Keeneland Barn Notes — Friday, Oct. 13

Posted On 14 Oct 2017

By Amy Owens —-

Keeneland’s 17-day Fall Meet concludes Saturday, Oct. 28, with racing
on Wednesdays through Sundays. Post time for the first race each day is 1:05 p.m. ET.
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· WUHEIDA (GB) WILL NOT RUN IN SATURDAY’S QUEEN ELIZABETH II CHALLENGE CUP PRESENTED BY LANE’S END
· JOCKEY JOSEPHINE GORDON TO MAKE U.S. DEBUT IN QUEEN ELIZABETH II CHALLENGE CUP
· GEROUX RIDING THE WAVE WITH GUN RUNNER
· ONE STAKES DOWN, ONE TO GO FOR EDWARDS’ E FIVE RACING
· GALLOPING OUT
· PROBABLE FIELDS FOR UPCOMING STAKES
· FALL MEET SPECIAL EVENTS
· FALL MEET LEADERS

WUHEIDA (GB) WILL NOT RUN IN SATURDAY’S QUEEN ELIZABETH II CHALLENGE CUP PRESENTED BY LANE’S END
Godolphin Racing’s Group 1 winner Wuheida (GB) will not make a scheduled start in Saturday’s $500,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Presented by Lane’s End (G1).
“We are going to scratch and we posted it on our website last night,” said Tim Denniff, traveling lad for trainer Charles Appleby. “She developed a corn on her right fore (bruised hoof) and it has not improved.”
Immediate plans for Wuheida are undetermined.
“We will see what happens,” Denniff said. “We will get her right for the next one and that could be the Breeders’ Cup (Filly and Mare Turf-G1 on Nov. 4).”

JOCKEY JOSEPHINE GORDON TO MAKE U.S. DEBUT
IN QUEEN ELIZABETH II CHALLENGE CUP
Riding Unforgetable Filly (GB) in Saturday’s Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Presented by Lane’s End (G1) will mark the U.S. debut for jockey Josephine Gordon. The 23-year-old, who earned the title of 2016 champion apprentice jockey in Britain, is based in Newmarket, where she works for Unforgetable Filly’s trainer, Hugo Palmer.
“I’m really excited and I think it’s a brilliant opportunity (for me) for the owners (Rabbah Bloodstock, lessee) and Hugo to put me on her,” Gordon said by telephone on Thursday. “It’s a great chance and it will be a really good experience.”
The race presents a new opportunity for the well-traveled jockey.
“Obviously I’ve watched racing there, but from what I can tell it’s a lot different here,” she said. “I’ve been abroad – I’ve ridden in Switzerland and Dubai – and when you go to different places there are so many things that are a lot more different.”
The QE II will be the second time Gordon will have the mount on Unforgetable Filly. In June, the pair won the Edinburgh Gins Maggie Dickson at Musselburgh in Scotland. The filly since has won the German One Thousand Guineas (G2) at Dusseldorf with jockey James Doyle. In her last start, she was unplaced in the Japan Racing Association Sceptre (G3) at England’s Doncaster Sept. 15.
“Ideally she wants a real quick ground; she wants it firm,” Gordon said. “But I think (Lexington weather will be) warm today and warm tomorrow, so hopefully (Keeneland’s turf course) will dry out a bit. Seven furlongs to a mile suits her ideally, but I think she has a great chance.”
Unforgetable Filly visited the Keeneland starting gate yesterday and galloped once around the all-weather training track this morning. Gordon will arrive in Kentucky late tonight.
“I’m really looking forward to the experience and hoping that she’ll run a big race,” she said.

GEROUX RIDING THE WAVE WITH GUN RUNNER
Jockey Florent Geroux, who rode three winners on Keeneland’s Thursday program, can be forgiven if he is humming “California Dreamin’ ” these days.
On Nov. 4, Geroux will be in the saddle when Winchell Thoroughbreds and Three Chimneys Farm’s Gun Runner heads to the gate for the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) at Del Mar.
The 31-year-old Frenchman has ridden Gun Runner in his past 14 races, beginning with the Risen Star (G2) at Fair Grounds in February 2016. The two have combined for an 8-3-2 record with the lone off-the-board finish coming in the slop at Monmouth Park in the Haskell Invitational (G1).
“The first time I rode him in the Risen Star, he got a little tired but I don’t think he was fully cranked up since that was his first start in three months,” Geroux said of the half-length victory. “After he won the Louisiana Derby (a G2 by 4½ lengths), I knew he was the real deal.”
Trained by Steve Asmussen, Gun Runner has won four of five races this year, including the past three that he has won by a combined 22½ lengths. Gun Runner is at Santa Anita, where he has worked the past two Mondays and where Geroux will be the next two Mondays for works before the 4-year-old Candy Ride colt ships to Del Mar.
“I am really looking forward to it,” Geroux said of the Classic. “Sometimes at the end of the year, horses start to tail off. But his races have been well spaced and he has won so easily.”
Geroux has won three Breeders’ Cup races, including on his first Championships mount with Work All Week in the 2014 Sprint (G1). Work All Week also provided Geroux with the first of his 13 Keeneland stakes victories by taking that year’s Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix (G3).
His other Breeders’ Cup victories came at Keeneland in 2015 with Catch a Glimpse in the Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) and Mongolian Saturday in the Turf Sprint (G1).

ONE STAKES DOWN, ONE TO GO FOR EDWARDS’ E FIVE RACING
When Rushing Fall rushed past the field to win Wednesday’s JPMorgan Chase Jessamine (G3) by 3¼ widening lengths, owner Bob Edwards was nowhere near the Bluegrass.
“We had just landed in California and we got to see the race at a restaurant,” said Edwards, who with his wife, Kristine, share the same Oct. 11 birthday. “That was a great birthday present.”
With the victory, Rushing Fall earned a spot in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) on Nov. 3 at Del Mar. Edwards won that race last year with New Money Honey.
“To have the opportunity (in the Breeders’ Cup) is something special,” Edwards said. “It is the same team: Mike Ryan (who bought the filly for the ownership), (trainer) Chad (Brown) and (jockey) Javier (Castellano).”
As for New Money Honey, she still has some work to do this weekend in Saturday’s $500,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Presented by Lane’s End (G1). New Money Honey will break from the outside post 11 in the 1 1/8-mile turf race.
“That does not bother me,” Edwards said about the post. “She is a long filly and I think with the one, two, three or four she could get boxed in. This way Javier can see how the race unfolds.”
As was the case Wednesday with Rushing Fall, Edwards will be watching New Money Honey from afar.
“It is Parents Weekend at the University of Arizona,” Edwards said of the school his youngest daughter, Delaney, attends. “It’s the only weekend of the year I’m boxed out but my (oldest) daughter, Cassidy, will be there.”

GALLOPING OUT
Keeneland Racing Analyst Tom Leach, the “Voice of the Wildcats” for University of Kentucky football and men’s basketball, interviewed these trainers about their fillies in Saturday’s Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Presented by Lane’s End (G1):
Kenny McPeek about Daddys Lil Darling
Brendan Walsh about Proctor’s Ledge. …
Amerman Racing’s Oscar Performance, winner of last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1), is training at Keeneland for an expected run in the $4 million Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1) to be run Nov. 4 at Del Mar.
“He was in the first set I brought down here (from Belmont),” trainer Brian Lynch said of the earner of more than $1.7 million. “Where he goes, I go.”
A two-time Grade 1 winner in 2017, Oscar Performance finished third in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic (G1) on Sept. 30 in his first race against older horses. He is scheduled to work on the turf here this weekend. …
Trainer Graham Motion said Miss Temple City, a two-time Keeneland Grade 1 stakes winner against the boys who was sixth in Saturday’s Shadwell Turf Mile (G1), would not be going to Del Mar for the Breeders’ Cup World Championships. …
Horseplayers from around the country are descending on Lexington this weekend for a pair of major handicapping contests at Keeneland that combined will offer an estimated 13 berths to the world’s richest and most prestigious handicapping contest, the NTRA National Horseplayers Championship (NHC).
Saturday’s Fall Challenge and Sunday’s BCBC/NHC Handicapping Challenge also give players a chance at lucrative cash prize pools, in addition to chances at expenses-paid trips to Las Vegas for the $2.8 million (estimated) NHC Presented by Racetrack Television Network, STATS Race Lens™ and Treasure Island Las Vegas, to be held Feb. 9-11, 2018, at Treasure Island. Prize packages include round-trip airfare and four hotel nights in addition to the contest entry. …

PROBABLE FIELDS FOR UPCOMING STAKES
$100,000 SYCAMORE (G3) (Entries taken Sunday; race Thursday) – Big Bend (trainer Tom Proctor), Canessar (FR) (Arnaud Delacour), Hardest Core (Edward Graham), Holiday Star (Graham Motion), Manitoulin (James Toner), Roman Approval (Tom Morley), Some in Tieme (BRZ) (Kenny McPeek) and Tasit (Michael Matz). Possible: Flashy Chelsey (Mike Maker), Shining Copper (Maker) and Taghleeb (Maker).
$150,000 PIN OAK VALLEY VIEW (G3) (Entries taken Tuesday; race Friday, Oct. 20) – Chastise (Todd Pletcher), Dancing Breeze (IRE) (Graham Motion), Defiant Honor (James Toner), Desert Duchess (Mike Maker), Dolce Lili (Chad Brown), Fault (Michelle Lovell), Fizzy Friday (GB) (Ignacio Correas IV), Grizzel (IRE) (Michael Doyle), Journey Home (Motion), Ladies’ Privilege (Michael Matz), Let It Ride Mom (Mark Casse), Lovely Bernadette (James DiVito), Oh So Terrible (Bradley Ross), Princess La Quinta (Jimmy Gulick) and Sully’s Dream (John Ortiz). Possible: Domestic Vintage (Neil Drysdale).
$250,000 LEXUS RAVEN RUN (G2) (Entries taken Wednesday; race Saturday, Oct. 21) – Berned (Graham Motion), Classy Tune (Simon Callaghan), Cursor (Mark Hennig), Dawn the Destroyer (Kiaran McLaughlin), Faypien (Bob Baffert), Happy Mesa (Mike Maker), Just a Little Hope (Dan Hendricks), Minnie Blip (Al Stall Jr.), Miss Sunset (Jeff Bonde), Nonna Mela (Todd Pletcher), Overture (Bill Mott), Pinch Hit (Brad Cox), Sandy’s Surprise (Doug O’Neill), Tequilita (Michael Matz), Valadorna (Mark Casse) and Yorkiepoo Princess (Edward Barker).
$125,000 ROOD & RIDDLE DOWAGER (G3) (Entries taken Thursday; race Sunday, Oct. 22) – Apple Betty (IRE) (Shug McGaughey), Coco Channel (Charlie LoPresti), Daring Duchess (Mike Maker), Grateful (Todd Pletcher), Lottie (Graham Motion), Place des Vosges (Richard Baltas) and Quiet Business (Rusty Arnold).

FALL MEET SPECIAL EVENTS
Friday, Oct. 13
Buffalo Trace Giveaway. Patrons may enter to win a VIP Buffalo Trace Distillery Experience: a private behind-the-scenes tour of Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky, lunch with Master Distiller Harlen Wheatley and a private whiskey tasting. The first 2,000 people to register will receive a free Buffalo Trace drawstring bag. Registration table is located Trackside near Elevator C beginning at noon and continuing while supplies last.

The Keeneland Shop’s Milliners Corner presents a trunk show with Darren K. Moore adjacent to the Walking Ring from 11 a.m. to 30 minutes after final post.
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’ handicapping questions.
Friday Pick 4 Presented by TVG. A $200,000-guaranteed pool will be offered on the final four races of the day.
Saturday, Oct. 14
Keeneland Fall Challenge. The handicapping contest has a $400 buy-in with a live bankroll of $250 and $150 prize fund fee. Players may wager any amount on any Keeneland race with no minimum wagers or number of races.
Sunrise Trackside. Keeneland shares a special side of Thoroughbred racing that is worth getting up early to enjoy. Sponsored by LEX18, Sunrise Trackside is a free, family-friendly event with activities for all ages: Breakfast With the Works features breakfast for purchase and trackside commentary (7-8:30 a.m.) while Thoroughbreds train on the main track; children’s activities in the Kids Club Corner (7-9 a.m.); Keeneland tours (7:30-10 a.m.); Paddock demonstration with Stuart Muir, a farrier at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital (9 a.m.); trackside handicapping seminar with Paddock Host Katie Gensler (11 a.m.); and Q&A session with jockey Robby Albarado in the Paddock (12:05 p.m.).

The Keeneland Shop’s Milliners Corner presents a trunk show with Darren K. Moore adjacent to the Walking Ring from 11 a.m. to 30 minutes after final post.
The Keeneland Shop presents a book signing with Caleb Fares, illustrator of the new Made South Keeneland Coloring Book, from 2-4 p.m. Both children and adults will enjoy this entertaining way to explore the history and beauty of Keeneland through maps and illustrations. Click here for a video about the Keeneland Coloring Book.

Keeneland is holding a Keeneland Coloring Contest in celebration of the new Coloring Book. Fans can enter by uploading a photo of their finished work to Instagram: Tag @shopkeeneland and include the hashtag #keenelandcoloringbook. Keeneland will announce winners via Instagram on Oct. 19. The lucky winner receives a reserved Grandstand box for up to six and a Keeneland Kids Club gift crate.

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’ handicapping questions. On Saturdays, the area’s favorite bluegrass bands perform from 12-4 p.m.
$350,000 Guaranteed Pick 4 Presented by TVG. Features races 7-10, including the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Presented by Lane’s End (G1).
Sunday, Oct. 15
Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge/National Handicapping Challenge – The prestigious event awards cash prizes and as many as six spots in the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge at Del Mar and 10 spots in the National Handicapping Challenge in Las Vegas in February 2018. The contest can accommodate up to 170 players, with a total entry fee of $3,000 ($2,000 live bankroll and $1,000 prize fund).

Kids Club Family Day. The Keeneland Kids Club is the Official Kids Club for fans 12 and younger. Kids Club members and their families are invited to enjoy a special day at the races by receiving free general admission and access to reserved Grandstand seating. Children’s activities will take place in the North Terrace from noon to 3 p.m.

The Keeneland Shop’s Milliners Corner presents a trunk show with Darren K. Moore adjacent to the Walking Ring from 11 a.m. to 30 minutes after final post.

FALL MEET LEADERS
Through Oct. 12 (five days of racing)
Jockey
Starts
Wins
2nd
3rd
Purses

Julien Leparoux
27
8
3
1
$769,596
Florent Geroux
24
5
4
2
$487,556
Robby Albarado
27
4
2
4
$465,252
Luis Saez
22
3
3
0
$155,258
James Graham
16
3
0
4
$185,074
Corey Lanerie
36
2
6
3
$149,393
Brian Hernandez Jr.
27
2
3
4
$605,980
Ricardo Santana Jr.
22
2
3
0
$117,376
Joe Rocco Jr.
17
2
0
1
$63,814

Trainer
Starts
Wins
2nd
3rd
Purses

Mark Casse
14
5
3
2
$593,494
Mike Maker
16
5
3
0
$218,107
Dale Romans
7
3
1
2
$404,420
Eddie Kenneally
10
2
3
1
$100,602
Rusty Arnold
9
2
0
3
$374,747