There is a 2014 Horse of the Year running on Friday’s nine-race card, but she’s not in the featured optional event. Sandys Hurricane, who recently was declared Fort Erie’s Horse of the Year, will try to extend her win streak to five races in the seventh, a $32,000 claimer going 6 1/2 furlongs.
Five scheduled turf races are in jeopardy as racing resumes following a two-day break. According to weather.com, there is a 100 percent chance of rain on Long Island on Wednesday night and into Thursday, with locally heavy rain, especially in the morning; rainfall totals could exceed one inch.
As expected following heavy rain Tuesday in central Kentucky, Wednesday’s two scheduled grass races at Keeneland have been moved to the main track. This dramatically changes the leading contenders in both races.
Trip Notes for Oct. 11-12: Knickerbocker, Queen Elizabeth II, Athenia by Michael Hammersly.
One could make a case for several of the eight entrants in the $150,000 Carotene, a nine-furlong turf stakes for Ontario-bred 3-year-old fillies. However, the speedy Zazinga (2-1) seems vulnerable at the distance, while competing on fairly short rest off a gate-to-wire score in the one-mile La Prevoyante Stakes.
Katie’s Garden, a lightly raced and improving 4-year-old, is the one to beat in race 7, the $100,000 Punkin Pie Stakes at seven furlongs.
You will have to be super creative to make something out of Sunday’s Belmont card. Either that, or swallow hard and prepare to accept a lot of short prices. Chalk does look strong throughout the card.
Let’s take a shot at Sunday’s late pick four, a sequence in which the long-awaited return of Constitution in race 8 is surrounded by three turf races, including the featured $200,000 Athenia Stakes for fillies and mares.
Pick three play at Keeneland for October 12 by Marcus Hersh.
Despite wet, cool weather in recent days, racing remains on the turf for Sunday’s races at Keeneland – at least as of this writing Sunday morning. Track officials are calling the grass yielding after it was soft for Saturday’s races.
