Delta Prince ships in for Maker's 46 Mile
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The second half of the Keeneland spring stakes schedule will get under way Friday when a pair of races led by the Grade 1 Maker’s 46 Mile anchors a terrific 10-race card.
Delta Prince, in from New York after wintering in Florida, could be favored in a field of eight older turf horses in the $300,000 Maker’s 46, a longstanding key race in the division.
Delta Prince, a Stronach Stables homebred trained by Jimmy Jerkens, raced just once during the winter, finishing third after forging to the lead in midstretch of the $6.7 million Pegasus Turf Cup on Jan. 26 at Gulfstream Park. Third or better in 11 of 12 career starts, the 6-year-old horse has had six works in the interim – five at Palm Meadows and an April 4 drill over the Belmont Park training track.
From the hedge, this is the field for the 31st Maker’s 46 (race 9): Raging Bull, Doctor Mounty, Hembree, Delta Prince, Qurbaan, Heart to Heart, Clyde’s Image, and Great Wide Open.
Raging Bull, making his first start since winning the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby in early December for Chad Brown, also figures among the likely favorites, along with Heart to Heart, the 8-year-old who’s back for a fourth straight Maker’s 46 after finishing second in 2016 and 2017 and breaking through with a victory in 2018.
Qurbaan, the 2018 Bernard Baruch winner for Shadwell Stable and trainer Kiaran McLaughlin, is one of the fringe contenders. The 6-year-old horse was third here last fall in the Shadwell Turf Mile, then second in the Fort Lauderdale and a close third as the favorite in the Tampa Bay Stakes in two starts this winter.
“He’s a legit horse,” said Roger Horgan, who helps to oversee the McLaughlin horses at Keeneland meets.
Earlier Friday, the Limestone Turf Sprint (race 7) will be run for the first time, and it came up with an oversubscribed group of 3-year-old fillies led by Chelsea Cloisters, the runner-up to Bulletin in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint last fall. As many as 14 fillies will be allowed to start.
There are 18 stakes during the spring meet, with the first nine having been run during opening week.
Also set for Friday is an $85,000 allowance (race 6) featuring Copper Town, who was scratched by Todd Pletcher last Saturday from the seven-furlong Commonwealth Stakes after drawing the one-hole in a big field. Alas, the 5-year-old was assigned the one-hole again in a field of nine in the six-furlong race.
Javier Castellano, who enjoyed a sensational opening week when his 17 rides yielded nine wins, including four in stakes, has calls on Delta Prince and Copper Town.
