Keeneland: Blue Grass gets 15, Uncaptured 7-2 favorite

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Uncaptured has been listed as a 7-2 morning-line favorite after being assigned post 7 among a full gate of 14 3-year-olds for the Grade 1, $750,000 Blue Grass Stakes, the annual Keeneland showcase that will be run Saturday for the 89th time.

Uncaptured, with Miguel Mena to ride, is the slight program choice in the 1 1/8-mile Polytrack race over Java’s War (post 4, Julien Leparoux, 4-1) and Rydilluc (post 13, Edgar Prado, 4-1). In all, 15 were entered, with Divine Ambition a lone also-eligible.

[BLUE GRASS STAKES: Get Keeneland PPs, watch video previews]

Uncaptured is the leading earner and most accomplished horse in a deep Blue Grass field, having won 6 of 7 starts as a 2-year-old. The Ontario-bred colt ran second in his only race this year, the March 23 Spiral Stakes at Turfway Park.

“I was really, really happy with the way he kept trying at Turfway,” trainer Mark Casse said. “That track was deep and slow, and he had every right to pack it in. He’s trained great since then, and hopefully he’ll move up in a big way Saturday off that race.”

Casse also will be represented by Dynamic Sky (post 1, Joel Rosario, 10-1) in the Blue Grass. There are no stable couplings for wagering purposes.

The Blue Grass, which offers 100 points to the winner (and 170 overall) on the new eligibility system in use toward the Kentucky Derby, will be featured on a 90-minute broadcast (4:30 p.m. Eastern) on NBC. Post time for the Blue Grass is set for 5:40.

[ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays]

The Blue Grass is carded as the 10th of 12 races on a Saturday card that also includes four other graded stakes. In those earlier races:

◗ Grade 1, $300,000 Jenny Wiley (race 9): Filly-mare turf standouts such as Dayatthespa and Marketing Mix, both familiar with the Keeneland course, weren’t quite ready for this pivotal early season divisional race at 1 1/16 miles, leaving Centre Court, Samitar, and defending champion Daisy Devine as the favorites in a field of nine.

◗ Grade 1, $300,000 Madison (race 8): There are no standouts among the 10 fillies and mares in this seven-furlong Polytrack race, with 5-year-old Holiday for Kitten, with a modest $322,745, being the top earner. Other notables in a wide-open race include Byrama, Jamaican Smoke, Shumoos, and Fantasy of Flight.

◗ Grade 3, $100,000 Shakertown (race 7): Regally Ready, winner of the 2011 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, and Perfect Officer, a nose winner of this race last year, are the most accomplished starters among the nine veterans entered in this 5 1/2-furlong turf dash.

◗ Grade 3, $175,000 Commonwealth (race 6): Bind and Gantry, both based in New Orleans through the winter, will vie for favoritism in a field of six older horses in this seven-furlong Polytrack fixture.

An all-graded-stakes pick-four wager with a guaranteed pool of $250,000 is being offered on races 7-10, ending with the Blue Grass.