Kate's Kingdom in career form for Likely Exchange
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Kate’s Kingdom made a winning debut for a new barn when she won a stakes last month at Turfway Park. She is looking to stretch her win streak to three against 10 rivals in the $125,000 Likely Exchange Stakes this Saturday at Turfway.
Kate’s Kingdom, a 5-year-old daughter of Animal Kingdom, had a solid summer and fall campaign for trainer Armando De La Cerda, beginning with a victory in the Powder Break Stakes over several next-out winners on Gulfstream Park’s synthetic track in June. She proceeded to finish third in the Grade 3 Trillium Stakes at Woodbine behind Canadian champion Lady Speightspeare, a Grade 1 winner who went on to finish third in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf.
Kate’s Kingdom finished second by a head in the Gem City Stakes at Presque Isle in September, then notched her breakthrough victory in the Grade 3 Ontario Matron Stakes on Oct. 22 at Woodbine, rallying to a half-length win. Her connections capitalized on that victory by offering her for sale via a single-horse flash auction that closed 10 days later on Fasig-Tipton’s digital platform. Trainer Will Walden, in the name of his Ready Made Racing, purchased Kate’s Kingdom for $400,000.
Kate’s Kingdom made her debut for Walden in the My Charmer Stakes on Dec. 11 at Turfway. She was 11th in the 12-horse field through six furlongs of the 1 1/16-mile race, then launched her typical late rally to win by three-quarters of a length. She posted a Beyer Speed Figure of 89, just shy of the career-best 92 she earned in the Ontario Matron. That figure is easily the highest last-out Beyer in this field.
Kate’s Kingdom is cutting back slightly from the 1 1/16 miles of her four most recent starts to a mile in the Likely Exchange. Hawthorne shipper Hot Dame is likely to go to the front, while Grand Ave Girl and Commandandcontrol also have shown an ability to be forwardly placed and could help set a reasonable pace for the late-runners.
Several others are emerging from the My Charmer, including runner-up Candy Raid, who is looking for her first win since taking the Bourbonette Oaks last March at Turfway. Temper Time was fourth in the My Charmer, while Grand Ave Girl was fifth.
Fair Game, Maybe Later, and Mejthaam are all coming off allowance-level wins at Turfway, while Bella Conchita won a claiming race at the Florence, Ky., track. Shoshoni Moon, who has won three straight races at Charles Town, and Seaward complete the field.
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