Keeneland Daily Notebook

KEENELAND DAILY NOTEBOOK

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2006

by Brian P. Turner

A field of nine went to the gate for Sunday's Bryan Station S. for

three-year-olds going eight furlongs on the lawn. When the gates sprang open,

Smart Enough (Horse Chestnut [SAf]), who was looking for his sixth win in a row

on the grass, bounded out of the gate and onto the lead with KIP DEVILLE

(Kipling) content to lie 1 1/2 lengths off him early. Smart Enough continued

to lead the way through opening fractions of :23 4/5 and :48 1/5 but, once the

field hit the stretch, Kip Deville quickly moved up to challenge. Taking the lead

away, the eventual winner dug in gamely late to cross the finish line 1 1/4 lengths

in front.

Considering that Kip Deville had never before won a race that he didn't lead from gate to wire,

it

was impressive here to see him actually relax and run down the pacesetter

through the stretch for the victory. The gray was coming off a dismal

performance in the Kent Breeders' Cup S. (G3) at Delaware, where he finished

fifth, beaten by 13 3/4 lengths. It appeared the colt was on a bit of a

downward spiral as far as form was concerned, but he returned to his winning ways

here with an extremely impressive effort.

Storm Treasure (Storm Boot), fresh off a second-place effort in the

Equalize S. at Saratoga, rallied from dead last and closed with an explosive

turn of foot through the stretch to hit the wire in second, a nose in front of a

game Smart Enough in third.

Horses on or near the pace are finally starting to hold their own, as there

were four sprints and four routes contested over the Polytrack today with horses

on or near the pace winning two of the sprints and two of the routes. The Bryan

Station was the only turf race contested on the day.

Rafael Bejarano added two to his total today and continues to lead the way in

the jockey standings with 17 for the meet. Julien Leparoux added three to his

total and remains in second with 13, followed by Garrett Gomez, who did

not ride today, with seven.

Patrick Biancone added one to his total today and remains in the top spot in

the trainer standings with seven for the meet. Dale Romans saddled one winner on

the day to take sole possession of the second spot with four. Steve Flint

saddled a winner on the day to move into a tie for the third spot with Wayne

Catalano, Christophe Clement and Eddie Kenneally. The four conditioners have

three winners each.

Horses to Watch

1ST - SWEET ON BERTIE (Storm Creek) did something that has been difficult to

do at Keeneland up until today, and that is lead the field from gate to wire.

The three-year-old filly took the lead out of the gate in this maiden claiming

event and guided the field through opening fractions of :22 3/5 and :45 4/5

before actually widening her advantage in the stretch drive to hit the finish

line 5 3/4 lengths in front.

5TH - ZOFZIG (Danzig) had a very nice career debut for trainer Romans in this

maiden special weight event. The two-year-old filly was content to lie just off

the pace early through opening fractions of :22 2/5 and :46 before taking over

in the stretch drive for an easy 2 3/4-length victory, stopping the clock for

the six furlongs in 1:09 4/5. The bay was finishing with good energy late and,

given her pedigree, should only improve when she stretches out.

Outlook for Wednesday, October 18

A field of eight is set to go to the post for Wednesday's 7TH race, a 1 1/16-mile allowance event for two-year-old fillies. WHATDREAMSRMADEOF (Graeme Hall)

is coming off a nice effort in the Kentucky Cup Juvenile Fillies S. at

Turfway where she rallied from off the pace to finish second, beaten by 3 1/4

lengths. Prior to that, the New York-bred absolutely dominated a state-bred

maiden special weight field by 9 1/2 lengths at Saratoga.

BEAUTIFUL VENUE (Came Home) finished a well beaten ninth last out in the

Alcibiades S. (G2) here on October 6. The dark bay hooked a very tough field

that day and should appreciate the drop back into allowance company. CALL

THE KITTY (Langfuhr) finished just behind Beautiful Venue in the Alcibiades, but

prior to that finished a very nice third in the Arlington-Washington Breeders' Cup Lassie

S. (G3). It wouldn't be surprising to see a reversal of her Alcibiades form here.

NOLA STAR (Three Wonders) absolutely dominated when breaking her maiden as

she crossed the finish line 16 3/4 lengths clear of her nearest rival, but followed that

up with a lackluster effort over a sloppy track in the Arlington-Washington

Breeders' Cup Lassie. It could have been the sloppy surface that did her in that

day, so a rebound is

definitely not out of the question. STELLAS NEW GROOVE (Victory Gallop) came six

wide to break her maiden by 1 3/4 lengths while sprinting last out at Arlington.

The dark bay has a pedigree that says she will love stretching out.

SHE'S IMPOSSIBLE (Yankee Victor) missed by only three parts of a length last

out against allowance/optional claiming company at Turfway, where she posted a

respectable 87 BRIS Speed rating. The dark bay has posted two solid maintenance

works since and could be ready for a nice effort. MISS A. BOMB (Lemon Drop Kid)

is another who has a pedigree that says she should appreciate the stretch-out

and trainer Grant Hofmans in dangerous when sending his runners out to do just

that. WELLOFAPRIZE (Pure Prize) would be a bit of a surprise as she has not been

particularly dazzling since breaking her maiden at River Downs.

Wednesday's forecast calls for partly cloudy skies and a high near 70.

Wednesday's Best Plays

4TH - BEAUFORT (Thunder Gulch) will be taking a class drop in this six-furlong claiming event, and that may be just enough to get him into the winner's

circle. The bay is coming off a fourth-place effort against allowance company

and that could prove to be a key race as each of the top two finishers came back to

win their next starts. The three-year-old gelding has the highest last-race BRIS

Speed rating, and he is near the top of the field in BRIS Class rating.

8TH - OH SO AWESOME (Awesome Again) will be making his first start on the

lawn in this one since coming to North America, as he has mainly been competing

against graded stakes company on the main track. While in Europe, the bay

compiled a respectable 6-1-2-1 on the lawn and may appreciate the

return to that surface. The three-year-old colt tops the field in both BRIS

Prime Power and BRIS Class rating, and his best BRIS Speed ratings are on line

with the best of these.