Opening Day: Fire At Will, My Girl Red Headline Friday Stakes At Keeneland

Three Diamonds Farm's Fire At Will, winner of last fall's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) here at Keeneland, will face five rivals in Friday's 33rd running of the $150,000 Kentucky Utilities Transylvania (G3) for 3-year-olds going 1 1/16 miles on the turf.

The Transylvania will go as the ninth race with a 5:30 p.m. post time.

Trained by Mike Maker, who saddled Field Pass to a victory in the 2020 Transylvania, Fire At Will returns to the turf after finishing eighth in the Fountain of Youth (G2) on dirt in his most recent start. Tyler Gaffalione has the mount and will break from post position four.

Top threats to Fire At Will could come from Bantry Farms' Barrister Tom, winner of the More Than Ready Juvenile at Kentucky Downs last fall, and Stuart Janney III's Scarlett Sky, runner-up in the Palm Beach (L) at Gulfstream Park in his most recent start.

Trained by Michael Ewing, Barrister Tom will be making his 2021 debut and break from post five under Drayden Van Dyke.

Joel Rosario has the mount on Scarlett Sky and will break from post one for trainer Shug McGaughey, who won the 2011 Transylvania with Air Support.

The field for the Transylvania, with riders and weights from the inside, is: Scarlett Sky (Rosario, 118 pounds), Palazzi (Chris Landeros, 120), Breadman (Luis Saez, 118), Fire At Will (Gaffalione, 123), Barrister Tom (Van Dyke, 120) and Earls Rock (IRE) (Florent Geroux, 120).

Erich Brehm's My Girl Red, stylish winner of last summer's Sorrento (G2) at Del Mar, headlines a field of seven 3-year-old fillies entered Monday for Friday's 36th running of the $150,000 Beaumont (G3) Presented by Keeneland Select.

Run over the Beard Course of 7 furlongs, 184 feet, the Beaumont offers 17 points toward the $1.25 million Kentucky Oaks (G1) on a 10-4-2-1 scale to the first- through fourth-place finishers.

The Beaumont will go as the afternoon's eighth race with a 4:57 p.m. post time. First post time for Friday's 10-race program that opens the 15-day Spring Meet is 1:05.

Trained by Keith Desormeaux, My Girl Red will be making her 2021 debut on Friday. James Graham will be aboard for the first time and break from post one.

Two fillies coming out of Florida may provide challenges to My Girl Red.

West Point Thoroughbreds, John Ballantyne, William Freeman and Michael Valdes' Lady Traveler finished second in the Forward Gal (G3) at Gulfstream in her most recent start on dirt. Trained by Dale Romans, Lady Traveler will break from post five under Corey Lanerie.

G. Watts Humphrey Jr.'s Farsighted, winner of the Any Limit at Gulfstream in her most recent start, returns to Keeneland where she broke her maiden last fall before running second in the Songbird on the Breeders' Cup's Future Stars Friday undercard. Julien Leparoux has the mount and will break from post three.

The field for the Beaumont, with riders and weights from the rail out, is: My Girl Red (Graham, 120 pounds), Slumber Party (Joel Rosario, 118), Farsighted (Julien Leparoux, 118), Amalfi Princess (Tyler Gaffalione, 118), Lady Traveler (Lanerie, 118), Cilla (Colby Hernandez, 118) and Twenty Carat (Luis Saez, 118).

Lindy Farms and Ice Wine Stable's Fauci, never worse than second in four career starts, will begin his 2021 campaign Friday when he headlines a field of 10 3-year-olds entered Monday for the second running of the $100,000 Palisades Turf Sprint going 5½ furlongs on the grass.

The Palisades Turf Sprint will go as the seventh race Friday afternoon with a 4:24 p.m. post time.

Trained by Wesley Ward, Fauci ran second to stablemates Golden Pal in the Skidmore at Saratoga and Outadore in the Juvenile Turf Sprint at Kentucky Downs to close his 2020 campaign.

Tyler Gaffalione has the mount on Fauci and will break from post position eight.

Returning to Keeneland, where he won the Indian Summer (L) Presented by Keeneland Select last October, is Kristin Boice and Marylou Holden's Bodenheimer.

Trained by Valorie Lund, Bodenheimer closed 2020 with an eighth-place finish behind Golden Pal in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G2) here. Brian Hernandez Jr. will be back aboard and break from post two.

The field for the Palisades Turf Sprint, with riders and weights from the inside, is: Lookin for Loki (Mitchell Murrill, 118 pounds), Bodenheimer (Hernandez, 120), Chasing Artie (Joel Rosario, 118), Blameworthy (Florent Geroux, 118), Smokin' Jay (Luis Saez, 118), Rustler (Corey Lanerie, 118), Unitedandresolute (James Graham, 118), Fauci (Gaffalione, 118), Lock Up (Drayden Van Dyke, 118) and J C's Champ (Emmanuel Esquivel, 118).

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Keeneland Maker’s Mark Bottle Fundraiser to Benefit LexArts, Isaac Murphy Memorial Garden

This year, the annual release of a commemorative Maker's Mark Bourbon bottle in partnership with Keeneland will benefit LexArts, greater Lexington's premier cultural development, advocacy, and fundraising organization, to support its initiatives at the Isaac Murphy Memorial Art Garden in Lexington. Murphy was a Hall of Fame jockey who remains the only rider to win the Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Oaks and Clark H. in the same year (1884). The Art Garden is the first park in the U.S. to honor African American jockeys, who were the earliest Black professional athletes.

For the first time, the fundraiser will feature three distinct bottles, each with its own label featuring the work of artists Sandra Oppegard, Andre Pater, or Tyler Robertson. The bottles are all pre-signed by the artist who created each label along with Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin, Maker's Mark Managing Director Rob Samuels, and one of three active Hall of Fame jockeys who have won the GI Maker's Mark Mile S. at Keeneland multiple times: Javier Castellano, Edgar Prado, and John Velazquez.

The three bottles will go on sale Friday, Apr. 2. This begins a three-year series benefiting LexArts initiatives, with the same three artists creating new labels each year for the commemorative release.

“To have the immeasurable support of these two iconic brands, Keeneland and Maker's Mark, is meaningful in so many ways for LexArts and our entire arts community,” said Ame Sweetall, LexArts President and CEO. “The support of the Isaac Murphy Memorial Art Garden this partnership will further engage and enrich the East End community and build upon the early work of those who made the art garden a reality more than ten years ago.”

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Hush of a Storm Aiming for Blue Grass

Hush of a Storm (Creative Cause), a scratch from Saturday's GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks despite having won that event's local prep, could make his next start in Keeneland's GII Toyota Blue Grass S. next Saturday. “We hope to run in the Blue Grass,” trainer Bill Morey said Sunday morning from Keeneland. “When we scratched, we brought him here yesterday afternoon.” The $75,000 OBS April grad has won his last three starts, all on the Turfway Tapeta, including the John Battaglia Memorial S. Feb. 26.

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Hush Of A Storm Takes Detour From Turfway To Keeneland For Blue Grass

Joseph P. Morey Jr. Revocable Trust's Hush of a Storm, a winner of three consecutive races, could make his next start Saturday in the 97th running of Keeneland's $800,000 Toyota Blue Grass (G2) in Lexington, Ky. The race is worth 170 qualifying points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby (G1) on a 100-40-20-10 basis to the top four finishers.

Updated Kentucky Derby leaderboard

“We hope to run in the Blue Grass,” trainer Bill Morey said Sunday morning at Keeneland. “When we scratched (out of Saturday's Jeff Ruby Steaks-G3 at Turfway Park), we brought him here yesterday afternoon.”

A son of Creative Cause, Hush of a Storm was the 4-1 second choice on the morning line for the Jeff Ruby off a victory in the Feb. 26 John Battaglia Memorial. In that race, he defeated eventual Ruby winner Like the King.

Morey said Hush of a Storm is scheduled to work Monday morning. Santiago Gonzalez, who has been aboard for all three of Hush of a Storm's victories, would have the mount in the Toyota Blue Grass.

According to stakes coordinator Tiffany Bourque, here is the prospective field for the race:

$800,000 TOYOTA BLUE GRASS (G2) – Essential Quality (trainer Brad Cox), Hidden Stash (Vicki Oliver), Highly Motivated (Chad Brown), Rombauer (Michael McCarthy), Sittin On Go (Dale Romans). Possible: Hush of a Storm (William Morey), Keepmeinmind (Robertino Diodoro).

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