet to rank second on the list of the meet’s leading jockeys.

Among Castellano’s 33 Keeneland stakes wins are three stakes during the current season: Maker’s 46 Mile (G1) on American Patriot, Transylvania (G3) Presented by Keeneland Select on Big Score and Adena Springs Beaumont (G3) on Sweet Loretta.

Castellano also won these Grade 1 races: 2007 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup on Bit of Whimsy, 2011 Central Bank Ashland on Lilacs and Lace, 2011 Maker’s Mark Mile on Get Stormy, 2012 QE II on Dayatthespa, 2012 Jenny Wiley on Hard Not to Like, 2015 Maker’s 46 Mile on Jack Milton and 2015 Jenny Wiley on Ball Dancing. During the 2015 Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Keeneland, he won the Las Vegas Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) on Liam’s Map and the Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) on Stopchargingmaria.

The most memorable of Espinoza’s four Keeneland stakes wins occurred in October 2015 when he rode Triple Crown winner American Pharoah to victory in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1). He also won the 1999 Shadwell Keeneland Turf Mile (G2) on Kirkwall (GB), 2006 Lane’s End Breeders’ Futurity (G1) with Great Hunter and 2003 Perryville (G3) Presented by Budweiser Select on Midnight Lute.

Gomez, who died in 2016, won 24 stakes at Keeneland and was the leading rider of the 2010 Spring Meet with 22 victories. His Grade 1 victories were the 2000 Three Chimneys Spinster on Plenty of Light, 2006 Toyota Blue Grass on Sinister Minister, 2006 Shadwell Turf Mile (G1) on Aussie Rules, 2007 Juddmonte Spinster on Panty Raid and 2011 Vinery Madison on Shotgun Gulch.

Gomez won 119 races at Keeneland from 1994-2013. He received Eclipse Awards as outstanding jockey in 2007 and 2008.

Voss’ lone win at Keeneland was the 2008 Sycamore (G3) with Always First (GB). Last fall, his daughter, Elizabeth, won the Sycamore with Renown (GB).

Good Night Shirt, who received the Eclipse Award as champion steeplechaser in 2007 and 2008, was second in Keeneland’s 2007 Royal Chase for the Sport of Kings (G1). Keeneland held the race from 1998-2008.

SPRING MEET SPECIAL EVENTS

Through December
Keeneland Library exhibit “Man o’ War: Images from the Keeneland Library Collections.” Exhibit features 16 shots of Man o’ War during his racing career and years at stud by Charles Christian Cook, Joseph Alvie Estes, Robert Lee McClure and Bert Clark Thayer. The Library is open to the public Mondays through Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET. During the 2017 Spring Meet, it also is open on Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The Library’s online exhibit “Man o’ War: In Others’ Words” tells the story of Man o’ War’s life, accomplishments and influence through images from its collection that are accompanied by quotations from the horse’s connections, contemporary sports writers and modern biographers.
Wednesday, April 26
Backstretch Tour and Day at the Races. Join us for an all-day experience of Thoroughbred racing at its finest. Begin your day with a walk in the barn area to see race-day preparations. Other stops include a trackside view of morning workouts, Racing Office and the restricted Jockeys Quarters. Following the tour, guests will meet a Keeneland BETologist to learn more about reading the race-day program and placing a bet. Then enjoy the thrill of live Thoroughbred racing from the comfort of the Keeneland Grandstand. $50 person includes seating, program and food voucher. Click here for more information.

WINS-DAY Challenge. Place a mythical $2 win and place wager on Keeneland Races 3-8. Entry fee is $10 with a guaranteed $2,500 pool. Limit three entries per person. The first 200 participants receive a free Daily Racing Form and an appetizer card from Malone’s. Visit Wagering Central to sign up.

Thursday, April 27
Official Keeneland Tour. 8:30 a.m. ET. Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.

Herald-Leader Subscriber Appreciation Day. All Lexington Herald-Leader subscribers will receive free General Admission with the coupon from the front page of the April 27 edition. Meet members of the newspaper staff and win prizes.
Friday, April 28 – Closing Day of the Spring Meet
Official Keeneland Tour. 8:30 a.m. ET. Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.

Behind-the-Scenes Racing Tour. For an insider’s view of Keeneland, Tour Guides will lead guests to the track’s behind-the-scenes areas such as the Jockeys Quarters, where some of the world’s leading riders prepare for their race day; to the barns, where the race day begins, to the track to see morning workouts and through the picturesque Keeneland Paddock. A limited number of dates and tickets ($25 per person) are available for this exclusive experience. The two-hour tour begins at 9 a.m. and is limited to 10 people. Click here for more information.
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. BETologists will be available to answer fans’ questions.
 
SPRING MEET LEADERS
Through April 23 (12 days of racing)
Jockey Starts Wins 2nd 3rd Purses

Joel Rosario 51 14 6 8 $1,119,878
Javier Castellano 38 12 5 2 $794,730
Julien Leparoux 59 10 11 9 $1,218,745
Corey Lanerie 56 10 10 8 $798,152
Florent Geroux 62 5 7 13 $439,376
Luis Saez 37 5 7 6 $343,584
Robby Albarado 60 5 5 9 $565,817
Paco Lopez 31 5 3 2 $460,510

Trainer Starts Wins 2nd 3rd Purses
Wesley Ward 43 9 4 6 $424,436
Chad Brown 16 6 5 2 $735,777
Mark Casse 28 6 3 3 $573,548
Kiaran McLaughlin 12 6 2 0 $525,460
Todd Pletcher 14 6 1 0 $508,527
Brian Lynch 19 5 4 4 $329,125

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