Keeneland fall meet begins with Alcibiades, Phoenix

A full field of 14 and a short stretch could make for an interesting stampede

in Friday's Grade 1, $400,000

Alcibiades

at Keeneland. The Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies prep is the highlight

of the fall meet opener at the Lexington, Kentucky, course, which will host 17

live days through October 29. As usual, Keeneland will frontload most of its

graded stakes action on opening weekend as part of their "Fall Stars Weekend"

round of final Breeders' Cup preps.

A Canadian-based filly with strong local ties, Tu Endie Wei, is expected to

go favored in the 1 1/16-mile Alcibiades. Bred and raced by former Kentucky

governor Brereton Jones, the Johar half-sister to former Canadian Horse of the

Year Biofuel was undefeated in two starts north of the border over the summer.

Debuting in the five-furlong My Dear over Woodbine's Polytrack, Tu Endie Wei

benefited from a lightning pace and came from eight lengths down to win going

away by a remarkable 4 3/4 lengths against 13 rivals.

Reappearing in the August 13 Ontario Debutante over 6 1/2 furlongs, Tu Endie

Wei prevailed by a half-length over subsequent Grade 3 Natalma winner Northern

Passion. Conditioned by Reade Baker, Tu Endie Wei will break from post 4 under

regular pilot James McAleney.

The major synthetic lead-in to the Alcibiades, the Grade 3

Arlington-Washington Lassie, has yielded two starters for Friday's race. Ann of

the Dance was 12 lengths down with a quarter-mile remaining in that one-mile

contest, and by the time she crossed the wire she had shaved the margin down to

a length in a third-place effort. However, the Jim DiVitio charge was

unfortunately saddled with post 14 in the Alcibiades. Also exiting the Arlington

feature is Venetian Sonata, who was a rallying fourth and should appreciate the

added distance.

The lone West Coast invader for the Alcibiades, Egg Drop, was a debut winner

at Del Mar on September 3 going 5 1/2 furlongs. Others with synthetic experience

include Arlington maiden winner New Wave, who last ran second in the P.G.

Johnson on Saratoga's turf, and Stephanie's Kitten, a last-out third in the

Natalma.

The field's lone graded winner, Flashy Lassie, took Churchill Downs' Grade 3

Debutante in June, and then was an unlucky second in the Mountaineer Juvenile

Fillies after a slow start. The Alcibiades will mark her first synthetic

appearance, and others of note doing the same are impressive Hoosier Park debut

winner Cheerleader, Calder stakes winner Frolic's Revenge, and distant Grade 1

Spinaway third-placer And Why Not.

Among the recent turf maiden winners testing the synthetic waters are the

stakes-placed Putthebabiesdown and Saratoga graduates Sweet Cat and Heart of

Destiny. Tavern On the Bay, who needed six starts to break her maiden, rounds

out the main body of the field. On Fire Baby, an impressive Ellis Park debut

winner, is the lone filly on the also-eligible list.

The Grade 3, $175,000

Phoenix,

a tune-up for the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Sprint, is also on Friday's card.

Headlining that six-furlong heat is Aikenite, who will seek to end a three-race

losing streak. The Dogwood Stable colorbearer got hot in the spring, taking the

Grade 2 Commonwealth at Keeneland and the Grade 2 Churchill Downs Stakes in

consecutive starts.

Other leading contenders in the field of seven are the three-year-old

Flashpoint, winner of the Grade 2 Hutcheson and Grade 3 Jersey Shore earlier

this year; last year's Breeders' Cup Sprint runner-up Hamazing Destiny;

Commonwealth runner-up Cool Bullet; and last-out Pirate's Bounty winner Sterling

Outlook