Keeneland Barn Notes — Saturday, Oct. 14

By Amy Owens —-

SATURDAY, OCT. 14
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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· MORTICIA FINISHES 2017 WITH A FLOURISH IN BUFFALO TRACE FRANKLIN COUNTY VICTORY
· VALADORNA WORKS FOR EXPECTED COMEBACK IN LEXUS RAVEN RUN
· NEOLITHIC TOPS ROSTER OF 27 NOMINEES TO CLOSING-DAY HAGYARD FAYETTE
· GALLOPING OUT
· PROBABLE FIELDS FOR UPCOMING STAKES
· FALL MEET SPECIAL EVENTS
· FALL MEET LEADERS

MORTICIA FINISHES 2017 WITH A FLOURISH
IN BUFFALO TRACE FRANKLIN COUNTY VICTORY
An eventful Friday for G. Watts Humphrey Jr.’s Morticia ended with a trip to the winner’s circle following her half-length victory in the $100,000 Buffalo Trace Franklin County (G3).
The 3-year-old Twirling Candy filly lost a shoe in the Paddock. She ran the 5½-furlong grass race with three shoes and still won.
“I have never sent one out with three shoes, but I have had some come back with three shoes,” trainer Rusty Arnold said. “If it had been a front shoe, I would have scratched her. But it was her right hind, and we were not going to get it backew on. The ground was a little soft and I didn’t think it would matter.”
It didn’t. With Jose Lezcano aboard, Morticia scored her sixth victory from eight starts this year and her first graded stakes victory.
“She is good this morning and she still has three shoes,” Arnold said. “That was it for the year for her no matter what. She will probably start back here next April in the Giant’s Causeway (L).”
Arnold, along with Humphrey, bred Morticia, the first foal out of the Mr. Greeley mare Halloween Party. Six years ago, Halloween Party broke her maiden on the Keeneland turf.
“I own half a mare and I have a graded stakes winner at Keeneland,” Arnold said. “The odds of that are pretty high.”
Morticia’s victory was the second in a week for Humphrey and Arnold, who teamed to win Sunday’s Juddmonte Spinster (G1) with Romantic Vision. It is the third time Arnold has won two stakes at a Keeneland meet, and he might not be done.
“I’ve got (Calumet Farm’s) Quiet Business for the (Rood & Riddle) Dowager (G3 on Oct. 22),” Arnold said. “She is doing very well and likes this track, where she won a stakes.”
That stakes was this April’s Bewitch (G3). Only two horses have won the Bewitch and Dowager in the same year: Kitten’s Point (2015) and Upperline (2012).
“(Quiet Business) did not run that well (in her last start) at Kentucky Downs and there was no apparent reason,” Arnold said. “Her New York race (an eighth-place finish in the River Memories at Belmont July 9) was actually very good. There was no pace.”

VALADORNA WORKS FOR EXPECTED COMEBACK IN LEXUS RAVEN RUN
Stonestreet Stables’ 2016 14 Hands Winery Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) runner-up, Valadorna, who has not raced since February, continued to prepare for her return to competition Saturday when she worked 5 furlongs in 1:00.40 in company with Dreamrider. Valadorna, a 3-year-old daughter of Curlin, is expected to start in the $250,000 Lexus Raven Run (G2) on Oct. 21.
“She went beautifully, I’ve been very happy with her,” David Carroll, assistant to trainer Mark Casse, said. Carroll’s wife, Kim, was aboard the filly.
“Her last work kind of put her on her toes,” he said. “She’s coming off a long layoff. (Jockey) Julien (Leparoux) breezed her for us last time for the gate work – reminds her of what her job is.”
Valadorna opened 2017 by winning an allowance race at Fair Grounds in January and finished third in the Rachel Alexandra (G2) Feb. 25 before she was sidelined. She returned to Casse’s base at Churchill Downs from Stonestreet Training Center in Ocala, Florida, in September. Today’s work marked her second work at Keeneland, where she worked a bullet 4 furlongs from the starting gate in :47 a week ago.
The plan for Valadorna moving forward after Keeneland is to train at Fair Grounds over the winter in preparation for races at Oaklawn Park such as the Azeri (G2) and Apple Blossom (G1).
“We think big picture with her,” Carroll said. “First start will be an awfully good race, and build on that. We won’t have her cranked up to run her best race first time, but to run well, move forward and hopefully have a big 4-year-old year.”

NEOLITHIC TOPS ROSTER OF 27 NOMINEES
TO CLOSING-DAY HAGYARD FAYETTE
Starlight Racing’s Neolithic, who finished third behind Arrogate in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) and the Dubai World Cup (G1), tops a list of 27 horses nominated to the 60th running of the $200,000 Hagyard Fayette (G2) on Oct. 28, closing day of the 17-day Fall Meet.
Trained by Todd Pletcher, Neolithic finished third behind Gun Runner in the Woodward (G1) in his most recent start. Three other Pletcher-trained horses are nominated to the 1 1/8-mile main track test, including 2016 Belmont (G1) runner-up Destin.
Among the nominees is Godolphin Racing’s Watershed. Trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, Watershed won the Ben Ali (G3), the spring equivalent of the Hagyard Fayette. Only three horses have won the Ben Ali and Hagyard Fayette in the same year with the most recent being Alumni Hall in 2005.
Two 3-year-olds were nominated to the race, which was most recently won by a 3-year-old by Blame in 2009. One of those is Whitham Thoroughbreds’ McCraken, a three-time graded stakes winner, runner-up in the Haskell Invitational (G1) and third in this spring’s Toyota Blue Grass (G2) here.

GALLOPING OUT
Godolphin Racing’s Wuheida (GB), who scratched out of this afternoon’s Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Presented by Lane’s End (G1) with a minor hoof injury, will remain at Keeneland for a while before going on to Del Mar for the Breeders’ Cup World Championships.
“We are going to stay here until the 25th and then ship to California,” said Tim Denniff, the traveling lad for trainer Charles Appleby. “She is much improved this morning and we are going to get her right.”
A Group 1 winner in France in 2016 as a 2-year-old, Wuheida is to be pointed to the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1) on Nov. 4. …
Keeneland Racing Analyst Tom Leach, the “Voice of the Wildcats” for University of Kentucky football and men’s basketball, interviewed jockey Julien Leparoux about Dream Dancing in today’s QE II. …
Trainer Tim D. Wilson earned his first Keeneland victory when Bryan M. Waldridge’s War Eagle’s Love won Friday’s first race in her career debut. Anthony Stephen rode the 2-year-old Birdstone filly, who won the 1 1/16-mile race by 2¼ lengths in 1:48.38.

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) (Tom Proctor), 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
Saturday, Oct. 14
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.