McPeek wins, but isn't quite in

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Trainer Ken McPeek did his part in hitting for the cycle. Now all he needs is for House of Grace to get into the Breeders' Cup.

House of Grace, with Mike Luzzi in from New York to ride, was up in the final two jumps to capture the Thursday feature at Keeneland, the $150,000 Jessamine Stakes, giving McPeek a chance at having a horse in each of the four 2-year-old races at the Nov. 6-7 Breeders' Cup.

McPeek said he definitely will try to get House of Grace into the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf, which may oversubscribe. Complicating matters is that the ungraded Jessamine was supposed to be a Win and You're In race for the Breeders' Cup, but when the race was moved to the Polytrack because of wet turf conditions, the automatic berth was no longer in effect.

House of Grace, owned by the Magdalena Racing syndicate, returned $8 as third choice in a field of nine. Smart Seattle, with Jeremy Rose up, was beaten just a nose as the 5-2 second choice, while Hatheer, the 2-1 favorite, was 3 1/4 lengths back in third. The winning time was 1:44.32.

Luzzi, who rode House of Grace to a 23-1 romp in the filly's only previous outing, a maiden turf route at Saratoga, said his trip in the 1 1/16-mile Jessamine "went perfect. I was following Jeremy Rose all the way around there. He had a perfect trip, and so did I."

McPeek already has Bridgetown for the BC Juvenile Turf, Noble's Promise for the BC Juvenile, and Beautician for the BC Juvenile Fillies.