Pluck tops 10-horse field in opening-day Transylvania at Keeneland

Pluck tops 10-horse field in opening-day Transylvania at

Keeneland

Team Valor International's Pluck, winner of the Breeders'

Cup Juvenile Turf last November, heads a field of 10 three-year-olds in

Friday's 23rd running of the $100,000, Grade 3 Transylvania, the opening-day feature

of Keeneland's 15-day spring meeting.

The Transylvania, run at 1 1/16 miles on the turf, will go as the 9TH race on

Friday's 10-race card with an approximate post time of 5:23 p.m. (ET). First

post time on Friday is 1:15 p.m.

Trained by Graham Motion, Pluck finished fourth when kicking off his

sophomore campaign in a March 12 allowance at Tampa Bay Downs. He'll regain the

services of Garrett Gomez, who was up for the Breeders' Cup victory at Churchill

Downs as well as a triumph in the Grade 3 Summer at Woodbine but missed the

assignment in his 2011 opener. Pluck will break

from the far outside post position under a 123-pound assignment.

Stakes winner Adirondack Summer and Air Support will also carry 123 pounds.

Air Support defeated Soldat when capturing the Grade 3 Pilgrim two starts back and will make his 2011 debut in the Transylvania for Shug McGaughey.

He was last seen recording a ninth in the

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf. Regular rider Rajiv Maragh has the call.

Adirondack Summer, who exits a win in the January 16 Dania Beach at

Gulfstream Park, has

captured two-of-three career starts for Christophe Clement, who will be seeking

his second straight Transylvania win following the success of Nordic Truce in 2010. Alan Garcia will retain the mount.

Powhatan County, who concluded his juvenile season with a

runner-up to Soldat in the Grade 3 With Anticipation in early September, figures to attract plenty of support

following a smart victory in his 2011 bow, a March 3 allowance/optional claiming

event at Gulfstream Park.

The George Weaver pupil came back from the six-month layoff with a head score over subsequent

Grade 3 Spiral hero Animal Kingdom, and Powhatan County's connections were considering next

Saturday's Grade 1 Blue Grass on Polytrack. The bay colt will be a much shorter price

in the Transylvania.

The Steve Asmussen-trained Great Mills invades off a wire-to-wire

score in the March 12 Grindstone at Fair Grounds, and Stormy Rush will make his first appearance since a fourth in the

Grade 3 Bourbon at Keeneland last October. Last-out allowance winners Lil Bit

O'Fun and Ronin Dax will return to stakes competition on Friday, and outsiders

Memen and Legendary King round

out the Transylvania line-up.