Keeneland, Race 1 & 5 – 04/26/2023
By 2YO EdgeMan
KEE1:042623 – We were treated to an upset winner who was sent off at odds of 11/1 – #4 Commissioner Dan who stalked the pace set by Wesley Ward’s odds-on favorite – Blue Eyed Soul – and then caught her with mild urging in mid-stretch, running off to win by 1 ¾ comfortable lengths. The winning colt paid $24.48 while covering the 4 ½ furlongs over the dirt in 52.52 seconds which earned him an excellent 87 Equibase Speed Fig. Trainer Pavel Matejka was victorious in his first attempt in a baby race at Keeneland in the spring (at least over the past five years) and Luan Machado booted this guy home.
KEE5:042623 – #1 Brightwork and her reinsman – Rey Gutierrez – hugged the rail the entire way while stalking Ward’s 4/5 favorite – Barbtourage – but, ultimately wore her down at the 1/8 pole to be the clear in the end by three lengths on the wire. She stopped the timer at 52.49 seconds and paid $10.06 to her $2W ticket holders. The EBSF landed at 85. John A. Ortiz had not competed at this level in April at Keeneland (again, at least going back to 2018) before slinging the saddle over today’s champ.
Learnings – Don’t toss a juvenile at Keeneland just because their trainer is not on the radar! With that said, I still don’t think that I’d have picked the winner in the first race even if I could go back in time with my new lesson. However, Race 5 was a miss on my end, plain and simple. Brightwork sold for $95,000 as Weanling back in late 2021 which was the not only the highest of 21 that sold from that crop of Outwork’s that year, it was more than four times more than the second highest-selling horse ($22,000). This game is humbling and it’s important to constantly learn – that’s why we do this piece. There is not always a deep, solid take away after a race, but today their sure was. Hang tough, Edgies, we’ll continue to get smarter together.
