Bred by Southern Equine Stables, Keepmeinmind was runner-up to future two-time Eclipse Award winner Essential Quality (Tapit) in the GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity and finished third to that rival in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile before breaking his maiden in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. Sixth in the GI Kentucky Derby and fourth in the GI Preakness S. after sluggish starts in those Classics, the bay was a running-on third in the GIII Ohio Derby before going down by a half-length behind Essential Quality in last year's GII Jim Dandy S. Originally trained by Robertino Diodoro, Keepmeinmind was conditioned at four by Todd Pletcher to a Saratoga allowance score in July and a third to Life Is Good (Into Mischief) in the GI Woodward S. this past October.

“Keepmeinmind is a specimen with a terrific disposition,” said Pletcher. “He competed with and beat the best of the best. A big boost for the New York breeding roster.”

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Rallying to victory on debut going seven panels at Saratoga Sept. 3, the $200,000 KEESEP buy came from way out of it to be fourth behind next-out GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile and likely champion Forte (Violence) going this distance in Keeneland's GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity S. Oct. 8.

Hammered down to 3-2 favoritism off that effort, Instant Coffee held his breath a moment at the break and was jostled by his neighbor when making his entrance. Settling in sixth, the bay bided his time as 24-1 shot Gigante (Not This Time) dictated terms, coasting through early splits of :24.76 and :50 flat. Creeping up the outside to improve his position on the backstretch run as Cyclone Mischief (Into Mischief) charged up to take command, Instant Coffee ranged up four wide turning for home to take on the top two as Curly Jack (Good Magic) launched a bid on the fence. They were four abreast with a sixteenth left to run, but that only lasted a moment as Instant Coffee kicked into high gear, powering home to a convincing 1 1/4-length score. Curly Jack held second and Hayes Strike (Connect) filled the show spot. Instant Coffee earned 10 points towards a spot in the gate for the Run for the Roses.

“This is one of the biggest reasons why we do this–to be on the Road to the Kentucky Derby,” Cox said. “We're extremely proud of this colt to win like that in just his third start. He really does whatever you ask of him in the morning. It was a pretty slow pace but Luis kept after him and he was able to keep grinding out the win.”

“He broke a little bit slow today so we got behind the pace,” winning jockey Luis Saez said. “I was a little worried because they weren't really going fast at all up front and I was pretty wide. I could tell around the far turn my horse was trying very hard and I was very confident in him. We were able to make a big run into the lane and he kept finding more. He's a young horse who's just getting started and figuring things out.”

Pedigree Notes:

Instant Coffee is the third graded winner for his freshman sire Bolt d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro) and his first on dirt. He is also the fifth black-type scorer for the young Spendthrift stallion, providing the late B. Wayne Hughes' operation with a sweep of Churchill's graded events Saturday, following Into Mischief's daughter Hoosier Philly's win in the GII Golden Rod S. Instant Coffee is the third graded winner and ninth black-type achiever out of a daughter of Uncle Mo. He is the first foal out of SP Follow No One, who has since produced a yearling filly by Frosted. She aborted her Speightstown foal this year and was bred back to Maclean's Music. Instant Coffee's second dam is MSW Miss Red Delicious (Empire Maker), who is a half-sister to MGSW & GISP Lady Apple (Curlin) and GSW American Apple (American Pharoah).

Saturday, Churchill Downs
KENTUCKY JOCKEY CLUB S.-GII, $399,625, Churchill Downs, 11-26, 2yo, 1 1/16m, 1:45.25, ft.
1–INSTANT COFFEE, 122, c, 2, by Bolt d'Oro
                1st Dam: Follow No One (SP), by Uncle Mo
                2nd Dam: Miss Red Delicious, by Empire Maker
                3rd Dam: Miss Mary Apples, by Clever Trick
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($200,000
Ylg '21 KEESEP). O-Gold Square LLC; B-Sagamore Farm, LLC
(KY); T-Brad H. Cox; J-Luis Saez. $238,440. Lifetime Record:
3-2-0-0, $322,815. Werk Nick Rating: A.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the
free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Curly Jack, 122, c, 2, Good Magic–Connie and Michael, by
Roman Ruler. ($180,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP). O-Michael
McLoughlin; B-Betz/J.Betz/Burns/Camaquiki/C.Kidder/et al
(KY); T-Thomas M. Amoss. $77,400.
3–Hayes Strike, 122, c, 2, Connect–Plaid, by
Deputy Commander. O/B-Dixiana Farms LLC (KY); T-Kenneth G.
McPeek. $38,700.
Margins: 1 1/4, HD, NO. Odds: 1.54, 2.62, 22.88.
Also Ran: Red Route One, Denington, Gigante, Cyclone Mischief, Freedom Trail, Western Ghent.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Steve Asmussen seeks his fourth win in this event and has two chances to do it. Red Route One (Gun Runner) looks to add his sire's long list of accomplishments with just two crops. After two tries on turf, including a maiden win, the Winchell homebred rallied to be third when switched to dirt in Keeneland's GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity S. Oct. 8 and was fifth three weeks later in a sloppy renewal fo the GIII Street Sense S.

His stablemate Gigante (Not This Time) won his only start on dirt and has made his other three runs on grass, including a dominant win in the Kitten's Joy S.

Ken McPeek also saddles two, the Street Sense runner-up Hayes Strike (Connect) and maiden winner of four starts Denington (Gun Runner).

One race prior the juvenile fillies get their time to shine in the GII Golden Rod S., headlined by a pair of undefeated debutantes, both of whom have scored all their victories beneath the Twin Spires. Hoosier Philly (Into Mischief) won on debut here Sept. 25 and romped by 7 1/2 lengths over T Max (Connect) in the Rags to Riches S. Oct. 30.

Godolphin homebred Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief) opened her account here with a 'TDN Rising Star'-worthy effort Sept. 18 and took a sloppy optional claimer Oct. 30. She will attempt two turns for the first time here.

Bill Mott ships in with a live one in American Rockette (American Pharoah). Rallying to victory in an off-the-turf sprint at Saratoga July 21, the bay closed well to be fourth in that venue's GI Spinaway S. Sept. 4 and filled the same spot in Belmont's GI Frizette S. Oct. 2.

Woodbine also hosts a pair of graded events for 2-year-olds in the GIII Grey S. and GIII Mazarine S. Colts are up first in the Grey, which is headlined by Hal (Accelerate). A debut winner at this venue Oct. 2, he followed suit with a win in the Display S. Nov. 5.

Mark Casse saddles three members of this seven-horse field, all of which are fillies taking on the boys, topped by Forever Dixie (Quality Road). Graduating at fourth asking when switched to the local synthetic Oct. 1, she rallied to be a close second in the Glorious Song S. Nov. 5 and, like Hal, attempts two turns for the first time here.

Casse also sends out debut winner Ryder Ryder Ryder (Quality Road) and Renegade Rebel (Nyquist), who earned diploma over track and trip in her fourth attempt Oct. 29.

All three fillies are cross-entered in the Mazarine and will likely be split between the two tests. Also worth a look in the Mazarine is Honor D Lady (Honor Code), who graduated at second asking going this distance on the Gulfstream synthetic Oct. 7 and gets Lasix for the first time here.

Saturday's action also offers four graded events for older horses: the GIII Fall Highweight S. and GII Red Smith S. at Aqueduct, the GII Seabiscuit H. at Del Mar and the GIII Berkeley H. at Golden Gate.

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A $185,000 purchase out of the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Showcase, Smile Happy was the recipient of an inside-out ride from Brian Hernandez, Jr. going two turns at Keeneland Oct. 29 and powered away to graduate by 5 1/2 lengths. No better than the third favorite in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. a month later, the bay was once again consigned to a wide run around the bend, but he surged past recent GIII Sam F. Davis S. hero Classic Causeway (Giant's Causeway) and finished with good energy to take it by 3 1/4 lengths. The form of the Jockey Club has also been further franked by the third-placed White Abarrio (Race Day), who won the GIII Holy Bull S. with a 97 Beyer; and Call Me Midnight (Midnight Lute), a wide seventh in the Jockey Club who upset this year's GIII Lecomte S.

“I think this is a good first step for Smile Happy,” said trainer Ken McPeek. “He's doing super. He's done everything right. He's a very low-maintenance horse who makes our job easy. We're trying to keep him and [GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity winner] Rattle N Roll (Connect) separated, with Rattle N Roll pointing for the [Mar. 5 GII Fasig-Tipton] Fountain of Youth[S.]”

Zandon brushed the inside of the stall, but overcame that bit of trouble to break his maiden by 1 1/2 lengths Oct. 9 at Belmont and was the 1.35-1 favorite for the GII Remsen S. Dec. 4. Three wide the trip, he was confronted by Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo) in upper stretch and had every reason to call it a day, but battled bravely inside and missed by just a nose after arguably being impeded by the eventual winner. He covered 46 more feet (about five lengths) in the process. The $170,000 Keeneland September acquisition ships in from South Florida, where he fired a bullet half-mile in :48 2/5 (1/41) Feb. 12 at Payson Park.

“He's got to get over the shipping, but the horse couldn't be training any better,” trainer Chad Brown said. “He's a very exciting prospect and I don't see any reason why he won't get up to a mile and quarter.”

Epicenter (Not This Time) set reasonable fractions in the Lecomte, but could not resist the center-track rally of Call Me Midnight and dropped a head decision. He was three-parts of a length clear of GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile runner-up Pappacap (Gun Runner), who was unable to take advantage of another ideal trip and settled for third.

Bodock (Street Boss) was a debut winner at Indiana Grand Nov. 10 and will try two turns off a 1 1/4-length defeat of $825,000 KEENOV purchase Strava (Into Mischief) in a sloppy six-furlong allowance Jan. 15.

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Despite having two graded stakes winners over the weekend, one could argue Cocktail Moments was McPeek's most impressive runner at Churchill. Drifting all the way up to 26-1 off a modest worktab, the $190,000 Keeneland September graduate dropped all the way back to 10th in the 12-horse field before steadily advancing while wide on the turn. Taking charge in mid-stretch, the Dixiana Farms colorbearer put on a show in the final furlong, rocketing away to a 9 1/4-length romp.

“That was a pleasant surprise,” said McPeek, this week's Green Group Guest of the Week. “But I'll tell you, she had been training fantastic going into the race. Typically when we get a young horse ready, we don't force the issue. We let them come [around]. I like to get a race under their belt. I'd almost call the first race a schooling race. I tell the rider to take a little bit of a hold, settle, wait, wait, finish. When they do that, they take dirt in their face, they've got all this adversity, and you lose races doing that, but you also teach them. The young horses that we've gunned away from the gate, they don't learn as much as the ones that take dirt, learn to negotiate the traffic and finish. Well, she finished alright. She came like a bullet. She's been a really happy filly the last couple of weeks, but to be able to predict that first time out is difficult.”

Already with a trio of winners Saturday, Lucky Seven Stable's Smile Happy cemented the day as one to remember for McPeek, settling off the pace and blowing past 7-5 chalk Classic Causeway (Giant's Causeway) in the stretch to a 3 1/4-length score in the Kentucky Jockey Club. That was the second victory in two starts for the $185,000 Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearling buy, who joined fellow graded stakes winners Rattle N Roll (Connect) and Tiz the Bomb (Hit It a Bomb) in the McPeek barn as potential GI Kentucky Derby contenders.

“This horse has out-trained just about every horse he's worked against,” McPeek said. “He's a very physically imposing horse to be around, and he's fast. I stretched him out long the first time and he handled it like a pro, and to beat some of the horses he ran against second time out–he's got the mind of a good horse. I think there's still some fitness that's needed there too. We're going to shelve him for a little while, and I think you're going to see an even better horse when we get to the spring … He's got an interesting pedigree. There wasn't much black type, the first three dams were practically blank. But his second dam is by Relaunch, third dam by Graustark, fourth dam by Bold Ruler, and Funny Cide is under his fourth dam. We're really excited to have him.”

The conversation later turned to McPeek's increasingly impressive training resume. Starting in 1985, his career took off in the 2000s and the 59-year-old now boasts over 1,800 winners and over $95 million in total earnings. Asked to reflect on his career, McPeek went on to break a bit of news in saying he doesn't plan on training for all that much longer–with a caveat.

“I'm probably most proud of finding a lot of these horses at auction, even for modest prices,” he said. “The first 10 years that I trained, I struggled, but I convinced Roy Monroe to let me buy yearlings for him. The first yearling I bought was a Lord At War (Arg) filly that ended up running first, second or third in 15 stakes in her career for Roy and me. Then he let me buy [millionaire and 1995 Derby second] Tejano Run, who launched me. Training horses is not rocket science, but you've got to get good horses to train, and I'm in a unique stage right now where people are giving me bigger budgets. But I'm still buying for what I call the under-50 [thousand] people. I still like working the back end of the sales. I'll wear out a pair of tennis shoes. And Dominic [Brennan] is probably deserving of as much credit as me, because he's been in the trenches with me for 30-plus years. He's one of those unsung heroes–a rock-solid Irish horseman … But I'm going to lay something out there that I don't know if most people want to hear or not. I'm going to do this for 10 or 11 more years. I'm going to train until I'm 70. Unless, of course, I have horses like I've got in the barn right now. But I'm looking at doing it until I'm 70 and then I'd like to work horse auctions for people worldwide.”

Asked for his thoughts on the early HISA rules as proposed by the United States Anti-Doping Agency, McPeek offered, “I think it's fantastic stuff. I think they need to unify the licensing. If I get a driver's license in Kentucky, I can drive all over the country. And then allow reciprocity to take effect when you have a violation. These rules need to be streamlined, there's no question. They need a horseman on those committees making those decisions that has the power to say, 'Hey, wait a second, time out, you're going too far.' But at this point, there aren't horsemen sitting on those, and that bothers me.”

Elsewhere on the Writers' Room, which is also sponsored by Coolmore, West Point Thoroughbreds, Lane's End, XBTV and Legacy Bloodstock, Joe Bianca, Bill Finley and Jon Green discussed the implications of Gun Runner breaking the earnings record for first-crop sires and looked forward to an intriguing GI Cigar Mile H. card Saturday at Aqueduct. Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version or find it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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“In the end, I feel better running him out of his own stall,” Diodoro said.

The bay colt, who was third in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile before breaking his maiden in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. Nov. 28, turned in his sixth breeze of the year Monday in Hot Springs, going a half-mile in :49.60 beneath jockey David Cohen.

“David did a great job again working him,” said Diodoro, Oaklawn's leading trainer last year. “A horse like him, as aggressive as he is, you get the wrong guy on him and all of sudden your nice, easy half-mile work could turn into :45, :46. Even with those other works, it's the same thing. He's a horse that you've definitely got to have the right guy on or you could really blow a work.”

The Southwest is also likely to attract champion Essential Quality (Tapit) and MGISW Jackie's Warrior (Maclean's Music).

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