Keeneland: Central Bank Ashland, $1 Million Toyota Blue Grass Nominee’s
By Amy Owens —-
Central Bank Ashland Attracts Champion Wonder Wheel, Rachel Alexandra Winner Pretty Mischievous among 88 Nominees
LEXINGTON, KY (Feb. 23, 2023) – Keeneland’s 86th running of the $600,000 Central Bank Ashland (G1) on Friday, April 7, opening day of the 15-day Spring Meet, has attracted 88 nominees to the race for 3-year-old fillies led by D. J. Stable’s champion Wonder Wheel, winner of last fall’s Darley Alcibiades (G1) and NetJets Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) here, and Godolphin’s Pretty Mischievous, who captured the Rachel Alexandra (G2) last Saturday at Fair Grounds. Recent winners of the Central Bank Ashland who were named champions are Nest (2022), Malathaat (2021) and Monomoy Girl (2018).
The division’s first Grade 1 race of 2023, the 1 1/16-mile Central Bank Ashland will be run on opening day of the Spring Meet for the second consecutive year. The stakes, the ninth race with a 5:16 p.m. ET post time, highlights the 10-race opening-day card that begins at 1 p.m. Other stakes that day are the 35th running of the $400,000 Kentucky Utilities Transylvania (G3) for 3-year-olds going 1 1/16 miles on the turf and the 75th running of the $400,000 Lafayette for 3-year-olds going 7 furlongs on the dirt.
Post positions for the Central Bank Ashland and the other opening-day races will be drawn Tuesday, April 4.
The Central Bank Ashland awards 100 points to the winner on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks (G1). The next four finishers receive 40 points, 30 points, 20 points and 10 points, respectively, to the $1.25 million race on May 5 at Churchill Downs.
Wonder Wheel, trained by Mark Casse, won four races in five starts in 2022 with her lone defeat being a runner-up finish in the Spinaway (G1). The filly by Into Mischief, who was purchased at Keeneland’s 2021 September Yearling Sale, made her 2023 debut in the Suncoast (L) at Tampa Bay Downs on Feb. 11 and finished second by a neck to Team Equistaff and Winning Stables’ Dreaming of Snow, who also is nominated to the Central Bank Ashland.
Pretty Mischievous, trained by Brendan Walsh, scored a three-quarter length victory in the Rachel Alexandra in her 2023 debut. Also nominated to the Central Bank Ashland are the two fillies who were second and third in that race: WinStar Farm and Siena Farm’s Miracle and Gold Standard Racing Stable’s Hoosier Philly.
Other notable Central Bank Ashland nominees include Selective’s Chop Chop, runner-up by a nose to Wonder Wheel in the Darley Alcibiades; Stonestreet Stables’ Julia Shining, winner of the Demoiselle (G2) and a full sister to Malathaat; Wellspring Stables’ Leave No Trace, runner-up to Wonder Wheel in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies; Ashbrook Farm and Upland Flats Racing’s undefeated Forward Gal (G3) winner Red Carpet Ready; Dawn and Ike Thrash’s The Alys Look, winner of the Silverbulletday (L); and Godolphin’s Wet Paint, winner of the Martha Washington (L).
Todd Pletcher, who saddled the past two Central Bank Ashland winners in Nest and Malathaat, and Chad Brown lead all trainers with 11 nominees each to this year’s race.
The late nomination deadline for the Central Bank Ashland is Wednesday, March 22.
Keeneland’s $1 Million Toyota Blue Grass Has Champion Forte, Risen Star Winner Angel of Empire among 141 Nominees
LEXINGTON, KY (Feb. 23, 2023) — Keeneland’s 99th running of the $1 million Toyota Blue Grass (G1) on April 8, the first Saturday of the Spring Meet, has attracted 141 nominees led by Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable’s champion Forte; recent Risen Star (G2) Presented by Lamarque Lincoln and Lamarque Crescent City Ford winner Angel of Empire; and every 3-year-old on the list of the 20 leading point earners to the $3 million Kentucky Derby (G1) Presented by Woodford Reserve on May 6 at Churchill Downs.
“As Keeneland’s signature race, the Toyota Blue Grass is the crown jewel in our Spring Meet stakes program,” Keeneland Vice President of Racing Gatewood Bell said. “It’s exciting to see so many of the nation’s top sophomores and stables represented among the nominees, and we look forward to the outstanding competition on opening weekend. As always, we want to thank our horsemen for their strong support of Keeneland and the Toyota Blue Grass.”
The 1 1/8-mile Toyota Blue Grass is one of five graded stakes worth a combined $2.65 million to be run April 8 on Keeneland’s 11-race card, which has a first post time of 12:30 p.m. ET. Other stakes that day are the 22nd running of the $600,000 Madison (G1) for fillies and mares going 7 furlongs on the dirt; the 35th running of the $400,000 Appalachian (G2) Presented by Japan Racing Association for 3-year-old fillies going 1 mile on the turf; the 27th running of the $350,000 Shakertown (G2) for 3-year-olds and up going 5½ furlongs on the turf; and the 36th running of the $300,000 Commonwealth (G3) for 4-year-olds and up going 7 furlongs on the dirt.
The Toyota Blue Grass is the ninth race with a 5:15 p.m. post. NBC will televise the race along with the Runhappy Santa Anita Derby (G1) and another Keeneland stakes from 4:30-6 p.m.
The winner of the Toyota Blue Grass will earn 100 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, while the second-, third-, fourth- and fifth-place finishers receive 40 points, 30 points, 20 points and 10 points, respectively.
Forte concluded his Eclipse Award-winning 2022 campaign at Keeneland by sweeping the Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity (G1) and the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance. Trained by three-time Toyota Blue Grass winner Todd Pletcher, the colt by Violence has won four races in five starts, including the Hopeful (G1). Forte is a 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale graduate.
Brad Cox leads trainers by Toyota Blue Grass nominees with 16, followed by Pletcher with 15.
Albaugh Family Stables’ Angel of Empire is one of six Cox trainees in the Derby top 20 that are nominated to the Toyota Blue Grass. The others are Gary and Mary West’s Hit Show, winner of the Withers (G3); Gold Square’s Instant Coffee, winner of the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) and the Lecomte (G3); West Point Thoroughbreds and Albaugh Family Stables’ Jace’s Road, winner of the Gun Runner; Robert LaPenta, e Five Racing Thoroughbreds and Madaket Stables’ Tapit’s Conquest, fourth in the Risen Star; and Spendthrift Farm and Frank Fletcher Racing Operations’ Victory Formation, winner of the Smarty Jones (L).
Other prominent Toyota Blue Grass nominees include Mary and Chester Broman Sr.’s two-time graded stakes-placed Arctic Arrogance; Rodeo Creek Racing’s Blazing Sevens, winner of the Champagne (G1); Michael McLoughlin’s Curly Jack, winner of the Iroquois (G3); West Paces Racing and Stonestreet Stables’ Dubyuhnell, winner of the Remsen (G2); Seacoast Thoroughbreds of N. E.’s General Banker, third in the Withers; Centennial Farms’ Litigate, winner of the Sam F. Davis (G3); BG Stables’ Lugan Knight, winner of the Jerome; Pierre Jean Amestoy Jr., Leslie Amestoy and Roger Beasley’s Practical Move, winner of the Los Alamitos Futurity (G2); Winchell Thoroughbreds’ Red Route One, runner-up in the Southwest (G3); Frank Fletcher Racing Operations’ Rocket Can, winner of the Holy Bull (G3); Peachtree Stable’s Shadow Dragon, runner-up in the Holy Bull; R.T. Racing Stable and Cypress Creek Equine’s Risen Star runner-up Sun Thunder; and Patricia’s Hope and Phillip Sagan’s Two Phil’s, winner of the Street Sense (G3).
The late nomination deadline for the Toyota Blue Grass is Wednesday, March 22.
Post positions for the Toyota Blue Grass and the other April 8 races will be drawn Wednesday, April 5.
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Since its first race meet more than 85 years ago, the Keeneland Association has devoted itself to the health and vibrancy of the Thoroughbred industry. The world’s largest Thoroughbred auction house, Keeneland conducts five sales a year, in January, April, September and November. Graduates of Keeneland sales dominate racing across the globe at every level. In April and October, Keeneland offers some of the highest caliber and richest Thoroughbred racing in the world. Keeneland hosted the Breeders’ Cup World Championships in 2015, 2020 and 2022. Uniquely structured, Keeneland is a privately held company with a not-for-profit mission that returns its earnings to the industry and the community in the form of higher purses and millions of dollars donated in support of horse industry initiatives and charitable contributions for education, research, and health and human services throughout Central Kentucky. Keeneland also maintains the Keeneland Library, a world-renowned public research institution with the mission of preserving information about the Thoroughbred industry. To learn more, visit Keeneland.com.