Conceit, Mashallah among dozen in Raven Run

On a relatively quiet Saturday of racing in the U.S., a dozen three-year-old fillies will attempt to make some noise in the $400,000 Raven Run (G2) at Keeneland.

Contested over the same track and seven-furlong distance as the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) on Oct. 31, the Raven Run has the distinction of having yielded one of the three three-year-old winners of the Filly & Mare Sprint. In 2018, Shamrock Rose registered an 18-1 upset of the Raven Run and then returned two weeks later to pull off a 25-1 shock in the Filly & Mare Sprint at Churchill Downs.

Although Conceit enters the Raven Run off a mild upset of division leader Explora in the Dogwood (G3), Mashallah appears the more likely Raven Run favorite. The daughter of Maxfield has made only one miscue in her second start but has otherwise been a dominant figure. 

Earning a 102 Brisnet Speed rating, winning on debut at Keeneland in April, Mashallah faded to midpack when stretched out to a mile second out. She quickly recovered, though, and is now in the midst of a three-race winning streak. They include scores in the Tyson Gilpin S. at Colonial Downs and the Prioress (G3) at Saratoga, both won by five lengths or more. 

Although a distant second to Explora in the Test (G1) two back, Percy’s Bar has saved her best for Keeneland. Her last run here was a solid 2 1/4-length triumph in the Ashland (G1), and she also crossed the wire first a year ago in the Alcibiades (G1).

A Fine Chardonnay also has a strong local mark of 2-for-2, which includes stakes wins in the Myrtlewood S. last October and the Beaumont (G2) this past April. Movie Night, like Mashallah, has run only one notable dud, when she stumbled at the start of the Test. A more representative effort was in the Dogwood, where she finished only a neck behind Conceit and a head adrift of Explora. 

Making her stakes debut is two-time winner With a Kiss, a Todd Pletcher-trained daughter of Gun Runner and Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner Cathryn Sophia.

Earlier in the card, three-year-old males will get an opportunity to dash the same course in the $350,000 Perryville (G3). The likely choice is Maxfield (G3) winner Deep Flame, a commendable second to expected Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) favorite Englishman in the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial (G1) at Saratoga in late August.

Three-time stakes winner Obliteration will look to snap a three-race skid on his return to dirt, while Solitude Dude fits off his narrow loss in the Amsterdam (G2) two back. Chief Wallabee, a Kentucky Derby (G1) contender last winter, is still looking to resuscitate his career after a pair of odds-on losses against softer.