Emphatic holds off Summer Starlet in Alcibiades; Serenas Ghost upsets Jessamine

Emphatic broke on top and never surrendered in Friday’s $557,450 Alcibiades (G1) at Keeneland, holding odds-on favorite Summer Starlet safe by 1 1/4 lengths in the 1 1/16-mile test for two-year-old fillies. Brendan Walsh trains for Gainsesway Stable (Anthony Beck) and Andrew Rosen, and Tyler Gaffalione picked up the mount on the daughter of Nyquist.

A convincing winner of the Sorority S. at Monmouth Park in late August, Emphatic improved to 3-for-3 and earned a free berth to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Keeneland on Oct. 30 taking the “Win and You’re In” event. The bay filly also earned 10 quality points toward a berth in the Kentucky Oaks (G1) next spring.

Emphatic hustled forward from her innermost post and led by about a length through opening splits in :24.45 and :48.74. Spinaway (G1) winner Summer Starlet stalked in second and after taking an awkward step nearing the conclusion of the backstretch, she advanced closer on the far turn and tried to draw even approaching stretch. But Emphatic had more in reserve, regaining the upperhand in the short stretch drive.

“She really helped me out, the way she broke today,” Gaffalione said. “She put herself right where she needed to be. As soon as we got to the backstretch, her ears came up and she was traveling so well, she gave me a ton of confidence from then on. When I called on her, she responded. Really nice race from her today.”

Off as the 3.39-1 third choice among seven runners, Emphatic finished in 1:43.40.

Emphatic made her career debut at Colonial Downs in early August, winning off by 6 3/4 lengths, and she came back to take the one-mile Sorority by 5 1/4 lengths.

“She was a little tricky (in her early days of training),” Walsh said. “She could have gone either way mentally, and it’s a big tribute to my team that they got her to go the right way. She got better for racing, which I think is the hallmark of a good horse. We saw it here today.”

Summer Starlet sustained her first defeat in three starts but wound up 17 1/2 lengths clear of Oh She Said It in third. Ever Forward and Libby Lloyd followed, and the second-through-fifth place finishers received points on a 5-3-2-1 basis as part of the Road to the Kentucky Oaks series. High Speed Reed and For the Money completed the order.

Bred in Pennsylvania by Jon A. Marshall, Emphatic sold for $260,000 as a yearling. She’s the first stakes winner out of the unraced Tiznow mare Convinced, and this is the immediate female family of leading sire Tapit.

One race earlier on the program, Moving Forward Racing’s Serenas Ghost punched her ticket to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) with a 22-1 upset in the Jessamine (G2), altering paths in the stretch and surging past pacesetter Seneca Park to score by 1 1/4 lengths. The Joe Sharp-trained daughter of Girvin remained unbeaten in her second start, breaking her maiden over the turf at Horseshoe Indianapolis in mid-September, and Luis Saez was up, 

Saving ground while stalking an up-close fourth, Serenas Ghost advanced in the two path in upper stretch but was forced to tip inside of drifting Seneca Park, brushing briefly with that rival and driving clear late. The dark bay filly completed 1 1/16 miles over the good turf in 1:45.57.

“I had my position in the clear and tried to make my move right there, but the horse in the lead came out and I almost clipped heels, so I had to check and come to the rail,” Saez said. “She responded after that. She proved she’s an amazing filly and Joe (Sharp) always does an amazing job with all his horses. I’m so glad to be a part.”

Seneca Park, the 5-2 second choice following a win in the Untapable at Kentucky Downs, showed the way on a short lead until the stretch and held second by a length over Mel Went Home in third. Next came Quibbler, Elegante Miz, 5-2 favorite Monique En Voi, Mightily, Glycogen, Pros and Cons, Beautiful Harper, and Golden Maiden.

Bred in Kentucky by Barry and Joni Butzow, Serenas Ghost is out of the stakes-winning Sirenusa, a daughter of Tiznow.

“It’s really exciting,” Sharp said. “I trained her mom (Sirenusa) and her dad (Girvin), and she really seems like a perfect combination of both of them. Both horses were extremely gritty and just loved the game, and she’s displayed that since day one.”