Keeneland notes: Ramseys set another fall-meet record as leading owners

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Ken and Sarah Ramsey set yet another record Sunday at Keeneland when Captain Cook carried their red and white silks to victory in the ninth race, giving them 13 wins here this month and breaking the fall-meet mark they set last year with 12 wins.

At the Keeneland spring meet in April, the Ramseys smashed the all-time track mark for wins at any Keeneland meet with 25. Remarkably, this latest Keeneland title will mark the seventh time this year they set a record for wins at an individual meet, following Gulfstream Park, Keeneland (spring), Churchill Downs (spring), Saratoga, Kentucky Downs, and Churchill (September).

Ken Ramsey said with a laugh Monday from his Nicholasville, Ky., farm that, “We’re probably also the stable to beat” at the Churchill fall meet that begins Sunday.

The Ramseys, who won the Eclipse Award for outstanding owner in 2004 and 2011, are enjoying by far their best year ever, with 189 wins and stable earnings of nearly $10.8 million through last weekend. They will be prominent at the upcoming Breeders’ Cup with seven prospective starters: Big Blue Kitten, Real Solution, Kitten’s Dumplings, and four 2-year-olds.

Maker leads trainers

With 11 wins through Sunday, Mike Maker, one of the handful of trainers employed by the Ramseys, has a virtual lock on his third Keeneland title. Maker also was the leading trainer at the 2008 fall meet and last spring, when he also set a record with 25 wins.

As for the jockeys’ race, it’s a tight one. With four of 17 programs remaining, Rosie Napravnik held a 10-9 lead over Joe Rocco Jr., with Alan Garcia next with eight wins and four riders with seven each.

Rocco, incidentally, has been held blameless for his role in the disqualification of his mount, R Next Escapade, from first in a $40,000 claiming sprint Friday after being called in to review the race Sunday with the Keeneland stewards.

Double take

The first two-time winner of the meet came charging home Sunday in the second race, much to the delight of the longtime track physician at Keeneland, Barry Schumer.

Schumer owns Strong Resolve in partnership with James F. Brown. Strong Resolve won Sunday on a raise into $16,000 claiming company after winning a $10,000 race on opening day, Oct. 4, marking the first time Schumer ever has been represented by a winner at his hometown track. The 4-year-old gelding is trained by Mike Rogers.

“First two-time meet winner!!” Schumer exclaimed by text message. “Who knew?”

Madame Cactus to La Brea

Madame Cactus, the California-based filly who needed two scratches Saturday to make it off the also-eligibles list before upsetting the Grade 2 Raven Run at 11-1, probably will run next in the Grade 1 La Brea at Santa Anita at the end of the year, said trainer Peter Eurton.

Eden Prairie, beaten a neck as the runner-up, will ship soon to Fair Grounds for a race there, said trainer Neil Pessin.

Lighthouse Bay, scratched as one of the morning-line favorites as the only Grade 1 winner in the race, was diagnosed Saturday morning with a foot bruise or abscess, said trainer George Weaver.

Intentional namesake?

A first-time starter named General a Rod was one of three winners for Maker on Friday, but the trainer is unsure whether owner J. Armando Rodriguez intended to name the horse for A-Rod, the nickname for baseball star Alex Rodriguez.

“The owner lives out of the country, so I’m not sure,” Maker said.

Rahystrada finds another spot

Rahystrada, scratched from the Sycamore Stakes when it was transferred Thursday from the turf to the Polytrack, is part of a salty group of older turf horses in the Thursday feature, a $66,000 classified allowance. Among the opposition are Air Support, Utley, and Keep Up.

Final stakes draw Wednesday

Entries for the lone stakes remaining at the meet, the Grade 2, $200,000 Fayette Stakes on Saturday, will be drawn Wednesday. A big field is expected for the 1 1/8-mile Polytrack race, with Willcox Inn perhaps a slight favorite.