Wicked Halo, Fingal's Cave two prime contenders in Raven Run
LEXINGTON, Ky. – It’s not exactly the unstoppable force versus the immovable object, but something’s got to give when the Raven Run is run Saturday at Keeneland.
Wicked Halo, a winner of three straight stakes, will square off against Fingal’s Cave, unbeaten in four starts, when the Grade 2, $350,000 Raven Run is run for the 24th time.
Seven other 3-year-old fillies will take part in a terrific renewal of the seven-furlong Raven Run, the highlight of a 10-race program that starts at 1 p.m. Eastern.
Wicked Halo, with Tyler Gaffalione riding from post 8, will be looking to extend a streak that began with victories in the Leslie’s Lady and Tepin at the Churchill Downs spring meet, followed by her best race yet, a neck triumph in the Grade 2 Prioress on closing week at Saratoga. The gray Gun Runner filly is a Winchell Thoroughbreds homebred who employs a stalking style that would seem to fit this race shape well.
“She’s really on her game right now,” said her trainer, Steve Asmussen.
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Asmussen considered running Wicked Halo two weeks beforehand versus older rivals in the Grade 2 Thoroughbred Club of America at Keeneland before deciding that sticking with 3-year-olds was the better idea. Same goes for David Donk with Fingal’s Cave (post 5, Joel Rosario), whose unbeaten slate consists of three starts versus fellow New York-breds and one in an open first-level allowance. Her last two races have been at 1 1/8 miles.
“That was the main thing, staying with 3-year-olds while also getting a chance to earn some graded type,” said Donk. “It’ll be a good test for her. She’s pretty fast, so hopefully this cutback in distance should be to her liking.”
Both of the favorites have earned Beyer Speed Figures in the upper 80s, a range that was surpassed last month by their New York-based challengers Smash Ticket and Freedom Speaks, albeit under different circumstances than what they’ll face Saturday.
Smash Ticket (post 2, Kendrick Carmouche) got a 96 Beyer when easily best in the six-furlong Weather Vane at Pimlico for Rob Atras, while Freedom Speaks (post 7, Florent Geroux) earned a 94 with a last-gasp score in the Music City at turf-only Kentucky Downs for Jeremiah Englehart.
The New York fillies Union Lake (post 1, John Velazquez) and Midnight Stroll (post 9, Luis Saez) arrived here earlier in the week for John Terranova. Both have flashed occasional brilliance, with Terranova expressing optimism that either is capable of winning with her best.
“We’ll take our best shot,” he said.
Fringe players in a deep cast include Last Leaf (post 4, Martin Garcia), already a four-time stakes winner this year, and Colorful Mischief (post 6, Gerardo Corrales), whose trainer, Todd Pletcher, already has accounted for three Grade 1 wins at this meet.
Republique (post 3, Julien Leparoux), a last-out allowance winner at Churchill, completes the lineup.
The Raven Run typically does not produce a starter for the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, given the two-week gap between races. A notable exception occurred in 2018, when Shamrock Rose swept both races.
Wicked Halo, with a huge effort Saturday, might be a logical wheel-back for the Breeders’ Cup, although Winchell, in partnership with L and N Thoroughbreds, already has the 3-year-old Gun Runner filly Echo Zulu as a prime contender for the Filly and Mare Sprint. Echo Zulu, also trained by Asmussen, was the Eclipse champion 2-year-old filly of 2021.
The Raven Run (race 9, 5:16) anchors a Saturday card that also includes the Perryville Stakes (race 6, 3:40) and three allowances (races 4, 7, and 8). Mostly sunny skies and a high of 76 are in the local forecast.
The 17-day fall meet runs through next Saturday (Oct. 29). Churchill then will wend the first four days of its fall meet (Oct. 30, Nov. 2, 3, 6) around the Nov. 4-5 Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland.
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