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Four Stakes Races Highlight Closing Week At Indiana Grand

Indiana Grand is heading into the homestretch of its abbreviated 96-day racing season in 2020. With three days of action left, four stakes will be highlighted beginning Tuesday, Nov. 17.

The 23rd running of the $75,000 Miss Indiana Stakes and the 21st running of the $75,000 Indiana Futurity are slated for races eight and nine, respectively, on the Tuesday card. Featured in the Miss Indiana Stakes is the standout freshman filly Hungarian Princess from the Kim Hammond barn. The Pataky Kid filly, owned and bred by Swifty Farms, is three for four in 2020 with two stakes wins. She will begin from post seven with Sammy Bermudez aboard at odds of 7-5.

To the outside of Hungarian Princess is Timeless Glory and Geena Lucille, second choice on the morning line. The Harry's Holiday filly, trained by Anthony Granitz, steps into stakes action for the first time off an impressive maiden-breaking victory in early October. Owned by John Wallace and Granitz, Timeless Glory starts from post eight at odds of 7-2.

In the freshman colt and gelding ranks, Dillsboro Devil is favored in the Indiana Futurity. A son of Skylord, the John Langemeier-trained gelding is two for two, scoring the win in his last start in the Crown Ambassador Stakes. Marcelino Pedroza will ride from post 11 for Langemeier's Spooky Hollow Racing Inc. at odds of 3-1.

Joining Dillsboro Devil as an early favorite in the Indiana Futurity is Hard Luck Justice from the other end of the gate in post two. The Harry's Holiday gelding, owned by Joselyn Salazar and trained by Lonnie Hines, steps up into stakes action for the first time off a maiden breaking win Nov. 1. Sammy Bermudez has the call aboard Hard Luck Justice at odds of 7-2.

The older Indiana breds will be featured on the Wednesday, Nov. 18 racing card in the 24th running of the $100,000 Frances Slocum Stakes and the 23rd running of the $100,000 To Much Coffee, set as races eight and nine, respectively.

Piedi Bianchi gets the call as the early morning line favorite in the Frances Slocum at odds of 5-2 with Fernando De La Cruz aboard for trainer Cipriano Contreras. The five-year-old Overanalyze mare is among the state's top five all-time leading female Thoroughbreds in earnings with just over $522,000 accumulated. She will begin from post 10 in the full field of 12.

Unbridled Beast, the three-year-old standout from the Randy Matthews Stable, will tackle the older horses in the To Much Coffee Stakes. The Unbridled Express gelding had won four in a row prior to his last start over a sloppy track in the Unreachable Star Stakes. Unbridled Beast begins from post nine with Indiana's all-time leading jockey Rodney Prescott aboard at odds of 5-2.

The 2020 racing season will conclude Thursday, Nov. 19 with a 12-race card. The track is currently watching the progress of the Straight Fire Six (Jackpot Pick 6) which has a carryover of more than $92,000 heading into the Tuesday, Nov. 17 racing program. There is a mandatory payout for the wager if it goes untouched until Thursday's racing program.

First post for the final week of racing is 2:05 p.m. Dates for the 2021 racing season at Indiana Grand will be announced in December.

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Gamine Sets Track Record In Breeders’ Cup Filly And Mare Sprint

A roller-coaster season for Gamine hit its highest point yet on Saturday when the filly set a new Keeneland track record for seven furlongs in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.

The 3-year-old daughter of Into Mischief went against the playbook on Saturday, leaving the gate quickly, but allowing Serengeti Empress to assume the lead early on. For the first time in Gamine's six career starts, she did not have the lead after the opening quarter-mile or half-mile, which Serengeti Empress clocked in :21.77 seconds and :44.27 seconds respectively.

Gamine sat on Serengeti Empress' outside hip through the turn, got within a half-length at the quarter pole, and drew even with the leader with three-sixteenths remaining. Serengeti Empress, making her final career start, fought valiantly, but jockey John Velazquez found another gear aboard Gamine, and the filly carried on through the stretch with minimal serious urging.

Gamine crossed the wire effortlessly, 6 1/4 lengths ahead of a fading Serengeti Empress, who held on to second by a nose over Bell's The One. The winner paid $4.20 to win as a heavy favorite.

The winning time for the seven-furlong race was 1:20.20 over a fast Keeneland main track, eclipsing the mark of 1:21.32 set by Taris when she won the Grade 2 Raven Run Stakes on Oct. 18, 2014.

Gamine marked the the 17th Breeders' Cup victory for Velazquez. She was 16th for trainer Bob Baffert. The filly races for Denmark-born owner Michael Lund Petersen, who bought her for $1.8 million at last year's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds In Training Sale.

Though her campaign has been highly successful in 2020 – the Filly and Mare Sprint was her third Grade 1 victory this season – it has also been bogged in controversy, following a pair of positive drug tests.

Gamine was disqualified from an Oaklawn Park optional claiming race on May 20 – a race she won by a neck – after testing positive for lidocaine, a substance used by veterinarians during lameness examinations to “block” or numb a horse's limbs. It's also commonly found in ointments and analgesic treatments and patches to alleviate pain in humans. Baffert's attorney argued that the presence of the substance in tests was caused by a patch worn by a member of the trainer's staff suffering back pain. Baffert trainee Charlatan, the winner of the G1 Arkansas Derby on the same day, also forfeited his victory for a lidocaine positive.

In September, Gamine tested positive for betamethasone, a corticosteroid, following the G1 Kentucky Oaks, where she finished third. A ruling has not yet been made, pending the result of a split sample.

Bred in Kentucky by Grace Thoroughbred Holdings, Gamine is out of the stakes-placed Kafwain mare Peggy Jane.

To view the race's full chart, click here.

Winning trainer Bob Baffert (Gamine) – “That's the baddest b**** in the land right there! I knew (Serengeti Empress) was going to go and I told Johnny if you get separation to get to the outside. She is doing as well as she did when she won the Acorn. She is just brilliant. She is the fastest filly going one turn I've ever trained. I wanted it bad for her. What she's gone through. She deserved it. Of all my races, this meant the most to me.”

Winning jockey John Velazquez (Gamine) – “We knew that other horse would come out running, but I didn't want to give it up too easy. I wanted to make him [Luis Saez] work a little harder. Once he passed me, I came off the rail and even then I didn't get want to give it to him that easy either. I made sure I put a little pressure on because I know that filly is really tough on the lead. I made sure I was close to him. When I asked my filly, she was there for me.”

Second-place trainer Tom Amoss (Serengeti Empress) – “We just got outrun. There's no secret to it. We just got flat outrun. Gamine turned in a spectacular performance, but I'm still so very proud of my filly. Being second-best today is no disgrace, not by a longshot. My girl was a winner a long time ago before this race.”

Second-place jockey Luis Saez (Serengeti Empress) – “I had a pretty good trip. I put her on the lead and she was pretty comfortable. When the other filly came to her she fought, but the winner is a very good filly.”

Third-place trainer Neil Pessin (Bell's the One) – “They didn't go, that was the problem. Gamine took off Serengeti which was a smart thing to do on her part. It was a slow pace for this type of race, the way the track is playing today. But my filly ran her eyeballs out. Very proud of her. Another jump and she would have been second.”

Third-place jockey Corey Lanerie (Bell's the One) – “She ran great. I actually thought I was second. Hat's off to the winner. She beat us today fair and square. My filly showed up like she always does, and she gave me everything she had. I was a little wider than I wanted, but I knew I couldn't get stopped. If I have to check any, my chances were done. So, I put her out in the clear, and we were coming but just weren't good enough today.”

Fourth-place trainer Greg Foley (Sconsin) – “She's a good filly and running against the best in the world. It is a shame she got beat a half-length for second. I thought we were going to be second and then we got zapped for third the last jump. Serengeti Empress got to laying on us a little bit while our filly was running up the fence. She got a good ride and it was just a shame we weren't second or third. The fractions set up great for us (with the leaders) going fast which we figured they would. She ran her race and I am proud of her.”

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Rocketry Blasts Off In The Stretch To Win Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Stakes

Rocketry moved with a strong kick down the middle of the Keeneland stretch and blew past an already fierce stretch battle on Friday to win the Grade 2 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Stakes, formerly known as the Marathon Stakes, on the Breeders' Cup undercard.

With the victory, the 6-year-old son of Hard Spun became the first horse to win two editions of the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Stakes, which began its life in 2008 as the Breeders' Cup Marathon, and was moved to the undercard in 2014 and named simply the Marathon Stakes. He previously won the race in 2018 at Churchill Downs, which was his first win prior to Friday's race, nine starts earlier.

Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. put the brakes on Rocketry immediately out of the gate, and settled him last by a wide margin as the field made its first trip across the backstretch. On the front end, Dack Janiel's, Signalman and Plus Que Parfait battled for the lead. That trio led the field into the first turn in an opening quarter of :24.40 seconds, and the order remained largely unchanged when the mile pole went by in 1:38.54.

While Ortiz started moving Rocketry into contention on the outside, Danny California introduced himself to the lead pack, which saw Dack Janiel's holding the rail valiantly as 1 1/4-miles ticked off in 2:03.81. With three-sixteenths to go, jockey Declan Cannon appeared to have Dack Janiel's kicking away from the field, but the Argentine-born Mirinaque staged a mid-pack move and drew even with a sixteenth to go.

By the time those two drew even, Rocketry was already dialed in to challenge the leaders, and he blew by them in the closing strides to win by a length. Mirinaque carried on for second, a length ahead of Dack Janiel's. Post time favorite Cupid's Claws was never a serious threat, and finished 12th in the 14-horse field.

Winning for owner Centennial Farms and trainer Jimmy Jerkens, Rocketry completed the 1 5/8-mile race in 2:42.57 over a fast main track. He paid $25.20 to win, and triggered a trifecta of long odds, winning as an 11-1 shot over horses running at 33-1 and 53-1.

With the victory, Rocketry improved his career record to six wins in 28 career starts for earnings of $789,710.

Bred in Kentucky by Gainesway Thoroughbreds Ltd., Rocketry is out of the winning Smart Strike mare Smart Farming. He was a $450,000 purchase by Centennial Farms at the 2015 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

To view the race's chart, click here.

Quotes from the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Stakes, courtesy of the Keeneland Notes Team:

Jimmy Jerkens (trainer of winner Rocketry): “He ran so bad last time (third in the Sept. 18 Miner's Mark Stakes at Belmont). He came out of it with a real bad out-of-whack blood count. I was scratching my head. It looked like he was training good into it, and he ran so flat. We freshened him up. Didn't train him quite as hard, just tried to put some flesh on him. It looked like it was a good lively race for this far, and that's what he needs.”

“He was doing better overall than he was last time, and the horses came back to him last time. Which is what he needs. He sat way back off an honest pace. He needs to see them coming back to him, and that's what happened.”

On what's next for Rocketry?

“I don't know. We're going to enjoy this for a while. Centennial (Farms), they've been wonderful, loyal owners. We've had a bad year; for them to win this race was huge for both of us.”

Irad Ortiz Jr. (winning rider): “We broke out of the gates – and he doesn't have too much speed – so I let him settle. He relaxed so well. By the five-eighths pole, he started picking it up on his own and he was moving really good. When I asked him going by the three-eighths pole, he responded really well. He likes this kind of race, with the long distance, and he ran great. He was picking up a ton of ground in the stretch, so I knew I had a good shot to get there.”

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Total Of Eight Stakes Races To Comprise Breeders’ Cup Undercard On Friday, Saturday

Flawless Racing, Masino Racing Stable, Brian Flanagan and Michael Jarvis' Cupid's Claws, who is coming off a 7¼-length win in the 1½-mile Tokyo City Cup (G3) Sept. 27 at Santa Anita, is the 124-pound highweight in the 13th running of the $200,000 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (G2) on Friday, the first of the two-day Breeders' Cup World Championships at Keeneland.

The TAA and seven other stakes will precede the Breeders' Cup, which Keeneland is hosting for the second time. The event debuted here in 2015.

Here is a rundown of the supporting stakes on Friday:

Race 1, post time 11:30 a.m. – first running of the $125,000 Nyquist, 2-year-olds, 6½ furlongs

The race is named for Nyquist, who won the 2015 Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) at Keeneland and was named champion 2-year-old male. The winner of his first eight races, Nyquist captured the 2016 Kentucky Derby (G1).

The nine horses entered in the Nyquist, from the rail out with riders and weights, are:

Highly Motivated (Javier Castellano, 118 pounds), Roderick (Irad Ortiz Jr., 118), Twilight Blue (Brian Hernandez Jr., 118), Upstriker (Joe Talamo, 118), Sir Wellington (Jose Lezcano, 118), Quick Tempo (Jose Ortiz, 118), Assertive Style (Florent Geroux, 115), Awesome Gerry (Tyler Gaffalione, 118), Saffa's Day (Ricardo Santana Jr., 118).

Race 2, post time 12:05 p.m. – first running of the $125,000 Songbird, 2-year-old fillies, 6½ furlongs

The race is named for Songbird, who opened her career with 11 consecutive wins including the 2015 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Keeneland. She was a champion at 2 and 3.

Fourteen horses and one also-eligible were entered in the Songbird. The field, from the rail out with riders and weights, is:

Lady Edith (Brian Hernandez Jr., 118 pounds), Off We Go (Luis Saez, 118), Roc's Princess (Jon Court, 118), Thinking (Jose Ortiz, 118), Mona Stella (Florent Geroux, 118), Joy's Rocket (Ricardo Santana Jr., 120), Novel Squall (Gabriel Saez, 118), Taylor's Tourist (Mitchell Murrill, 118), The Grass Is Blue (Irad Ortiz Jr., 118), Music City Star (Adam Beschizza, 118), Farsighted (Julien Leparoux, 118), Kela's Turn (Robby Albarado, 120), Guana Cay (Gerardo Corrales, 118), California Lily (Tyler Gaffalione, 118). Also-eligible: Princesstapiture (John McKee, 118).

Race 3, post time 12:40 p.m. – 16th running of the $150,000 Bryan Station, 3-year-olds, 1 1/8 miles (turf)

Fourteen horses and four also-eligibles were entered in the Bryan Station. The field, from the rail out with riders and weights, is:

Enforceable (Adam Beschizza, 118 pounds), No Word (Jose Ortiz, 118), Taishan (Julien Leparoux, 118), Angelus Warrior (Manny Franco, 118), Pixelate (Umberto Rispoli, 122), Fancy Liquor (Florent Geroux, 122), Spanish Kingdom (Corey Lanerie, 118), Vanzzy (Jose Lezcano, 118), Order of Australia (IRE) (Ryan Moore, 118), Reconvene (Joe Bravo, 118), Mo Ready (Irad Ortiz Jr., 118), Fighting Seabee (Brian Hernandez Jr., 118), Don Juan Kitten (Flavien Prat, 118), Bye Melvin (John Velazquez, 118). Also-eligibles: Ajourneytofreedom (Tyler Gaffalione, 118), Ever Dangerous (Javier Castellano, 118), Mud Pie (Luis Saez, 118), Bama Breeze (Joel Rosario, 118)

Race 4, post time 1:15 p.m. – first running of the $150,000 McConnell Springs, fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up, 6 furlongs

The nine horses entered in the McConnell Springs, from the rail out with riders, are:

Bye Bye J (Ricardo Santana Jr.), Amy's Challenge (Jose Lezcano), Headland (Tyler Baze), Into Chocolate (Jose Ortiz), Harmless (Luis Saez), Unique Factor (Joel Rosario), Unholy Alliance (Tyler Gaffalione), Wildwoods Beauty (Joe Rocco Jr.), Royal Charlotte (Javier Castellano). All starters carry 120 pounds.

Race 5, post time 1:50 p.m. – 13th running of the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (G2) (formerly known as the Marathon), 3-year-olds and up, 1 5/8 miles

The 14 horses entered in the TAA, from the rail out with riders and weights, are:

Muralist (Juan Hernandez, 122 pounds), Farmington Road (Javier Castellano, 118), Rocketry (Irad Ortiz Jr., 122), Militiaman (Joel Rosario, 122), Tenfold (Tyler Gaffalione, 122), You're to Blame (John Velazquez, 122), Signalman (Brian Hernandez Jr., 122), Ry's the Guy (Chris Landeros, 122), Mirinaque (ARG) (Gerardo Corrales, 122), Dack Janiel's (Declan Cannon, 118), Job Security (Adam Beschizza, 122), Plus Que Parfait (Jose Ortiz, 122), Cupid's Claws (Flavien Prat, 124), Danny California (Manny Franco, 122).

The supporting stakes on Saturday are:

Race 1, 10:15 a.m. – 12th running of the $125,000 Perryville, 3-year-olds, 6 furlongs

The seven horses entered in the Perryville, from the rail out with riders and weights, are:

Nashville (Ricardo Santana Jr., 118), Little Menace (Tyler Gaffalione, 120), Fore Left (Flavien Prat, 118), Bango (Florent Geroux, 118), Wild Wes (Mitchell Murrill, 118), Relentless Dancer (Irad Ortiz Jr., 120), Cajun Brother (Luis Saez, 118).

Race 2, 10:45 a.m. – 73rd running of the $150,000 Lafayette Presented by Keeneland Select, 3-year-olds and up, 7 furlongs

The 12 horses entered in the Lafayette, from the rail out with riders and weights, are:

Engage (Jose Ortiz, 120 pounds), Dinar (Tyler Gaffalione, 120), Absolutely Aiden (Chris Landeros, 120), Midnight Sands (Irad Ortiz Jr., 120), Edgemont Road (Declan Cannon, 120), Sleepy Eyes Todd (Joel Rosario, 124), Everfast (Julien Leparoux, 120), Strike That (David Cohen, 122), Ebben (Corey Lanerie, 120), Mind Control (John Velazquez, 124), True Timber (Jose Lezcano, 120), Phat Man (Javier Castellano, 124).

Race 3, 11:20 a.m. – 10th running of the $125,000 Qatar Fort Springs, 3-year-old fillies, 6 furlongs

The 11 horses entered in the Qatar Fort Springs, from the rail out with riders and weights, are:

Ain't No Elmers (Adam Beschizza, 120 pounds), Anna's Fast (Jose Ortiz, 118), Artie's Princess (Flavien Prat, 120), Wicked Whisper (Ricardo Santana Jr., 120), Miss T Too (John Velazquez, 120), Fair Maiden (Corey Lanerie, 118), Merneith (Luis Saez, 118), Boerne (Javier Castellano, 118), Rising Seas (Gerardo Corrales, 118), Motivated Seller (Irad Ortiz Jr., 118), Regal Beauty (Brian Hernandez Jr., 118).

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