Keeneland Opening Weekend Racing Preview
by Patricia Woo | Oct 4 2010
Keeneland Racetrack kicks off its fall racing season this weekend with an exciting showcase of Grade 1 races - and all three are "Win and You're In" events for the
Breeders' Cup World Championships. On Saturday, Oct. 9, the $600,000 Shadwell Turf Mile, the $400,000 Abu Dhabi First Lady and the $400,000 Dixiana Breeders' Futurity will be run.
Vying for a guaranteed spot in the
Breeders' Cup Mile, Gio Ponti, Get Stormy and Courageous Cat are all expected to start in the $600,000 Gr. 1 Shadwell Turf Mile. The 1 mile turf test for 3-year-olds and up is one of the most highly anticipated races of the day as 2009 champion older male and turf male, Gio Ponti, will make his final start before the Breeders' Cup. Not nearly as dominant over the turf division as last year, Christophe Clement's 5-year-old charge has won just once this year – in the Gr. 1 Man O' War Stakes at Belmont on July 10. But Gio Ponti has been close several times and will look to put in a strong prep before his connections decide in which Breeders' Cup race – the Classic or the Mile – he will be entered.
Another strong Mile contender running in the Shadwell Turf Mile is Get Stormy, a 4-year-old son of Stormy Atlantic and trained by Thomas Bush. Get Stormy has won seven of his last eight races, including the Gr. 2 Bernard Baruch and the Gr. 2 Fourstardave Handicap, both at Saratoga this summer. The Shadwell Turf Mile will be Get Stormy's first try at grade 1 competition.
Unraced since finishing ninth in the Gr. 1 Dubai Duty Free in Dubai on March 27, 4-year-old Courageous Cat is ready for his fall campaign. Trained by Bill Mott, this son of Storm Cat is capable of turning in a huge performance - just look to the 2009 Breeders' Cup Mile where he finished a half-length behind champion Goldikova.
Undefeated so far in 2010, Bart Evans' 5-year-old mare Wasted Tears is among the frontrunners for the $400,000 Gr. 1 Abu Dhabi First Lady. The 1-mile turf race for fillies and mares 3 years old and up will be Wasted Tears' first try at a grade 1 race and could be her ticket to the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. Her previous victories include the Gr. 2 Jenny Wiley at Keeneland in April and the Gr. 2 John C. Mabee Handicap at Del Mar in August. The Kenneth Hargrave-trained Category Seven is another strong contender for the First Lady – this 5-year-old daughter of Gulf Storm has raced almost exclusively at Louisiana Downs this year, capturing an allowance race in June and the Shishkabob Stakes in August.
The $400,000 Gr. 1 Dixiana Breeders' Futurity is a 1 1/16 mile race for 2-year-olds, offering a guaranteed berth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. One of the nominees to watch is the Wesley Ward-trained Madman Diaries, a versatile son of Bring The Heat who went gate-to-wire for the win in his latest outing: the Gr. 3 Sapling Stakes at Monmouth Park on Sept. 4.
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