King's preview: Return to (wet) dirt
Friday marks the return of racing at Keeneland with the start of the fall meet, and more notably, a return to dirt racing after years of having a synthetic Polytrack surface.
Byron KingOct 03, 2014
Friday marks the return of racing at Keeneland with the start of the fall meet, and more notably, a return to dirt racing after years of having a synthetic Polytrack surface.
BreezeFigs Quick-Pix for Saturday, October 4th by Bob Fierro and Jay Kilgore.
A field of six 2-year-olds will attempt to negotiate 1 1/16 miles in race 1, and all eyes will be on Gold Shield, a $1 million colt by Medaglia d’Oro who stretches out in his second start for Shug McGaughey.
If you exclude the also-eligibles, the average field size on Friday’s challenging nine-race card is nearly 11 horses. There is rain in the forecast, so the two turf events could be in jeopardy.
I like Filimbi to make amends for her flop as the 3-5 favorite in Ballston Spa when she runs in Saturday's First Lady Stakes at Keeneland.
Although still eligible for the second-level allowance conditions of Thursday’s featured eighth race, Bakken has shown exceptional talent through four starts, and the lightly raced 4-year-old colt looms a clear favorite in the $80,000 optional claimer at 6 1/2 furlongs.
Wednesday is the 19th day of racing at Belmont’s 38-day fall meet, and as we hit the halfway point, here are some odds ‘n ends.
All eight races on the card are claimers if you include the nominal feature, which is a combo race for $20,000 non-winners-of-three claimers and Ontario-sired non-winners-of-three allowance types.
Trip Notes for September 27-28: Jockey Club Gold Cup, Vosburgh, Zenyatta, John Henry Turf and more by Michael Hammersly.