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Four Graces Sets Track Record in Beaumont Romp

Hammered into heavy favoritism with a recency edge over the come-backing ‘TDN Rising Star’ Wicked Whisper (Liam’s Map), Whitham Thoroughbreds’s Four Graces proved the easy winner of Friday’s GIII Beaumont S., stopping the clock in a stakes and track-record clocking of 1:24.90 for the extended seven-furlong distance.

Ridden for speed by Julien Leparoux over a track that had been playing kindly to front-end types, the homebred half-sister to McCraken (Ghostzapper) set a pressured pace from last year’s GI Frizette S. winner Wicked Whisper, as they whistled through an opening half-mile in :44.37. Four Graces stiff-armed the challenge of Wicked Whisper, having won the battle, and managed to win the war as well, coming home well clear of Sconsin. Brereton C. Jones’s Turtle Trax completed the trifecta for stallions who stood/stand at Jones’s Airdrie Stud. The aforementioned McCraken also stands at Airdrie.

“She’s a fast filly,” Leparoux said. “The track is pretty quick today too. But she was doing it very nicely for me in a good rhythm. That’s the way she likes to run–free–and she makes that big kick at the end… I’m surprised we broke the track record, really. But she’s getting much better right now and she’s doing very good.”

Four Graces was registering her second straight graded win, having posted a 2 1/2-length victory in the GIII Dogwood S. at Churchill June 6. She was a debut winner at Gulfstream Mar. 1, but settled for fourth attempting a one-turn mile there Apr. 10. She bounced back with a Churchill optional claiming tally over a strong group that included Sconsin, subsequent GIII Iowa Oaks runner-up Aurelia Garland (Constitution), and two other next-out allowance winners.

Trainer Ian Wilkes, who saddled the first and third home, said the winner would likely be aimed for next month’s GI Longines Test S. at Saratoga.

Friday, Keeneland
BEAUMONT S. PRESENTED BY KEENELAND SELECT-GIII, $98,000, Keeneland, 7-10, 3yo, f, 7f, 1:24.90, ft.
1–FOUR GRACES, 118, f, 3, by Majesticperfection
1st Dam: Ivory Empress (GSP, $189,402), by Seeking the Gold
2nd Dam: Madame Pandit, by Wild Again
3rd Dam: Tuesday Evening, by Nodouble
O/B-Whitham Thoroughbreds, LLC (KY); T-Ian R. Wilkes;
J-Julien R. Leparoux. $60,000. Lifetime Record: 5-4-0-0,
$194,450. *1/2 to Bondurant (War Front), MGSP, $288,234;
McCraken (Ghostzapper), MGSW & GISP, $869,728. Werk Nick
Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Sconsin, 118, f, 3, Include–Sconnie, by Tiznow.
O/B-Lloyd Madison Farms LLC (KY); T-Gregory D. Foley.
$20,000.
3–Turtle Trax, 118, f, 3, Cairo Prince–Great Family, by Harlan’s
Holiday. O/B-Brereton C. Jones (KY); T-Ian R. Wilkes. $10,000.
Margins: 4 3/4, 4 3/4, 6 1/4. Odds: 0.70, 4.50, 10.80.
Also Ran: Wicked Whisper, Slam Dunk. Scratched: Speech.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

Pedigree Notes:
Majesticperfection, now standing in Uruguay after beginning his career in Kentucky at Airdrie, will be represented Saturday at Keeneland by Bret Jones-bred MGSW Bell’s the One in the GI Madison S. Four Graces is one of five winners from as many foals to race and three graded performers out of Ivory Empress, who was second in the 2010 GIII Endine S. for these same connections. Ivory Empress is out of GSW and GISP Madame Pandit, making her a half to GISW Mea Domina (Dance Brightly). She has a 2-year-old colt named Milliken (Into Mischief) who has five published breezes at Churchill Downs and produced a full-sister to ‘Rising Star’ McCraken Mar. 31.

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Son Of Showcasing Leads Tattersalls July Sale’s Closing Session

Trade on the second and final session of the two-day Tattersalls July Sale continued in robust fashion with the clearance rate of 96 percent matching yesterday's remarkable figure.

The Tattersalls July Sale always attracts a broad cross-section of buyers from throughout the world and this year was no exception with purchasers from Australia, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Japan, Libya, Morocco, Pakistan, Turkey, the UAE and the U.S. all represented on the buyers sheets.

The top lot on the second day was last time out winner Pawpaw from Clive Cox's Beechdown Stables. The 3-year-old son of Showcasing was knocked down to Tattersalls marketing director Jimmy George for 62,000 guineas (US$82,192) on behalf of dual-purpose trainer Paul Webber.

“Paul has been up here all week doing the hard yards, I have just stood here and waved!” smiled George. “He should be a fun dual-purpose type for Paul.”

Pawpaw, who is out of a half-sister to the Group 1 winner Lend a Hand, won over 1 1/4 miles in June at Lingfield on his fifth career start.

Trainer Karl Burke's Wonderwork, who was owned by his wife Elaine, is bound for Dubai after being knocked down to Dubai-based assistant trainer Alessandro Marconi for 60,000 guineas (US$79,548).

“The horse has some very good form and Night Of Thunder is on fire,” said Marconi, adding: “But he comes from a very good trainer so it will be difficult to match! The horse will stay here for a couple of months and then head to Dubai.”

The 3-year-old gelding won on his debut as a 2-year-old. He has run three times this year and has won or placed on all three starts, and was offered with a 'Timeform' rating of 93.

It was an eventful few minutes for Burke whose star filly Dandalla won the Group 2 Duchess of Cambridge Stakes at Newmarket five minutes earlier.

At the conclusion of the 2020 Tattersalls July Sale, Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony commented;

“For a bloodstock sale conducted under normal circumstances to register a clearance rate in excess of 95 percent is quite an achievement. To do so in the current climate and with the prevailing government travel regulations preventing so many regular buyers from attending this week's sales is little short of phenomenal.

“There have been four COVID-affected sales which have taken place at Tattersalls in the past three weeks and the clearance rate at every one of them has exceeded 80 percent. Not for a moment are we pretending that it has been plain sailing at all these sales, but they have all exceeded expectations and have all demonstrated an extraordinary resilience in the face of unprecedented challenges and an enduring appetite for British and Irish bloodstock at all levels of the market.

“Over the two days of the Tattersalls July Sale we have sold horses to buyers from nearly 20 different countries, most of whom have had to explore unconventional ways in which to participate at the sale. Our recently introduced live internet bidding platform has added a new dimension and has been consistently used by international buyers, with many others using the telephone bidding service provided by our team on the ground. While the catalog may understandably have lacked a little of the usual quality and quantity, demand for horses in training and in particular well-bred fillies and mares has given some cause for encouragement in uncertain times. We must thank vendors and purchasers alike, all of whom have shown a determination to keep the wheels of the industry turning in the face of considerable adversity.”

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Weekend Lineup: Keeneland In July, Opening Weekend At Del Mar

This weekend features a unique edition of the Keeneland meet as the Lexington track runs spectator-free through July 12. The track's marquee Kentucky Derby prep race, the Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes, is one of six graded stakes on Saturday's card and offers 170 points toward qualification to this year's Derby with 100 points going to the winner, 40 to the runner-up, 20 to third place and 10 points to fourth.

TVG will be live on site at Keeneland for each day of the track's Summer Meet and will feature exclusive coverage of the Blue Grass Stakes on July 11. The network will also be live from Del Mar this weekend as the track kicks off its summer meet on July 10. TVG will again partner with NBC Sports on Sunday as “Trackside Live” will be simulcast from 5 p.m. ET to 7 p.m. ET featuring the Grade 2 Elkhorn Stakes from Keeneland.

Racing for the closing weekend at Belmont Park will be featured on the Fox Sports show “America's Day at the Races,” running through July 12 on either FS1 or FS2.

Friday July 10

4:24 p.m.—$100,000 Grade 3 Beaumont Stakes at Keeneland on TVG

JoAnn and Alex Lieblong's Wicked Whisper, winner of last fall's Grade 1 Frizette Stakes at Belmont Park, will make her 2020 debut Friday when she headlines the Beaumont Stakes, which will be run over 7 furlongs, 184 feet and offers 34 points toward the Kentucky Oaks on a 20-8-4-2 scale to the top four finishers. Trained by Steve Asmussen and to be ridden by Joel Rosario, Wicked Whisper has not raced since finishing fifth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita. She will break from post position four.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/KEE071020USA7-EQB.html

4:57 p.m.—$300,000 Grade 1 Maker's Mark Mile Stakes at Keeneland on TVG

Peter Brant's Raging Bull (FR), winner of the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile in his most recent start, headlines a field of 10 entered for the Maker's Mark Mile, the first of four Grade 1 races during the five-day Summer Meet. Trained by Chad Brown, Raging Bull returns to Keeneland, where he finished fourth in last year's Maker's Mark Mile. A two-time Grade 1 winner, Raging Bull will be ridden by Joel Rosario and break from post position four. Brown also trains Without Parole (GB), who finished third in the Shoemaker Mile. Owned by John Gunther and his daughter Tanya Gunther, Without Parole finished third in last year's Breeders' Cup Mile in his U.S. debut. In 2018, Without Parole won the Group 1 St. James's Palace at Royal Ascot in England.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/KEE071020USA8-EQB.html

Saturday July 11

2:45 p.m.—$150,000 Grade 2 Appalachian Stakes at Keeneland on TVG

Godolphin's Alms, a two-time Grade 3 winner, heads an evenly matched field of six 3-year-old fillies entered for the Appalachian, to be run at a mile on the Keeneland turf course. Trained by two-time Appalachian winner Mike Stidham, Alms has won four of five career starts, including Grade 3 victories in the Matron at Belmont and the Jimmy Durante at Del Mar. Fifth as the favorite in the Tepin Stakes at Churchill Downs in her most recent start, Alms will be ridden by Joel Rosario.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/KEE071120USA4-EQB.html

2:55 p.m.—$150,000 Grade 2 Ruffian Stakes at Belmont Park on FS2

Eclipse Award-winner Monomoy Girl will attempt to bolster her bid for another championship season in headlining a five-horse field for the Ruffian Stakes over Belmont Park's main track. Trained by Brad Cox, Monomoy Girl arrives at the event off an allowance victory on May 16 at Churchill Downs contested at the Ruffian distance of a one-turn mile. Her 2 ¾-length score off a nearly 18-month layoff marked the 5-year-old debut for the chestnut daughter of Tapizar, whose previous start was a one-length victory in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Distaff in November 2018 at Churchill Downs.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/BEL071120USA4-EQB.html

3:18 p.m.—$250,000 Grade 1 Madison Stakes at Keeneland on TVG

Grade 1 winners Guarana and Mia Mischief head a field of nine fillies and mares for the Madison that will be run over seven furlongs on the main track. Three Chimneys Farm and Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings Guarana debuted at Keeneland during the 2019 Spring Meet with a 14¾-length victory that was a springboard to Grade 1 victories in the Acorn and Coaching Club of America Oaks. A dominating winner in her 2020 debut last month at Churchill Downs, Guarana is trained by Chad Brown. Stonestreet Stables' Mia Mischief, who broke her maiden in her second start by 16¼ lengths during Keeneland's 2017 Fall Meet, won the Grade 1 Humana Distaff in 2019 at Churchill Downs. A winner of two of three starts in 2020, Mia Mischief is trained by Steve Asmussen.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/KEE071120USA5-EQB.html

3:51 p.m.—$150,000 Grade 2 Shakertown Stakes at Keeneland on TVG

Wesley Ward's Bound for Nowhere, winner of the 2018 Shakertown and runner-up in 2019, headlines an overflow field of 14 in the 24th running of the Grade 2 event. Trained by Ward, Bound for Nowhere was second in the Grade 3 San Simeon at Santa Anita in March in his lone start of 2020. A victory Saturday would put Bound for Nowhere in the same class as Soaring Free (2004, 2005) as the only two-time winners of the Shakertown.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/KEE071120USA6-EQB.html

4:15 p.m.—$125,000 Grade 3 Robert G. Dick Memorial Stakes at Delaware Park on TVG

Morsches Stable Gentle Ruler will be seeking a repeat victory in the Robert G. Dick Memorial at Delaware Park this Saturday. Last year, Gentle Ruler posted 2 ¾-length in the Robert G. Dick Memorial. The Kentucky-bred followed with a fourth in the Grade 3 Waya Stakes at Saratoga on August 4 and completed her season with a half-length score in the $500,000 Ramsey Farm Stakes at Kentucky Downs on September 12 and a 2 ½-length victory in the Grade 3 Dowager Stakes at Keeneland on October 20.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/DEL071120USA7-EQB.html

4:15 p.m.—$175,000 Grade 2 Connaught Cup Stakes at Woodbine on TVG

City Boy, who pulled off a 24-1 upset in last year's Grade 2 Nearctic Stakes, faces seven rivals on the E.P. Taylor Turf Course in Saturday's Connaught Cup Stakes. Trained by 2020 Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee Mike Keogh, the six-year-old gelding brings a record of 3-6-2 from 17 starts into the seven-furlong Connaught Cup. A son of City Zip, City Boy debuted on April 21, 2017, finishing second in a five-furlong main track race at Woodbine.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/WO071120CAN7-EQB.html

4:24 p.m.—$400,000 Grade 1 Ashland Stakes at Keeneland on TVG

Grade 2 stakes winners Bonny South, Tonalist's Shape and Venetian Harbor headline the 1 1/16-miles Ashland Stakes, which offers 170 points on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks on a 100-40-20-10 scale to the first four finishers. Juddmonte Farms' Bonny South, winner of the Fair Grounds Oaks on March 21, has been working consistently at Keeneland since late April. Trained by Brad Cox, who won the 2018 Central Bank Ashland with champion Monomoy Girl, Bonny South is second on the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard with 100 points.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/KEE071120USA7-EQB.html

4:45 p.m.—$400,000 Grade 2 Delaware Handicap at Delaware Park on TVG

Peter M. Brant's Dunbar Road tops the 83rd renewal of the Delaware Handicap, which has attracted a field of eight and will be contested at 1 1/8-miles for the first time. In her only outing this year, Dunbar Road posted a 1 ¾-length victory in the $100,000 Shawnee Stakes at Churchill Downs on May 23. Last year, the 4-year-old trained by Chad Brown won the Grade 2 Mother Goose at Belmont Park and the Grade 1 Alabama at Saratoga before running third in the Grade 1 Spinster at Keeneland. The daughter of Quality Road closed her 2019 campaign by finishing fifth in the Breeders' Cup Distaff.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/DEL071120USA8-EQB.html

4:57 p.m.—$350,000 Grade 1 Jenny Wiley Stakes at Keeneland on TVG

E Five Racing Thoroughbreds' Rushing Fall will chase history Saturday when she headlines a field of eight in the Jenny Wiley going 1 1/16 miles on the turf. Trained by three-time race winner Chad Brown, Rushing Fall will be trying to join Intercontinental (GB) (2004-2005) as the only repeat winner of the race. With a victory Saturday, Rushing Fall would join Lady Eli and Beholder as the only horses since 1976 to win Grade 1 races at ages 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/KEE071120USA8-EQB.html

5:30 p.m.—$600,000 Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland on TVG

Peter Callahan's Swiss Skydiver will try to put herself on the Kentucky Derby trail Saturday when she takes on males in a field of 13 horses entered for the 96th running of the Blue Grass Stakes for 3-year-olds going 1 1/8 miles. Swiss Skydiver will be seeking her initial Kentucky Derby points in her first test against males. Winner of the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks, Grade 3 Fantasy and Grade 2 Santa Anita Oaks in her past three starts, Swiss Skydiver will get a 5-pound weight allowance Saturday and carry 118 pounds in the Blue Grass. No filly has won the Blue Grass and only one filly has run in the race since it debuted at Keeneland during the track's inaugural Spring Meet in April 1937.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/KEE071120USA9-EQB.html

Sunday July 12

4:24 p.m.—$100,000 Grade 3 Transylvania Stakes at Keeneland on TVG

Three Diamonds Farm's Field Pass will face 10 foes as he goes for his fourth stakes victory of 2020 in the 32nd running of the Transylvania Stakes for 3-year-olds going 1 1/16 miles on the turf. Fourth in last fall's Grade 3 Bourbon Stakes in his lone Keeneland start, Field Pass has posted stakes victories on the grass this year in the Dania Beach and Gulfstream and last month in the Audubon at Churchill Downs. Field Pass also won the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks on Turfway Park's all-weather surface in March.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/KEE071220USA7-EQB.html

5:30 p.m.—$175,000 Grade 2 Elkhorn Stakes at Keeneland on NBCSN

Michael Hui's six-time graded stakes winner Zulu Alpha will shoot for his third victory of 2020 when he headlines a field of 13 grass marathoners in the Elkhorn, contested over 1½ miles over the Keeneland turf course. Winner of the 2018 Grade 3 Sycamore and third as the favorite in the 2019 Dixiana Elkhorn, Zulu Alpha started his 2020 campaign with a victory in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational and followed that with a triumph in the Grade 2 Mac Diarmida. In his most recent start, Zulu Alpha was second in the Grade 2 Pan American going 1½ miles.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/KEE071220USA9-EQB.html

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‘Speech’-Less Beaumont Leaves Filly Quintet

Early Thursday, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners tweeted that Speech (Mr Speaker), second to GII Toyota Blue Grass favorite Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil) in the GII Santa Anita Oaks June 6, would be withdrawn from Friday’s GIII Beaumont S. in favor of Saturday’s GI Ashland S., leaving a competitive field of five 3-year-old fillies for the seven-furlong affair.

‘TDN Rising Star‘ Wicked Whisper (Liam’s Map) kicks off her sophomore campaign Friday afternoon and should vie for favoritism. Impressive in breaking her maiden by 6 1/4 lengths over future SW & GSP Highland Glory (Sky Mesa) on Saratoga debut last August, the $500,000 Keeneland September yearling defeated recent GIII Victory Ride S. heroine and fellow ‘Rising Star’ Frank’s Rockette (Into Mischief) and Slam Dunk (Into Mischief) in the Oct. 6 GI Frizette S. by 2 3/4 front-running lengths. The chestnut faces the starter for the first time since a distant fifth in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies last November.

Janis Whitham’s Four Graces (Majesticperfection), a homebred half-sister to Airdrie Stud’s McCraken (Ghostzapper), is perfect in three starts at this tricky seven-furlong distance. A first-out winner at Gulfstream Mar. 1, she stubbed her toe when fourth over that track’s one-turn mile Apr. 10, but has since added a May 16 Churchill allowance and the June 6 GIII Dogwood S. Trainer Ian Wilkes also sends out Turtle Trax (Cairo Prince).

Should the two chief protagonists happen to cancel each other out on the front end, Sconsin (Include) could prove the chief beneficiary. A maiden winner at second asking off the turf at the Fair Grounds in February, the Lloyd Madison homebred was fourth in the aforementioned May 16 allowance in Louisville won by Four Graces and most recently belied odds of 19-1 to post a five-length victory from off the pace in a 6 1/2-furlong allowance beneath the Twin Spires June 13.

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