McPeek tries to make it a six-pack of Alcibiades wins with Fun and Feisty

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kenny McPeek enjoys few things more than winning a Grade 1 at Keeneland, the place where he became enamored with horse racing more than 40 years ago. The trainer already has a fistful of wins in the Grade 1 Alcibiades, and one more would equal the record of six held by the legendary D. Wayne Lukas.

“Hopefully, we have the filly to do it,” said McPeek, whose latest Alcibiades triumph came two years ago with Simply Ravishing.

Fun and Feisty, a dark bay Midshipman filly trained by McPeek for the Lucky Seven Stable, will be among a full gate of 14 when the $500,000 Alcibiades is run under a low-sky sun as the opening-day feature Friday at Keeneland. They’ll all be competing for a Win and You’re In berth toward the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, which will be run here four Fridays later at the same 1 1/16-mile distance.

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Fun and Feisty already owns the distinction of being the first points-earner toward the 2023 Kentucky Oaks by virtue of a come-from-behind victory in the Grade 3 Pocahontas last month at Churchill Downs.

“That race really showed what she can do with more ground,” said McPeek, who grew up in Lexington before graduating in 1985 from the University of Kentucky. “It wasn’t a major surprise because we’ve always felt like she’s had a lot of potential. She’s trained really well since then, and I feel like we’ve got a great shot Friday.”

Fun and Feisty will have Julien Leparoux aboard when she breaks from post 9 in the 71st Alcibiades, the ninth of 10 races on a program that starts at 1 p.m. Eastern. She’s one of a handful of lukewarm favorites in a very deep lineup that also includes three other stakes winners – Wonder Wheel, Chop Chop, and Just Cindy.

McPeek and Lucky Seven, a partnership of the Mackin family of Louisville, teamed last fall to win the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity with Rattle N Roll, now a four-time stakes winner. They’ve also had stakes winners Smile Happy and Behave Virginia within the past two seasons.

“The Mackins know the game and they know how to have a good time,” McPeek said.

Wonder Wheel (post 1, Tyler Gaffalione) was second as the 7-5 favorite in the Grade 1 Spinaway on closing weekend of the Saratoga meet in a solid effort that followed a 6 3/4-length romp in the Debutante on July 4 at Churchill. As with most others in here, she’ll be making her first start around two turns.

“She’s run like a good horse and trained like a good horse,” trainer Mark Casse said earlier this week while packing in his Ocala, Fla., home for the trip north. “I considered running her twice at Saratoga but ended up just pointing to the Spinaway, and she might’ve needed the race a little.”

With the one-hole, “we need to get a clean break,” Casse said.

“But I’d much rather start from the rail than be out in the 12- or 14-hole where it’s so tough in these mile-and-a-sixteenth races. We just need some luck.”

Chop Chop (post 2, Joel Rosario) makes her first start on dirt after winning twice in as many starts on grass, the latest in an epic duel in the rain in the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Fillies on Sept. 3.

“I really like her, even moving over to the dirt,” said her trainer, Brad Cox. “She’s given me every indication she could be a nice one.”

Just Cindy (post 11, Luis Saez) will be looking to rebound off a sixth-place finish in the Spinaway. She opened the Saratoga meet with a 2 1/4-length score in the Grade 3 Schuylerville.

A handful of last-out maiden winners also figure to draw their fair share of tote action, including Raging Sea (post 4, Jose Ortiz), scratched by Chad Brown last weekend from the Grade 1 Frizette to go two turns; Xigera (post 5, Joe Talamo), a flashy winner going two turns on the Saratoga turf for Phil Bauer; Essaouira (post 7, Irad Ortiz Jr.), a two-turn winner at Delaware Park for Graham Motion; Infinite Diamond (post 8, Florent Geroux), in from Florida for Patrick Biancone, a two-time leading trainer at Keeneland; and Take Charge Briana (post 12, Flavien Prat), who’ll try to extend the Lukas record to seven.

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Yet two more considerations are Kaling (post 10, John Velazquez), third in the Spinaway for Todd Pletcher; and Sabra Tuff (post 13, Paco Lopez), already twice stakes-placed for Dallas Stewart.

The early pace for this race seems up for grabs, with Wonder Wheel, Xigera, and Kaling among the logical ones to go firing out early. From the standpoint of Beyer Speed Figures, it’s really a toss-up, with nine of the 14 having earned career highs in a tight range of 70 to 77.

The Alcibiades has produced Eclipse champions Optimistic Gal (1975), Countess Diana (1997), Silverbulletday (1998), and British Idiom (2019). Juju’s Map was an easy winner last year for Cox and Geroux.

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