Arnold aims to stay hot in feature

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Opening weekend at Keeneland was a good one for trainer Rusty Arnold.

"It almost was really good," said Arnold, "but we missed out on that by two or three inches."

That was the losing margin for the Arnold-trained Karelian in the richest race of the 17-day Keeneland fall meet, the $600,000 Shadwell Turf Mile on Saturday. Otherwise, pretty much everything fell neatly into place as Arnold recorded 2 wins and 2 seconds from his other 4 starters, including a Saturday maiden race in which he swept the exacta with Mint Chip and Captain Stone.

Arnold will try to sustain that considerable momentum Wednesday when he saddles two horses on the nine-race card, including Perfect for You in the eighth-race feature, a $54,000 second-level allowance at seven furlongs on Polytrack. He also will send out Zori's Eye as the morning-line favorite in the second race of the day.

Arnold intended to make an impact with Perfect for You at Saratoga, "but I entered her probably six times, and her races never filled," he said. "So I ran her once on the grass at the end of the meet, and that turned out to be a disaster," referring to the filly's eighth-place finish in a Sept. 3 overnight stakes. "Now she's back in where she belongs."

As a sharp winner of a Polytrack maiden race here in the spring, Perfect for You looks as good as any in a well-matched field of 12. Bred and owned by G. Watts Humphrey Jr., Perfect for You will break from post 9 with Shaun Bridgmohan back aboard.

Other contenders in the Wednesday feature include Consequence, a Phipps Stable filly who has been keeping high-class company; Dr. Zic, winner of the Sandpiper Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs last December; and Past Twilight, a last-out winner over the synthetic surface at Presque Isle Downs.

The feature is directly preceded by the only other allowance on the program, a $52,000 first-level turf route for 3-year-olds and up. That race also has a very competitive look to it, with a trio of 3-year-olds who last raced in New York - Armstrong Mill, Andiron, and Yankee Empire - rating as the top threats in a field of 12.

Wednesday is a rare stakes-less day at Keeneland, where first post daily is 1:05 p.m. Eastern through closing day, Oct. 31.