Even the longshots have credentials in very deep Madison Stakes

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Sailor’s Valentine is unbeaten at Keeneland, with a Grade 1 victory here as well as a win at the distance of Saturday’s Grade 1, $300,000 Madison Stakes. It’s unusual to see a filly with those credentials installed at 20-1 on the morning line, but that’s how deep the cast is for the Madison Stakes.

Sailor’s Valentine looks to get back to her best form against nine other graded stakes winners in the Madison, for fillies and mares going seven furlongs.

Sailor’s Valentine, who is trained by Eddie Kenneally, won her debut going seven furlongs at Keeneland in October 2016. She scored her second victory the following April, with a $46.40 upset in the Grade 1 Ashland Stakes catapulting her into the Kentucky Oaks. She finished sixth on a sloppy track in the 1 1/8-mile Kentucky Oaks.

“It was a perfect trip, sitting right behind the speed,” regular rider Corey Lanerie said. “She was moving very well over the track even though it was in the slop. I got excited turning for home, but she just got tired late.”

Sailor’s Valentine didn’t race again for 10 months. She finished third in a six-furlong optional-claiming event last month at Gulfstream Park in her return.

Javier Castellano rode Sailor’s Valentine in that race, but Lanerie is back in the irons on Saturday, and the pair drew the rail in a field of 13.

Among Sailor’s Valentine’s opponents is Ami’s Mesa, who landed post 10 under Luis Contreras. Ami’s Mesa won four of five outings last year, with the only blemish coming when Bar of Gold nipped her by a nose in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, her first outing on dirt. The Madison is her first start since then.

American Gal is coming off an even longer layoff, making her first start since winning the Grade 1 Test Stakes going seven furlongs at Saratoga last August. American Gal won her only other start of 2017, the Grade 3 Victory Ride, a 6 1/2-furlong sprint at Belmont Park in July.

American Gal, 4, was trained by Bob Baffert as a 2-year-old, and was moved to trainer Simon Callaghan for her 3-year-old season.

The 7-2 morning-line favorite for the Madison is Lewis Bay, a Grade 2 winner routing early in her career. She came off a layoff of more than a year to win the Rampart Stakes in December and then finished second by a head Feb. 19 in the Royal Delta Stakes, both Grade 3 events going a mile at Gulfstream Park.

Finley’sluckycharm won 4 of 6 last year, including the Grade 2 Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes at Keeneland. She finished ninth in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, then returned from her break to finish second in the Mardi Gras Stakes on the Fair Grounds turf in February.

Miss Sunset was also a Grade 2 winner last fall at Keeneland, taking the Grade 2 Raven Run Stakes at seven furlongs. She comes off a pair of stakes victories against her fellow California-breds.

Grade 2 winner Ms Locust Point comes in on a four-race win streak, and has won 6 of her last 7 overall. The field also includes Grade 2 winners Salty and Tequilita, Grade 3 winner Teresa Z, and stakes winners Berned, Mines and Magic, and Natural Wonder.

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Key contenders

Sailor’s Valentine, by Mizzen Mast

Last 3 Beyers: 73-78-77

◗ The Kentucky Oaks was her only start on a sloppy track. With wintry weather in the Friday and Saturday forecast for Lexington, a wet track seems likely for the Madison.

Ami’s Mesa, by Sky Mesa

Last 3 Beyers: 94-94-100

◗ She has an outside post on Saturday, which may not hinder her considering she nearly won the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint from post 14.

◗ One of only two runners in this field to have earned a triple-digit Beyer Speed Figure, and the most recent to do so. Finley’sluckycharm posted a 102 in 2016. Miss Sunset owns the field’s top last-out Beyer, a 97.

Lewis Bay, by Bernardini

Last 3 Beyers: 94-95-93

◗ She won a maiden race at Belmont going seven furlongs and finished fourth in the 2016 Test Stakes at Saratoga her last time at the distance.

Ms Locust Point, by Dialed In

Last 3 Beyers: 88-85-89

◗ Comes off a 4 ½-length win in the Grade 2 Barbara Fritchie going seven furlongs on a muddy track at Laurel.