Brown has trio of invitees to QE II Challenge Cup

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Twelve 3-year-old turf fillies have been invited to the $500,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup, which will be run next Saturday as the highlight of the coming weekend at Keeneland.

Chad Brown has three of the invitees, all of whom will be among the favorites for the 36th running of the 1 1/8-mile QE II, the sixth and last Grade 1 of the fall meet. The Brown fillies are Cafe Americano, Cambier Parc, and Regal Glory.

The other invitees are Carnival Colors, Castle Lady, Lady Prancealot, Kelsey’s Cross, Magnetic Charm, Maxim Rate, Mucho Unusual, Princesa Carolina, and Varenka. Entries will be drawn Wednesday.

Magnetic Charm, a British-bred trained by William Haggas, is owned by the race namesake, Queen Elizabeth II.

The Saturday card is the first half of a Bluegrass doubleheader, which ends with the Arkansas-Kentucky football game at nearby Kroger Field.

Jessamine the last WAYI

After nine Win and You’re In events were run during the opening three-day weekend of the Keeneland fall meet, the 10th and last qualifier toward the Breeders’ Cup will be showcased when racing resumes here Wednesday.

The Grade 2, $200,000 Jessamine, the seventh of eight Wednesday races, drew an oversubscribed field of 2-year-old fillies as a Win and You’re In toward the Nov. 1 BC Juvenile Fillies Turf.

Jezebel’s Kitten, a runaway winner of the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Fillies for trainer Brad Cox, was assigned post 5 as one of the top contenders in the 1 1/16-mile turf race. As many as 14 can start, with two fillies on the also-eligibles list.

There are no stakes here Thursday or Sunday. The Friday feature is the Grade 3, $150,000 Franklin County for filly-mare turf sprinters.