Keeneland Daily Notebook

KEENELAND DAILY NOTEBOOK

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2007

by Brian P. Turner

A mere field of five went to the gate for Wednesday's Doubledogdare S. (G3)

for fillies and mares, four-years-old and up, going 1 1/16 miles on the main

track. Though this was her first start of the year, the Patrick Biancone-trained

ASI SIEMPRE (El Prado [Ire]) was sent off as the heavy favorite off the way

she ended 2006. The gray crossed the finish line second in the Breeders' Cup

Distaff (G1) before being disqualified to fourth, but prior to that, she had

rallied from off the pace with an impressive turn of foot through the stretch to

capture the Spinster S. (G1) at Keeneland by 2 1/4 lengths.

When the gates sprang open, it was the other Biancone trainee, Pyramid Love

(Fusaichi Pegasus), that bounded out onto the lead and guided the field through

an unbelievably slow opening quarter of :27. By the time the dark bay had

covered a half that went in :52, she had opened up a seven-length lead on the

field while Asi Siempre was content to trail the field, 10 1/2 lengths behind

her stablemate.

As Pyramid Love approached the final turn, the field began to close in

despite the tepid early pace. When the pacesetter entered the stretch, she was

quickly challenged by Asi Siempre, who wrestled away the lead and easily cruised

home to a one-length victory.

Pyramid Love crossed the wire in second, three parts of a length clear of

longshot Warrior Girl (War Chant) in third.

There were five sprints contested on Wednesday with horses on or near the

pace winning three of them. In addition to the feature, there were two other

routes contested on the day with horses on or near the pace winning both of

these as well. The lone turf route on the day was won by a horse closing from

just off the pace.

Julien Leparoux went winless on the day but still leads the way in the jockey

standings with 14 for the meet. Edgar Prado and Garrett Gomez each added two

wins to their totals and remain in a tie for second with 12

winners each.

In the trainer standings, Biancone's win in the feature helped him pad his

lead and he now has six winners for the meet. Todd Pletcher went winless today

but remains in second with four. There is a log jam for the third spot as six

separate trainers, including Steve Asmussen and Dale Romans, have three winners

each.

Horses to Watch

3RD - STORMIN BAGHDAD (Stormin Fever) delivered an eye-popping performance for

trainer Helen Pitts in this six-furlong allowance/optional claiming event. The bay stalked

the pace early through opening fractions of :23 2/5 and :47 1/5 before taking

over in the stretch drive and cruising home to an easy 2 1/4-length victory

under little more than a hand ride.

5TH - SIMPLY DIVINE (Grand Slam) pulled off the nearly impossible task of

winning in gate-to-wire fashion in this six furlong maiden special weight event.

The three-year-old filly shot to the lead out of the gate and guided the field

through opening fractions of :23 1/5 and :46 1/5. By the time she came off the

turn, she had widened her advantage to three lengths but saw that lead begin to

dwindle as she dug in gamely through the stretch drive. Simply Divine crossed

the finish line only a neck in front, but the mere fact she held on for the

victory was impressive in itself.

Tomorrow's Outlook - Thursday, April 19

Thursday's feature is the Forerunner S. for three-year-olds going nine

furlongs on the grass. A field of 12, including two also-eligibles, have

entered the event and several appear to have a chance of

bringing home the top prize. BLUES STREET (Street Cry [Ire]) closed from 10

lengths back to finish third, beaten by 3 3/4 lengths, last out in the Pasadena

S. at Santa Anita. The dark bay should appreciate the extra furlong he gets

Thursday and there should be plenty of pace on the lead to set up his late kick.

The colt posted a 94 BRIS Speed rating last out, which is the highest on the

grass for any member of this field. A repeat of that effort could make him tough

to beat.

TIMARAN (Mizzen Mast) is a perfect two-for-two on the grass in his short

career, which includes a 6 1/4-length maiden score at Fair Grounds. The gray

followed that up with a one-length victory against allowance company while

sprinting. The colt should appreciate the stretch out here. IN JEST (Dynaformer)

overcame a troubled trip to finish second behind the talented Marcavelly

(Johannesburg) here on April 6. The bay has run well in each of his starts on

the grass and could pose a threat if he is ready after the 13-day turnaround.

CORRUPT (Belong To Me) will be looking to rebound off of his disappointing

effort last out in the Grindstone S. at Fair Grounds where he stopped abruptly

and was eased. Prior to that, the dark bay was impressive in victory in

the Mardi Gras S., and he has posted a bullet clocking of 1:00 1/5 on the Polytrack at Keeneland since his failure in the Grindstone. BULLARA (Holy

Bull) is coming off of a dismal showing in the Lane's End S. (G2) where he

pressed the pace early before fading to 10th, beaten by 23 lengths. The chestnut

has run well in each of his two starts on the lawn and could prove to be tough

to handle if allowed to dictate the pace.

TRUST YOUR LUCK (Mr. Greeley) finished second last out behind Dominican (El

Corredor) in the Rushaway S. at Turfway Park. This performance now looks even

better considering Dominican returned to gamely take the Blue Grass

S. (G1) on Saturday. Though Trust Your Luck's lone try on the lawn was

unimpressive, to say the least, but it was his first start of the year and his

pedigree says he should relish it. MOUDEZ (Ire) (Xaar [GB]) is coming off of a

nice allowance win at Gulfstream where he rallied from well off the pace for an

easy three-length victory. The dark bay was Group 3-placed in Europe and could

be rounding into form for a top effort.

POSCHNER (Trippi) finished third last out in the aforementioned Grindstone S.

and could crash the boards with his best. WHAT A CHARACTER (Runaway Groom) won

his only start on the grass and has been running well against allowance company

on the Polytrack at Turfway. SKIP CODE (Skip Away) will be making his first

start on the grass but could have an impact if he takes to the new surface.

HACKER CRAFT (Greenwood Lake) and SUMMERLUCKY (Street Cry [Ire]) are the also-eligibles in the race, and Summerlucky has interesting longshot possibilities

should he manage to draw in. The bay has run well in each of three lifetime

starts on the Polytrack and has an ideal pedigree for the lawn.

Thursday's forecast calls for partly cloudy skies with highs in the upper

50s.

Thursday's Best Plays

3RD - TALETOBETOLD (Tale of the Cat) finished second last out in the OBS

Sprint S. behind Forever Together (Belong To Me), who came back to win

the Forward Gal S. (G2) at Gulfstream before missing by a neck in the Beaumont

S. (G2) at Keeneland. Taletobetold should find this allowance/optional claiming event

to be much easier than what she faced in her last and she has run well in each

of her tries over the Polytrack, which includes an allowance win at Keeneland. The dark bay tops the field in BRIS Class rating and is near the top

in BRIS Prime Power. The filly also holds the best last race BRIS Speed rating

and could be sitting on a huge effort for trainer Eddie Kenneally, who has

already been to the winner's circle with two of his five starters at the meet.

7TH - CRYPTOQUIP (Cryptoclearance) appears to have an excellent chance of

making it into the winner's circle in this 6 1/2-furlong allowance event. The

Grade 3 winner will be making her first start since getting beat by 15 1/2

lengths in the Fall City H. (G2) at Churchill Downs last November, but she has

been working well since early March, including a

clocking of 1:00 3/5 here on April 15. The dark bay has won in gate-to-wire

fashion as well as from off the pace, which should allow red-hot jockey Prado to

have her well placed regardless of the early fractions. The four-year-old filly

tops the field in both BRIS Prime Power and BRIS Class rating, and her top BRIS

Speed ratings are in line with the best of these.