Ramsey has strong pair for turf-mile allowance

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Rain was in the forecast for this region every day from Tuesday through Friday, so severity and timing will determine whether turf races at Keeneland during that span will have to be transferred to the main track.

Ken Ramsey is hoping the weather is spotty enough for a high-end allowance to remain on the grass Thursday. The perennial leading owner at Keeneland has a stable coupling in the richest race of the afternoon, a $68,000, classified turf mile carded as the first of four allowances on a nine-race program.

Emotional Kitten might be the better of the two Ramsey mares, although Kitten’s Queen is capable in her own right. Either way, the 5-year-olds embody the Ramsey model: They’re homebred daughters of Kitten’s Joy whose form is clearly enhanced by grass.

Overheard, Solid Appeal, and Daring Dancer look like the primary opposition to the Ramsey duo. If the race has to be run on dirt at 1 1/16 miles, then Liberated would draw in as a huge threat for Vicki Oliver.

As the Thursday card unfolds, three other allowances will be run as races 5, 7, and 8. The last of those drew a promising group of 3-year-olds going 1 1/16 miles, including Donworth, who overcame a brutal trip when heavily backed in winning his career debut at Gulfstream Park last month.

The card opens with 2-year-old first-time starters going 4 1/2 furlongs at 1:05 p.m. Eastern.

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KEY CONTENDERS

Emotional Kitten (Last 3 Beyers: 96-87-84)

◗ Regrouped by trainer Wesley Ward after a good showing at Santa Anita the day after the Breeders’ Cup in early November, this late-running Grade 2 winner flaunted her class here last fall when capturing a similar kind of allowance as the 6-5 favorite.

Kitten’s Queen (Last 3 Beyers: 87-82-80)

◗ Trained by Mike Maker, she has more tactical ability and recency than the other Ramsey mare, having won her 2015 debut, an ungraded turf stakes at Sam Houston in late February, by staying close to the pace.

Overheard (Last 3 Beyers: 92-86-92)

◗ Winner of the Grade 3 Valley View at the 2013 Keeneland fall meet and the Grade 2 Dance Smartly last summer in Canada, this Pin Oak homebred has trained right along in recent weeks at the Palm Meadows training center in Florida for Malcolm Pierce.

Solid Appeal (Last 3 Beyers: 47-93-94)

◗ A multiple graded stakes winner, including the 2013 Dance Smartly at Woodbine, this 6-year-old mare is the leading earner in the lineup ($554,802) and will return from a seven-month layoff when racing with blinkers off for trainer Reade Baker.

Daring Dancer (Last 3 Beyers: 78-87-69)

◗ Winner of the Grade 3 Appalachian here last spring and the Grade 2 Lake George last summer at Saratoga, this Sagamore Farm homebred has won 4 of 6 overall starts for Graham Motion and is yet another one returning from a layoff of some length, having last appeared seven months ago at Belmont Park.