Thoughts on: Keeneland – Race 2 – Wednesday, April 23, 2025
We start the last week of racing from Keeneland’s Spring Meet with a final four-and-a-half dash on the dirt for the fillies. A jam-packed field of 16 has been entered, but there’s only room in the gate for a dozen. Two First-Crop sires - Yaupon and Modernist - are each represented by one starter. Beau Liam also has a filly on the Also Eligible list.
#1 Gracie’s Delight (5/2) – Not surprisingly, the Morning Line favorite comes from the red-hot barn of Wesley Ward (23/51, 45.1%), as he’s won five of the seven 2YO MSW races so far at this meet. This homebred filly is by American Pharoah (11.1%) and is a full sis to a baby race winner last spring right here at Keeneland. Mom scored only once in 11 tries, but that was as a juvenile in her fourth attempt at Kentucky Downs. She has a total of two other foals for racing age. After two 3F workouts in Florida in March, W2 has put her to work on three mornings at KEE. Her first two on the ground were bullets, and then her most recent was a slower four-panel move on 4/19/25. Joel Rosario will grab hold of the reins.
#2 Baytown Cassina (30/1) – There has been lots of talk at the 2YO sales in Ocala about this filly’s daddy, First-Crop sire, Yaupon. Her mom brought home over $200K in earnings from the racetrack, having won five times in 20 starts. She has three other foals of racing age. Trainer Paul McEntee (3/34, 8.8%) picked her out of the yearling sales last fall for the bargain price of $4,000, the least expensive from this crop of her daddy’s 129 yearlings. She’s drilled three times. Her first effort covered three poles at Turfway Park, and her most recent pair have been over today’s oval, both at three furlongs.
#3 Nonna’s Love (9/2) – Repole Stable and Todd Pletcher will send out this homebred filly by Caravaggio (17.2%). Her mama has thrown four other foals of racing age, including one that you’ve probably heard of – Fierceness. All he did was win as a First-Time starter at age two and go on to bank $3.8 million. Another foal also won at first asking as a juvenile. Today’s competitor has logged five works at Palm Beach Downs, one at 2F, one at a half mile, and the other three at three panels. Luis Saez has been tapped to be her pilot.
#8 Cat Island (8/1) – The fine young trainer, Riley Mott, will saddle this daughter of Catalina Cruiser (9.8%). Her dam, by Tale of the Cat, was victorious only once from 18 tries, but it was as a 2YO in her second start at Kentucky Downs. This is her first foal of racing age. Today’s filly was a $16,000 RNA for her breeder/owners. Mott has put three works into her, with her first being 3F moves at Payson Park Training Center, and her most recent was a half mile here at Keeneland. Interestingly, Irad Ortiz, Jr. has been named to be in the saddle.
#11 Kontiki (7/2) – Stonestreet Stables and Brad Cox (0/1) team up to enter this Midshipman (11.0%) gal. Her unraced Dixie Union mare has six other foals of racing age. The hammer fell at $170K last year for this filly when she was a yearling. She’s yet to test the Keeneland dirt as all three of her workouts were at Payson Park, each lasting 3/8th of a mile. Flavien Prat will be aboard to lead her around the oval.
My Pick – #1 Gracie’s Delight. Sorry, but Ward is absolutely on fire, and I like the fact that she has a half-sibling who scored as a juvenile at this meet. She’s been working like a beast over the KEE dirt, and although I don’t love the rail, I think she can break fast and get clear. Being that #3 is a half to Fierceness, she will take a boatload of money. And #11 should take quite a bit, too, as Brad has only started one at this level over the previous five years.