Keeneland Barn Notes — Friday, Oct. 6

By Amy Owens —-

FRIDAY, OCT. 6 – OPENING DAY
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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· LADY O’TOOLE TOPS FIELD FOR WEDNESDAY’S JPMORGAN CHASE JESSAMINE
· LIVE OAK PLANTATION, ALBARADO SET FOR KEENELAND MILESTONES
· BREEDERS’ CUP WINNER NEW MONEY HONEY TOPS INVITEES FOR QUEEN ELIZABETH II CHALLENGE CUP PRESENTED BY LANE’S END
· DICKINSON ARRIVES FOM SARATOGA IN BID FOR GRADE 1 KEENELAND DOUBLE
· MONDIALISTE (IRE), SUEDOIS (FR) GIVE O’MEARA DOUBLE SHOT IN SHADWELL TURF MILE
· VERSATILE BAR OF GOLD SHOOTS FOR GRADE 1 SUCCESS IN JUDDMONTE SPINSTER
· WEST COAST-BASED BENDABLE RETURNS FOR SECOND RUN IN THOROUGHBRED CLUB OF AMERICA
· MILLIONAIRE KELLY’S LANDING THRIVES IN SEMI-RETIREMENT
· GALLOPING OUT
· PROBABLE FIELD FOR UPCOMING STAKES
· FALL MEET SPECIAL EVENTS

LADY O’TOOLE TOPS FIELD FOR WEDNESDAY’S
JPMORGAN CHASE JESSAMINE
Steve Landers Racing’s Lady O’Toole, a 3½-length winner of the Happy Ticket at Louisiana Downs on Sept. 9 in her turf debut, heads a field of 14 2-year-old fillies and two also-eligibles entered Friday for Wednesday’s 27th running of the $150,000 JPMorgan Chase Jessamine (G3) going 1 1/16 miles on the turf.
Scheduled as the seventh race on Wednesday’s eight-race program, the JPMorgan Chase Jessamine is a “Win and You’re In” race for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) to be run Nov. 3 at Del Mar. First post time Wednesday is 1:05 p.m. ET with the JPMorgan Chase Jessamine scheduled for 4:24 p.m.
Trained by Brad Cox, Lady O’Toole has three wins in four starts, including her debut at Churchill Downs. Corey Lanerie has the mount and will break from post position one.
The field for the JPMorgan Chase Jessamine, with riders and weights, is: Lady O’Toole (Lanerie, 120 pounds), Rushing Fall (Javier Castellano, 118), Stainless (Manny Franco, 118), Miss Mo Mentum (Chris Landeros, 118), Madame X. (Jack Gilligan, 118), Cash Out (Florent Geroux, 118), Punto de Entrada (Diego Gomez, 118), Sunny Skies (Robby Albarado, 118), Breaking Beauty (Channing Hill, 118), Mentality (Ricardo Santana Jr., 118), Sugar Queen (John Velazquez, 118), Thewayiam (FR) (Joel Rosario, 118), Layla Noor (Feargal Lynch, 118) and Rosie O’Prado (Jose Valdivia Jr., 118). Also-Eligibles: She’s All Skeet (Luis Saez, 118) and Go Noni Go (Jose Ortiz, 118).

LIVE OAK PLANTATION, ALBARADO SET FOR KEENELAND MILESTONES
Owner Charlotte Weber’s Live Oak Plantation and jockey Robby Albarado both are one win away from milestone victories at Keeneland and could score them today, opening day of the Fall Meet.

A win by Dancing in today’s ninth race, the $400,000 Darley Alcibiades (G1), will be Live Oak’s eighth graded stakes win here, earning the Keeneland Tray. Dancing, a 2-year-old filly by Bernardini, is trained by Mark Casse.

The Keeneland Tray is part of Keeneland’s signature Milestone Trophy Program, which recognizes owners for their stakes success here. Only 20 other owners in Keeneland history have achieved such an accomplishment.

Live Oak’s other graded stakes wins at Keeneland are 2005 Stonerside Beaumont (G2) with In the Gold; 2006 Maker’s Mark Mile (G2) with Miesque’s Approval and Sycamore Breeders’ Cup (G3) with Revved Up; 2007 Jenny Wiley (G3) with My Typhoon (IRE); 2011 Toyota Blue Grass (G1) with Brilliant Speed; and two during the 2017 Spring Meet: Shakertown (G2) with Holding Gold and Commonwealth (G3) with Awesome Slew.

Albarado needs one more win for his 500th victory at Keeneland. He has mounts in the first, third, fifth, seventh, ninth and 10th races today.

Albarado, who scored his first Keeneland win during the 1996 Fall Meet, is the third-leading rider here by wins behind Pat Day (918) and Don Brumfield (716).

His first Keeneland stakes win was the 1996 Sycamore on Gleaming Key. Now with 52 Keeneland stakes wins, ranking him fifth on the list of the track’s leading jockeys by stakes victories, he has won three runnings of the Shadwell Turf Mile: Thorn Song (2008), Court Vision (2009) and Silver Max (2013).

Albarado has been the leading rider four times (Spring 2002, Spring 2003, Fall 2008, Fall 2009).

BREEDERS’ CUP WINNER NEW MONEY HONEY TOPS INVITEES
FOR QUEEN ELIZABETH II CHALLENGE CUP PRESENTED BY LANE’S END
E Five Racing Thoroughbreds’ New Money Honey, winner of last fall’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) and the Belmont Oaks Invitational (G1) in July, heads a roster of 11 3-year-old fillies invited by Keeneland Racing Secretary Ben Huffman to next Saturday’s 34th running of the $500,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Presented by Lane’s End (G1).
New Money Honey is one of two fillies trained by Chad Brown invited to the race, which is contested at 1 1/8 miles on the Keeneland turf course. The other is Michael Dubb, Head of Plains Partners, Robert LaPenta and Bethlehem Stables’ Uni (GB), winner of the Sands Point (G2) in her most recent start.
John Oxley owns two of the invitees in Del Mar Oaks (G1) winner Dream Dancing and three-time graded stakes winner La Coronel. Mark Casse trains both.
Two of the invitees are European based: Godolphin Racing’s Wuheida (GB), a Group 1 winner last year and multiple Group 1 placed this year, and Ali Ridha’s Unforgetable Filly (GB), winner of the Group 2 German One Thousand Guineas.
Other invitees are Slam Dunk Racing’s Beau Recall (IRE) and Madam Dancealot (IRE), Hat Creek Racing’s Con Te Partiro, Normandy Farm’s Daddys Lil Darling and Patricia Moseley’s Proctor’s Ledge.

DICKINSON ARRIVES FROM SARATOGA IN BID
FOR GRADE 1 KEENELAND DOUBLE
Godolphin Racing’s Dickinson, winner of the Jenny Wiley (G1) here this spring over Lady Eli, arrived at Keeneland Friday morning from Saratoga to prepare for Saturday’s 20th running of the $400,000 First Lady (G1).
Second in the Ballston Spa (G2) at Saratoga in her most recent start Aug. 26 at Saratoga, Dickinson will attempt to become the third horse to win the Jenny Wiley and First Lady in the same year. The others are Never Retreat (2011) and Intercontinental (GB) (2005).
“She has been successful here, so this seemed like the logical spot,” said Stu Hampson, assistant to trainer Kiaran McLaughlin of the choice of the First Lady over Sunday’s Flower Bowl (G1) at Belmont Park.
The First Lady is a “Win and You’re In” race for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1) to be run Nov. 4 at Del Mar.
“We will see what happens tomorrow, but we think she is that caliber,” Hampson said of the Breeders’ Cup. “It is a possibility.”
Paco Lopez, who rode Dickinson to victory in the First Lady, will be back aboard Saturday. The First Lady victory was part of a huge day at Keeneland for Godolphin and McLaughlin with four winners from four starters, including a victory by Watershed in the Ben Ali (G3).
“We will be happy with 1-for-1 tomorrow,” Hampson said.

MONDIALISTE (IRE), SUEDOIS (FR) GIVE O’MEARA DOUBLE SHOT
IN SHADWELL TURF MILE
Trainer David O’Meara was on the scene at Keeneland Friday morning to oversee the activity of his two entrants in Saturday’s $1 million Shadwell Turf Mile (G1), Mondialiste (IRE) and Suedois (FR), as they trained over Keeneland’s all-weather training track.
For O’Meara, who arrived from Europe Thursday night, the trip to Keeneland is his third for Mondialiste in three years.
“He ran very well at Woodbine (in the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile Sept. 16) and it made sense to come here,” O’Meara said of Mondialiste, who finished fourth in the race. “The Shadwell is a valuable race and a good option for him.”
Owned by Geoff and Sandra Turnbull, Mondialiste finished second to Tepin in the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) at Keeneland and was fourth in last year’s Shadwell, closing late to be beaten only 1½ lengths.
“He ran a strong race in the Breeders’ Cup but he couldn’t get clear until late,” O’Meara said of Mondialiste who finished 2¼ lengths in back of Tepin in that race. Feargal Lynch will ride Saturday.
George Turner and Clipper Logistics’ Suedois won the Solonaway Boomerang (G2) at Leopardstown in Ireland in his most recent start on Sept. 9. Danny Tudhope, who has ridden Suedois in his past starts, has the mount Saturday.
“We had options to run in Europe, but it was the value of the race,” O’Meara said of the decision to come to Keeneland.
The Shadwell Turf Mile is a “Win and You’re In” race for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) Nov. 4 at Del Mar. Mondialiste was 12th in the Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1) last year at Santa Anita.
Is a third Breeders’ Cup trip in the works for Mondialiste?
“Let’s get through this weekend first,” O’Meara said.

VERSATILE BAR OF GOLD SHOOTS FOR GRADE 1 SUCCESS
IN JUDDMONTE SPINSTER
Mary and Chester Broman Sr.’s Bar of Gold was nominated to both Saturday’s Thoroughbred Club of America (G2) and Sunday’s Juddmonte Spinster (G1) with trainer John Kimmel opting for the latter for the 5-year-old New York-bred daughter of Medaglia d’Oro.
“I think the Spinster is the better race for her,” Kimmel said. “The only question is going the mile and an eighth for the first time. But when she won the (2017) Yaddo and the (2016) Empire Distaff going a mile and a sixteenth, she could have gone a mile and a quarter as she won under wraps.”
Bar of Gold, who ran second in her lone Keeneland start in the 2015 Lexus Raven Run (G2), has won on dirt and grass. She comes into Sunday’s race off a runner-up effort in the Presque Isle Downs Masters (G2) on an all-weather surface.
“She’s a versatile filly who can run on anything,” Kimmel said. “The last time she ran (after) a race on the all-weather was the Empire Distaff (that she won by 18 lengths).”
The Empire Distaff victory over a sloppy track. Bar of Gold has compiled a record of 6-5-1-0 on off tracks with her lone loss coming in the Ruffian (G2) this spring.
The Juddmonte Spinster is a “Win and You’re In” race for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) to be run Nov. 3 at Del Mar. Kimmel said that race or the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) could be in play depending on Sunday’s outcome.
Kimmel, a four-time Keeneland stakes winner, brought two horses to Lexington with Grade 1 races on their agendas. This afternoon, he will send out Tobey Morton’s Pacific Gale in the $400,000 Darley Alcibiades.
“I would think a Flat Out (offspring) could get two turns,” Kimmel said of Pacific Gale, who won the 6-furlong Sorority at Monmouth in her most recent start. “She’s getting bigger and stronger and she has grown an inch and put on 50 pounds since her last race.”

WEST COAST-BASED BENDABLE RETURNS FOR SECOND RUN
IN THOROUGHBRED CLUB OF AMERICA
Claiborne Farm’s Bendable is back at Keeneland for her second attempt in the $250,000 Thoroughbred Club of America (G2), a race in which she was third last year. The 6-furlong stakes, to be run Saturday, is a “Win and You’re In” event for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) Nov. 4 at Del Mar.
Bendable, who won the Beverly J. Lewis at Los Alamitos before traveling to Keeneland last year, came off a layoff to win the Desert Stormer (G3) at Santa Anita by 1½ lengths on June 18. In her most recent race, the 4-year-old filly by Horse Greeley was third in the Rancho Bernardo (G3) at Del Mar Aug. 13.
“She came back good,” trainer Richard Mandella said. “A little disappointing at Del Mar last time, but she acts good now.”
Bendable, who shipped to Keeneland Wednesday, will face seven other fillies and mares in the Thoroughbred Club of America. She will be ridden by Javier Castellano.
“The difference of the purse, the prestige, and the ‘Win and You’re In,’ ” Mandella said about his reasoning for targeting Keeneland rather than staying on the West Coast. “(Breeders’ Cup) would be great, but first we’ve got work to do. This is the goal right now.”

MILLIONAIRE KELLY’S LANDING THRIVES IN SEMI-RETIREMENT
Kelly’s Landing, who won the 2006 Phoenix Breeders’ Cup (G3) – now the $250,000 Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix (G2) being run today – banked nearly $2 million for his breeder, Summerplace Farm, and won 10 races, including three Keeneland races. He was trained most of his career by Eddie Kenneally.
Now 16, the gelding earrned a lifestyle that most humans can only dream about.
“He spends the summer at the Lally family’s Summerplace Farm in Lexington and he comes back to Keeneland in the fall and then goes to Florida with us for the winter,” Kenneally said. “He works the Keeneland race meet in the spring and then takes the summer off again.”
Keeneland is a home-away-from-home for Kelly’s Landing, who won an allowance race in 2004 in his second career start then won the aforementioned Phoenix and a 2008 allowance race at age 7. He closed his 27-race career, highlighted by his triumph in the 2007 Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1) in the United Arab Emirates, in 2009 with earnings of $1,853,831.
“He’s got it made,” Kenneally said. “The Lallys like to have him at their farm. He enjoys retirement there and he loves coming back to the track.”

GALLOPING OUT

Keeneland Racing Analyst Tom Leach, the “Voice of the Wildcats” for University of Kentucky football and men’s basketball, interviews trainer Brian Lynch about Jim and Susan Hill’s Loose On the Town, entered in in today’s Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix (G2), and Terry Hamilton’s Heart to Heart, entered in Saturday’s Shadwell Turf Mile (G1).

PROBABLE FIELD FOR UPCOMING STAKES

$100,000 BUFFALO TRACE FRANKLIN COUNTY (G3) (Entries taken Tuesday, race Friday, Oct. 13) – Always Thinking (Tom Albertrani), Boom Bam Bing (Karl Broberg), Justa Lady (Steve Asmussen), Morticia (Rusty Arnold), Nobody’s Fault (Neil Pessin), Ring Knocker (Mike Maker), Ruby Notion (Wesley Ward), Scatter Gun (Pessin) and Triple Chelsea (Joe Sharp).

FALL MEET SPECIAL EVENTS

Thursday, Oct. 5
Friday, Oct. 6 – Opening Day/Fall Stars Weekend
The Keeneland Shop’s Milliners Corner presents Christine A. Moore Millinery adjacent to the Walking Ring from 11 a.m. to the 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, including the Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix (G2) and Darley Alcibiades (G1).
Saturday, Oct. 7 – Fall Stars Weekend
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 ponies from the Kentucky Horse Park (9 a.m.); trackside handicapping seminar with Paddock Host Katie Gensler (11 a.m.); and Q&A session with jockey Javier Castellano in the Paddock (12:05 p.m.).

The Keeneland Shop’s Milliners Corner presents Christine A. Moore Millinery adjacent to the Walking Ring from 11 a.m. to the 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. On Saturdays, the area’s favorite bluegrass bands perform from 12-4 p.m.
$350,000 Guaranteed All-Stakes Pick 4 Presented by TVG. Features races 6-10: Thoroughbred Club of America (G2), First Lady (G1), Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity (G1) and Shadwell Turf Mile (G1).
$250,000 All-Stakes Pick 5 Presented by TVG. Features races 5-10: Woodford (G2) Presented by Keeneland Select, Thoroughbred Club of America, First Lady, Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity and Shadwell Turf Mile.
Belmont Keeneland Pick Four. Wager on these Grade 1 stakes: Champagne and Jockey Club Gold Cup from Belmont and Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity and Shadwell Turf Mile from Keeneland.
Sunday, Oct. 8 – Fall Stars Weekend
“Keeneland Magazine on TV.” 8 p.m. on The CW Lexington. The 30-minute program chronicles Central Kentucky life and culture from the print edition of Keeneland magazine. The episode features Juddmonte Farms, Brewgrass Trail, Lexington’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Medical Center and Lexington’s murals.