Leslie’s Rose handed Just F Y I her first defeat (Courtney Snow/Past The Wire)
Keeneland Press Release
LEXINGTON, Ky.— Whisper Hill Farm’s Leslie’s Rose took command in the upper stretch and drew off to a 3-length victory over champion Just F Y I to win the 87th running of the $598,750 Central Bank Ashland (G1) for 3-year-old fillies on a chilly Friday afternoon to open the 16-day Keeneland Spring Meet.
Earlier on the program, Neat posted a nose victory over Cugino in the Transylvania (G3) Presented by Keeneland Select and Glengarry posted a 3 1/2-length wire-to-wire victory in the Lafayette.
Leslie’s Rose, trained by Todd Pletcher and ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., completed the 1 1/16 miles on a fast main track in 1:43.85. It is the third victory in the race for Pletcher, who won in 2021 with Malathaat and 2022 with Nest. Ortiz also rode Nest.
With the victory, Leslie’s Rose picked up 100 points and spot in the starting gate for the 150th running of the $1.5 million Kentucky Oaks (G1) to be run May 3 at Churchill Downs. The Oaks is limited to the top 14-point earners through a series of races on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks. Just F Y I earned 50 points for running second.
Following the Central Bank Ashland, the cutoff line for the top 14 is 48 points with two races remaining in the series on Saturday: the Gazelle (G3) at Aqueduct and the Santa Anita Oaks (G2) at Santa Anita. Both races offer 200 points on a 100-50-25-15-10 scale to the first- through fifth-place finishers.
Halina’s Forte set the pace in the field of eight through early fractions of :24.35 and :48.27 while under token pressure from Impel to her outside. Leslie’s Rose saved ground behind the leaders.
On the final turn, Impel challenged for the lead while Leslie’s Rose, Jody’s Pride and Just F Y I began to close in. However, at the top of the stretch, Leslie’s Rose spurted clear and was not threatened in the run to the finish.
Purchased by Whisper Hill for $1.15 million at Keeneland’s 2022 September Sale, Leslie’s Rose is a Kentucky-bred daughter of Into Mischief out of the Galileo (IRE) mare Wildwood Rose (IRE). Now a winner of three of four starts, Leslie’s Rose has earnings of $467,800 that includes Friday’s $358,050 check.
Leslie Rose returned $20.90, $7.76 and $4.68. Just F Y I, ridden by Junior Alvarado, returned $5.18 and $3.30 and finished three-quarters of a length in front of Impel, who paid $3.28 to show under Florent Geroux.
It was another 1¼ lengths back to favored Candied, who was followed in order by Standoutsensation, Shimmering Allure, Jody’s Pride and Halina’s Forte.
Racing continues Saturday with an 11-race program beginning at 1 p.m. ET that is highlighted by the 100th running of the $1 million Toyota Blue Grass (G1). Four other graded stakes precede the Toyota Blue Grass, which is the afternoon’s 10th race with a 5:52 p.m. post time.
Keeneland will offer a Pick Six carryover of $66,548 and a Super High Five carryover of $11,321.
Quotes for the $600,000 Central Bank Ashland (G1)
Todd Pletcher (winning trainer of Leslie’s Rose) – On bringing her to the Central Bank Ashland after finishing third as the heavy favorite in the March 2 Davona Dale (G2) Presented by FanDuel at Gulfstream Park: “We didn’t lose any confidence in her. She didn’t have a great trip that day. I think she got a good education. It was the first time she’d been in that scenario. You could see turning for home (jockey) Irad (Ortiz Jr.) had an opportunity to go into a tight spot, and she just wasn’t experienced enough to do that at that time. But we weren’t down on her, she came back, she breezed beautifully, so we said, ‘Let’s just stick to the game plan’ and I’m glad we did.”
On his confidence heading into the Kentucky Oaks-G1: “She’s always been a high-quality filly. She’s always trained like she wants to run longer, and I think she proved that today, getting the opportunity to go two turns and finishing with good energy. So, fingers crossed.”
Irad Ortiz Jr. (winning rider): “She broke so good. I had a couple horses with speed outside, and they broke better than me, so after that I had to sit off right behind them. She handled it pretty well. Last time (in the Davona Dale) she did the same thing, so I was not afraid to be behind the speed. I just bided my time. She was traveling beautiful every step of the way. At the quarter pole I was able to hit a gear and she was ready. She kept galloping out after the wire. We’re very happy with her.”
Bill Mott (trainer of champion Just F Y I, who finished second): “She got off a tick slow down the backside. (Jockey Junior Alvarado) said it took about two jumps to get her feet underneath her down the backside, but there was some traffic in front of her. When he asked her to finish up on the turn for home, she finished (well) but we probably needed to knock the rust off a little bit. She has been (unraced) for five months.
“She beat some nice fillies (today). We didn’t win but our second main objective was to get a race in her and have her ready for the next one. So, I am not totally disappointed.
“She got beat, but I can give some reasons for that. The Kentucky Oaks has been the plan all along, so I see no reason not to do that.
Just F Y I is scheduled to return to Churchill Friday evening.
Junior Alvarado (rider of Just F Y I): “She finished pretty good. I was pretty happy with her; she hasn’t run in almost five months so I was pretty happy with the effort today. We’re running to the next race, the Kentucky Oaks. Hopefully, she should be even tougher there.”
Florent Geroux (rider of third-place finisher Impel): “Great trip. I thought I was in a great spot, but I got run down at the end.”
