Keeneland: Alterite heads cast of nine in Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup

LEXINGTON, Ky. – A field of nine 3-year-old fillies has passed the entry box for Saturday’s 30th running of the $400,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup, the sixth and last Grade 1 race of the Keeneland fall meet.

Alterite, a French import who made her North American debut a winning one last month in the Grade 1 Garden City at Belmont Park, was assigned post 4 as the likely favorite in the 1 1/8-mile turf race. John Velazquez has a return mount for trainer Chad Brown.

Among the top threats to Alterite is Kitten’s Dumplings, the beaten favorite in the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks last out. She is one of two Ken and Sarah Ramsey fillies in the lineup, along with Emotional Kitten.

“She’s training brilliantly,” Ken Ramsey said of Kitten’s Dumplings. “Matter of fact, we bred and own both fillies and are hoping for a big day.”[bc_video_id:306950:]

Say will be back on just six days’ rest after finishing sixth versus older mares in the First Lady last Saturday. Owned by the Coolmore group and trained by Aidan O’Brien, she will be on the same schedule as Together two years ago for the same team when she captured the QE II after running second in the First Lady.

Say, by Galileo out of Riskaverse, is one of two fillies in the race produced by a QE II winner, the other being Caroline Thomas (by Giant’s Causeway out of Bit of Whimsy). No QE II winner has ever produced a QE II winner.

From the hedge, this is the full QE II lineup: Sarach, Say, Caroline Thomas, Alterite, Emotional Kitten, Concise, Kitten’s Dumplings, Leigh Court, and I’m Already Sexy.

The connections of two invited fillies, Discreet Marq and Nellie Cashman, declined to enter.

A huge crowd is expected Saturday with the Alabama-Kentucky football game set for later that evening. The weather forecast calls for sunny skies and a high temperature of 79.