Keeneland: Wise Dan proves Lopresti did the right thing

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Wise Dan earned a 105 Beyer Speed Figure for his win in the Shadwell Turf Mile.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Wise Dan came out of his latest eye-catching victory in good shape, trainer Charlie Lopresti said Sunday morning, less than 24 hours after the star 5-year-old gelding captured the Grade 1 Shadwell Turf Mile by 2 1/4 lengths over the Keeneland turf.

“I knew I did the right thing by the way he ran,” said Lopresti, who did not confirm Wise Dan for the Shadwell until the morning before entries were taken Wednesday. Lopresti was hesitant to run Wise Dan because of the timing of the Shadwell, which came just 20 days after the gelding won the Woodbine Mile.

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Wise Dan, with Jose Lezcano filling in for John Velazquez, got a great trip in posting his fourth win from five 2012 races. His only defeat came by a head in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster on the Churchill Downs dirt.

Lopresti reiterated that Wise Dan is most likely to run as the favorite in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Mile on the Santa Anita turf Nov. 3, as opposed to returning to dirt in the $5 million BC Classic the same day. Wise Dan, bred and owned by Morton Fink, will have his expenses paid for the Mile by virtue of the $750,000 Shadwell, the richest race of the 17-day fall meet, having been designated a Win and You’re In event.

Wise Dan earned a 105 Beyer Speed Figure for the Shadwell, marking his sixth straight race for a triple-digit Beyer.

Likewise, trainer Buff Bradley said Groupie Doll came out of her 6 1/4-length romp in the Grade 2 Thoroughbred Club of America in fine shape and that he plans to get two easy breezes at Churchill into the 4-year-old filly before heading to Santa Anita for the BC Filly and Mare Sprint. Groupie Doll earned a 103 Beyer.

Bradley said a charter flight from Kentucky on the Friday before the Breeders’ Cup, Oct. 26, is the likely travel itinerary for Groupie Doll.

In other stakes Beyers from Saturday: Tapitsfly earned a 100 in winning the Grade 1 First Lady; Joha, 81, Grade 1 Dixiana Breeders’ Futurity; and Bridgetown, 99, Grade3 Woodford.

Pick four fails to reach $250,000 guarantee

The all-stakes pick four wager on races 6 through 9 on Saturday failed to attain the $250,000 pool guarantee when drawing just $194,234. Jim Goodman, director of mutuels and simulcasting, said Sunday that the $55,766 difference was made up by the track. Each 50-cent combination was worth $67.20, or $268.80 for $2, while a $2 win parlay on the winning horses would have been worth about $175.

Goodman noted that the pick four most likely was cannibalized in part by a 50-cent pick-five wager that also began with race 6, the TCA Stakes. Spurred by a rare carryover of more than $94,000, the pick five (races 6-10) drew an additional $476,039 in fresh wagers. A 50-cent winner was worth $243.95.

Goodman said all-sources handle on the 10-race Saturday card was more than $12 million.

Pletcher now second on Keeneland stakes list

As if the milestone he attained Saturday in the Champagne Stakes wasn’t enough, trainer Todd Pletcher also went into second place in stakes wins among Keeneland trainers when represented by Bridgetown in the Woodford.

It was the 35th stakes victory here for Pletcher, second only to his former boss, D. Wayne Lukas, who has 50 Keeneland stakes wins.

Pletcher moved into second on the all-time earnings list Saturday, passing Bobby Frankel, when Shanghai Bobby took the Champagne, giving him more than $228 million in stable earnings. Lukas leads that list, too, with more than $260 million.