Keeneland Barn Notes — Friday, Oct. 11

By Amy Owens —-

FRIDAY, OCT. 11
Keeneland’s 17-day Fall Meet concludes Saturday, Oct. 26, with racing
Wednesdays through Sundays. Post time for the first race each day is 1:05 pm. ET.

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• WELL-TRAVELED VARENKA CAN GIVE MOTION SECOND VICTORY IN QUEEN ELIZABETH II CHALLENGE CUP PRESENTED BY LANE’S END
• ABSCOND QUIETLY PREPS FOR BREEDERS’ CUP FROM RICE ROAD BASE
• GALLOPING OUT
• UPCOMING STAKES PROBABLES
• FALL MEET SPECIAL EVENTS
• FALL MEET LEADERS

WELL-TRAVELED VARENKA CAN GIVE MOTION SECOND VICTORY
IN QUEEN ELIZABETH II CHALLENGE CUP PRESENTED BY LANE’S END

Augustin Stable’s homebred Varenka galloped on Keeneland’s all-weather training track Friday morning after arriving the day before from trainer Graham Motion’s home base at Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland.

“She’s a good traveler,” said Motion assistant Alice Clapham, who has been with the Ghostzapper filly on trips to what is now her fifth track. “She’s like ‘OK, where to next?’ ”

Varenka’s previous trip from Fair Hill was to Saratoga, where she finished in a dead heat for the victory in the Lake Placid (G2) with Regal Glory, who she will face again Saturday afternoon in the $500,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Presented by Lane’s End (G1).

“She was coming, but I didn’t know if she was going to get there because the ground was a little soft and there was some kickback,” Clapham said of the Lake Placid. “She is a fighter. She may be little, but she is tough.”

Varenka showed her toughness last year, running in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) even though she was a maiden.

“We tried to get her in two maiden races at Saratoga, but they didn’t go,” Clapham said. “She ran very well in two stakes (second in the P.G. Johnson at Saratoga) and the second one was at Belmont against Newspaperofrecord (IRE) (in the Miss Grillo-G2). She hadn’t done anything wrong so we thought we may as well (run in the Breeders’ Cup).”

Dismissed at 40-1, Varenka finished fifth in the field of 14 behind Newspaperofrecord, beaten less than two lengths for second.

Varenka was away from the races for six months before returning to score her first victory in her 2019 debut at Belmont. She has won three of four starts this year with the lone setback coming in the Regret (G3) at Churchill Downs in June.
“She encountered traffic trouble at Churchill,” Clapham said. “She was making a good run and got stopped.”

A victory Saturday would give Motion a second triumph in the race to go with the score by Film Maker in 2003.

Javier Castellano, who was aboard for the Lake Placid victory, has the call Saturday as he goes for his fourth QE II victory and bids to become the first rider in the race’s 36-year history to win in consecutive years. Castellano was aboard Rushing Fall last year.

ABSCOND QUIETLY PREPS FOR BREEDERS’ CUP FROM RICE ROAD BASE

Apogee Bloodstock and Mike Anderson’s Abscond continued her preparations for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) by working a half-mile on Keeneland’s main track in :49 Thursday morning.

“She worked well yesterday and probably will have one more work here before going to Santa Anita,” trainer Eddie Kenneally said.

Home for Abscond since the summer has been Kenneally’s barn at the nearby Keeneland Training Center on Rice Road. All of her works have been on Keeneland’s dirt track.

The daughter of Blame has done all of her racing on the grass with a maiden score at Ellis Park, a runner-up finish to Kimari in the Bolton Landing at Saratoga and a nose victory in the Natalma (G1) at Woodbine on Sept. 15.

“She bounced out of the Natalma well,” said Kenneally of Abscond, who worked 3 furlongs in :38 here on Oct. 1.

In the Natalma, Abscond prevailed by a nose over Walk In Marrakesh (IRE), who is training at Keeneland now in the barn of Ignacio Correas IV. Walk In Marrakesh also is being considered for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

Kenneally has another Breeders’ Cup hopeful with his Churchill Downs string in Joseph Sutton’s homebred Scabbard.
Pointing toward the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1), Scabbard has compiled a 3-1-2-0 mark with runner-up finishes coming in the Saratoga Special (G2) and Iroquois (G3).

Abscond is cataloged as a racing prospect in Keeneland’s November Breeding Stock Sale. Consigned by Hunter Valley Farm, agent, she is Hip 1004 and is scheduled to sell Friday, Nov. 8.

GALLOPING OUT

Click here for Keeneland racing analyst Tom Leach’s interview with Joel Rosario, who will ride Oleksandra (AUS) in today’s Buffalo Trace Franklin County (G3)

UPCOMING STAKES PROBABLES

$150,000 Sycamore (G3) (Entries taken Saturday; race Thursday, Oct. 17) – Focus Group (trainer Chad Brown), Marzo (Mike Maker), Nakamura (Graham Motion), Space Mountain (Maker), Surprise Twist (Arnaud Delacour), Zumurudee (Mike Stidham). Possible: Postulation (Michael Matz).
$150,000 Pin Oak Valley View (G3) (Entries taken Sunday; race Friday, Oct. 18) – Blowout (GB) (Chad Brown), Carnival Colors (GB) (Mike Stidham), Catch a Bid (Brown), Hard Legacy (Norm Casse), Maxim Rate (Simon Callaghan), Princess Causeway (Ian Wilkes), She’sonthewarpath (Steve Margolis), Solar Kitten (Wilkes), Turf War (Brown), Winning Envelope (Chris Block), Winter Sunset (Wayne Catalano).
$250,000 Lexus Raven Run (G2) (Entries taken Wednesday, Oct. 16; race Saturday, Oct. 19) – Bell’s the One (Neil Pessin), First Star (Ron Ellis), Horologist (Richard Baltas), Indian Pride (Chad Brown), Needs Supervision (Jeremiah O’Dwyer), Oxy Lady (Jack Sisterson), Restless Rider (Kenny McPeek), Royal Charlotte (Brown).
$125,000 Rood & Riddle Dowager (G3) (Entries taken Thursday, Oct. 17; race Sunday, Oct. 20) – Gaining (GB) (Brad Cox), Gentle Ruler (Ian Wilkes), Get Explicit (Barbara Minshall), Lafta (Patrick Biancone), Pantsonfire (IRE) (Richard Baltas), Sea Dream (BRZ) (Paulo Lobo).

FALL MEET SPECIAL EVENTS

All Year
Official Keeneland Tours – A variety of guided walking tours showcase Keeneland’s racing and sales operations. Click here for more information.

Through March 2020
The Keeneland Library Presents “A Day in the Life: Volume I” – This new exhibit features the work of early Turf photographer John C. Hemment. The Keeneland Library is home to the largest known surviving body of work of Hemment, a photographer during the late 19th and early 20th century. A virtual counterpart of the Hemment exhibit is at keenelandlibrary.omeka.net/exhibits. Celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, the Library is free and open to the public Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET.
Friday, Oct. 11
Big Blue Day at the Races – Keeneland will welcome Big Blue Nation the day before the University of Kentucky football team hosts the University of Arkansas. UK students, alumni, faculty and staff will receive free general admission and access to reserved Grandstand seating with valid UK IDs, and other special activities throughout the day will help fans cheer for the Wildcats.

Buffalo Trace Giveaway – On the day the Buffalo Trace Franklin County is the featured race, fans can enter to win a VIP Buffalo Trace Distillery Experience. The first 2,000 people to register will receive a free Buffalo Trace drawstring bag with a pair of Buffalo Trace sunglasses.

The Hill – Keeneland’s official tailgate lot features a jumbo screen to watch live racing and football, wagering booths, live music, local food trucks and free shuttles to the Grandstand.

$200,000-guaranteed Friday Pick Four Presented by TVG.

The Keeneland Shop presents Milliners Corner with Dorfman Pacific.

Saturday, Oct. 12

Sunrise Trackside – Families, out-of-town guests, longtime Keeneland fans and others will enjoy spending a morning at the track before the races begin. Watch racehorses train over the track and enjoy Breakfast With the Works and trackside commentary (7-8:30 a.m.); take photos with a life-size cutout of Secretariat (7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.); children’s activities in the Kids Club Corner (7:30-9:30 a.m.); free guided tours of the grounds (7:30-10 a.m.) and a demonstration by the Maker’s Mark Secretariat Center in the Paddock (9 a.m.).

Jockey Q&A with Corey Lanerie in the Paddock (12:05 p.m.).

Secretariat Festival – Keeneland is the new home of this annual event that celebrates the beloved Triple Crown winner. The Secretariat Bronze Monument created by Jocelyn Russell and commissioned by the City of Lexington – and set to be permanently located in the roundabout at Old Frankfort Pike and Alexandria Drive in Lexington – will be unveiled outside the main entrance of the Keeneland Sales Pavilion at 10:45 a.m. Click here for more information about the festival. Events in the Sales Pavilion will take place from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Admission is free.

The Hill – Keeneland’s official tailgate lot features a jumbo screen to watch live racing and football, wagering booths, live music, local food trucks and free shuttles to the Grandstand.
Keeneland Fall Challenge handicapping contest. Click here for more information and to register.
The Keeneland Shop presents Milliners Corner with Dorfman.

$300,000 Guaranteed Pick 4 Presented by TVG.

Cross Country Pick 5. The New York Racing Association will host the wager, which will have the standard NYRA Pick 5 takeout (15%) and minimum wager (50 cents). There is a mandatory payout of the entire pool on Saturday. The races are Leg A: Belmont Race 8 (4:40 p.m.), Leg B: Keeneland Race 8 (4:57 p.m.), Leg C: Belmont Race 9 – Sands Point (G2) (5:13 p.m.), Leg D: Keeneland Race 9 – Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Presented by Lane’s End (G1) (5:30 p.m.) and Leg E: Keeneland Race 10 (6:03 p.m.)
Sunday, Oct. 13
Kids Club Family Day – The Keeneland Kids Club is for fans 12 and younger. A day at the races for members and their families will include free general admission, access to reserved Grandstand seating and special activities including taking photos with a life-size cutout of Triple Crown winner Secretariat.
Secretariat Festival – This annual event celebrates the beloved Triple Crown winner. Click here for more information. Events in Keeneland’s Sales Pavilion take place from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Admission is free.

Fall BCBC-NHC handicapping tournament – The tournament, which drew a record 171 entries in 2018, will award as many as five spots to the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge at Santa Anita and eight spots to the National Handicapping Challenge in Las Vegas in 2020. Click here for more information and to register.
The Keeneland Shop presents Milliners Corner with Dorfman Pacific.
 
FALL MEET LEADERS

Jockey Starts Wins 2nd 3rd Purses

Javier Castellano 28 11 4 5 $1,077,799
Jose Ortiz 36 6 6 4 $1,017,220
Florent Geroux 27 4 5 1 $347,466
Corey Lanerie 30 4 4 3 $233,840
Joel Rosario 21 3 4 4 $581,414

Trainer Starts Wins 2nd 3rd Purses

Chad Brown 12 5 0 1 $487,764
Brendan Walsh 10 4 2 0 $467,918

Nine trainers are tied in third place with two wins apiece.
Owner Wins
Godolphin (Mohammed Al Maktoum et al) 2

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