Hilda's Passion hangs on to win Raven Run

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Hilda's Passion outran a pair of longshots to become the latest graded stakes winner for the Starlight Partners while giving jockey Corey Lanerie one of the biggest victories of his career Saturday in the 12th running of the Grade 2, $250,000 Raven Run at Keeneland.

Trained by Todd Pletcher, Hilda's Passion was always in the hunt in the seven-furlong Polytrack race. She took over for the early leader, Platinum Exchange, entering the far turn, then turned back several challengers while Lanerie kept her to a fierce drive.

Nearing the wire, Decelerator, a 73-1 shot trained by D. Wayne Lukas, was inching nearer after being in close pursuit throughout, but Hilda's Passion held on to win by three-quarters of a length. Tremendamente Loca, a 42-1 shot, was another three-quarters of a length back in third in a field of 13 3-year-old fillies.

Hilda's Passion returned $14.40 after finishing in 1:21.38.

"It was a perfect trip," said Lanerie, a 35-year-old Louisiana native whose richest career win came in the $500,000 Ashland at Keeneland in 2009. "I was just being a good passenger. She wasn't going to let anybody by today."

Starlight, headed by Jack Wolf and Don Lucarelli, has raced numerous top horses in the last decade, including Ashado, Harlan's Holiday, Purge, Monba, Octave, and Take the Points. Starlight owns Hilda's Passion in partnership with Louisville attorney Ed Glasscock.

Hilda's Partner, a Kentucky-bred by Canadian Frontier, was coming off a romping win in her stakes debut, the $70,000 Bennington in the Saratoga slop in late August. She earned easily her biggest payday, $150,000, and now has won 4 of 7 career starts.

On a seasonable afternoon, and before an ontrack crowd of 23,318, Beautician was the post-time favorite at 4-1, an indication of just how wide-open horseplayers saw the race. But except for the top two finishers, and the belated run by Tremendamente Loca, none of the others ever became factors.

With the longshots filling out the tote board, the $2 exacta (6-10) returned $820.20; the $2 trifecta (6-10-5) paid $20,408; and the 10-cent superfecta (6-10-5-11), with Kitty in a Tizzy finishing fourth, returned $6,097.

The 2009 Raven Run produced similarly huge mutuels when 23-1 Satans Quick Chick won over two other long-priced fillies.