KEENELAND: FRIDAY, APRIL 28 – SPRING MEET CLOSING DAY

By Amy Owens —-

TOYOTA BLUE GRASS WINNER IRAP HAS FINAL KENTUCKY DERBY WORK
• KENTUCKY OAKS CONTENDER DADDYS LIL DARLING WORKS
• KEENELAND INVITES FANS FOR KENTUCKY OAKS AND DERBY DAY FUN
• SPRING MEET SPECIAL EVENTS
• SPRING MEET LEADERS

TOYOTA BLUE GRASS WINNER IRAP HAS FINAL KENTUCKY DERBY WORK

Following the Friday morning renovation break at Keeneland, Reddam Racing’s Toyota Blue Grass (G2) winner Irap turned in his final work for the $2 million Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) by covering a mile in 1:44.20 on a fast track with Julien Leparoux aboard. (Click here for a video of the work.)

Irap, the first maiden to win the Toyota Blue Grass, has remained at Keeneland since he and Leparoux won the race on April 8 at odds of 31-1. Last Friday, Irap worked a mile in 1:44 with Leparoux aboard.
“(Today’s work) was very similar (to Irap’s last work), just kind of a good leg stretch,” said trainer Doug O’Neill, who described the work while it happened to owner Paul Reddam via cellphone. “Having him finish up good and getting a good mile work with a good gallop in and good gallop out was what I was hoping for and that’s what I saw. So I’m very happy.”

Leparoux, who worked horses early this morning at Churchill Downs and drove 75 miles east to Keeneland for works by Irap and Kentucky Oaks (G1) hopeful Daddys Lil Darling, will ride champion Classic Empire in the Kentucky Derby. Mario Gutierrez, who will be aboard Irap in the Derby, was scheduled to be at Keeneland to ride Irap today but remained at Santa Anita because of his racing schedule there.

“He was going to have to take off a lot of horses,” O’Neill said. “That was just Paul and (his wife) Zillah being super classy and saying, ‘As much as we want you to fly out here and work the horse, we don’t want you to ruin any relationships with other barns.’ ”

A year ago, O’Neill and Gutierrez won the Kentucky Derby with Reddam Racing’s champion and then-undefeated runner Nyquist, who spent April at Keeneland following his win in the Florida Derby (G1). Nyquist turned in his final Derby work less than an hour before the Keeneland races began on closing day.

Nyquist attracted a great deal of attention while he was at Keeneland. Irap, who has one win in eight starts, has been a little more under the radar.

“He’s always been a physically imposing individual,” O’Neill said about the Tiznow colt, a half-brother to champion sprinter Speightstown. “He was always a little bit mentally immature. I think his win in the Blue Grass has moved him way forward on confidence. It sure has made all of us around the barn treat him with a lot more confidence. He’s doing super.”

O’Neill, who flew in for Irap’s work last week, arrived in Lexington Thursday evening for Irap’s latest move. Before his afternoon flight back to California, he hoped he would be able to visit Nyquist, who entered stud this year at nearby Darley. O’Neill is scheduled to fly to Louisville on Monday.

Irap will leave Keeneland for Churchill tomorrow.

“The plan is for him to eat up everything and look great in the morning, then get on a van around 11 a.m.,” O’Neill said.

KENTUCKY OAKS CONTENDER DADDYS LIL DARLING WORKS

Jockey Julien Leparoux was in the midst of a flurry of activity Friday morning after the renovation break.

After working Toyota Blue Grass (G2) winner Irap a mile, Leparoux dismounted from the colt as soon as the pair walked off the track and ran several feet to get a leg up on Normandy Farm’s homebred Daddys Lil Darling, second in the Central Bank Ashland (G1) on April 8 here.

Trainer Kenny McPeek wanted Leparoux to ride Daddys Lil Darling in today’s work, her final move before next Friday’s $1 million Kentucky Oaks (G1), because he assumes the mount on her from regular rider Robby Albarado, who was injured when his mount stumbled and he was unseated at the start of the eighth race at Keeneland on Sunday.

McPeek had his exercise rider Danny Ramsey warm Daddys Lil Darling up on the track before Leparoux was able to climb aboard.

With Ramsey moving to ride workmate Wholehearted, Daddys Lil Darling and Leparoux worked five furlongs in company in 1:01.80. (Click here for a video of the work.)
Keeneland clockers caught the final quarter-mile in :23.80 and a gallop-out time of 1:15.

“It was just a nice maintenance work,” McPeek said. “We wanted to let Julien get the feel of her.”
Today’s work was the second for Daddys Lil Darling since the Central Bank Ashland. A week ago, the Scat Daddy filly worked a half-mile in :47.40.

McPeek said Daddys Lil Darling, who has two wins in eight starts, including last year’s Pocahontas (G2) at Churchill Downs, likely will ship to Churchill on Monday. He plans to school the filly in the Churchill paddock on Tuesday and Wednesday.

KEENELAND INVITES FANS FOR KENTUCKY OAKS AND DERBY DAY FUN

Keeneland will celebrate the May 5 Kentucky Oaks (G1) and May 6 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) with parties to suit everyone’s style, from a casual picnic in the Paddock to the Derby Bash at the Keene Barn & Entertainment Center. Fans will be able to watch and wager on the races from Churchill Downs and major tracks around the country.

On Oaks and Derby Days, fans may picnic in the Paddock and Walking Ring and view the races on the large video board overlooking the Paddock or sit in the Grandstand and watch Churchill’s races on the infield tote board. More than 1,000 TVs throughout the Grandstand will show racing.

Admission to Keeneland is free on Oaks Day and $5 per person on Derby Day when children 12 and younger will be admitted free. Gates open at 9 a.m. ET and parking is free on both days.

Tables in Keeneland’s dining rooms on May 5-6 and the Derby Bash are sold out; however, private dining options, including a limited number of Keeneland’s corporate suites for eight guests, are still available for both days.
The corporate suite rental includes eight admission tickets, eight programs and four parking passes. For more information or to make reservations, contact Morgan Whitney at mwhitney@keeneland.com or 859 288-4322.
From 4-7 p.m. on Friday, Keeneland will host Party in the Paddock, featuring drink specials, live music and the simulcast of the Kentucky Oaks. Post time for the Oaks is approximately 5:49 p.m.

On Derby Day, fans will celebrate the Derby across Keeneland grounds. Children’s activities, including pony rides ($5), crafts, face painting and games, will be held in the Lower Club from 1-5 p.m. The Paddock will host live music from 1-6 p.m., and a hat contest will take place there at 3 p.m. Post time for the Derby is approximately 6:24 p.m.

The Hill, Keeneland’s official tailgating lot, will be open Derby Day with food trucks, live music and The Keeneland Shop kiosk from 1-6 p.m. A jumbo TV will show the races, and fans will be able to use self-service wagering machines.

Here are some related details:

Advance wagering on the Oaks full card will be available at Red Mile only and start Thursday, May 4, at 12:15 p.m.

Advance wagering on the Derby full card and Oaks-Derby Double will start Friday, May 5, when drive-thru windows at Keeneland will open at 8 a.m. and begin at Keeneland Grandstand Mutuels and Red Mile at 10 a.m.

Patrons also can watch and wager on simulcast racing on Oaks Day and Derby Day at Red Mile.

On Derby Day, Red Mile will have a jumbo TV on the track and live Bluegrass music on the apron.

The Clubhouse will host the Red Mile Derby Fest with reserved seating, a buffet and access to wagering for $50 per seat. The event opens at 11 a.m., and the buffet will be served from 11:30 a.m.-4 p.m.
Click here to make reservations. (Click here for more information.)

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.

Friday, April 28 – Closing Day
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, The Keeneland Shop kiosk and free shuttles to the track. BETologists will be available to answer fans’ questions.
 
SPRING MEET LEADERS
Through April 27 (14 days of racing)
Jockey Starts Wins 2nd 3rd Purses

Joel Rosario 58 16 8 10 $1,214,398
Corey Lanerie 67 13 12 10 $950,992
Javier Castellano 47 12 6 4 $835,290
Julien Leparoux 66 11 12 9 $1,270,678
Florent Geroux 69 8 8 14 $541,216
John Velazquez 24 7 0 2 $309,190

Trainer Starts Wins 2nd 3rd Purses

Wesley Ward 47 11 4 7 $491,916
Todd Pletcher 17 8 1 1 $562,527
Kiaran McLaughlin 14 7 2 0 $568,948
Chad Brown 16 6 5 2 $735,777
Mark Casse 29 6 3 3 $574,748
Brian Lynch 19 5 4 4 $329,125

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