Walk In Marrakesh overdue to win; may get right trip in Valley View

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Walk In Marrakesh promised great things during her first two races on North American soil. But the Irish-bred filly has yet to deliver, although her trainer, Ignacio Correas, is hoping the frustration will end Friday in the Grade 3 Valley View Stakes at Keeneland.

“It has been a little frustrating,” Correas said.

After winning 3 of 5 starts in Europe to start her career, Walk In Marrakesh was nipped by a nose in the Grade 1 Natalma at Woodbine in her final start at 2, then was beaten a head in the Grade 3 Florida Oaks at Tampa Bay Downs in her 3-year-old debut.

Since then, Walk In Marrakesh has gone winless in four more starts, including a couple of no-shows on the Churchill Downs turf and a wicked beat in a tight three-way photo in the Grade 2 Appalachian in July at Keeneland.

“My take is she really doesn’t like the surface at Churchill, for whatever reason,” Correas said. “The two times she has run there, she didn’t fire. But we know she likes it here [at Keeneland], and she’s been doing just super. We’ll see if we can’t get her a win before the end of the year.”

:: Want to get your Past Performances for free? Click to learn more.

With Brian Hernandez Jr. riding from post 4, Walk In Marrakesh figures among a host of well-matched contenders Friday in the 30th running of the $150,000 Valley View, the highlight of a 10-race card at spectator-free Keeneland. The 1 1/16-mile turf race matches 12 3-year-old fillies on what is expected to be a mostly sunny but chilly afternoon, with highs reaching only into the mid-50s.

Antoinette (post 12, Manny Franco) is the morning-line favorite in the Valley View after having been scratched by trainer Bill Mott last weekend from the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup, a Grade 1 turf race that Mott wound up winning with Harvey’s Lil Goil. Antoinette was second in her most recent start, the Sept. 19 Belmont Oaks, behind Magic Attitude, who was third as the favorite in the QE II.

Antoinette, a Godolphin homebred, led throughout to win the Aug. 16 Saratoga Oaks and also led most of the way in the Belmont Oaks. But she’s likely to assume a stalker’s role on a turnback in distance Friday, with fillies such as In Good Spirits, Pranked, Sugar Fix, and the Chad Brown-trained Duopoly (post 1, Tyler Gaffalione) all eligible to show more early speed than her.

A hotly contested pace could work in favor of a capable closer such as Walk In Marrakesh, whose midpack style should find her ready to pounce from just in behind that leading group.

“Her training tells me she is ready for a big race,” Correas said.

Among the other possibilities are Princess Grace (post 3, Shaun Bridgmohan), making her stakes debut after winning two races to open her career; Witez (post 5, Julien Leparoux), who came to hand over the summer at Saratoga for Ian Wilkes; and Stunning Sky (post 11, Ricardo Santana Jr.), a two-back runner-up to Antoinette in the Saratoga Oaks.

The Valley View is named for the oldest recorded commercial business in Kentucky, the Valley View Ferry, established in 1785. It goes at 5:30 p.m. Eastern as the featured ninth race on a card that begins at the usual 1:05 p.m.