Beholder turns back Executiveprivilege in Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies

In the days prior to the Breeders' Cup, trainer Richard Mandella was leaning toward running his talented filly Beholder in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Sprint rather than the more prestigious Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (gr. I). But on the morning that entries were due, Mandella changed his mind, and Beholder was entered in the Juvenile Fillies.

That decision paid off in a huge way on Friday afternoon at Santa Anita when Beholder turned back a late run from the previously unbeaten Executiveprivilege to win the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies by 1 1/4 lengths.

Ridden to victory by Garrett Gomez, Beholder broke quickly from gate one and quickly raced away to set the pace while Kauai Katie tracked her on the outside. Executiveprivilege was getting a beautiful trip in third, three or four lengths behind Beholder, followed then by Dreaming of Julia, Spring in the Air, Renee's Queen, Broken Spell, and Almost an Angel.

Coming round the final turn, Executiveprivilege made a run along the inside of Kauai Katie to reach contention, but by that point, Beholder had opened up a sizable advantage. Executiveprivilege gave it a good try, but drifted out a bit in the final furlong and couldn't make up the necessary ground. Thus, Beholder held on to win at odds of 7-2.

Dreaming of Julia put in a mild run to edge Kauai Katie for third, but was no match for the top two.

-Keelerman

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Contender Profile: ALMOST AN ANGEL

Owner: Ice Wine Stable

Trainer: Wesley Ward

Breeder: B. P. Wadlen Jr. and P. W. Madden

Most Recent Jockey: Elvis Trujillo

RACE RECORD

Age 2

6th Darley Alcibiades Stakes (gr. I)

7th With Anticipation Stakes (gr. II)

1st Maiden Special Weight

2nd Maiden Special Weight

5th Maiden Special Weight

PEDIGREE

		El Prado
	Artie Schiller
		Hidden Light
Almost an Angel
		Crafty Prospector
	Earthly Angel
		Glorious Calling

To read what I have written about Almost an Angel in the past, click here.

Spring in the Air romps to Alcibiades victory

Sent off as the slightest of favorites at 4.30-1, Spring in the Air looked more like an even-money shot when rallying for a convincing victory in the $400,000 Alcibiades Stakes (gr. I) on Friday at Keeneland.

With jockey Patrick Husbands in the saddle, Spring in the Air broke a bit slowly and found herself racing tenth of fourteen horses early on as La Song set moderate fractions of :22.98 and :47.13 seconds. Speedinthruthecity, Magical Moon, Gold Edge, Tara From the Cape, and Skyfall were next in line, followed by Dancinginthecircle, Fully Living, and Rose to Gold. Broken Spell, Almost an Angel, Kitten's Dumplings, and Pure Indy were the early trailers.

La Song continued to lead the way through three-quarters of a mile in 1:11.85, but gave way shortly thereafter as Magical Moon made a bold run to take command of the lead. Under Rosie Napravnik, the filly opened up a two-length lead passing the eighth pole, but was soon swallowed up by Spring in the Air, who burst clear in deep stretch to win the 1 1/16th race convincingly in 1:44.33 seconds.

Broken Spell rallied well to secure the place, a length behind Spring in the Air and two lengths ahead of Magical Moon. Tara From the Cape, Fully Living, Almost an Angel, Gold Edge, La Song, Pure Indy, Dancinginthecircle, Kitten's Dumplings, Rose to Gold, Skyfall, and Speedinthruthecity completed the order of finish.

The winner, a daughter of Spring At Last out of the Unbridled mare Unbridled Run, is owned by John Oxley and trained by Mark Casse. She has now compiled a record of 2-2-0 from 4 starts, with earnings of $371,519.

-Keelerman

Darley Aclibiades Stakes Entries: Gold Edge goes for 4th straight win

The undefeated two-year-old filly Gold Edge is expected to go for her fourth straight victory in the $400,000 Darley Alcibiades Stakes (gr. I) on Friday at Keeneland, the opening day of the track's fall meet.

The daughter of Eddington has won her previous three starts in impressive fashion, including a gritty neck victory in the $150,000 Arlington-Washington Lassie Stakes (gr. III) last time out. Trained by Lon Wiggins, she is expected to be among the favorites in this 1 1/16th miles race.

Other logical contenders include Rose to Gold, who won a pair of stakes at Calder by a combined 26 1/2 lengths; Spring in the Air, runner-up in the Natalma Stakes (gr. III) at Woodbine; and the consistent California-based filly Speedinthruthecity.

1 Pure Indy
2 Kitten's Dumplings
3 Rose to Gold
4 Almost an Angel
5 Fully Living
6 Broken Spell
7 Gold Edge
8 La Song
9 Spring in the Air
10 Tara From the Cape
11 Skyfall
12 Speedinthruthecity
13 Magical Moon
14 Dancinginthecircle
Also Eligibles:
15 Daar Zayad
16 Cloudy Vow

-Keelerman

With Anticipation Stakes Entries and Post Positions

Here are the entries and post positions for the $200,000 With Anticipation Stakes (gr. III), to be run on August 30th at Saratoga. The 1 1/16th miles turf race has drawn a huge field of sixteen two-year-old, including such promising maiden winners as Notacatbutallama, Charming Kitten, Bernie the Jet, and Craving Carats.

1 Almost an Angel
2 Craving Carats
3 He's So Fine
4 Special Skills
5 Charming Kitten
6 Joha
7 Bernie the Jet
8 Sonofasamurai
9 The B's and E's
10 Notacatbutallama
11 Hightail
12 Private Tutor
Also Eligibles:
13 Balance the Books
14 Lawn Man
15 Sweet Shirley Mae
16 Read the Proposal

Note: Lawn Man, Sweet Shirley Mae, and Read the Proposal are entered for the main-track only.

-Keelerman

P. G. Johnson Stakes Entries and Post Positions

Here are the entries and post positions for the $100,000 P. G. Johnson Stakes, to be run on August 29th at Saratoga. The 8.5-furlong turf race has drawn a large field of lightly-raced two-year-old fillies, including a trio of Todd Pletcher-trainees -- Top Tier Lass, Skyfall, and Tara From the Cape.

1 Top Tier Lass
2 Broken Spell
3 Da Mi Basia Mille
4 Skyfall
5 Almost an Angel
6 Watsdachances
7 Oscar Party
8 Incredible Journey
9 Tara From the Cape
10 Go Kitten Go
Also Eligibles:
11 Over the Counter
12 Sweet Shirley Mae

Note: Over the Counter and Sweet Shirley Mae are entered for the main-track only.