Keertana attracts 21 horses, split into two divisions

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Not withstanding big-event races like the Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup, often the more money and prestige a stake offers, the shorter the field seems to be. This is partly because horsemen generally are not keen to race fringe contenders against well-known favorites.

Case in point: Two weeks ago Belmont Park ran the Grade 2, $200,000 Sheepshead Bay for fillies and mares going 1 3/8 miles on grass, a race that attracted merely five horses.

In contrast, Saturday’s ungraded, $65,000 Keertana Stakes at Churchill Downs, also will be run at 1 3/8 miles on turf. That stakes proved so popular when entries were taken Wednesday that the track split the race into two divisions, with the first, the eighth, having 10 entrants, and the second division in the 11th race having 11.

Both divisions lack star power, but the trade-off is depth. They are competitive contests, which should make them exciting and appealing to bettors.

Not atypical for a long turf race, trainer Christophe Clement, whose barn is comprised of a high percentage of grass horses, has a presence in the Keertana – both divisions, in fact. Courtesan, fourth in the Grade 3 Bewitch at Keeneland on April 24, is the tepid 3-1 morning-line choice for Clement in the eighth race, and Walk Close is a contender for him in the last race, with her odds listed at 4-1. Corey Lanerie has been named to ride both.

The second division of the Keertana, the last race at Churchill on Saturday, goes off at 5:50 p.m. Eastern, roughly a half-hour before the ontrack simulcast of the Preakness.

Keertana (first division), race 8

key contenders

Meri Shika (Last 3 Beyers: 87-82-79)

◗ She won an allowance going 1 1/2 miles April 22 at Keeneland despite traffic issues, defeating Keertana rival Stellaris. Meri Shika also was a stakes winner at Woodbine last year at 1 1/2 miles on turf.

Courtesan (Last 3 Beyers: 85-84-75)

◗ Another stakes winner, she is a candidate to improve in her second start in a three-turn grass race after running 2 1/2 lengths behind victorious Kitten’s Point when fourth in the Bewitch.

Maria Maria (Last 3 Beyers: 86-65-89)

◗ Changes trainers from Jim DiVito to Steve Asmussen, who trained her sire, 2007 Preakness and Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Curlin. She ran third most recently in the Bewitch, a half-length in front of Courtesan.

Keertana (second division), race 11

key contenders

Walk Close (Last 3 Beyers: 87-83-82)

◗ Runs in a three-turn turf contest for the first time after an even fourth in the Grade 3 Santa Barbara at Santa Anita going 1 1/4 miles in her only race of 2015; favorably drawn to save ground from her inside post.

Always Kitten (Last 3 Beyers: 89-89-87)

◗ Chased better over the winter at Gulfstream, running only a few lengths behind Irish Mission in the La Prevoyante and Very One stakes at Gulfstream. Those efforts earned her the highest recent Beyer Speed Figures in this division.

Industrial Policy (Last 3 Beyers: 85-88-83)

◗ Starts for the winning trainer/jockey combination of Mark Casse and Shaun Bridgmohan, who have won at a 32 percent rate together at Churchill in 2014-15.