Elkhorn Stakes, with no clear-cut favorite, closes Keeneland meet

LEXINGTON, Ky. – It began on a Friday and will end the same way. The curtain comes down on another highly eventful three weeks at Keeneland, where the spring meet gets a rousing send-off by way of a terrific 10-race card highlighted by the Grade 2 Elkhorn Stakes.

As many as 14 older turf marathoners will contest this 29th running of the $250,000 Elkhorn, a three-turn, 1 1/2-mile race in which there is no clear-cut favorite amid a slew of viable contenders.

Tom Proctor, with the uncoupled duo of Old Time Hockey and Temeraine, stands as good a chance as any to be the last trainer to visit the Keeneland turf course this spring for the obligatory trophy presentation. Both Proctor runners are 5-year-old geldings with staying-on tendencies.

“They’re two hard-knocking horses, very legit,” Proctor said. “They’re not the best horses I’ve ever had in the barn, but they’re pretty darn nice. Hopefully, they’ll both get good trips and something will work out in our favor.”

Old Time Hockey will start from post 1 with Shaun Bridgmohan aboard, while Temeraine was assigned post 5 and Jose Lezcano.

There are a half-dozen others, probably more, in with similarly good chances.

They include Optimizer (post 2, Joe Rocco Jr.), a multiple graded stakes winner seeking to get back on form for D. Wayne Lukas; Unitarian (post 3, Javier Castellano), a two-time optional-claiming winner at Gulfstream Park this winter for Todd Pletcher; Hangover Kid (post 4, Julien Leparoux), a 6-year-old New York-bred with a reliable kick; Tricky Hat (post 10, Rosie Napravnik), a sharp second in a key turf allowance here on opening weekend for Shug McGaughey; Amen Kitten (post 11, John Velazquez), most recently second in the Grade 2 Mac Diarmida at Gulfstream; and Forte Dei Marmi (post 13, Jimmy Graham), a millionaire 8-year-old whose Hall of Fame trainer, Roger Attfield, has won the Elkhorn a record four times.

Amen Kitten, trained by Wesley Ward for Ken and Sarah Ramsey, will be making his first start in almost 10 weeks. The 4-year-old gelding is still eligible for second-level allowances but has shown himself stakes-worthy, Ward said.

“We’ve had our eye on this particular race for a while, and he’s trained great up to it,” said Ward, alluding to three local workouts.
The Elkhorn, named for an 86-mile-long central Kentucky stream, dates to 1986. The 2013 Elkhorn winner was Dark Cove, capping a record-breaking meet enjoyed by the Ramseys, trainer Mike Maker, and jockey Joel Rosario.

The Elkhorn is carded as the ninth of 10 Friday races. First post is 1:05 p.m. Eastern, with the feature set for 5:13. An outstanding undercard also is on tap, including a 2-year-old dash (race 1) and two allowances (races 5 and 8). TVG will have daylong coverage.
Live action on the Kentucky circuit moves Saturday evening to Churchill Downs, where HRTV is the exclusive provider.