Keeneland Daily Notebook

KEENELAND DAILY NOTEBOOK

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2007

by Brian P. Turner

A field of 13 went to the gate for Saturday's Raven Run S. (G2) for

three-year-old fillies going seven furlongs over the Polytrack. West Coast Swing

(Gone West) was sent to the gate as the favorite as she looked to run her career

record to a perfect four-for-four. Though the bay was coming off a very nice win

in the 1 1/16-mile Prairie Meadows Oaks, the most impressive performance of her

career came at today's distance when she defeated an allowance/optional claiming

field at Arlington by 10 3/4 lengths, earning an amazing 106 BRIS Speed rating.

There was little doubt that if she were able to repeat that performance she

would be very tough to beat.

In the end though, it was long shot JIBBOOM (Mizzen Mast) who put in an

absolutely dazzling performance to take the victory. The gray was content to

stalk the pace early through opening fractions of :22 3/5 and :45 3/5 before

taking command in the stretch and widening her advantage from there to hit the

finish line 4 1/2 lengths in front.

The filly was making her synthetic track debut after competing on the turf in

each of her first three starts, including a win against maiden company and two

second-place finishes against allowance competition. Jibboom put it all together

in a huge way here, and even though she came from the barn of trainer Bobby

Frankel, her performance was very much a surprise to the general racing public

as her healthy $33.60 payoff will stand testament.

West Coast Swing was content to lay near the back of the pack early and

finished well late to cross the finish line a distant second, 1 1/2 lengths in

front of Mini Sermon (Pulpit) in third.

There were five sprints contested over the Polytrack Saturday with horses on

or near the pace winning three of them. As for the three routes, horses on or

near the pace won two of these as well. In addition, there were two turf routes

on the day with closers winning both.

Rafael Bejarano was not in attendance today as he was riding in New York but

he still leads the way in the jockey standings with 15 for the meet. Julien

Leparoux added one to his total and remains in second with 13. Robby Albarado

booted home three winners on the day to take over the third spot with 11.

Neither Bill Mott nor Todd Pletcher had a winner on the day which means Mott

still leads the way in the trainer standings by a score of seven to six. Kenny

McPeek saddled a pair of winners on the day, which moves him into a tie for the

third spot with Steve Asmussen. The pair has five winners each.

The Pick 6 was not hit again today, which leaves a carryover going into

Sunday's card of $19,695.

Horses to Watch

3RD - COSMIC BELLE (Lemon Drop Kid) did not make it into the winner's circle

but had a very nice career debut for trainer Bernie Flint. The two-year-old

filly was dead last early through opening fractions of :22 3/5 and :46 3/5

before closing with an explosive turn of foot through the stretch drive to cross

the finish line in second. Though she was 2 3/4 lengths behind the winner, the

chestnut was 4 1/4 lengths clear of her next nearest competitor in the field.

5TH - MAGGER BAGS (Indian Charlie) broke her maiden in impressive fashion in

her second career start. The two-year-old filly was content to lay off the pace

early through opening fractions of :22 and :45 4/5 before moving up to take

command in the stretch drive on her way to an easy 3 3/4-length victory.

Tomorrow's Outlook - Sunday, October 21

Sunday's featured stakes offering is the Dowager S. for fillies and mares,

three-years-old and up, going 12 furlongs on the lawn. A field of 10 is

scheduled to go to the gate headed by JADE QUEEN (Giant's Causeway), who will be

looking to improve off her second-place effort last out in the Fairway Flyer S.

at Belmont in which she attempted to lead the field from gate-to-wire only to

miss by a length at the line. The chestnut has put in some very nice efforts

this year, including a fourth-place finish in the New York Breeders' Cup S. (G2)

in which she pressed the pace, took a brief late and was overwhelmed late. The

four-year-old filly is definitely one of the speedier members of the field and

she could prove to be impossible to run down late if allowed to have her way on

the lead early.

AROSA (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) is coming off a 2 3/4-length score in the

12-furlong Claire Marine S. at Arlington in which she overcame a troubled trip

and rallied from 9 1/2 lengths off the early lead for the victory. The bay has

yet to finish off the board in four starts since coming to North America and

appears to be the one most likely to pick up the pieces should the favorite

falter on the lead. NUNNERY (Forest Wildcat) finished third last out in the

Fairway Flyer. Prior to that effort though, the chestnut had reeled off two wins

in a row, including a half-length victory over a muddy Saratoga track in the

Waya S. The four-year-old filly is capable of contending here with her best

effort.

OMEYA (Chi) (Milt's Overture) has been showing improvement as of late and

could have an impact here with her best effort.

Sunday's forecast calls for sunny skies with highs in the upper 70s.

Sunday's Best Plays

4TH - LEO'S PEGASUS (Fusaichi Pegasus) will be taking a class drop in this

allowance/optional claiming event after facing stakes company in each of her

last two starts. The bay had been running well against allowance competition

prior to those two efforts, including a third-place effort where she was beaten

by a length here at Keeneland back in April. The four-year-old filly has the

highest BRIS Class rating in the field and is also near the top in BRIS Prime

Power. Leo's Pegasus has posted some of her best BRIS Speed ratings on the

Polytrack and a repeat of those performances should be enough to get her into

the winner's circle here.

5TH - FACE NORD (Cozzene) had a very nice debut last out at Arlington while

going 6 1/2 furlongs as he rallied from 11 lengths off the early pace at the

second call to miss by only a half-length when fourth at the wire. The gray has

a pedigree that says he will be more successful when he stretches out so he

should absolutely love the nine furlongs he gets today. The BRIS Speed rating

earned in his lone start puts the two-year-old gelding squarely in the mix and

his 6-1 morning line only adds to his appeal.