Alter Moon in good form for deep Raven Run

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Black and blue will predominate Saturday at Keeneland, and not just because of school colors. A full gate of 3-year-old fillies promises a bruising renewal of the Raven Run Stakes, a Grade 2 race that again illustrates just how tough the competition has been here all month.

Thousands of football fans from Vanderbilt (black and gold) and Kentucky (blue and white) will be suitably attired ahead of a game that kicks off later at nearby Kroger Field, reveling in the opportunity to make Keeneland and its bucolic setting their pre-game destination. When diverting their attention from the party to the track, they’ll discover a racing product of top degree, highlighted by the 20th running of the $250,000 Raven Run.

Alter Moon, making her second start since being purchased by Peter Brant for $675,000 at the Fasig-Tipton July Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale and turned over to Chad Brown, could be a slight favorite in the seven-furlong Raven Run, ninth on a 10-race card that starts at 1:05 p.m. Eastern.

As an update to her solid back form – which includes an 88 Beyer Speed Figure when she won the Azalea at Gulfstream Park in late June, prompting Brant to buy her – Alter Moon was a decent fourth behind her Brown stablemate Separationofpowers in the Grade 1 Test in late August in her lone appearance for her new connections. Perhaps more importantly, the Kentucky-bred daughter of Alternation has trained right along in the interim, posting six workouts since the Test, the latest coming last Saturday over the local strip.

Jose Ortiz has the call on Alter Moon, who was assigned post 5 in an oversubscribed lineup that comprises 16 potential runners, from which only as many as 14 can start.

While Alter Moon essentially is from Florida by way of New York, there’s plenty of capable representation in the Raven Run from other regions across the country.

From California, True Royalty (post 4, Robby Albarado) and Moonshine Memories (post 9, Mike Smith) both figure to attract their share of wagering. True Royalty, trained by John Sadler, enjoyed a breakthrough of sorts with a 3 1/2-length triumph in late August in the Grade 3 Torrey Pines at Del Mar, while Moonshine Memories is a Grade 1 winner for trainer Simon Callaghan, who has intimated the Malibu Moon filly is primed to return to peak form in view of her recent work slate at Santa Anita.

From New York by way of New Mexico, Blamed (post 3, Julien Leparoux) will make an eagerly awaited return to action. Declared out of the Kentucky Oaks with a minor injury following a five-race win streak that culminated with a 6 1/4-length romp in the March 25 Sunland Park Oaks, the filly has since been turned over by owner Cleber Massey to trainer Bill Mott, for whom she has posted eight works since mid-August over the Oklahoma training track at Saratoga.

From Minnesota, after making a name for herself in Arkansas, Amy’s Challenge (post 1, Jared Loveberry) figures a huge pace presence from her rail slot after being honed to a razor’s edge by trainer Mac Robertson.

“The one-hole doesn’t bother me much because the filly is so sharp right now,” Robertson said.

And from a half-dozen or so locals could emerge a surprise or two, including Divine Queen (post 10, Calvin Borel), who was 51-1 in winning the Dogwood Stakes last month at Churchill Downs for Buff Bradley, and the late-running Kelly’s Humor (post 6, Brian Hernandez Jr.), most recently third in the Test for Brad Cox.

“This is like her last race, where she’s got long odds going in, but I really feel like she belongs,” Bradley said. “She’s pretty happy with herself right now.”

“Our filly is always in there trying,” Cox said. “If it falls apart up front, we might be in there with a big chance.”

Rounding out the main body of the Raven Run are Everyonelovesjimmy, She’s Pretty Lucky, Chauncey, Take Charge Paula, Shamrock Rose, Bronx Beauty, and Nootka Sound. The also-eligibles are Criminal Mischief and She’s a Gypsy.

The Raven Run was first run in 1999, when Pat Day guided Dreamy Maiden to victory. It goes as the ninth race on a Saturday card, the first half of a so-called “Bluegrass doubleheader” that also includes two allowances (races 6 and 8), with post time for the feature set for 5:30. A chance of rain and a high of 59 are forecast. The ballgame starts at 7:30.

After Saturday, just two stakes will remain at this 17-day fall meet: the Grade 3 Dowager on Sunday and the Grade 2 Fayette on Oct. 27, closing day.