Keeneland Barn Notes — Friday, April 21

By Amy Owens —-

FRIDAY, APRIL 21

Keeneland’s 15-day Spring Meet runs through Friday, April 28. First post is 1 p.m. ET.

Today Keeneland will offer a record Pick 6 carryover of $859,584.52. The sequence
begins with the fifth race with a post time of 3:08 p.m.

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TOYOTA BLUE GRASS THIRD-PLACE FINISHER BLAZING SEVENS WORKS HALF-MILE IN :48.60
KENTUCKY OAKS HOPEFUL AFFIRMATIVE LADY BREEZES 5 FURLONGS IN 1:01
CALL ME FAST GETS CHANCE FOR DO OVER IN SATURDAY’S BEN ALI
PROSPECTIVE FIELD FOR CLOSING-DAY BEWITCH
KEENELAND DONATES $100,000 TO LEXINGTON PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION
GALLOPING OUT
SPRING MEET LEADERS
SPRING MEET WEEK 3 SPECIAL EVENTS

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TOYOTA BLUE GRASS THIRD-PLACE FINISHER BLAZING SEVENS WORKS HALF-MILE IN :48.60

Rodeo Creek Racing’s Blazing Sevens, third in the Toyota Blue Grass (G1) on April 8 in his most recent start, worked a half-mile on his own in :48.60 over a fast track Friday morning.

Regular exercise rider Peter Roman was aboard the Chad Brown trainee, who raced in blinkers for the first time in the Toyota Blue Grass and wore them for today’s breeze at 7:40 a.m. following the first track maintenance period. (Click here for a video of the work.)

Assistants Baldo Hernandez and Josh Flores wore matching smiles after the work by Blazing Sevens, who is scheduled to go to Churchill Downs Monday for a possible start in the Kentucky Derby (G1) Presented by Woodford Reserve.

“He breezed very well and we’re very happy with it,” Flores said. “That’s what you want to see from the first breeze back (after a race).”

Working at the same time as Blazing Sevens for Brown was First Row Partners and Team Hanley’s champion female sprinter Goodnight Olive.

Winner of the Madison (G1) here on April 8 in her 2023 debut, Goodnight Olive breezed a half-mile in :48.80 and is scheduled to ship to Churchill next week for a possible start in the $750,000 Derby City Distaff (G1) Presented by Kendall-Jackson Winery to be run May 6.

KENTUCKY OAKS HOPEFUL AFFIRMATIVE LADY BREEZES 5 FURLONGS IN 1:01

AMO Racing USA’s Affirmative Lady, winner of the Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2) presented by FanDuel TV on April 1, returned to the work tab Friday morning by breezing 5 furlongs in 1:01 under regular exercise rider Kevin Lundie after the first morning track maintenance period.

Trained by Graham Motion, Affirmative Lady is being pointed to the $1.25 million Kentucky Oaks (G1) to be run May 5 at Churchill Downs.

“Kevin was very happy with her this morning,” Motion’s longtime assistant Alice Clapham said. “It was what we wanted.”

Affirmative Lady, a winner of her past two starts since donning blinkers, wore blinkers for the work this morning.

“When she works on her own, she has the blinkers,” Clapham said.

Motion is scheduled to arrive at Keeneland on Wednesday. Affirmative Lady is scheduled to have one more work prior to the Oaks, which could come here or at Churchill, according to Clapham.

CALL ME FAST GETS CHANCE FOR DO OVER IN SATURDAY’S BEN ALI

Trainer Mike Puhich believes that Call Me Fast is a gelding who possesses graded stakes talent.

He put that belief to the test last month at Oaklawn Park when Call Me Fast made his stakes debut going 1 1/16 miles in the Essex (G3) on March 18. It did not go well.

“He never had a chance. The race is a throw out,” Puhich said. “He had a rough trip and got checked, and (jockey) Francisco (Arrieta) thought he was going to go down three times.”

Owned by Giddyup Stables and Tom Lambro, Call Me Fast will receive his second stakes try Saturday in the 92nd running of the $300,000 Ben Ali (G3) going 1 3/16 miles on the main track.

Call Me Fast notched his first victory here during the 2022 Fall Meet, winning by 8¾ lengths and followed that with a runner-up effort in allowance company on the undercard of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships.

“That was a factor in running (in the Ben Ali). He loves this track and worked well here too,” Puhich said. “There is more run to the first turn here, and that will help as he doesn’t get away from the gate too well.”

Call Me Fast worked a bullet 5 furlongs in :58.60 on April 10 and came back with a half-mile work in :49 on April 16. Julien Leparoux will have the mount Saturday.

PROSPECTIVE FIELD FOR CLOSING-DAY BEWITCH

Here are the prospective entries for the $300,00 Bewitch (G3) on the April 28 closing day of the Keeneland Spring Meet compiled by Stakes Coordinator Baley Hare:

$300,000 Bewitch (G3) – Possible: Broadway Boogie (trainer James Toner), Temple City Terror (Brendan Walsh), Transient (GB) (Saffie Joseph Jr.), Viburnum (Kelsey Danner).

Entries will be taken Sunday.

KEENELAND DONATES $100,000
TO LEXINGTON PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION

Keeneland has donated $100,000 to the Lexington Public Library Foundation’s capital campaign for the new Marksbury Family Branch to open on Versailles Road late this year.

“Our support of the Lexington Public Library Foundation continues Keeneland’s founding mission to enhance the quality of life in our community,” Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin said. “In this case, the Marksbury Family Branch will positively impact a neighborhood where many horse industry workers and their families live. We are thrilled to have a resource nearby for these families to take advantage of important educational opportunities.”

The new two-story facility will include community and study rooms, a dedicated classroom, makerspace, outdoor reading area, expanded adult and children’s areas, and a drive-thru window where customers can pick up and return borrowed materials. The Library Foundation has committed to raising $5.3 million in support of the $18 million project through a public-private partnership.

“It’s been exciting for Keeneland to have a hand in making the Marksbury Family Branch a reality,” Keeneland Senior Director of Operations and Community Relations Kara Heissenbuttel said. “As a state-of-the-art space, this facility offers tremendous potential to both welcome visitors to Lexington and to serve people of all backgrounds.”

The Library will name a 16-seat meeting room on the first floor of the Marksbury Family Branch in Keeneland’s honor.

GALLOPING OUT

Sunday’s Cross Country Pick 5 includes three Keeneland races: Race 2, Race 5 and Race 9. The minimum wager is 50 cents. Click here for free Equibase past performances for the Cross Country Pick 5 available for download.