Keeneland, Race 2 – Thursday, April 11, 2024
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By The 2YO EdgeMan
KEE2:041124 – 4 1/2f on Dirt. This is the first non-full field of the year for 2YO MSWs, as nine fillies prepare for this dash on the dirt. Ward and McEntee each have two entered, along with one from Ennis, John A. Hancock, and Chapman. The notable sires include Kantharos, Flameaway, and the Debut Sire, Game Winner (I can’t wait to see his first foal on the track). Let’s peel it back on four of these gals…
#3 – Her Holy Name (9/2) – Two-year-old specialist, John A. Hancock, will tighten the girth on this Kantharos filly. Her mamma is by Will Take Charge and she was victorious once in her 11 races earning $33,000 and this is her first foal. She sold for $50,000 last year as a yearling (10/32) and has worked out a total of a half dozen times, with her last two coming over today’s oval. On 3/2/24 she zipped three panels at Turfway Park in 36.4 seconds (2/22) coming out of the gate and then her most recent was on 3/30/24, here at KEE, and she went a half mile in 48 flat from the gate (13/102). Victor Lebron has the assignment to ride.
#4 – Baytown Amy Rose (6/1) – As you probably can guess by her name, this one is trained by Paul McEntee. She’s the first runner to hit the track from her sire, Game Winner, who I picked as a Top 5 First Crop sire for 2024 – he’s #2 on my list. Her broodmare sire is Bodemeister and her dam was unraced and has produced only one other foal – a 4YO that is 0 for 7. Today’s runner has been through the sales ring twice and the results are very interesting – actually, quite strange. As a weanling in 2022, she hammered for a solid $92,000 (8/10). However, when she went back through the ring last year as a yearling, she only demanded $3,000 (72/73). She’s performed quite well in the mornings, having been out seven times (her first five were at Blackwood Stables and her last two have been on the Keeneland dirt). Last out, she breezed 3f in 35.6 seconds (3/26). Albin Jimenez will climb into the saddle.
#8 – Image of Me (3/1) – This is the first of two fillies entered from Wesley Ward, but I am virtually certain that this one will scratch since she ran here this past Sunday.
#9 – Perfect Shances (8/5) – The heavy Morning Line fav is also conditioned by the ‘2YO Maestro’, Wes Ward. She is a homebred from Crawford Farms Racing and is sired by Buck Pond Farm’s, Shancelot. His dam, who never hit the racetrack, is by Bayern, and this is her initial foal. As most Ward trainees do, she has worked rather briskly in the mornings. All but one of her six workouts have been done here at Keeneland. In fact, her first ever official work came at KEE on 3/1/24 and she rifled off a bullet – 34.2 seconds for 3/8th of a mile (1/20). Additionally, in her penultimate work on 3/28/24, again on the Keeneland oval, she posted another bullet effort going the same 3f in 35.6 (1/10). Walter Rodriguez will be her reinsman and guide her from the outside post position.
Pick – #9 Perfect Shances – I’m sorry for this and I hate to do it, but I have to go with the Ward favorite. I know that she’ll have microscopic odds, but I just don’t see anyone in this field beating her. I tried to gather the courage to back the #4 horse by Game Winner, but that sales history is just too odd. I truly think that McEntee is just trying to get a piece of this one, and if he does, he’ll more than cover the scant $3,000 investment that he has in her and start to cut into paying for her feed bills and training costs.
