Verity splashes clear in Beaumont; Normandy Coast storms Palisades

Once adverse weather prompted Keeneland to shift its opening Friday and Saturday cards to Monday and Tuesday, respectively, Sunday became the spring meet curtain-raiser. But rain was still lashing the Bluegrass, forcing races originally scheduled for the turf to be transferred to the sloppy main track.

Favorites were overturned in both sophomore stakes that also witnessed key scratches. In the $365,000 Beaumont (G2) for fillies, the 6-1 Verity upset odds-on Stunner, who was bet down following the withdrawal of morning-line favorite Eclatant. 

The $300,000 Palisades S. lost nearly half of the field, including four prime contenders, after it was rained off the turf. Long Neck Paula inherited the favorite’s mantle at 1.36-1, but Normandy Coast relished the conditions to beat her. 

Beaumont (G2)

Godolphin’s homebred Verity, the lone stakes debutante in the field, was coming off maiden and allowance scores on the Turfway Park Tapeta. The Eoin Harty pupil proved worthy of the class hike. 

As Stunner flashed speed through fractions of :22.22 and :44.89, Verity was hovering ominously in second. Jockey Vincent Cheminaud asked Verity in earnest at the top of the stretch, and the daughter of Nyquist deployed her big stride to draw away by 5 1/4 lengths. Verity clocked about seven furlongs in 1:27.18.

“I was confident about the distance and the track, to be honest,” Cheminaud said. “She’s a nice filly. I’d won twice with her, and she was good every time. I was very confident. 

“She broke better than I thought from the gate. My filly was traveling very well next to the 5 on the lead (Stunner). She gave me a good effort.”

Stunner was easily best of the rest by 4 3/4 lengths. Volleyballprincess was all alone in third, trailed by the 3-2 G W’s Girl and Continuity.

Verity paid $14.26 while increasing her bankroll to $368,044 from her 4-3-1-0 line. The bay is a head away from being undefeated, having missed narrowly in her Dec. 1 unveiling at Churchill Downs.

Harty also trained Verity’s dam, the Bernardini mare Moiety, who was likewise effective on both dirt and synthetic surfaces. A stakes-winning sprinter herself, Moiety concluded her career with a second in the 2018 Barbara Fritchie (G2) in the Laurel mud. 

Verity is the latest advertisement for the Nyquist/Bernardini cross that has produced the likes of reigning champion two-year-old filly Immersive, past Sovereign Award winner Gretzky the Great, Encino, and Nysos.

Palisades S.

The character of the 5 1/2-furlong dash was altered by moving to the main track, and the composition of the field changed accordingly. The top four choices on the morning line – turf performers Warheart, Out on Bail, Makeit to Cheyenne, and Dreamaway – were all scratched, along with longshot Absolutely Hot.

But the rain was literally an answered prayer for Normandy Coast’s trainer, Eddie Kenneally.

“This is a nice, nice horse,” Kenneally said. “We were actually praying for rain this week, so that happened for us. We wanted to run him on the dirt here, and it worked out perfectly. He got a beautiful ride. Very happy.”

The beautiful ride came courtesy of Ben Curtis, who had the well-named son of Omaha Beach settled on the inside a couple of lengths off pacesetting Long Neck Paula. After an opening quarter in :21.92, Long Neck Paula drifted out, and Curtis was quick to seize the inviting gap with Normandy Coast.

Riding the rail to challenge by the half in :45.44, Normandy Coast drove clear down the lane and crossed the wire a 3 1/2-length winner. The Red Gate Racing runner clocked 1:04.35 and returned $7.24.

“It worked out perfect – we went on to win,” Curtis said of his rail bid. “The horse in front (Long Neck Paula) was just getting out a little bit off the rail, and I knew (my horse) stayed very well, so I knew stamina wasn’t going to be a problem. So when the opportunity presented itself, I said, ‘Perfect, we’ll take the shortest way around,’ and he went to the front and kept going. That’s all you can ask of him.”

Long Neck Paula had 7 3/4 lengths to spare over third-placer Killjoy, who was followed by Flat to Da Mat, Turbulent Force, and the tailed-off Brie’s in Town.

Normandy Coast was turning the page on his debacle in the Gotham (G3) at Aqueduct, where he wound up being eased. But the bay had shown promise sprinting, and Kenneally indicated that he’d stick to that program for the foreseeable future. 

A debut fourth in the hot Churchill maiden won by Keep It Easy, Normandy Coast won next time at Ellis Park and captured a Fair Grounds allowance in his Jan. 11 comeback. His scorecard stands at 5-3-0-0, $269,525.

Purchased by Kenneally for $60,000 as a Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October yearling, Normandy Coast was bred by Haymarket Farm. He is out of the Congrats mare Alliteration, from the further family of multiple graded stakes performer Coach.