Watch: Blame Debbie scores first stakes victory in a thriller at Keeneland
A young filly won for the second time during Keeneland’s Fall Meet on Sunday. This victory vaulted her into a whole new class of Thoroughbred.
Blame Debbie went gate-to-wire to win the Grade 3, $125,000 Rood & Riddle Dowager Stakes at Keeneland. It was the first graded stakes victory for the 3-year-old Graham Motion trainee and her second in 16 days. She won an allowance contest at Keeneland on Oct. 2.
Breaking from post No. 5 as the 3-2 favorite under jockey Manny Franco, Blame Debbie took the lead early and battled 3-1 Always Shopping throughout the 1 1/2-mile contest. Coming down the stretch, it was a two-horse race.
Trained by Todd Pletcher, Always Shopping nearly pulled even in the closing moments but Blame Debbie edged her by a head. With Dignity, at 5-1, finished third.
“She was so nice and so game,” Franco said when asked about Blame Debbie’s response to the challenge from Always Shopping. “I was really pleased. I was riding to the wire and she responded to me the whole way.”
Blame Debbie now has a career record of 3-1-3 in 10 starts.
The Rood & Riddle Dowager was the final stakes contest of the Fall Meet at Keeneland, though four more days of racing are on tap Wednesday through Saturday. After that, Keeneland will host the 2020 Breeders’ Cup World Championships on Nov. 6-7.
Breeders’ Cup bound
After barely missing out on a trip to the winner’s circle in three straight graded stakes contests, a Kentucky-bred filly finally found her way back during the Fall Meet at Keeneland.
Venetian Harbor scored a gate-to-wire win in the Grade 2, $200,000 Lexus Raven Run Stakes on Saturday.
The 3-year-old Richard Baltas trainee broke as the 8-5 favorite from post No. 5 under jockey Manny Franco and immediately shot to the lead and took the rail.
Venetian Harbor led comfortably for most of the seven furlong dirt contest before 9-1 shot Finite made a move in the stretch and charged toward the front. Venetain Harbor responded when Franco asked for more and held on to win by a neck.
It had been more than eight months since Venetian Harbor won the Las Virgenes Stakes at Santa Anita. In her three most recent outings she finished second in the Fantasy Stakes at Oaklawn, the Ashland Stakes at Keeneland and the Longines Test Stakes at Saratoga.
Heading into Saturday, Baltas indicated he wanted to see how Venetian Harbor fared in the Raven Run before pursuing a bid in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint next month at Keeneland. After the big win, co-owner Joe Ciaglia indicated that Venetian Harbor is indeed Breeders’ Cup bound.
“Our intention was to go to the Breeders’ Cup but we felt like this might be a good opportunity to get a race under her when we felt like she was 100 percent,” Ciaglia said after the Raven Run. “We made the right decision and we couldn’t be any happier today.
“She’s great out of the gate, she’s tenacious. And that’s what I think you need to win some races.”
Asked if he’d seen enough to commit Venetian Harbor to the Breeders’ Cup, Ciaglia responded: “Absolutely ... let’s do it.”
Keeneland 2020 Fall Meet
When: Through Oct. 24 (no spectators allowed)
Race days: Wednesday through Saturday
First post: 1:05 p.m.
This story was originally published October 18, 2020 at 5:49 PM.
