Keeneland Stakes Weekend Race Results
by Patricia Woo | Oct 11 2010
Keeneland Racetrack hosted three exciting grade 1 races on Saturday, Oct. 9: the $600,000 Shadwell Turf Mile, the $400,000 Abu Dhabi First Lady and the $400,000 Dixiana Breeders' Futurity.
Milers were in the spotlight for the $600,000 Gr. 1 Shadwell Turf Mile, and all eyes were on dual Eclipse Award winner Gio Ponti. The 5-year-old son of Tale of the Cat had been cut back in distance to try and regain his winning form on his way to the
Breeders' Cup this November and was facing a small but deep field of six that included Courageous Cat and Get Stormy. After the break, Gio Ponti – with Ramon Dominguez aboard – settled in at the rear of the pack while Acting Zippy and Enriched led the field. Enriched, under Garrett Gomez, was out front at the quarter pole but Courageous Cat and Pat Valenzuela made up ground on the turn and claimed the frontrunning position in upper stretch. But Gio Ponti and Society's Chairman (under Julien Leparoux) were also making their moves from the back of the pack. Society's Chairman reeled in Courageous Cat on the homestretch but his lead was short-lived; despite being jostled, Gio Ponti cruised past both rivals and won by 1 length in a time of 1:35.06. Following Society's Chairman and Courageous Cat to the wire were Get Stormy, Enriched and Acting Zippy.
Gio Ponti earned $360,000 for the win, increasing his career total to $4,677,800 from 22 starts; trainer Christophe Clement is expected to announce whether his charge will tackle the
Breeders' Cup Classic or the Mile (as expected) in the next couple of days.
Another tremendous last-to-first performance was turned in by Proviso in the $400,000 Gr. 1 Abu Dhabi First Lady Stakes. Ridden by Mike Smith, Proviso was the favorite going into the 1-mile test. She was facing a large field of nine that included Palomar Handicap victor Gotta Have Her and John C. Mabee Handicap winner Wasted Tears. But the Bill Mott-trained Proviso had won two consecutive grade 1 races going into the First Lady Stakes (the Just A Game Stakes and the Diana Stakes) and would prove to be unbeatable once again. Proviso hung back while West Hope and Wasted Tears led the way, exchanging the lead on the turn for home. Under Kent Desormeaux, C.S. Silk, who had been stalking the frontrunners all race, finally claimed the lead well into the homestretch. But Proviso unleashed a powerful closing kick that propelled her past all rivals, stopping the clock at 1:34.81. It was one-half length back to C.S. Silk, who edged Gotta Have Her (also making a desperate closing bid) by a mere nose.
With this win, Proviso earns a spot in the
Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf at 1 ¼ miles but her connections seem to be favoring the Breeders' Cup Mile – despite the prospect of facing Goldikova and Gio Ponti.
In the $400,000 Gr. 1 Dixiana Breeders' Futurity, J.B.'s Thunder stole the show with an impressive victory, earning his first grade 1 score. Under Shaun Bridgmohan, the 2-year-old son of Thunder Gulch led the 11-horse field and was never seriously challenged, despite a late charge by Santiva who claimed second by a nose over Willcox Inn. Though the race was a “Win and You're In” event for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, trainer Albert Stall noted that the Gr. 3 Delta Downs Jackpot would be the more likely spot for his charge's next race.
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