The Conductor last spoke to us on Travers day, where he gave out the 36/1 cold exacta in the feature. Unfortunately, another breakdown in the stretch that day made him walk away with a bad taste in his mouth. If another Saratoga meet goes like that, he may step away for good. NYRA has a lot of cleaning up to do and the Conductor is taking the train elsewhere for now. Santa Anita’s product seems to be improving and these Keeneland fields have Mr. Ductor salivating. Let’s get back on the rails and buy Skip a horse farm in Lexington. Skip.
Race 5: 5½ Furlongs. (Turf) F.Alw 130000C
*Gullet Shot of the Day #5 Bling (6/1) – This filly completely missed the break last time at Kentucky Downs and still rallied down the stretch for a strong 3rd behind a slow pace. She shortens in distance today and has the strongest late kick in the field. She’s 1 for 1 at 5 1/2 furlongs and has run well vs tougher routing. There is plenty of early speed in here to set her up for a great trip. She gets a major rider upgrade to Velazquez to boot.
Race 7: 6 Furlongs. Phoenix – G2 Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix Stakes
#1 Hoist the Gold (8/1) – This Race looks wide open on paper and this colt has a major class edge over this field. He’s faced much tougher while being stuck on a dead rail in his last two starts at Del Mar. The rail is almost always the place to be at Keeneland and he’s been working bullets since shipping to Kentucky. He’s run well in his two prior starts at Keeneland and has every chance to win this stakes today at a square price.
Race 10: 1 Mile. (Turf) Alw 120000n2x
#1 Johny’s Fireball (8/1) – Norm Casse has rightfully returned this gelding to the turf, where he’s run well in his last two starts. He had a troubled trip last time and won nicely at this distance two starts back. He’ll get a nice ground saving trip today at Keeneland, and he gets a major turf rider upgrade to Saez. He can bail out the passengers in the finale.
The post Keeneland: Opening Day Key Horses for Friday 10/6/23 appeared first on The Pony Conductor.
