Thursday allowance filled with stakes horses

Thursday’s 10-race card at Keeneland marks the first day of the front-loaded fall meeting with no stakes on the program – but that doesn’t mean stakes horses won’t be running. The nominal feature is the ninth race, an $80,000 allowance race for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/16 miles on the turf, and nine of the 11 entrants in the main body of the field are directly exiting stakes.

Among those stakes-seasoned runners, the top last-out Beyer Speed Figure belongs to Sacred Life, a Group 3 winner in France who was transferred to Chad Brown’s barn this season. He was second by a nose in the Lure Stakes on Aug. 3 at Saratoga, his first start for his new barn in the United States and his first start since March. He then finished second to repeat winner Qurbaan in the Grade 2 Bernard Baruch Handicap on Sept. 2 at Saratoga. Those two efforts earned Beyers of 98 and 99, respectively. Javier Castellano will be in the irons for the first time on Sacred Life, who was ridden in his two Saratoga outings by Irad Ortiz Jr.

Thursday’s allowance also has international flavor from the well-traveled Deauville, making his first start for Brendan Walsh. This will be the fourth stint racing in the United States for Deauville, who has earned more than $1.4 million. He won the Grade 1 Belmont Derby and finished third, beaten a half-length by older horses, in the Grade 1 Arlington Million in 2016. The next year, he finished third by three-quarters of a length in the Arlington Million and 11th in the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile. Last year, he was sixth in the Million. Deauville, who will have Tyler Gaffalione in the irons, also has won Group 3 stakes in England and Ireland and is Group 1 placed in both those countries. He won a stakes in Bahrain in February.

El Picaro was a multiple Group 1 winner in his native Chile, but has finished no better than fifth in his three U.S. starts, all in graded stakes this past summer. Krampus won the Grade 3 Canadian Turf earlier this season at Gulfstream Park, but was most recently eighth in the Grade 1 Fourstardave Handicap at Saratoga.

Get Western comes off a victory in the Old Friends over the undulating turf course at Kentucky Downs. Factor This won a stakes over the summer at Ellis Park and most recently finished fourth in the Grade 3 Kentucky Turf Cup at Kentucky Downs. Exulting won the Oaklawn Mile earlier this year on dirt and was most recently sixth in the Tourist Mile at Kentucky Downs. Parlor, a Delaware stakes winner, was ninth in the Tourist Mile, and Great Wide Open was 11th in that race.

Thursday’s card also includes a pair of $73,000 conditioned allowance races for fillies and mares going a mile on the turf, and Brown and Walsh each has an entrant who will be making her U.S. debut. In the fifth race, Brown sends out Thanks Be, who in her last race won the Sandringham Stakes in June at the Royal Ascot meeting in England. In the seventh race, Walsh runs Zofelle, winner of 1 of 7 starts, all in England.