Delacour high on Well Humored ahead of Doubledogdare Stakes

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Most recent renewals of the Doubledogdare Stakes have gotten small fields, but not in 2018. Thirteen fillies and mares are entered in the Grade 3, $100,000 Doubledogdare at Keeneland, and more than half the field would seem to own a legitimate shot at victory.

Valadorna is a lukewarm 7-2 morning-line favorite in the 24th running of the Doubledogdare, which anchors a 10-race Friday program that starts at 1:05 p.m. Eastern. Six more are listed at 10-1 or lower in a telltale sign of the contentious nature of this 1 1/16-mile fixture.

“It is a big field, a tough field, but our horse fits,” said Arnaud Delacour, who will send out Well Humored off a breakthrough victory in January at Tampa Bay Downs. “We’ve liked this filly all along, and she has won all three times she’s run on dirt.”

Jose Ortiz, in contention for leading jockey at the 16-day meet, which runs through April 27, will break from post 11 aboard Well Humored, a 4-year-old filly bred by WinStar Farm and owned by WinStar Stablemates Racing LLC. In her last start, Well Humored rallied to win the Wayward Lass at Tampa.

“It was a gutsy effort,” said Delacour. “She got stuck on the rail but went through there and showed determination.”

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Valadorna (post 9, Brian Hernandez Jr.), whose high-water mark remains her runner-up finish in the 2016 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, will be looking to rebound off a sixth-place finish in the Grade 3 Houston Ladies Classic on Jan. 28. Before that, the Stonestreet Stables homebred rounded into form with back-to-back December wins at Fair Grounds for trainer Mark Casse.

“Her race at Sam Houston was very disappointing, although it was kind of a drying-out, muddy track that day, and horses like her that were forwardly placed didn’t seem to finish the race off,” said David Carroll, the Casse assistant who has directly overseen Valadorna during much of her career. “We just gave her a little freshening after that. We know she likes this track, and I’m extremely happy with the way she’s been training.”

Other Doubledogdare contenders include Mines and Magic (post 2, Robby Albarado), stretching out off a needed start at Gulfstream Park; Jenda’s Agenda (post 7, Florent Geroux), a winner in 4 of 5 career starts, all for trainer Larry Jones and partners; Tapa Tapa Tapa (post 12, James Graham), second at 2-5 in the Wayward Lass; and a pair of last-out Fair Grounds allowance winners, Song of Spring (post 1, Joel Rosario) and Promise of Spring (post 4, Gabriel Saez).

Rounding out the lineup are Girl Talk, Ministry, Apologynotaccepted, Julerette, Not Now Carolyn, and Someday Soon.

The Doubledogdare is named for the standout Claiborne Farm filly who won the 1955 Alcibiades, 1956 Ashland, and 1956 Spinster. It goes as the ninth race (post, 5:30) and is part of a late pick four (races 7-10) with a guaranteed pool of $200,000. Back-to-back allowances (races 7 and 8) precede the Doubledogdare.

Unbridled Mo, the winner of the Grade 1 Apple Blossom over Unique Bella last Friday at Oaklawn Park, won the 2017 Doubledogdare in a field of just four.

KEY CONTENDERS

Valadorna, by Curlin
Last 3 Beyers: 81-88-85

◗ Six timed workouts since early March point out her readiness for her return.

Well Humored, by Distorted Humor
Last 3 Beyers: 93-84-69

◗ Delacour has been pointing her to this race since shortly after the Wayward Lass.

Jenda’s Agenda, by Proud Citizen
Last 3 Beyers: 85-88-77

◗ This speedy Jones homebred figures as a major pace presence in her graded stakes debut.

Mines and Magic, by Mineshaft
Last 3 Beyers: 87-70-92

◗ This consistent and tractable G. Watts Humphrey homebred comes well drawn toward the rail.

Tapa Tapa Tapa, by Tapit
Last 3 Beyers: 76-92-102

◗ Gray filly earned the field’s lone triple-digit Beyer in a December allowance at Tampa.