Castellano keeps Ready to Act on straight and narrow in Beaumont
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Despite herself, Ready to Act won the Beaumont Stakes on Sunday at Keeneland. The 3-year-old filly once created a mess when throwing her jockey in midstretch, and she looked like she might do something similar in the Beaumont Stakes. But Javier Castellano was all too prepared.
After swooping around the rest of the field with a last-to-first run, Ready to Act began lugging in badly, with her head cocked toward the grandstand in exaggerated fashion. Still, as Castellano restrained from heavy use of the whip, he somehow got her under the wire first in the 29th running of the Grade 2, $200,000 Beaumont, a Polytrack race for 3-year-old fillies.
“Javier did a great job to keep her straight,” said Chad Brown, who trains the gray filly for Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence. “As you can see, she’s a work in progress. Hopefully we can get her straightened out and hopefully pick up a few more lengths with her.”
Ready to Act returned $5.60 as the favorite after finishing the Beard Course distance of seven furlongs and 184 feet in 1:28.08. Sweet Whiskey was a half-length back in second, with Katie’s Eyes another three-quarters of a length back in third. Then came Richies Party Girl, Tea Time, Conspired, and Co Cola. Spring Again was an early scratch.
It was the first graded victory for Ready to Act, whose five previous starts had come on turf. In the Grade 2 Natalma at Woodbine last September, she suddenly veered in sharply and threw jockey Rajiv Maragh on an open-lengths lead in midstretch. There were no injuries in that incident.
“She really deserved to get this Grade 2 after that,” said Brown.
Before a crowd of 20,741, and amid warm and sunny conditions, Richies Party Girl set the early pace while Ready to Act gathered herself down the backstretch. Leaving the half-mile pole, Castellano let Ready to Act roll, and it was his expertise as the 2013 Eclipse Award-winning jockey that helped her prevail.
“She started lugging in, but it was no big deal,” he said with typical modesty.
The $2 exacta (3-4) paid $22.60, the $1 trifecta (3-4-7) returned $66.90, and the 10-cent superfecta (3-4-7-6) was worth $16.11.
The Beaumont is worth 10 points to the winner, and 17 overall, toward eligibility into the 14-filly field for the May 2 Kentucky Oaks. Brown said he would take Ready to Act back to his New York base and bypass the Oaks.
* The Beaumont was part of a daylong celebration that carried a Horses and Hope Pink Day theme. About 25 retired and active female jockeys, including Julie Krone, Donna Barton Brothers, Diane Crump, and Rosie Napravnik, were on hand for an autograph-signing session and other activities. Patrons wore pink in recognition of breast-cancer awareness and research, and the sixth race was run with all pink saddletowels.