Bell's the One a possible upsetter in Raven Run

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Throw out a couple of races when Bell’s the One was out of her element, and suddenly it looks like she might be capable of pulling an upset Saturday at Keeneland in the Grade 2 Raven Run.

“The good news is she’s coming into this exceptionally well,” said Neil Pessin, who trains Bell’s the One for Lothenbach Stables. “We’ve got no excuses on this side of the race.”

Bell’s the One won her first four starts before finishing far back on a terrible trip in the Grade 1 Ashland here in April. After that, the Majesticperfection filly sandwiched runner-up finishes behind a pair of highly regarded sprinters, Breaking Even and Covfefe, around a seventh-place finish in the Acorn, a Grade 1 race in which she was admittedly overmatched “at least by the top two fillies,” said Pessin, referring to Guarana and Serengeti Empress.

“Our filly is a hard-knocker,” Pessin said. “Her works going into her last race,” the Sept. 21 Dogwood won by Covfefe, “and this race both are as well as she’s ever done. We’ll find out if she’s good enough to outrun these fillies Saturday.”

Indeed, the $250,000 Raven Run shapes up as a telling gauge for any number of its starters, including Bell’s the One and the two likely favorites, Royal Charlotte and Restless Rider. The seven-furlong race attracted an outstanding field of 11 3-year-old fillies when entries were drawn Wednesday.

From the rail, this is the Raven Run field: Royal Charlotte, Bell’s the One, Indian Pride, Oxy Lady, Free Cover, Restless Rider, Istan Council, First Star, Horologist, Needs Supervision, and Irish Mischief.

First post Saturday is 1:05 p.m. Eastern, with the Raven Run going at 5:30 p.m. as the ninth of 10 races.