Keeneland news: Sailor's Valentine back, Calhoun preps for big days

A year after winning the 2017 Central Bank Ashland (G1) at odds of 22-1, Semaphore Racing and Homewrecker Racing’s Sailor’s Valentine will make her second start of 2018 in Saturday’s Grade 1, $300,000 Madison.

After the Central Bank Ashland, Sailor’s Valentine finished sixth in the Kentucky Oaks (G1) and went to the sidelines. The 4-year-old daughter of Mizzen Mast returned to the races March 4 with a third-place finish in a Gulfstream Park allowance race.

“She is doing well and we are very happy with the way she is training,” trainer Eddie Kenneally said. “She is two-for-two here so we are excited to run her.”

In 2016, Sailor’s Valentine began her career with a Keeneland triumph during the Fall Meet.

She and jockey Corey Lanerie drew the inside post in the field of 13 for the 7-furlong Madison.

“Post position one is not ideal, but she’s ready to go,” Kenneally said. “It is a very competitive field, but she is doing as well as she possibly can and we think she will run well.”

CALHOUN PREPARES FOR BUSY OPENING DAYS AT KEENELAND

With eight runners entered opening weekend of Keeneland’s 2018 Spring Meet, trainer Bret Calhoun set up shop at Keeneland rather than shipping runners from his stable at Churchill Downs as he has done in the past.

“One of the motivating factors for that this year is we had three 2-year-olds we wanted to run over here and we wanted to get them settled and schooled a little bit,” said Calhoun, based during the winter at Fair Grounds. “And we knew we had several horses pointed to stakes opening weekend, so it made sense to set up here and let them settle in.”

On Saturday, Calhoun has horses in three graded stakes: Chuck Hovitz's Awesome Saturday in the $250,000 Commonwealth (G3), Carl R. Moore Management’s Finley’sluckycharm in the $300,000 Madison (G1) and Craig D. Upham’s Patrona Margarita in the $500,000 Central Bank Ashland (G1). Brian Hernandez Jr. will ride all three.

The Commonwealth marks the third race of 2018 for Awesome Saturday, a 4-year-old son of Any Given Saturday whose lone previous stakes start was a fifth in the Indiana Derby (G3) last year. The colt’s second career start was at Keeneland a year ago when he was third in allowance competition.

Finley’sluckycharm is familiar to Keeneland fans as the winner of the Thoroughbred Club of America (G2) in October. The Madison marks the second start of the year for the 5-year-old daughter of Twirling Candy, who was second in the Mardi Gras on the Fair Grounds turf in February. Securing a Grade 1 win for Finley’sluckycharm is the goal, Calhoun said.

“We’ve been really looking forward to getting her into this race,” Calhoun said about the Madison. “Big field of horses; we drew outside (post 12 in the 13-horse field). I would have preferred to have drawn not quite so far out, but with how things might set up with the speed (horses), it’s probably a decent post for her.”

Calhoun noted that Finley’sluckycharm is undefeated in seven starts in Kentucky. He said her previous victory here gives him confidence that she will perform well in the Madison for which she is the co-second morning-line favorite at 4-1. 

“With that being said, (the race has a) big field – very deep, talented group of horses, so I don’t think you ever come in here beaming with confidence,” Calhoun said. “I like my horse and wouldn’t trade spots but it’s a tough group of horses. It’ll be a really good race.”

Patrona Margarita, bred in Texas by Upham, won the Pocahontas (G2) in September at Churchill Downs. The Special Rate filly is coming off a fourth behind Central Bank Ashland rival Monomoy Girl in the Feb. 17 Rachel Alexandra (G2) at Fair Grounds.

“We’ve had this race (Central Bank Ashland) in our minds for a while,” Calhoun said. A minor ailment prevented the filly from contesting the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2), but since then “she’s done very well. She breezed (4 furlongs in :48.20) last Saturday at Fair Grounds before we put her on the van. She settled in good here and trained really well.”

JONNY GARCIA GETS ON THE “GOOD HORSES” FOR O’NEILL

If you have a good system, there is no need to make a change. When Toyota Blue Grass (G2) contenders Blended Citizen and Arawak gallop in the mornings, they both have exercise rider Jonny Garcia aboard.

“We don’t change Jonny; he’s had luck with all the good horses,” Jack Sisterson, assistant to trainer Doug O’Neill, said.

Those good horses include Kentucky Derby (G1) winners I’ll Have Another (2012) and Nyquist (2016), who trained at Keeneland prior to his Kentucky Derby victory.

“I’m lucky – they put me on good horses,” Garcia, who has ridden for O’Neill for 11 years, said. “When they’re working out, you can feel if it’s a good horse.”

Garcia said I’ll Have Another was relaxed when passing other horses during morning training but Nyquist was more competitive.

“I’ll Have Another and Nyquist were really different,” he said. “I’ll Have Another was nice to gallop and Nyquist was really strong every day.”

Blended Citizen, who races for Greg Hall and SAYJAY Racing, and Arawak, who is owned by C T R Stables, R3 Racing and Steven Keh, also have their differences. Garcia said Arawak has become more focused in the mornings while Blended Citizen is the more easygoing of the two.

“He’s a nice horse,” Garcia said about Arawak. “(Blended Citizen is) really good, a really good horse. He has a big stride. I’m happy with how the horses are doing right now. We just have to wait till Saturday.”  

GALLOPING OUT

Trainer Kenny McPeek said that Normandy Farm’s homebred millionaire Daddys Lil Darling is pointed to the closing-day $150,000 Bewitch (G3) to be run at 1½ miles on the turf. A three-time Grade 1 runner-up here, Daddys Lil Darling closed her 2017 campaign with a victory in the American Oaks (G1) at Santa Anita.