With a drop in temperature across central Kentucky, locals are at least assured that things will heat up on the track, as opening day of the prestigious Keeneland meet is scheduled to begin Friday October 2 with a pair of graded stakes events.
The Grade 3 Phoenix Stakes, carded as race 8, features the exciting three year-old Runhappy (9/5) against last year’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint champ Work All Week (2/1) who bookend a competitive and classy 12-horse field. Runhappy, trained by the unheralded Maria Borell, emerged from obscurity to win the Grade 1 King’s Bishop last out while posting a mammoth 113 Beyer Speed Figure. Work All Week was an easy winner of a listed stakes August 1 at Mountaineer to pick up his first win of the year.
The lightening-quick Fast Anna (15/1), Alsvid (15/1) and Sharp Sensation (30/1) have the look of live longshots, while Holy Boss (4/1) is a logical contender for trainer Steve Asmussen despite falling six lengths short of Runhappy in the King’s Bishop.
The Grade 1 Darley Alcibiades for two year-old fillies going a mile and a sixteenth is the 9th race on the card with an equally contentious group of 11 set to head postward at 5:30 EST. Dothraki Queen (5/2) could be a vulnerable favorite despite her 2 for 2 start and last-out win in the Grade 2 Pocahontas Stakes at Chruchill Downs. The Kenny McPeek-trained filly was the beneficiary of a perfect rail trip and caught a field lacking any two-turn race experience.
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