Keeneland: Key of Life (2-5) holds on to win Beaumont

Key of Life held off Interpolate by a diminishing neck to win the 38th running of the Grade 2, $400,000 Beaumont Stakes for 3-year-old fillies on a wind-swept Sunday afternoon at Keeneland.

Trained by Brad Cox and ridden by Flavien Prat, Key of Life covered the distance of 7 1/4 furlongs in 1:27.32 over the fast main track. It was the second consecutive victory in the race for Cox and Prat, who teamed to win the 2022 renewal with Matareya.

Click here for Keeneland entries and results.

“This was a last-minute decision, so I want to commend those guys,” Cox said, referring to owners Flurry Racing Stables and Hoffman Family Racing choosing the Beaumont. “I called them Tuesday and told them I was looking at this race. She was at Oaklawn, so it was a last-minute decision to bring her here, and it worked out well. She had no graded, black type, so that obviously was appealing. This (win) added a lot to her value, and we’re very proud of what she was able to accomplish today.”

Key of Life was fastest out of the gate and ran unopposed on the lead through fractions of 22.24 and 44.87 seconds. On the turn Stonewall Star and Opus Forty Two attempted to close the gap, but the filly with the momentum was Interpolate, who was launching a bid from fourth. Key of Life maintained a clear advantage of 2 1/2 lengths at mid-stretch and had just enough in the tank to hold off Interpolate at the finish.

Now 3-for-3 at Keeneland, Key of Life earned $241,800 with the victory and increased her earnings to $633,275 with a record of 8: 5-0-3. Key of Life is a Kentucky-bred daughter of Mo Town out of the Harlan’s Holiday mare Longride to Wisdom.

Key of Life returned $2.94, $2.30 and $2.10. Interpolate, ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., returned $3.18 and $2.54 and finished 6 1/4 lengths in front of Stonewall Star, who paid $2.72 to show under Luis Saez. It was another 3 3/4 lengths back to She’s On the Rocks with Opus Forty Two, Shoplifter and Fun and Feisty following in that order.

Cox elaborated on the late decision to enter Key of Life.

“You’ve got to have a van ready, that’s No. 1,” he said. “Listen, at the end of the day, it was a race I thought she fit with, basically handicapping who we thought may go, and obviously the public showed she was the favorite. It worked out.”

The Beaumont was the last race on the road to the Kentucky Oaks (G1) on May 5 at Churchill Downs, but none of the fillies in the race had the points to get into or near the top 14.

__________