Horses to Watch: See rising stars at Keeneland, Gulfstream

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Alva Starr

Alva Starr has developed into quite the talented 3-year-old sprinter. The daughter of three-time Grade 1-winning sprinter Lord Nelson wired Delaware Park’s six-furlong Dashing Beauty by 6 3/4 lengths, then shipped to Saratoga and took the seven-furlong Prioress (G3) in gate-to-wire fashion by 8 3/4 lengths.

Those blowout victories yielded sharp Brisnet speed ratings of 100 and 101, the two highest numbers belonging to any of the fillies entered in Saturday’s ninth race at Keeneland, the Raven Run (G2), post time 5:16 p.m. EDT. The seven-furlong sprint has drawn a quality field, but Alva Starr appears to rank a cut above her rivals, and a blazing five-furlong workout in 58 seconds on Oct. 8 at Keeneland suggests she’s poised for a third straight stakes win.

Bentornato

Three starts, three victories. Bentornato is developing into one of the most talented young Florida-breds in training. The 2-year-old Jose D’Angelo trainee rallied to beat a couple of next-out winners in his debut sprinting five furlongs against Florida-breds at Gulfstream Park, then stepped up against non-state-restricted competition to wire Gulfstream’s six-furlong Proud Man Stakes by 4 1/4 lengths.

Bentornato was even more impressive when returning to the Florida-bred ranks for the six-furlong FTBOA Florida Sire Dr. Fager, pressing the early pace before seizing command to dominate by 7 1/2 lengths with a career-best 100 Brisnet speed rating. Sharp workouts since then suggest Bentornato will be mighty tough to beat while stretching out over seven furlongs and facing Florida-bred rivals in Saturday’s 10th race at Gulfstream Park, the FTBOA Florida Sire Affirmed, post time 5:17 p.m. EDT. None of his rivals have posted a Brisnet Speed Rating higher than 92, whereas Bentornato owns improving numbers of 91, 95 and 100.

Off the watch list

Prank

Prank was a stunning debut winner during the summer of 2022 at Saratoga, smashing a 5 1/2-furlong maiden special weight by 9 3/4 lengths. But she went to the sidelines immediately thereafter, and two attempts to return to series training in March and August ended after a couple of timed workouts apiece. Now Prank is entered in the 2023 Keeneland November breeding stock sale as a broodmare prospect (rather than a racing or broodmare prospect), suggesting she’s been retired.

Which horses do you have your eyes on?

In this biweekly series, racing analyst J. Keeler Johnson shares promising horses from his handicapping watch list, reviewing runners who have recently caught his eye and previewing horses scheduled to run back in the near future.