Trainer Kenny McPeek sent out his fifth winner of the Grade 1 Darley Alcibiades this Friday at Keeneland, saddling Harold Lerner, Magdalena Racing and Nehoc Stables' Simply Ravishing for a dominant front-running victory by open lengths. The 2-year-old daughter of Laoban ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.58, and is undefeated in three career starts. Ridden by Luis Saez, Simply Ravishing earned an expenses-paid berth to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies next month, also at Keeneland.
Breaking from the outermost stall in the field of seven, Simply Ravishing worked her way to the lead before the clubhouse turn, and Saez nudged her over to the rail with a 1 1/2-length advantage. The filly relaxed through fractions of :24.43, :48.59, and 1:12.94, maintaining her easy lead all the way to the top of the lane.
Saez looked under his arm turning into the short stretch run, and gave the filly her cue. Simply Ravishing responded easily, pulling away to win by about seven lengths on the wire.
In an all-out battle for second, the McPeek-trained Crazy Beautiful defeated Travel Column in a photo finish. Thoughtfully checked in fourth, and Oliviaofthedesert (also trained by McPeek) was fifth.
“I knew two very fast horses were inside,” said Saez. “(I thought) let's break from there and see what they're doing. She breaks so sharp; she was right there. It was easy. We took it (the lead). She was traveling pretty good. I felt like I had a lot of horse all the way. When we came to the straight, she just took off. She did it pretty easy, like normal. Like nothing. It was amazing. She's a very good filly.”
“They are both really special fillies,” said McPeek. “I kind of hated to run them against each other, but it is a race we are obviously fond of and we felt like we had a heck of a chance with both of them in there. We will probably go to the Breeders' Cup with both of them. I told (D. Wayne) Lukas a long time ago that I would win more Alcibiades than him. (Lukas has six wins in the race.)”
Bred in New York by Meg Levy, Simply Ravishing is out of the unplaced More Than Ready mare Four Wishes. A $50,000 yearling at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall sale in 2019, Simply Ravishing won her debut at Saratoga over two turns on the turf. She came back a month later to win the Spa's P.G. Johnson Stakes, originally scheduled for 1 1/16 miles on the turf but rained off and held over seven furlongs on the main track instead. Now, the dual-surface undefeated filly has won all three of her career starts for earnings of over $300,000.
“I don't think we know how good she is,” McPeek assistant Alan Shell said. “She's won on turf, dirt, going short, going long. It's just real exciting. We're just so thankful we have owners like Mr. (Harold) Lerner and Jack Cohen and Magdalena Racing that are behind us. They made a commitment when they bought this filly. They buy the best horses. Kenny did a great job picking her out. It's all a team effort.”
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