Keeneland To Host Three More Breeders Cup Prep Races On Sunday
Keeneland Race Course opened its fall meet on Friday. The race course will host a total of nine Breeders Cup prep races on its Fall Stars weekend, which includes three on Sunday.
Keeneland To Host Three More Breeders Cup Prep Races On Sunday
Keeneland Race Course continues a big Fall Stars weekend on Sunday by hosting four more 2022 Breeders Cup prep races. The three “Win and You’re In” World Championship qualifying races on October 9 concludes a three-day span where the race course hosts nine Breeders Cup races.
Keeneland began its fall meet on Friday with 10 races, including three Breeders Cup Prep races. Manny Wah, who was sixth down the stretch, pulled off a huge upset (17-to-1 odds) in the $350,000 Grade I Stoll Ogden Phoenix Stakes to earn track’s first automatic berth to the Breeders Cup of the day as the 6-year-old is now eligible to participate in the Breeders Cup Sprint next month.
Next up was the $350,000 JPMorgan Chase Jessamine Stakes, where Delight went wire-to-wire to earn an entry into the Juvenile Fillies Turf. The final automatic qualifying race was the closest of the three as Mark Casse-trained Wonder Wheel fended off Chop Chop to win the Grade I $500,000 Darley Alcibiades Stakes and a berth in the Juvenile Fillies race.
Keeneland hosts three Breeders Cup prep races on Saturday. The October 10 “Win and You’re In” races are the Grade I Coolmore Turf Mile Race ( FanDuel Breeders Cup Mile), the Grade II $350,000 Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes (Filly & Mare Sprint), and the Grade I Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity (Juvenile).
This weekend marks the final 14 North American prep races for the Breeders Cup, which takes place Nov. 4-5 at Keeneland. Aqueduct and Santa Anita are the other site hosts for the “Win, and You’re In” qualifiers.
Fall Stars Weekend will be featured in two telecasts, to be shown at 5 p.m. (ET) on Saturday and Sunday on CNBC. Each day will feature two live races, along with highlights of some of the other “Win and You’re In” races.
$250,000 Indian Summer Stakes
The $250,000 Indian Summer Stakes is the first Breeders Cup qualifier on Sunday, with 11 2-year-olds will go five-and-one-half furlongs on the turf. The winner earns an automatic berth into the newly formed Juvenile Sprint Turf.
Irish filly Love Reigns is the prohibitive morning line favorite at 4-5. The daughter of US Navy Flag has two victories in three outings, winning the Bolton Landing Stakes the last time out. Love Reigns, who won a maiden special weight race at Keeneland, is trained by Wesley Ward and will have jockey Paco Lopez in the saddle.
Private Creed, 9-2 on the morning line, has two wins and a third-place finish in three career starts. The son of Jimmy Creed is trained by Steve Asmussen and will have jockey Joel Rosario aboard. Monsieur Coco (6-1) and Irish colt No Way Hudson (8-1) are the only others that have single-digit morning day lines.
$350,000 Grade II Castle & Key Bourbon Stakes
The $350,000 Grade II Castle & Bourbon will kick off the television coverage from Keeland. 16 2-year-old male horses, which includes four also-eligibles, are slated to go one and one-sixteenth mile on the turf, with the winner earning an automatic berth on the Breeders Cup Juvenile Turf.
This race is expected to be a very competitive race. Reckoning Force (7-2) is the slight morning line favorite over Gigante. Reckoning Force improved in his last three races, winning the Kentucky Juvenile Mile Turf Stakes on September 14. Gigante cruised to a nearly seven-length romp in the Kitten’s Joy Stakes.
Boppy O and Mendel’s Secret are also serious contenders, and both are 9-2 on the morning line. Boppy O, son of Bolt D’Oro and Pappascat by Scat Daddy, followed up a 10th-place finish in the Grade III Sandford Stakes with a victory in the Grade III Anticipation Stakes the last time out. Meanwhile, Mendel’s Secret eked out a win in his debut.
$600,000 Grade I Juddmonte Spinster Stakes
The Grade I Juddmonte Spinster Stakes has a long history of producing winners in the Breeders Cup Longstine Distaff, as the race dates back to 1956. Five horses have pulled off a Spinster-Distaff double in the same year, with Blue Prize being the latest in 2019.
Malathaat leads a talented but compact field of five runners that will go one and one-eighth miles and leads the morning odds at 3-5. Last year’s champion 3-year-old filly, Malathaat has two wins and two seconds in four starts this season and enters this race off a half-length victory in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign Stakes. She is also 2-for-2 at Keeneland.
Letruska, 5-2 on the morning line, is looking to win the Spinster Stakes for the second straight year. However, the 6-year-old mare has finished third and fifth place in her last two outings after winning the first two races of the year.
Played Hard (3-1) is also a major contender. The 4-year-old filly, known for her speed, has won two straight races and has finished either first or second in six consecutive outings. Army Wife (15-1) and Princess of Cairo (30-1) round out the field.
