First Captain brings power to Fayette Stakes

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Keeneland ends its 17-day fall meet Saturday, but wait till you see the encore.

Technically, this Saturday is closing day, with First Captain a clear-cut favorite in the featured Fayette Stakes. But as most everyone is aware, the Breeders’ Cup returns to Keeneland the following Friday and Saturday with the presence of Flightline in the lineup for the $6 million BC Classic making for one of its most eagerly anticipated renewals in years.

West Point Thoroughbreds and Siena Farm are co-owners in both First Captain and Flightline, and their excitement level is something out of the 1984 film “This is Spinal Tap,” said West Point representative Jeff Lifson.

“Our amps go to 11” on a scale of 1 to 10, Lifson said.

And who could blame them? First Captain will kick off the pre-gaming by facing five other older horses in the Grade 2, $350,000 Fayette, the ninth of 10 races on a closing-day card that starts at 1 p.m. Eastern.

First Captain, a 4-year-old Curlin colt also co-owned by Woodford Racing and his breeder, celebrity chef Bobby Flay, has been sent through six timed workouts by Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey since finishing third with a career-high 100 Beyer Speed Figure in the Jockey Club Gold Cup on Sept. 3 at Saratoga. His latest breeze came Sunday at Keeneland, overseen by McGaughey assistant Anthony Hamilton, “and it was a thing of beauty,” said Lifson, as the colt went a half-mile in 49 seconds.

:: Breeders' Cup Pre-Entry PPs Now Available - Exclusively with a BC Package

“In the back of our minds, we may’ve thought, should we also run him in the Classic?” Lifson said. “But, with Flightline, that’s a tough bar to jump over.”

First Captain, with Luis Saez riding, will break from post 4 in the 1 1/8-mile Fayette. From nine prior starts, the striking chestnut colt has five wins, most notably a last-gasp score in the Grade 3 Pimlico Special with Saez aboard in May. Ideally, McGaughey and the owners are looking for the Fayette to set him up for a run in the Grade 1 Clark on Nov. 25 at Churchill Downs, after which a determination whether to continue racing him will be undertaken.

The foremost opposition in the 65th Fayette includes two other 4-year-old colts, those being the Brad Cox-trained Fulsome (post 3, Florent Geroux), a Juddmonte Farms homebred with a trio of Grade 3 victories to his credit, and King Fury (post 5, Brian Hernandez Jr.), whose career highlights include a memorable romp here 18 months ago in the Grade 3 Lexington.

West Will Power, Chess Chief, and Last Samurai round out the cast. West Will Power, a second Cox trainee, is the obvious speed in a race otherwise lacking a front-runner, so it’ll be up to Saez to keep First Captain close enough to keep things honest.

The Fayette, set for 5:16 p.m., is the last of three stakes on an afternoon when the Headless Horseman will make his annual pre-Halloween appearance between races. The Bowman Mill (race 6, 3:40) and Grade 3 Bryan Station (race 8, 4:44) are the preceding stakes.

After Saturday, Churchill opens its fall meet the following day with a Stars of Tomorrow card restricted exclusively to 2-year-olds. As for the rest of the week, Churchill runs Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday with a break for the Breeders’ Cup.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.