Keeneland Turf Mile: Order of Australia tries to validate his BC Mile upset
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Run that by us again.
Order of Australia paid a whopping $148.40 in winning the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Keeneland last fall in the type of result that turns horseplayers into skeptics – although, given his solid performances versus elite European milers in recent months, it would be a stretch to label his BC upset a fluke in hindsight.
Order of Australia, trained by Aidan O’Brien for Coolmore, figures a far shorter price when returning to the United States as part of a bulky field of 13 older horses in the Grade 1, $750,000 Keeneland Turf Mile, the richest race at the 17-day fall meet and the last of five straight graded stakes on a blockbuster Saturday program. First post for an 11-race card is 1 p.m. Eastern, with the Keeneland Mile going at 5:46 as race 10.
In six overseas starts since his BC stunner, Order of Australia has accounted for just one win, a Group 2 race in July at The Curragh, but several other efforts point him out as being in peak form. The 4-year-old Irish-bred colt has fared quite respectably in three Group 1 races that have followed, including a runner-up finish behind Baaeed in the Prix du Moulin last month in France.
Last fall, Order of Australia needed to draw in off the also-eligibles list prior to returning the second-highest win mutuel in BC history, behind only Arcangues ($269.20) in 1993. Wearing saddlecloth No. 15 from post 14, he stalked the pace from an ideal spot before grinding along to prevail by a neck, earning a 105 Beyer Speed Figure that stacks up well upon his return to this continent 11 months later.
:: Shop for Keeneland: Get DRF Past Performances, Picks, and more
Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez will be aboard Order of Australia when he breaks from post 10 in the Keeneland Mile, a Win and You’re In event toward the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Mile on Nov. 6 at Del Mar. He’ll be among a core of lukewarm favorites in what shapes up as a highly competitive race set for two turns on a turf course that should be firm following a couple of dry days in the central Kentucky region. Mostly sunny skies and a high near 80 are in the local forecast for Saturday, when an ontrack crowd limited to about 20,000 will be filled with Kentucky and LSU fans who will make a beeline from here to a pivotal college football game set for 7:30 at nearby Kroger Field.
General admission for Saturday has been sold out since early this week.
Among the notables facing Order of Australia in the 36th Keeneland Mile are Ivar (post 6, Joe Talamo), who won this race last year at 14-1 for trainer Paulo Lobo before being the top U.S.-based finisher when fourth in the BC Mile; Space Traveller (post 4, Danny Tudhope), a sharp runner-up last month in the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile; Pixelate (post 7, Tyler Gaffalione) and Somelikeithotbrown (post 13, Jose Ortiz), the respective one-two finishers last month in the Grade 3 Mint Million at Kentucky Downs; and Tell Your Daddy (post 6, Julien Leparoux), a last-out winner of the Grade 2 Bernard Baruch at Saratoga.
Tell Your Daddy, claimed for $40,000 by trainer Tom Morley in January, faced only three rivals in the Baruch but did earn a triple-digit Beyer for the second straight race.
“He’s never run a bad race since we claimed him,” said Morley.
Since 2004, this race had been known as the Shadwell Turf Mile, including six years (2014-19) as a $1 million event before its purse was cut last fall amid the pandemic. In the aftermath of the March 24 death of Sheikh Hamdan of Shadwell Farm, the farm is downsizing, and its management decided over the summer not to renew its title sponsorship.
The Keeneland Mile is the anchor leg in an all-graded-stakes pick five (races 6-10) and pick four (races 7-10). Preceding it are the Woodford (race 6), Thoroughbred Club of America (race 7), First Lady (race 8), and Breeders’ Futurity (race 9). All but the Woodford are Win and You’re In races.
Turf Pick 3 is all stakes
The Keeneland Mile is the final leg in the new Keeneland Turf Pick 3, a $3-minimum wager set apart from rolling pick-three wagers. The earlier legs are the Woodford and First Lady.
According to the rules, after the Keeneland Turf Pick 3 has gotten under way, a consolation payoff will be made in case a horse is scratched, with no migration to the post-time favorite. If a race is moved off the turf, it becomes an “all” for horses that run, with consolations paid on scratches. In the case turf racing is canceled before the sequence begins, the bet will still be offered.
◗ The last three FallStars Weekend stakes are set for Sunday – the Spinster, Bourbon, and Indian Summer. Letruska, the leader of the filly-mare dirt division, figures as a heavy favorite with Irad Ortiz Jr. aboard in the Grade 1 Spinster.