Keeneland: Imaginationthelady, Nakatomi win early stakes

Imaginationthelady bided her time under jockey Frankie Dettori before taking the lead in the deep stretch en route to a one-length upset Friday in the 1 1/16-mile, Grade 2, $400,000 Jessamine Stakes on opening day of the Keeneland fall meet.

Trained by Brendan Walsh for owner Mark Dobbin, the 2-for-2 daughter of Not This Time scored the win-and-you’re-in berth for the Oct. 31 running of the one-mile Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Del Mar.

Click here for Keeneland entries and results.

Lit Ship (15-1) set the early fractions of 22.43, 47.70 and 1:12.71 while Imaginationthelady (10-1) traveled in the middle of the 11-horse field. Dettori and his mount took the lead in the final sixteenth after a mile in 1:36.55, and they won with a time of 1:42.61 on the firm course.

Imaginationthelady paid $22.16, $11.08 and $5.46; second-place Infinite Sky (21-1) $17.38 and $7.04; and third-place Time to Dream (1-1), the post-time favorite, $2.64. Soloist (15-1) came home fourth.

Nakatomi rallies from last to win Phoenix

Nakatomi delivered as the 8-5 post-time favorite in deep-closing fashion Friday. The 6-year-old who has earned more than $1.7 million rallied from worst to first to win by a neck in the $400,000 Phoenix Stakes (G2).

The six-furlong race qualified the gelded son of Practical Joke for a berth Nov. 1 in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint covering the same distance at Del Mar

Durante (17-1) was fastest out of the gate, but multimillionaire 6-year-old Skelly quickly made up ground along the rail and was first to click through a quarter-mile in 22.19 seconds. Skelly maintained the advantage turning for home through a half-mile in 45.08 seconds.

As the six-horse field bunched in the deep stretch, Tyler Gaffalione and Durante reclaimed the lead, and Irad Ortiz Jr. rode Nakatomi powerfully down the middle of the track and prevailed in the shadow of the finish line. The final time was 1:09.93 on the fast main track.

Nakatomi paid $5.20, $4.16 and $2.92; second place Durante $11.92 and $6.72; and third-place Whatchatalkinabout (5-1) $4.40. Here Mi Song (12-1) came in fourth.

Owned by Qatar Racing and Fitri Hay, Nakatomi won for the first time since last year’s Alfred G. Vanderbilt (G1) at Saratoga. He was coming off a third-place finish in the July renewal of the same race. He finished sixth in the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar.