Fashion Alert favored for third straight stakes win in Alcibiades

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Not that she needs any help as the only graded stakes winner in the field, but Fashion Alert was assigned the favorable rail slot for Friday’s 63rd running of the Grade 1, $400,000 Darley Alcibiades Stakes, a 1 1/16-mile race on the new dirt track at Keeneland.

“We’re really looking forward to seeing her stretch out,” said Todd Pletcher, the future Hall of Fame trainer who has sent about 25 horses here for the Keeneland and Churchill Downs fall meets. “She has always trained like she’ll appreciate the added ground.”

Fashion Alert will have John Velazquez aboard as part of a talent-laden lineup of 13 2-year-old fillies, with the main threats figuring to come from Taylor S, Naval Command, Innovative Idea, Pangburn, Top Decile, and Gap Year.

The Alcibiades, a Win and You’re In event toward the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, is carded as the ninth of 10 races on a Friday opener that also includes the Phoenix Stakes, three allowances, and three maiden special weight events. First post is 1:05 p.m. Eastern, with the Alcibiades set for 5:13. TVG will have extensive on-site coverage throughout opening weekend.

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::DRF BREEDING: Pedigree analysis of the Alcibiades

The Alcibiades (pronounced Al-suh-BYE-uh-dees) dates to 1952 and has been won by such standouts as Moccasin (1965), Optimistic Gal (1975), Eliza (1992), Silverbulletday (1998), and Take Charge Lady (2001). The 2013 winner in its final year on Polytrack was My Conquestadory, trained by Mark Casse.

Darley began sponsoring this race in 2003 and has two fillies in this renewal in Innovative Idea and Gap Year.

Main-track races at 1 1/16 miles begin and end at what otherwise is the sixteenth pole.

Key contenders

Fashion Alert (Last 2 Beyers: 70-89)

* An eye-catching Beyer Speed Figure in capturing the Astoria in her career debut was followed by a workmanlike score at 1-5 in the opening-day Schuylerville at Saratoga. She has had six workouts since that July 18 race, all at Saratoga.

* Pletcher, as usual, has an abundance of top-flight prospects in the 2-year-old filly division, led by Angela Renee, who shipped from New York to win the Grade 1 Chandelier last weekend at Santa Anita.

Taylor S (Last Beyer: 74)

“You don’t know who they beat when they win first out like she did, but I know some of the horses behind her came pretty well touted,” said trainer Dale Romans, who already has Cristina’s Journey as a top contender in the division. “Obviously, she’s a talented filly, but we’ll see how she can do stepping up in class and going two turns.”

Naval Command (Last 3 Beyers: 68-67-51)

* One of only two stakes winners in the field (with Fashion Alert), she is among the most experienced in the group and ships in from south Florida for trainer Bill Kaplan, best known for winning the 2011 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Churchill with Musical Romance.

Top Decile (Last Beyer: 81)

“She showed us a lot before her first race and, more importantly, in the actual race,” said trainer Al Stall Jr. “Rosie [Napravnik, who has the mount again] just raves about how smart she is, how ratable and tractable she is. Hopefully, those attributes will be a big help when we stretch her out in this spot.”

Gap Year (Last Beyer: 78)

* This Bernardini homebred stoutly closed to earn a competitive figure when a just-miss third in her first and only race at Saratoga, but perhaps a more compelling reason to respect her chances is the fact that Darley/Godolphin has opted to enter her as a maiden in a Grade 1.