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‘A Fun Horse To Have Around,’ Keefe Looking Ahead To Maryland Million With Coconut Cake

Sophomore filly Coconut Cake, two necks away from being undefeated in her young career, is under consideration to make her stakes debut in the $100,000 Maryland Million Distaff Saturday, Oct. 24 at Laurel Park.

Owned by NRS Stable, James Chambers and her trainer, Tim Keefe, Coconut Cake worked a half-mile in 48.80 seconds Saturday morning on Laurel's main track under jockey Kevin Gomez, who has been aboard for each of her last two races.

The time ranked 12th of 70 horses Saturday. Coconut Cake, a daughter of 2014 General George (G3) winner Bandbox bred in Maryland by Mr. and Mrs. Charles McGinnes, has strung together three consecutive wins sprinting on both turf and dirt.

Past winners of the six-furlong Distaff include Hall of Famer Safely Kept, who captured three straight editions from 1989-91; Grade 3 winner and Grade 1-placed Willa On the Move (2003); and multiple stakes winners Crabcakes (2017-18) and Anna's Bandit (2019).

“My intention right now is to run her in the Maryland Million Distaff,” Keefe said. “I love Maryland Million. It's my favorite day of the year, I've always said that. [She] makes it a whole lot more exciting. I don't want to get too far out there; we've still got two weeks to go. But, she worked this morning and had a super work. I was very pleased with her work. She looks good afterwards. We've got one more work with her, a little easier work next week. We'll kind of keep all our feet on the ground until the 24th.”

Keefe purchased Coconut Cake for $30,000 out of Fasig-Tipton's Midlantic Eastern fall yearling sale at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonum in October 2018. He brought in partners after she made her debut May 31 at Laurel, where she was beaten two necks while third at odds of 22-1 with Sheldon Russell up.

“The catalog page drew me to her. I liked her conformation, I liked her walk, I liked her demeanor; I liked everything about her,” Keefe said. “On top of that, I like buying horses from Charlie and Cynthia. They breed a good horse, they raise a good horse so there's no worries there. I've had good luck with that.

“I had to give more for her than I thought. I guess there was another person who liked her, as well,” he added. “Bandbox is a local stallion but he was still fairly young and he didn't have a lot out there running. Obviously I liked her that much that I bought her for myself and then split her up right after the race with two of my partners. They both wanted in so I sold them each a third. That's how we got her.”

Coconut Cake graduated by 1 1/4 lengths under Forest Boyce in a 5 1/2-furlong waiver maiden claiming sprint on the grass second time out July 18. She beat winners at first asking in an off-the-turf allowance at the same distance Aug. 22, getting up by a nose, and extended her streak with a half-length triumph going six furlongs on the dirt Sept. 17.

“In the beginning when Sheldon was working her he always liked her, and he's a real good judge of a horse in the morning. I've had great luck with him, getting his thoughts and opinions on horses, and she had always done what we had asked her to do in the morning,” Keefe said. “I wasn't really sure how good she was going to be but I thought she was going to be decent. To go out and watch her run, obviously she's got the ability. But, she's also got that desire which some horses have and some don't. You can't train that in a horse. The horse has to come with that, and she has that desire to really want to get there first.”

Keefe, who owns five career Maryland Million wins including three in the Classic with Eighttofasttocatch (2011, 2013-14), said talent is, well, just icing on the cake for his rising stable star who has banked $81,245 in purse earnings.

“On top of all that, she's got an awesome personality. She's always got her head out of the stall, she's always got her ears pricked, she's always happy,” Keefe said. “She's never grouchy, she's never in a bad mood, she's just a happy horse with a wonderful personality. She's just a fun horse to have around.”

Pre-entries are due Wednesday, Oct. 14 for the Jim McKay Maryland Million, celebrating its 35^th anniversary in 2020.

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Saratoga Oaks Winner Antoinette Among 12 Going In Friday’s Pin Oak Valley View

Godolphin's Antoinette, winner of the Saratoga Oaks Invitational and recently runner-up in the Belmont Oaks Invitational (G1), tops a field of a dozen 3-year-old fillies entered for Friday's 30th running of the $150,000 Pin Oak Valley View Stakes (G3) at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky.

The Valley View, run at 1 1/16 miles on the Keeneland turf course, will go as the ninth race on Friday afternoon's 10-race program with a 5:30 ET post time. First post is 1:05 p.m.

Trained by Bill Mott, the homebred daughter of Hard Spun will be ridden Friday by Manny Franco and break from post position 12.

Headlining the competition to Antoinette is Merriebelle Stable's Walk In Marrakesh (IRE), who came within a nostril of winning the Appalachian (G2) at Keeneland in July.

Trained by Ignacio Correas IV, Walk In Marrakesh has been on the wrong end of three photos in graded stakes company since coming to North America late last summer. She was beaten a nose in the Natalma (G1) at Woodbine in September and in her 2020 debut was beaten a head in the Florida Oaks (G3).

Sixth in the Edgewood (G2) at Churchill Downs in her most recent start, Walk In Marrakesh will be ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr. and break from post position four.

Figuring to also attract support are Marc Detampel, TSK Thoroughbred Racing and Rebecca Hillen's Outburst (GB) and Paradise Farms Corp. and Parkland Thoroughbreds' Stunning Sky.

Winner of the aforementioned Florida Oaks in March, Outburst enters Friday's race off a fourth-place finish in the Music City at Kentucky Downs on Sept. 15. Trained by Eddie Kenneally, Outburst will be ridden by Florent Geroux and break from post position 10.

Stunning Sky comes into the Valley View off a solid summer that featured runner-up finishes at Saratoga in the Lake Placid (G2) and Saratoga Oaks Invitational. In her most recent start, she was fourth in the Dueling Grounds Oaks at Kentucky Downs trailing Micheline and Harvey's Lil Goil, the top two finishers in Saturday's Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (G1) at Keeneland.

Trained by Mike Maker, Stunning Sky will be ridden by Ricardo Santana Jr. and break from post position 11.

The field for the Valley View, with riders and weights from the inside, is: Duopoly (Tyler Gaffalione, 118 pounds), In Good Spirits (Miguel Mena, 118), Princess Grace (Shaun Bridgmohan, 118), Walk In Marrakesh (IRE) (Hernandez Jr., 118), Witez (Julien Leparoux, 118), How Ironic (Rafael Bejarano, 118), Pranked (David Cohen, 118), Lucky Betty (Declan Cannon, 118), Sugar Fix (Adam Beschizza, 120), Outburst (GB) (Geroux, 120), Stunning Sky (Santana Jr., 118) and Antoinette (Franco, 120).

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Jim Sabiston Passes Away

Canadian breeder Jim Sabiston passed away Saturday. He was 97. Sabiston operated Longview Farm near Stouffville, Ontario for more than six decades, beginning in 1956 with his first stallion Bimini Bay. Among the numerous sires he stood were Dawn Flight, Triumphant, Ground Cover, Good Old Mort and Bold Revenue. He bred stakes winners Rose and Shine, Grecian Touch, Silent Fleet, Katahaula County, Big Blunder and Bold Agent. Rose and Shine, winner of the 2011 Muskoka S. and Princess Elizabeth S., went on to produce last year’s Eclipse Award-winning 2-year-old filly and GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies winner British Idiom (Flashback).

A longtime member of the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society, he was awarded that organization’s Mint Julep Cup in 1996 in recognition of his dedication and lifetime contributions to the Thoroughbred industry.

A private funeral service will take place, with a Celebration of Life to be held at a later date.

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She’s a Julie One to Remember for Bradley and Partners

Peter Bradley has hand picked a number of yearlings that have gone on to become top-class runners–from GISW and now-sire Klimt (Quality Road) to Eclipse Champion Lady Eli (Divine Park). And while he can distinctly recall the days when he purchased those eventual headliners, so too can he remember the yearlings that he passed on who would go on to do big things.

Bradley first saw She’s a Julie (Elusive Quality) at the 2016 Keeneland September Sale, and while impressed with her physical, a simple vet issue kept him from bidding. She was purchased by Steve Asmussen as agent for Carol Castille’s Whispering Oaks.

“I think the score is Julie one million and veterinarians zero on this one,” Bradley quipped. “Steve was smart enough to buy her as a yearling. She was beautiful; I absolutely loved her. She had size, balance and a beautiful head on her.”

Bradley watched from the sidelines as ‘Julie’ won on debut as a juvenile and claimed the GIII Iowa Oaks that next summer. Soon after, the opportunity arose for him to buy back in on the filly. He jumped at the chance.

Other partners would eventually get in on the ownership, including Tim and Anna Cambron, Denali Stud, Rigney Racing and Madaket Stables.

After that first graded stakes victory in 2018, She’s Julie came back with a runner-up effort in the GI Alabama S. followed by a win in the GIII Remington Park Oaks.

A favorite in the Asmussen barn for her bright personality and namesake Julie Asmussen, She’s a Julie claimed consecutive graded stakes wins in her first two starts as a 4-year-old, including her first Grade I.

“There are two races I remember the most in Julie’s career,” Bradley said. “In the GIII Bayakoa at Oaklawn Park, she was much the best that day and came out of that race as good as a horse could come out. She was on her toes and in her feed tub, and we had high hopes coming into the GI La Troienne on Oaks Day. And she just did it. She ran her race. She came running from the three-eighths pole and got up in a great, gut-wrenching finish.”

Co-owner Tim Cambron echoed Bradley’s sentiments on the monumental day.

“The highlight of her career in my opinion was on Oaks Day when she ran on the undercard in a Grade I and won,” he said.”Being in the Champagne Room just before they presented the trophy for the Oaks was quite a treat.”

She’s a Julie got her second Grade I win this summer at Belmont in the GI Odgen Phipps S.

“She was genuine all the time, but the race she put in for the Ogden Phipps was her quintessential race,” Bradley said. “She had a lot to do coming down the stretch. Ricardo Santana fit her like a glove. He asked her for everything she had and she gave it to him. She was remarkable. She refused to lose that day.”

She’s a Julie retired this fall after a four-year campaign as a millionaire with five graded stakes wins on her resume. She ran in the money in over half of her starts, including four Grade I contests.

“It’s been a lot of fun to go to various tracks and watch her run,” Cambron said. “She always was in the game. You didn’t know if you were going to win, but you knew you were going to be there at the end. But most of the time she won.”

Bradley added, “The thing about Julie was her consistency. She absolutely laid it on the line every time she ran. Her first Grade I on Oaks Day last year was something special, but the fact that she came back and won a Grade I this year was just icing on the cake.”

She’s a Julie will be offered as Hip 208 at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale on Nov. 8 with the Denali Stud consignment.

“People are going to say, ‘wow’ when they come see She’s a Julie,” said Fasig-Tipton’s Boyd Browning. “She’s just an awesome physical. When they lead her out, people are just going to kind of smile and grin and say, ‘that’s almost like the perfect conformation that you would design for a racehorse or for a broodmare. She’s got great balance. She’s got great presence. She’s just one of those wow physical horses that will have everyone’s eye.”

Bradley added that the 5-year-old’s pedigree will be another attractive feature for buyers.

“Not only does she have the looks, but she’s got the pedigree. Uniquely, she is one of some 35 fillies out of a Dubai Millennium mare, and her dam is a half-sister to the dam of [GISW and sire] Bodemeister (Empire Maker). The family is just deep with racing quality.”

“I think it’s a great package being by Elusive Quality, who’s emerging as a broodmare sire,” Browning said. “He demonstrated ability on a racetrack with his speed, and his progeny are demonstrating the ability to carry speed over distance. She’s a Julie has been a top-class performer for several years now. She’s certainly demonstrated her talent and her ability in the right places when the world was watching. She’s been a pleasure to watch on the racetrack and it’s a great opportunity for someone to add her to their broodmare band.”

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