Uni becomes first repeat winner of First Lady at Keeneland, earns Breeders’ Cup bid
While the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Park in Maryland was the main event in the horse racing world on Saturday, the undercard at Keeneland provided plenty of drama for Thoroughbred enthusiasts.
Five graded stakes contests highlighted the second day of the Fall Meet at the Lexington track, four of which awarded winners an automatic berth into races at the 2020 Breeders’ Cup World Championships — which will be hosted for the second time by Keeneland Nov. 6-7.
Chad Brown trainee Uni won the $350,000, Grade 1 First Lady Stakes for the second year in a row, becoming the first repeat winner of the First Lady and earning a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf. The 6-year-old filly will now look to bulk up her World Championships portfolio after winning last year’s Breeders’ Cup Mile.
“I was so stressed out. If she doesn’t run well here, you couldn’t run her back in the Breeders’ Cup,” co-owner Sol Kumin said. “Now you run her back, same track, four weeks (from now) and you feel like she might be back ... (She’s) just an incredible filly.
“Her last race for us will be the Breeders’ Cup against the boys and if she is able to do it again, it would be Hall-of-Fame good.”
In the race prior to the First Lady, Inthemidstofbiz pulled off the upset in the $200,000, Grade 2 Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes, securing a berth in the Filly & Mare Sprint. Going off at odds of 13-1 under jockey Martin Garcia, the 4-year-old filly made an outside move and took the lead rounding the final turn then finished 3 lengths ahead of heavy 7-5 favorite Sneaking Out.
“She’s a great filly, I had a really good position,” Garcia said. “When I asked her to go, she made it really easy.”
Inthemidstofbiz paid $28.20 for the win. She’s now won three straight races, and four of her five career victories have come in 2020.
Other Breeders’ Cup preps
$400,000, Grade 1 Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity: Essential Quality scored a dominant win in the the 1 1/16 miles contest for 2-year-olds, locking up a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. A son of multiple graded stakes winner Tapit, Essential Quality broke as the heavy 9-5 favorite and finished more than three lengths ahead of long shot Keepmeinmind, much to the delight of trainer Brad Cox.
“We’ve had some very nice 2-year-old fillies, but this is probably the best (2-year-old colt) I’ve had as far as talent goes. He’s our first Grade 1 winner as a 2-year-old colt. He means a lot to us,” Cox said. “He showed us from day one that he’s special, very talented ... He’s a very green horse. That was my concern today – could he put it all together? And he did. He pulled up a bit on the backside. He’s got some learning to do. If he can figure it out, he’s a serious animal.”
$750,000, Grade 1 Shadwell Turf Mile: Brazilian-bred Ivar made a stunning move late, passing two rivals in the stretch and pulling off an upset win in the 1-mile turf contest for 3-year-olds to claim a berth in the Breeders’ Cup Mile.
The Shadwell field opened up when 5-2 morning-line favorite Halladay was scratched because of inflammation in his ankle and Ivar, who broke from the outside post at 14-1 odds, took advantage. He paid $30.80 for the win.
“Down the backside, he got in such a good rhythm, was so relaxed,” jockey Joe Talamo said. “I was all smiles turning for home when I took him out there. He just exploded.”
After a successful run in Argentina during which he scored three major victories and was named champion 2-year-old last season, Ivar finished fifth in his North American debut in an allowance contest at Churchill Downs in May. He’s now won two of his last three races in the U.S. He finished third in the Tourist Mile Stakes at Kentucky Downs in September.
Woodford Stakes
In Saturday’s only graded-stakes contest that was not a Breeders’ Cup prep, Leinster edged into the lead heading for the stretch and held off favorite Extravagant Kid to score a turf victory in the $150,000, Grade 2 Woodford. It was the second win in three starts this year for the 5-year-old Rusty Arnold trainee.
“He broke pretty sharp. He put me on the lead, but we didn’t really want to be there,” jockey Luis Saez said. “We wanted to track somebody. We had a perfect position, and I had a lot of horse. He just took off.”
Arnold originally planned to run Leinster at Kentucky Downs last month but decided to skip that meet out of concern for the horse’s health.
“We had a little setback — he had a foot problem,” Arnold said. “Maybe it’s a blessing because he stayed right here on his home track. He got to work on this turf course a couple of times — I think that’s a big edge. Worked out good.”
Spinster leads Sunday Stakes
Three more Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” stakes contests are on tap Sunday for the closing day of Fall Stars Weekend.
Shedaresthedevil, who won the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs on Sept. 4, is the 7-5 morning-line favorite for the $400,000, Grade 1 Juddmonte Spinster Stakes, which will award the winner a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff. The Spinster is the ninth of 10 races on Sunday’s card and is scheduled to go off at 5:45 p.m.
Among the contenders who will attempt to bedevil the favorite is 4-1 shot Lady Kate, who has won two of her last three races and four of seven starts in 2020. Last time out, the bay filly finished second to superstar Monomoy Girl in the Grade 1 La Troienne Stakes at Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week in September.
Speaking to Keeneland racing analyst Tom Leach last week, trainer Eddie Kenneally discussed Lady Kate’s recent string of success.
“She’s gotten really good this summer and fall,” Kenneally said. “She ran so well against Monomoy Girl ... no shame finishing second to that good filly.”
Lady Kate’s stamina will be tested by the 1 1/8-miles distance in the Spinster, but Kenneally is confident she’s up to the challenge.
“It’s a bit of an unknown, but her pedigree says she’d have no problem with the distance, and she’s coming up to it really well,” Kenneally said.
Also scheduled Sunday is the $150,000, Grade 2 Indian Summer Stakes (race No. 6), which is set to go off at 4 p.m. and will award the winner a berth into the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint. The $200,000, Grade 2 Bourbon Stakes (No. 8, 5:10 p.m.), offers a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.
Keeneland 2020 Fall Meet
When: Through Oct. 24 (no spectators allowed)
Race days: Sunday, then Wednesdays through Sundays thereafter.
First post: 1:05 p.m.
This story was originally published October 3, 2020 at 5:44 PM.
