Keeneland Barn Notes — April 22

By Amy Owens —-

Keeneland’s 16-day Spring Meet concludes this week with the final three days of racing
Wednesday through Friday. Post time for the first race each day is 1:05 p.m. ET.

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· GRADE 1 WINNER DADDYS LIL DARLING TOPS FIELD OF SEVEN FOR CLOSING-DAY BEWITCH
· ONE GO ALL GO DOING WELL AFTER DIXIANA ELKHORN VICTORY
· JOCKEY AUBRIE GREEN ATTAINS FIRST KEENELAND WIN
· ONE LINER BELMONT BOUND AFTER EVENTFUL SATURDAY VICTORY
· GALLOPING OUT
· SPRING MEET SPECIAL EVENTS
· SPRING MEET LEADERS

GRACE 1 WINNER DADDYS LIL DARLING TOPS FIELD
OF SEVEN FOR CLOSING-DAY BEWITCH

Normandy Farm’s homebred millionaire Daddys Lil Darling tops a field of seven fillies and mares entered Sunday for Friday’s 57th running of the $150,000 Bewitch (G3) for fillies and mares going 1½ miles on the grass.

The Bewitch will go as the ninth race with a 5:30 p.m. ET post time on the 10-race closing-day program of the Spring Meet. First post time Friday is 1:05 p.m.

Trained by Kenny McPeek, Daddys Lil Darling has enjoyed success on dirt as well as grass. On dirt, she was second in the Darley Alcibiades (G1) and Central Bank Ashland (G1) at Keeneland and the Kentucky Oaks (G1) at Churchill Downs. Daddys Lil Darling has made her past five starts on turf, where she won the Dueling Grounds Oaks at Kentucky Downs and American Oaks (G1) at Santa Anita and was second in Keeneland’s Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Presented by Lane’s End (G1).

Mike Smith has the mount on Daddys Lil Darling and will break from post position five.

The main rival to Daddys Lil Darling looks to be Ken and Sarah Ramsey’s Daring Duchess.

Trained by Mike Maker, Daring Duchess enters Friday’s race off runner-up efforts in The Very One (G3) and La Prevoyante (G3) at Gulfstream Park in her past two starts. Daring Duchess finished second in last year’s Bewitch.

Jose Ortiz has the mount on Daring Duchess and will break from post position six.

The field for the Bewitch, with riders and weights from the rail out, is: Ickymasho (GB) (Florent Geroux, 118 pounds), Moms On Strike (Adam Beschizza, 118), Shezaprado (Gabriel Saez, 118), Coco Channel (Julien Leparoux, 118), Daddys Lil Darling (Smith, 123), Daring Duchess (Ortiz, 118) and Sully’s Dream (Robby Albarado, 118).

ONE GO ALL GO DOING WELL AFTER DIXIANA ELKHORN VICTORY

Rodney Paden’s One Go All Go, winner of Saturday’s Dixiana Elkhorn (G2), was back at trainer Scooter Dickey’s barn at Churchill Downs Saturday night and doing well Sunday morning, according to Dickey.

“I’m looking at him right now,” Dickey said by phone of the 6-year-old, who got away with leisurely fractions and held off Oscar Nominated by three-quarters of a length for his first stakes victory since 2015. “I felt pretty good (with the early fractions). It was a great day.”

Dickey said plans for One Go All Go’s next race are undetermined.

“He ran pretty hard yesterday and I’m not sure where he’ll go next,” Dickey said. “There are races here (at Churchill) and at other places.”

Nolan Ramsey, assistant to trainer Mike Maker, said Oscar Nominated came out of the race fine and is being pointed to the $500,000 Old Forester Turf Classic (G1) on May 5 at Churchill.

JOCKEY AUBRIE GREEN ATTAINS FIRST KEENELAND WIN

Aubrie Green beamed as she walked down the tunnel to return to the Jockeys Quarters yesterday after her first Keeneland victory aboard trainer Jose Sanchez’s Mansoor in the first race.

“Oh, my gosh – I’m in shock,” Green said. “I kind of want to cry.”

Green, who grew up in Ririe, Idaho, rode her own Thoroughbred in informal races before becoming an American Quarter Horse jockey in 2015. Shortly after, she began riding Thoroughbreds and competed in Wyoming, Arizona and California.

Green is now based in Louisiana, where she was leading apprentice and second-leading rider at Louisiana Downs in both wins and earnings last summer.

Green flew to Keeneland to ride in a race during the 2017 Fall Meet, and returned this spring to gallop horses for Sanchez and rebuild her strength after being sidelined by an injury last year. Although race riding was not her main objective here, she has pick up several mounts. She is named to ride in one race today and one race Thursday. She is to compete at Evangeline Downs and Lone Star Park next weekend.

“I actually came up to Keeneland to kind of recoup, and that’s why I haven’t tried to race ride,” she said. “(Sanchez) decided to enter this horse the other day and said he would put me on, and I said, ‘OK. I’ll ride him.’ It turned out to be a really good thing.”

Green’s fiancé, Williams Naupac, and his son were present to celebrate her win, which she still was savoring Sunday morning.

“This place is absolutely beautiful,” Green said about Keeneland. “The horsemen are amazing professionals. I don’t even know how to describe how prestigious it is. It’s a dream to be riding here.”

ONE LINER BELMONT BOUND AFTER EVENTFUL SATURDAY VICTORY

One Liner, who began his career with three consecutive victories for trainer Todd Pletcher, returned to the winner’s circle Saturday with an interesting 1¼-length allowance victory in Keeneland’s eighth race.

Ridden by Jose Ortiz, One Liner set the pace from the inside in the 1 1/16-mile race. He dropped back to fourth on the far turn before moving off the rail entering the stretch and powered home to victory.

“It was hard to see (the race live) with the sun,” said Pletcher assistant Ginny DePasquale. “I went home and watched the replay and I could see what Jose was doing (when he dropped back). I thought the outside horse (Sticksstatelydude) was going to mess him up, but he was able to split horses.”

Owned by WinStar Farm, China Horse Club International, Head of Plains Partners and SF Racing, One Liner will be heading to Belmont Park with a race to be determined, according to DePasquale.

Saturday marked the first time Ortiz had ridden One Liner.

“He was very happy with him but I think he was happier about getting his 1,500th win and getting it for Todd and WinStar,” DePasquale said.

GALLOPING OUT

On Sunday morning, Triton Stable’s Ickymasho (GB) covered a half-mile in company in :49 over firm turf for trainer Roger Attfield in preparation for Friday’s $150,000 Bewitch (G3).

Also working on the turf was Susan and Jim Hill’s Grade 3 winner Daddy Is a Legend, who covered a half-mile on her own in :49 for trainer George Weaver. …

Earlier on Sunday, Pin Oak Stable’s Synchrony, winner of the Muniz Memorial (G2) and Fair Grounds Handicap (G3) in his past two starts, worked 5 furlongs in 1:00.40 on the fast main track after the renovation break. Fractions on the Mike Stidham trainee were :37, :48.60, 1:00.40 and out 6 furlongs in 1:14 and 7 furlongs in 1:28. Stidham is pointing Synchrony to the $500,000 Old Forester Turf Classic (G1) at Churchill Downs May 5. …

Marc Detampel’s Eternal Vow became the first two-time winner of Keeneland’s 2018 Spring Meet Saturday when she won the second race by a half-length. Trained by Ben Colebrook, Eternal Vow scored her first career win by 5¼ lengths last Sunday. Detampel is one of four owners with a meet-leading three wins through the first 12 days of the 16-day spring season.

SPRING MEET SPECIAL EVENTS

The Keeneland Library is paying tribute to Pierre Bellocq, the internationally celebrated artist better known as “Peb,” with the exhibit “Artistry of Peb: Fifty Years of Features” and a virtual exhibit on Keeneland.com titled “The Artistry of Peb.” “Artistry of Peb” showcases 18 of Bellocq’s features from The Morning Telegraph and Daily Racing Form spanning the mid-1950s to the mid-2000s. This work solidified Peb’s renown as an artistic commentator of the Thoroughbred racing industry. The Keeneland Library is free and open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET Monday through Friday.

Official Keeneland Tours – Keeneland offers a selection of guided tours, including Behind-the-Scenes Racing Tours and a Backstretch Tour and Day at the Races.