Hootenanny resurfaces in allowance

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Saturday highlight at Keeneland is supposed to be the Grade 2 Elkhorn Stakes for older turf marathoners, but perhaps the most notable race is an otherwise-nondescript allowance for 3-year-olds.

Hootenanny, the winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf last fall at Santa Anita, makes his 3-year-old debut in the fourth of 10 races, a 5 1/2-furlong turf allowance with wide-open conditions and a $64,000 purse.

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“He’s coming up to it the right way,” said Wesley Ward, who trains Hootenanny for the Coolmore group of Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith.

Hootenanny will have Javier Castellano aboard when breaking from post 5 in a field of seven. A Quality Road colt, Hootenanny was ridden by Frankie Dettori in the Breeders’ Cup.

There’s no Breeders’ Cup winner in the $250,000 Elkhorn, which occupies the race 9 feature slot, but it’s a terrific betting race with a well-matched field of 11 set to travel 1 1/2 miles. From the hedge, this is the lineup: Dramedy, Biz the Nurse, My Afleet, Unitarian, Cary Street, Holiday Star, Java’s War, Optimizer, Aldous Snow, Dynamic Sky, and Xtra Luck.