Warrant the ‘now' horse in Ben Ali Stakes

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Time and distance have helped, but through it all, the colt named Warrant has been remarkably steady.

“He’s been very consistent, that’s for sure,” said Brad Cox, who will send out Warrant as one of the favorites Saturday in a well-matched renewal of the Grade 3 Ben Ali Stakes at Keeneland.

Warrant has improved his Beyer Speed Figures in almost stair-step fashion through his nine-race career while never finishing worse than third. The 4-year-old son of Constitution will have Flavien Prat aboard when he breaks from post 5 in a field of eight older horses in the $300,000 Ben Ali, a 1 1/8-mile race that shares the Saturday spotlight with the Grade 2 Elkhorn Stakes.

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Warrant most recently earned a field-high 104 Beyer when beaten just a head by Express Train seven weeks ago in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap. That effort confirmed Warrant as a player on the national stage. Winner of the 1 1/16-mile Texas Derby and the 1 1/8-mile Oklahoma Derby last year, Warrant has blossomed at these longer distances after starting off with three sprints, including a nose defeat here last spring in a first-level allowance to his Cox stablemate Joe Frazier.

These are heady times for Cox, the two-time reigning champion trainer in North America. The 42-year-old Louisville native began this week with three graded stakes wins already at the 15-day spring meet, with Just One Time in the Grade 1 Madison, Matareya in the Grade 3 Beaumont, and Tawny Port in the Grade 3 Lexington. He’ll have as many as three runners in the May 7 Kentucky Derby, which he won last year with Mandaloun via disqualification.

A host of capable challengers await Warrant in the 91st Ben Ali, including Proxy, Scalding, Dynamic One, and Mighty Heart.

Proxy (post 3, Brian Hernandez Jr.) returned from a layoff over the winter at Fair Grounds in fine form, winning an allowance before getting a career-best 99 when second in the Grade 2 New Orleans Classic on March 26. The 4-year-old Godolphin homebred has developed into quite a handy sort for trainer Mike Stidham.

Scalding (post 7, Javier Castellano) came to prominence for Shug McGaughey over the winter with three straight wins in Florida, the most recent coming in the Grade 3 Challenger on the March 12 Tampa Bay Derby undercard. The 4-year-old Nyquist colt figures close to the pace under Castellano, who makes his first appearance of the meet after getting hot at Aqueduct, where he rode six straight winners during a two-day span (April 14-15) last week.

Dynamic One (post 4, Irad Ortiz Jr.) was third behind Scalding in the Challenger when making his first start in more than six months. Last year at 3, the Union Rags colt sandwiched a runner-up finish in the Wood Memorial and a win in the Curlin Stakes at Saratoga around an 18th-place finish in the Kentucky Derby.

“I thought his comeback was good in what I thought was a pretty salty race,” said his trainer, Todd Pletcher. “He made up some ground late, and we got his season under way. He’s a horse that’s been a little inconsistent but has shown promise that there’s more to come. We’re hoping this is the year that he fulfills his potential.”

Ortiz, the New York-based superstar riding a full Keeneland meet for the first time, was in a tight battle with Prat and Tyler Gaffalione for the riding title as the meet reached its midpoint Wednesday.

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Mighty Heart (post 2, James Graham) looks like the most likely pacesetter in the Ben Ali. The 2020 and 2021 Canadian Horse of the Year returns from a four-month layoff for trainer Josie Carroll. Already a hero in his native Canada by virtue of his 2020 Queen’s Plate and Prince of Wales triumphs, Mighty Heart has endeared himself to an untold number of fans as a hard-knocking, one-eyed stayer with three other stakes wins to his credit.

Rounding out the lineup are Cowboy Diplomacy, Tartufo, and Title Ready.

First post for the last Saturday of a meet that ends April 29 is 1 p.m. Eastern, with the Ben Ali going as race 8 (4:44). The Elkhorn directly follows as race 9 (5:16) as the final leg of the $3-minimum Turf Pick 3 (races 5-7-9).

The Ben Ali is named for the noted 19th century Kentucky-born horseman Ben Ali Haggin. The horse won the 1886 Kentucky Derby. Within the last 20 years, two winners of the Ben Ali were voted Horse of the Year the same year, Mineshaft (2003) and Wise Dan (2012).

Sunny skies and a high of 82 are in the local forecast for Saturday. Keeneland continues to cap ontrack attendance at about 20,000 with online-only admission sales.