Ol' Fashion Gal sharpest of Casse pair
LEXINGTON, Ky. – As Keeneland’s spring meet moves past its halfway point, the Mark Casse barn – which leads the trainer standings with seven victories – will look to keep the momentum rolling on Wednesday’s eight-race card.
There are three allowance races on the card, with the classiest of those being the seventh race, a third-level allowance for fillies and mares going 1 1/16 miles on turf. Casse has a strong hand with the duo of Ol’ Fashion Gal and Industrial Policy.
Ol’ Fashion Gal comes in off a runner-up effort, beaten a neck, in an allowance last month at Gulfstream, earning the highest last-out Beyer Speed Figure in this field with an 87. That was her first start since winning the Grade 3 Selene Stakes on Woodbine’s Polytrack more than nine months ago. The well-traveled Ol’ Fashion Gal was also a Grade 3 winner in 2014 at Santa Anita.
Julien Leparoux, also surging at the meet, has the mount. Leparoux won four races last Saturday – three for Casse – and the feature on Sunday.
Industrial Policy makes her first start since a second-place finish in a Keeneland allowance last October. Luis Saez, the meet’s leading rider, has the call on Industrial Policy, who last spring and summer posted three Beyers in the 90s.
No Fault of Mine comes off a second in the Minaret Stakes at Tampa. Mojo Risin, a minor stakes winner in France last year, makes her first start for Chad Brown.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 5 No Fault of Mine. Trainer Chris Block is 23-8-2-1 with a $4.46 ROI over the past five years in turf routes at Keeneland. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
:: Learn more about Formulator | Buy Formulator PPs
:: Follow the @DRFFormulator Twitter feed and get free Formulator facts
◗ Sr. Quisqueyano, the winner of the 2015 Sunshine Millions Classic in Florida, will run for a $32,000 claiming tag in Wednesday’s fourth race. The 6-year-old Sr. Quisqueyano is owned by Loooch Racing Stable, which claimed him for $62,500 in 2014. The horse was recently transferred from trainer Peter Walder to Tom Amoss.
Sr. Quisqueyano has won five stakes and placed in nine more, highlighted by multiple Grade 3 placings. He is seeking his first win since his Sunshine Millions victory.
◗ Eagle Scout gave trainer Todd Pletcher his 4,000th career victory last month, scoring by two lengths at Gulfstream Park in his debut. Eagle Scout, who earned an 81 Beyer for that victory, makes his first start since then in the second race, a first-level allowance.
◗ She Doesn’t Mind won her only start by 3 1/2 lengths last October in France. She makes her U.S. debut for Chad Brown in the fifth race, a first-level allowance for 3-year-old fillies on turf.
◗ Wesley Ward has two starters in the first race, a 4 1/2-furlong maiden special weight for 2-year-olds. One of those is the first returning juvenile starter at the meet, the filly Spellker, who finished second by a neck to Midnight Chic on April 10.
◗ There is a pick six carryover of $10,001 into Wednesday’s card and a carryover of $7,824 in the Super Hi 5.
A previous version of this article misstated a recent milestone victory for Todd Pletcher. Eagle Scout was Pletcher's 4,000th victory, not his 5,000th.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 8 Mojo Risin. Trainer Chad Brown is 12-6-1-1 with a $4.24 ROI over the past five years in turf routes with Javier Castellano aboard foreign shippers following a layoff of at least 90 days. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan