Stidham savors QE II win with Her Emmynency

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Trainer Mike Stidham said Monday he was unsure whether Her Emmynency will race again this year following her 19-1 upset of the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup on Saturday at Keeneland.

“She might run one more time, or we might just put her up until next spring,” he said. “The filly came out of the race real well.”

Stidham was sure of one thing: This was a race to savor. It was just the third Grade 1 victory of his 36-year training career, following scores with Sutra in the 2006 Frizette and Two Altazano in the 1994 Coaching Club American Oaks.

“They’re hard to come by, so yes, you really appreciate it,” said Stidham, who has won more than 1,500 races.

The QE II did not come easily – nor without controversy. Always prominent under Florent Geroux, Her Emmynency angled toward the rail when making the lead in upper stretch in a move that caused Miss Temple City to briefly check. The race then came down to those two, with Her Emmynency prevailing by a head in a frantic drive.

Prompted by a rare owner’s objection – Sean Feld, a minority partner in Miss Temple City, was responsible – the Keeneland stewards reviewed the upper-stretch incident for about six or seven minutes before deciding that there would be no change in the official order.

Her Emmynency, by Successful Appeal, earned a 98 Beyer Speed Figure, as did Miss Temple City, who is done racing for the year, said trainer Graham Motion.

Her Emmynency is owned by Ike and Dawn Thrash, the Mississippi couple who also got their third Grade 1 win in the race, following victories by Tell a Kelly in the 2010 Del Mar Debutante and Line of David in the 2010 Arkansas Derby.

◗ Kentucky will host Auburn in college football Thursday night following a nine-race card at Keeneland, making for the first-ever “Bluegrass sports doubleheader” on a weeknight. The Keeneland crowd figures to be considerably larger than normal, with many race-goers clad in their team’s colors.

The forecast for Thursday calls for clear skies, with a daytime high of 69 and a nighttime low of 51.

◗ Bar of Gold and Ahh Chocolate were foremost among the 3-year-old fillies expected for the seven-furlong Raven Run Stakes, the highlight of the coming weekend at Keeneland. The Grade 2, $250,000 Raven Run will have its 17th running Saturday. Entries will be taken Wednesday.

The Grade 3 Dowager, the filly-and-mare counterpart to the Sycamore, will serve as the Sunday feature.

◗ Chella kept an impressive streak intact when surging to a 1 3/4-length victory in the first race Sunday for ThistleDown-based owner and trainer Elliot Sullivan. A 4-year-old Ontario-bred filly, Chella has won all seven starts since Sullivan, 26, claimed her for $10,000 on April 1. Sullivan also is the trainer of Tribal Custom, who has won 10 races this year, the most of any horse in North America.

◗ Eagle, a resurgent 3-year-old colt, earned a career-high 96 Beyer in defeating older horses in the nominal Sunday feature for owner and breeder Will Farish and trainer Neil Howard. The victory was the first for the son of Candy Ride since he won an allowance here last fall.

◗ Attendance on a perfect autumn Sunday was 15,497.

◗ A slew of unexpected scratches from the seventh race Sunday resulted from a mistake in how conditions were written for the starter-allowance race on turf. Mission Driven, the 2-1 morning-line favorite, was among nine of the possible 16 runners scratched because of the error.