Finley'sluckycharm prevails in blanket finish in Madison

LEXINGTON, Ky. – In a closely matched renewal of the Grade 1 Madison Saturday at Keeneland, in which nine of the 10 starters were graded winners and favored Lewis Bay went off as a narrow 3-1 choice, the race fittingly came down to a blanket finish that Finley’sluckycharm took by a nose.

The top four finishers in the Madison – with Miss Sunset, Lewis Bay and America Gal following Finley’sluckycharm – were separated by merely a neck, with another filly, the hard-charging Salty, not far behind in fifth, beaten three-quarters of a length for all the money.

Finley’sluckycharm did more than show courage to win a tight photo by a nose. She also threw down from the start in a speed-laden field, pressing American Gal, the 2017 Test winner, as that one established hot fractions of 21.96 seconds for the first quarter-mile and 44.31 for the half over a fast track. Lapped on the outside of that rival, Finley'sluckycharm inched in front turning into the stretch, and maintained a narrow advantage down the lane as off-the-pace rivals gradually closed the gap.

“She’s one of the special fillies,” said Brian Hernandez Jr., her jockey for 11 consecutive starts. “The faster she goes – she just kind of runs horses off their feet, and that’s what she did today.”

A 5-year-old daughter of Twirling Candy owned by Carl Moore Management, Finley'sluckycharm raced seven furlongs in 1:22.82, notching the first Grade 1 victory of a 15-race career over which she has now won 10 starts. She paid $13.80.

“She’s been so deserving of a Grade 1,” said trainer Bret Calhoun. “So happy to get it here at Keeneland.”

Saturday she rebounded from a couple of rare defeats – a ninth in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint and then a second in the Mardi Gras Stakes, a turf sprint in February at Fair Grounds that was designed to give her a needed comeback to kick off her year.

Those fillies that fell just short of Finley’sluckycharm on Saturday could get another crack at her next month in the Grade 1 Humana Distaff on the Kentucky Derby undercard, another prestigious Grade 1 for elite female dirt sprinters.