Keeneland: Dorochenko wastes no time making a big splash

LEXINGTON, Ky. – At least one smart-aleck made this hypothetical wagering prop on Twitter on the number of winners that trainer Gennadi Dorochenko would send out at the Keeneland fall meet: one-half.

Well, less than two minutes into the 17-day meet, the “over” was a winner. As many of the Keeneland faithful were still filing through the gates for the opening-day card Friday – and the vast majority of those already here watched in stunned silence – the Dorochenko-trained Araksia rolled to a 1 1/4-length victory, returning $41.80.

“I want to win them all,” Dorochenko said minutes later. “Everyone wants to win them all.”

Dorochenko, a 55-year-old Russian immigrant, has turned heads in recent years by buying large numbers of young horses, running them far more frequently than his counterparts, and employing an unconventional training style. His career win percentage is in single digits (8 percent), but when he does win, it’s bombs away. Suffice it to say his image runs counter to the preppy Keeneland style.

“I am leading trainer,” he said with a grin after the first race of the meet.

One race later, it was the Keeneland track physician, Dr. Barry Schumer, who was in the winner’s circle after Strong Resolve, a chestnut gelding he owns with James Brown, rolled home at 10-1. Schumer has been known to place a wager or two when not attending to fallen jockeys or stricken patrons.

“I back-wheeled him in the double and got lucky with Gennadi,” said the gleeful doctor.

For trainer Mike Maker, the results of the third and fourth races were the same as the first two – disappointing. Remarkably enough, U S Dream (2-1, race 1), Christiesborntorun (6-5, race 2), Bold Visionary (9-5, race 3), and Top Tier Lass (2-1, race 4) all finished fourth as the favorite. All of those but U S Dream are owned by Ken and Sarah Ramsey.

Maker and the Ramseys surely will have plenty of chances for redemption at a meet that runs through Oct. 26. At the spring meet in April, they set all-time Keeneland meet records by winning 26 and 25 races, respectively, many of them in tandem.

Temperatures were unseasonably hot Friday, reaching into the mid-80s, and much of the same was forecast for Saturday. By Sunday, however, rain was supposed to move in, with temperatures cooling to the low 70s.

Friday led off the annual FallStars Weekend, with the Grade 1 Alcibiades and Grade 3 Phoenix serving as features later in the afternoon. They were the first two of nine graded races during the opening weekend.

QE II Cup could produce a first

Since the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup was first run at Keeneland in 1984, a daughter of a QE II winner has never won the race.

But with the 30th running of the Grade 1 turf race next Saturday, Oct. 12, there are two chances that could change. Say and Caroline Thomas, two of the 12 invitees to the $400,000 race, were produced by QE II winners Riskaverse (2002) and Bit of Whimsy (2007), respectively.

Say, trained by Aidan O’Brien for the Coolmore group, was scheduled to run Saturday against older mares in the Grade 1 First Lady, but a quick wheel-back would not be unprecedented. Two years ago, Together ran second in the First Lady for Coolmore before winning the QE II a week later.

In alphabetical order, these are the invitees for the 2013 running: Alterite, Caroline Thomas, Concise, Discreet Marq, I’m Already Sexy, Kitten’s Dumplings, Leigh Court, Nellie Cashman, Sarach, Say, Topaze Blanche, and Wishing Gate.

Polytrack specialist in new barn

It should be interesting to see how New Believer performs Sunday in the second race in his first Keeneland start without Wesley Ward as his trainer. For Ward, the 8-year-old New Believer won eight of his first nine starts over the Keeneland Poly – and ultimately went 8 for 12 overall, with 2 seconds – before being claimed in the spring for $10,000.

For new trainer Albert Dodge, New Believer has won once from six starts while competing in higher-class races than the $10,000 for which he is entered Sunday. He starts from post 1 in a full field of 12 as a lukewarm 7-2 morning-line favorite in the 1 1/8-mile race.

Reed approaches milestone

Lifelong Lexington resident Eric Reed entered the Keeneland meet Friday with 999 wins in a training career that began in 1985 after an apprenticeship under his father, Herbert. Although the younger Reed would like to hit the 1,000 milestone at home, there’s no telling where his next victory might come from. He frequently runs horses at out-of-state tracks from his Mercury Equine Center base near Keeneland.

“I guess I’ve won the most races at Turfway Park, but we’ve won from California to New York to Florida,” said Reed, 49. “I’ll be glad to get this 1,000th win behind me and start on the next 1,000.”

◗ With agent Lenny Pike Jr. heading to Florida for the winter with jockey Joe Rocco Jr., Shaun Bridgmohan will start employing Jay Fedor as his agent, effective with the start of the Churchill Downs fall meet Oct. 27. Fedor also will continue to work for veteran David Flores. Rocco and Pike will work the Churchill meet before leaving for Gulfstream Park.

◗ A new shuttle-bus service is available to Louisville-area race fans to and from Keeneland on weekends (Friday through Sunday). Round-trip service costs $25 and makes two prior stops before leaving the Middletown area at 10 a.m. Eastern. More information is available at (502) 561-4022.