No stakes, but solid card Thursday at Keeneland

LEXINGTON, Ky. – A corollary to the adage about a bad day at the racetrack being better than a good day anywhere else might be: “A non-stakes card at Keeneland is better than a stakes day anywhere else.”

Indeed, with purses being what they are these days on the Kentucky circuit, that might not even be hyperbole. Thursday afternoon at Keeneland will provide horseplayers with precisely the kind of action they like, as three allowances and two maiden-specials with a combined average maximum purse of more than $100,000 will anchor a nine-race card that starts at 1 p.m. Eastern.

These are the highlights of what is expected to be the warmest day yet, with a high of 77, at a 15-day spring meet that runs through April 28:

Race 2

Wesley Ward might be all you need to know about this 4 1/2-furlong dash out of the Headley Course chute. Ward, who with jockey Joel Rosario won the first race of the meet Friday with his homebred first-timer juvenile Bledsoe, not only has Hob Alwatan (post 1, Rosario) as the 8-5 morning-line favorite in this $80,000 maiden race, but also his homebred Mangione (post 9, Gerardo Corrales) as one of the logical alternatives in an oversubscribed lineup of 2-year-olds.

Race 4

Page One (post 3, Corrales) stands a solid chance in this $110,000, first-level allowance for the owner-trainer team of OXO Equine and Paulo Lobo following a couple of solid efforts over the winter at Turfway Park. He’ll be on a slight stretch-out going seven furlongs, whereas the program favorite, Patient Capital (post 7, Tyler Gaffalione), will be on a slight turnback exiting eight straight one-mile races, the last seven of them in New York. A field of seven older horses goes.

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Lobo and OXO, owned by Larry Best, won an allowance here Saturday with Fortin Hill.

Race 6

Diamond Hands (post 11, Irad Ortiz Jr.) figures as a clear-cut favorite in an otherwise well-matched group of filly-mare turf routers in this $110,000, first-level allowance as she looks to build on a runner-up finish in a similar spot at Gulfstream Park in late February, her first start in five months. Among those capable of foiling the Todd Pletcher-trained filly are any of the four inside draws – Queen Judith, Eidikos, Sake, and Quality Star with the British-bred Eidikos (post 2, John Velazquez) being the wild card making her North American debut and getting first-time Lasix for Graham Motion.

Race 7

Surely the opposition will have to catch Curl Girl (post 10, Flavien Prat) after a full field of 3-year-old maiden fillies makes their way to the far turn of this 1 1/16-mile race with a $100,000 purse. Stretching out from a pair of sprints at trainer Phil D’Amato’s home circuit in Southern California, the bay Curlin filly figures to have K’antheia, Call Me Toni, and Queen of the Rodeo as her most dangerous foes.

Race 8

The Juddmonte Farms homebred Verbal (post 1, Ortiz) undoubtedly will be favored for Chad Brown after getting a much-needed race when a decent fourth with a 94 Beyer Speed Figure in a rugged renewal of the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Stakes in early February, but this is no easy feature. Creed, Script, Strong Quality, and Hidden Stash are among the older rivals standing between him and the winner’s circle in this $120,000, second-level allowance going 1 1/16 miles on the grass.

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