Musical Romance Faces Nine in Vinery Madison

Pinnacle Racing Stable and Bill Kaplan’s Musical Romance, champion female sprinter of 2011, headlines a field of 10 fillies and mares entered Monday for Thursday’s 11th running of the $300,000 Vinery Madison (G1) at seven furlongs on the main track.

The Vinery Madison will go as the eighth race on Thursday’s nine-race program with a 4:42 p.m. (ET) post time. First post time Thursday is 1:05 p.m.

The Vinery Madison was won last year by Shotgun Gulch.

Regular rider Juan Leyva has the call on Musical Romance, who will be making her second Keeneland start. Last fall, Musical Romance finished second to Holiday for Kitten in the Thoroughbred Club of America (G2) at six furlongs.

Trained by Kaplan, Musical Romance used the TCA as a springboard to victory as a 20-1 shot in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) going seven furlongs four weeks later at Churchill Downs.

Musical Romance, coming off a victory in the Inside Information (G2) at Gulfstream, will break from post position two and carry 123 pounds.

Breaking from the rail next to Musical Romance is the other Grade 1 winner in the field, the Craig Family Trust’s Home Sweet Aspen. Trained by John Sadler, Home Sweet Aspen won the Santa Monica going seven furlongs in January at Santa Anita. Joel Rosario has the mount on Home Sweet Aspen, who will carry 123 pounds.

The field for the Vinery Madison, from the rail out, is as follows: Home Sweet Aspen (Rosario, 123 pounds), Musical Romance (Leyva, 123), Whipsaw City (FR) (Julien Leparoux, 118), Sugarinthemorning (Rafael Bejarano, 118), La Reine Lionne (John Velazquez, 118), Whisked Away (Luis Martinez Jr., 118), She’s Cheeky (Robby Albarado, 118), Groupie Doll (Rajiv Maragh, 118), Ariana D (Jose Lezcano, 118) and Future Generation (IRE) (Garrett Gomez, 118).