Keeneland news: Daddys Lil Darling heads closing day Bewitch Stakes
Normandy Farm’s homebred millionaire Daddys Lil Darling tops a field of seven fillies and mares entered Sunday for Friday’s 57th running of the $150,000 Bewitch (G3) for fillies and mares going 1½ miles on the grass.
The Bewitch will go as the ninth race with a 5:30 p.m. ET post time on the 10-race closing-day program of the Spring Meet. First post time Friday is 1:05 p.m.
Trained by Kenny McPeek, Daddys Lil Darling has enjoyed success on dirt as well as grass. On dirt, she was second in the Darley Alcibiades (G1) and Central Bank Ashland (G1) at Keeneland and the Kentucky Oaks (G1) at Churchill Downs. Daddys Lil Darling has made her past five starts on turf, where she won the Dueling Grounds Oaks at Kentucky Downs and American Oaks (G1) at Santa Anita and was second in Keeneland’s Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Presented by Lane’s End (G1).
Mike Smith has the mount on Daddys Lil Darling and will break from post position five.
The main rival to Daddys Lil Darling looks to be Ken and Sarah Ramsey's Daring Duchess.
Trained by Mike Maker, Daring Duchess enters Friday’s race off runner-up efforts in The Very One (G3) and La Prevoyante (G3) at Gulfstream Park in her past two starts. Daring Duchess finished second in last year’s Bewitch.
Jose Ortiz has the mount on Daring Duchess and will break from post position six.
The field for the Bewitch, with riders and weights from the rail out, is: Ickymasho (GB) (Florent Geroux, 118 pounds, Moms On Strike (Adam Beschizza, 118), Shezaprado (Gabriel Saez, 118), Coco Channel (Julien Leparoux, 118), Daddys Lil Darling (Smith, 123), Daring Duchess (Ortiz, 118) and Sully’s Dream (Robby Albarado, 118).
ONE GO ALL GO DOING WELL AFTER DIXIANA ELKHORN VICTORY
Rodney Paden’s One Go All Go, winner of Saturday’s Dixiana Elkhorn (G2), was back at trainer Scooter Dickey’s barn at Churchill Downs Saturday night and doing well Sunday morning, according to Dickey.
“I’m looking at him right now,” Dickey said by phone of the 6-year-old, who got away with leisurely fractions and held off Oscar Nominated by three-quarters of a length for his first stakes victory since 2015. “I felt pretty good (with the early fractions). It was a great day.”
Dickey said plans for One Go All Go’s next race are undetermined.
“He ran pretty hard yesterday and I’m not sure where he’ll go next,” Dickey said. “There are races here (at Churchill) and at other places.”
Nolan Ramsey, assistant to trainer Mike Maker, said Oscar Nominated came out of the race fine and is being pointed to the $500,000 Old Forester Turf Classic (G1) on May 5 at Churchill.
ONE LINER BELMONT BOUND AFTER EVENTFUL SATURDAY VICTORY
One Liner, who began his career with three consecutive victories for trainer Todd Pletcher, returned to the winner’s circle Saturday with an interesting 1¼-length allowance victory in Keeneland’s eighth race.
Ridden by Jose Ortiz, One Liner set the pace from the inside in the 1 1/16-mile race. He dropped back to fourth on the far turn before moving off the rail entering the stretch and powered home to victory.
“It was hard to see (the race live) with the sun,” said Pletcher assistant Ginny DePasquale. “I went home and watched the replay and I could see what Jose was doing (when he dropped back). I thought the outside horse (Sticksstatelydude) was going to mess him up, but he was able to split horses.”
Owned by WinStar Farm, China Horse Club International, Head of Plains Partners and SF Racing, One Liner will be heading to Belmont Park with a race to be determined, according to DePasquale.
Saturday marked the first time Ortiz had ridden One Liner.
“He was very happy with him but I think he was happier about getting his 1,500th win and getting it for Todd and WinStar,” DePasquale said.