Undefeated Thoughtfully heads field for Friday’s Alcibiades

Heider Family Stables’ undefeated Thoughtfully headlines a field of seven 2-year-old fillies entered Tuesday for the 69th running of Keeneland's $350,000 Alcibiades (G1), going 1 1/16 miles on the main track on Friday.

The Alcibiades is one of 10 Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series races in the coming days at Keeneland that will award the winners fees-paid berths into their respective World Championship races. The Darley Alcibiades winner gets a free pass into the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) to be run at Keeneland Nov. 6.

The Alcibiades will go as the ninth race on Friday’s 10-race opening day program for the Fall Meet that runs 17 days through Oct. 24. First post time is 1:05 p.m. ET with the Alcibiades going at 5:40 p.m.

Trained by Steve Asmussen, Thoughtfully debuted June 11 at Churchill Downs and romped to an 8 3/4-length score going 5 1/2 furlongs. A month later at Saratoga, she scored a 5-length victory in the Adirondack (G2) going 6 1/2 furlongs.

Ricardo Santana Jr., who has been aboard for both victories, has the call Friday and will break from post position 1.

Likely to vie for favoritism with Thoughtfully is Phoenix Thoroughbred’s Crazy Beautiful.

Trained by four-time Darley Alcibiades winner Kenny McPeek, Crazy Beautiful won the Aug. 9 Runhappy Debutante at Ellis Park before running a troubled second as the favorite in the Sept. 3 Pocahontas (G3) at Churchill Downs. Brian Hernandez Jr. has the mount and will break from post position 4.

McPeek will have two other starters in the race: Susan Moulton’s Oliviaofthedesert and Harold Lerner, Magdalena Racing and Nehoc Stables’ Simply Ravishing.

Oliviaofthedesert has three starts won her lone race on dirt by 5½ lengths at Ellis in August. She will be ridden Friday by Corey Lanerie and break from post position 3.

Simply Ravishing is perfect in two starts and enters Friday’s race off a daylight victory in the off-the-turf P.G. Johnson at Saratoga Sept. 3. Luis Saez has the mount and will exit post position 7.