Undefeated Thoughtfully Chasing Breeders’ Cup Berth In Friday’s Alcibiades

Heider Family Stables' undefeated Thoughtfully headlines a field of seven 2-year-old fillies entered Tuesday for Friday's 69th running of the $350,000 Darley Alcibiades (G1) going 1 1/16 miles on the main track at Keeneland.

The Darley Alcibiades is one of 10 Breeders' Cup Challenge Series races in the coming days at Keeneland that will award the winners fees-paid berths into their respective World Championship races. The Darley Alcibiades winner gets a free pass into the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) to be run here Nov. 6.

The Darley Alcibiades will go as the ninth race on Friday's 10-race opening day program for the Fall Meet that runs 17 days through Oct. 24. First post time is 1:05 p.m. ET with the Darley Alcibiades going at 5:40 p.m.

Trained by Steve Asmussen, Thoughtfully debuted June 11 at Churchill Downs and romped to an 8 ¾-length score going 5 ½ furlongs. A month later at Saratoga, the Tapit filly scored a 5-length victory in the Adirondack (G2) going 6½ furlongs.

Ricardo Santana Jr., who has been aboard for both victories, has the call Friday and will break from post position one.

Likely to vie for favoritism with Thoughtfully is Phoenix Thoroughbred's Crazy Beautiful.

Trained by four-time Darley Alcibiades winner Kenny McPeek, Crazy Beautiful won the Aug. 9 Runhappy Debutante at Ellis Park before running a troubled second as the favorite in the Sept. 3 Pocahontas (G3) at Churchill Downs. Brian Hernandez Jr. has the mount and will break from post position four.

McPeek will have two other starters in the race: Susan Moulton's Oliviaofthedesert and Harold Lerner, Magdalena Racing and Nehoc Stables' Simply Ravishing.

Oliviaofthedesert has three starts won her lone race on dirt by 5½ lengths at Ellis in August. She will be ridden Friday by Corey Lanerie and break from post position three. Simply Ravishing is perfect in two starts and enters Friday's race off a daylight victory in the off-the-turf P.G. Johnson at Saratoga Sept. 3. Luis Saez has the mount and will exit post position seven.

The field for the Darley Alcibiades, with riders from the rail out, is: Thoughtfully (Santana Jr.), Travel Column (Florent Geroux), Oliviaofthedesert (Lanerie), Crazy Beautiful (Hernandez Jr.), Xtrema (James Graham), Gramercy (Joel Rosario) and Simply Ravishing (Saez). All starters will carry 122 pounds.

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‘Multipurpose’ Diamond Oops Back On Dirt For Friday’s Ogden Phoenix

Diamond 100 Racing Club, Amy Dunne, D P Racing and Patrick Biancone Racing's Diamond Oops arrived at Keeneland Monday morning following an overnight van ride from Palm Meadows Training Center in South Florida for a run in Friday afternoon's $200,000 Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix (G2).

Monday's arrival marked the second trip to Kentucky in a month for Diamond Oops, who was last seen in the Commonwealth winning the TwinSpires Turf Sprint (G2) Presented by Sysco going 5½ furlongs on Sept. 4 at Churchill Downs. In his lone Keeneland start, Diamond Oops was second in last year's Shadwell Turf Mile (G1).

“He's a multipurpose horse,” said Andie Biancone, assistant to her father, Patrick Biancone. “I think he is better on the dirt.”

A two-time Grade 3 winner sprinting on the dirt, Diamond Oops worked a bullet half-mile in :47.85 at Palm Meadows on Friday. However, that performance was not the key to the gelding trying the Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix going 6 furlongs on the dirt, a “Win and You're In” for the Breeders' Cup Sprint.

“My dad had planned on the Phoenix,” Biancone said of Diamond Oops, who also was nominated to this weekend's Shadwell Turf Mile and Woodford (G2) Presented by TVG. Florent Geroux will have the mount.

Diamond Oops was accompanied on the van by a pony but not by Sole Volante, the 11th-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby (G1) Presented by Woodford Reserve who is co-owned by Andie Biancone.

“My dad wanted to give him more time (after the Derby),” Biancone said of Sole Volante, who was nominated to the Shadwell Turf Mile. “He is looking at bringing him up for an undercard race on Breeders' Cup weekend (Nov. 6-7).”

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Keeneland October Digital Sale Catalog Features Notable Horses Of Racing Age, Yearlings

The catalog for Keeneland's October Digital Sale, to be held Thursday, Oct. 1 as part of Keeneland's new Digital Sales Ring platform, is now available at keenelanddigital.com and features 67 horses of racing age and yearlings.

Among the prominent offerings are:

Saturday Night – 2-year-old filly by Tapit who is a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Nickname and is a maiden winner at Indiana Grand on Sept. 15.

Istan Council – 4-year-old filly by Istan who was third in the listed Groupie Doll at Ellis Park on Aug. 9.

Moonshine Dancing – 2-year-old filly by Speightster who won her career debut at Churchill Downs on Sept. 20.

Perfect Happiness – 3-year-old filly by Majesticperfection who was second in her last two starts, both allowance events at Churchill in September.

Lady of Luxury – 4-year-old filly by Mark Valeski who won an allowance event at Indiana Grand on Aug. 4.

Online bidding opens at noon ET on Oct. 1 and closes that day at 6 p.m.

BUYERS – How to Register and Bid

Buyers are encouraged to register for an account in the Keeneland Digital Sales Ring in advance of sale day. In order to log in to the Keeneland Digital Sales Ring, you should register for an account or log in through the Keeneland Sales Portal. Your universal login applies to both the Sales Portal and the Digital Sales Ring.

Step 1 – Visit portal.keeneland.com and create an account or log in to your existing Keeneland Sales Portal Account;

Step 2 – Upon sign in, click MY ACCOUNT and review your current credit limit. Request credit as needed. We recommend you do this prior to the sale day;

Step 3 – Click the DIGITAL SALES RING button in the top right corner to automatically access and participate in the Digital Sale.

Buyers have two options for bidding on the day of the sale:

  • Direct Bid allows you to bid manually as you go.
  • Max Bid establishes a top price that you are willing to pay for a hip. As the bidding progresses, the software will automatically bid on your behalf as you are outbid up to your maximum.

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Grade 1 Winner Lady Prancealot To Be Offered At Keeneland November Sale

Grade 1 winner Lady Prancealot, who was third in the Sept. 26 Grade 1 Rodeo Drive at Santa Anita, will be offered as a racing or broodmare prospect during the premier Book 1 of Keeneland's November Breeding Stock Sale on Nov. 9.

Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent, will consign the 4-year-old daughter of Sir Prancealot, who has earned more than $640,000 while competing against the best of her division.

Lady Prancealot's connections all praise the filly for her talent and consistency.

“She's been unbelievably sound,” co-owner Michael Iavarone said. “She hasn't missed a beat. She's pretty much taken us everywhere we wanted to go.”

“Lady Prancealot has taken our partners on a great ride,” said Phillip Shelton, racing manager of co-owner Medallion Racing. “She won our first graded stakes at Keeneland in the G3 Pin Oak Valley View before going on to win the G1 American Oaks. We formed our partnership to have fillies like her and count ourselves lucky that she shows up every time.”

“Lady Prancealot has been unlucky this year,” trainer Richard Baltas said. “She has run big races but never gets any pace to run at. She's all class and just needs some speed up front to get her back in the winner's circle at the top level.”

“Lady Prancealot represents a great opportunity to race or breed in 2021,” said Mark Taylor, Taylor Made's vice president of marketing and public sales operations. “Her race potential speaks for itself, and her female family has been consistently producing top-class horses on both sides of the Atlantic for the last 50 years.”

Lady Prancealot began her career in England, where she was first, second or third in her initial three starts. She arrived in the U.S. and was second in her first two races, the Del Mar Juvenile Fillies Turf and Surfer Girl at Santa Anita. Those performances earned the Southern California-based filly a start in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Churchill Downs.

In 2019, Lady Prancealot faced a number of division standouts, winning the G3 Honeymoon at Santa Anita and finishing third to Grade 1 winner Cambier Parc in the G1 Del Mar Oaks Presented by The Jockey Club. Sent to the East Coast, she contested the rich Jockey Club Oaks Invitational at Belmont Park.

During Keeneland's Fall Meet, Lady Prancealot captured the 1 1/16-mile G3 Pin Oak Valley View by three-quarters of a length. That performance set her up for a triumphant return home, where she was the 8-5 favorite for the prestigious G1 American Oaks at Santa Anita and won by a half-length.

This year, Lady Prancealot has competed in Grade 1 and Grade 2 competition in Southern California with a runner-up finish in Del Mar's G2 John C. Mabee on Sept. 5 and a third in the aforementioned Rodeo Drive.

“What differentiates her is she has an explosive turn of foot,” Iavarone said. “I love horses that have that style. You think she has no chance, and all of a sudden here she comes out of nowhere. Horses like that really make the heart beat. They're really exciting. She never not shows up. She puts in her run every single time.”

Lady Prancealot has an international pedigree with winning connections in the U.S. and abroad. Also representing her sire, Sir Prancealot, is Beau Recall, who recently won the G2 Churchill Distaff Turf Mile for the second consecutive year to increase her earnings to more than $1.4 million. In August, another daughter, Irish-bred 2-year-old Miss Amulet, took the G2 Sky Bet Lowther at York in England and is considered a top performer in her division.

In the U.S., Sir Prancealot also is represented by Grade 2 winner Madam Dancealot and Keeneland's 2019 Limestone Turf Sprint winner, Ginger Nut.

Lady Prancealot's female family features several successful international runners. Among them are Shadwell Stable's homebred Almanaar, a Group 3 winner in France who became a Grade 1 winner in the U.S. and has competed in the Breeders' Cup World Championships; and Almanaar's dam, Baqah, a Group 2 winner in France and a Group 1-placed runner in England.

“Keeneland is very pleased to offer Lady Prancealot in the November Sale, which is a key source of bloodstock for buyers from around the world,” Keeneland President-Elect and Interim Head of Sales Shannon Arvin said. “Lady Prancealot has a special connection to Keeneland through her victory in the Pin Oak Valley View, and we will be excited to see her in the sales ring.”

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