Daddy Is a Legend drops from Grade 1 company into allowance
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Daddy Is a Legend already has three career wins over the Keeneland turf. She might well have won four times if not for a slight misstep and some PVC pipe.
In a memorable blooper that occurred Oct. 19, 2018, Daddy Is a Legend had surged to the lead with about 200 yards to go in the Valley View Stakes when she inadvertently brushed the temporary inner rail. Suddenly, PVC pipe was flying everywhere as she lost her action while wiping out a wide swath of the inner rail, ultimately being eased along a path inside the turf course by jockey Manny Franco as everyone escaped injury.
“A wild final furlong of the Pin Oak Valley View!” were the last words from Keeneland race-caller Kurt Becker as the opposition continued under the wire.
Three years have passed, and Daddy Is a Legend is still active at 6. The daughter of the late Scat Daddy has won 2 of 3 subsequent starts over the Keeneland turf, and she will be favored to win again Wednesday, when another five-day race week resumes with an eight-race card.
Daddy Is a Legend, with leading jockey Tyler Gaffalione to ride, will break from post 1 in a field of six fillies and mares in the sixth race, a $93,000 allowance with various conditions, including a “four-other-than” restriction. The 1 1/16-mile turf race is one of three allowances on a card that starts at 1 p.m. Eastern.
Trained for most of her 21-race career by George Weaver for Susan and Jim Hill, Daddy Is a Legend has amassed $666,353 while frequently facing some of the divisional elite. In fact, she exits three consecutive Grade 1 races, with an eighth-place finish in the First Lady on Oct. 9 at Keeneland being her most recent effort. She was badly compromised by an awkward break that day, trailing much of the way before passing a few tired rivals at 14-1. When on her game, she tends to prove superior to the likes of the quintet she’ll meet Wednesday, those being Princess Causeway, Pass the Plate, Dominga, Our Bay B Ruth, and I’llhandalthecash.
The nominal feature is the middle leg of a $3-minimum Keeneland Turf Pick 3 that comprises races 4-6-8.
Race 4 is an $86,000, first-level allowance in which Cheeky Chaps and Super Design figure as favorites in an oversubscribed lineup of turf sprinters.
The other allowance of the day is race 7, an $88,000, second-level allowance for fillies and mares going seven furlongs on the main track. The Hills and Weaver also hold a strong hand there with Movie Moxy, who’ll also have Gaffalione up as the program favorite in a field of seven.
Terrific autumn weather is in store for Wednesday, with sunny skies and a high of 72 in the local forecast.