Home » Horses take to the track to prepare for opening weekend at Keeneland

Horses take to the track to prepare for opening weekend at Keeneland

$1 million Toyota Blue Grass scheduled for Saturday

000346-KERA-Spring-15-TBGS-Page-Updates-TBGS-Slide1LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 2, 2015) — Seven of the eight contenders for Saturday’s $1 million Toyota Blue Grass (G1) trained on Keeneland’s main track Thursday morning. The eighth, Pepper Roani, arrived around noon from Louisville.

Here’s a look at the horses

Post 1 – Ocho Ocho Ocho

  • DP Racing’s Ocho Ocho Ocho, winner of the Delta Jackpot (G3) and Juvenile Turf Sprint Stakes (moved to the main track because of rain at Santa Anita), jogged to the backstretch and galloped an easy lap around the main track a little after 9 a.m.

Post 2 – Gorgeous Bird

  • Marylou Whitney’s homebred Gorgeous Bird jogged on the main track a little after 6 a.m. Thursday with exercise rider Yoni Orantes up. Gorgeous Bird, a winner of two of four career starts, enters the Toyota Blue Grass off a fifth-place finish in the Fountain of Youth (G2) on Feb. 21 at Gulfstream.

Post 3 – Pepper Roani

  • Skychai Racing and Sand Dollar Stable’s Pepper Roani arrived here before noon from trainer Mike Maker’s base at Churchill’s Trackside Training Center. Maker reported the colt galloped there Thursday morning before shipping.

Post 4 – Unrivaled

  • Arriving the day before from the Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland, Team Valor International’s Unrivaled made his first appearance on the main track about 6:45 a.m., jogging once under Ross Montoya. His wife, Marya (pronounced “Mariah”) Montoya, trains Unrivaled, a colt by Super Saver she claimed for $30,000 here in October for David Wright’s Waldorf Racing Stables.

Post 5 – Carpe Diem

  • Stonestreet Stables and WinStar Farm’s Carp Diem, the even-money morning-line favorite for the Toyota Blue Grass, left trainer Todd Pletcher’s barn at 7:35 a.m. on Thursday with two stablemates: 2013 Coolmore Lexington (G3) winner Winning Cause and allowance winner Eastwood.

Post 6 – Frammento

  • Mossarosa’s Frammento visited the starting gate and then galloped a mile and a half under exercise rider Juan Bernardini after the morning renovation break. Trainer Nick Zito, who will be seeking a record fourth victory in the Toyota Blue Grass, gave a nod of approval on the morning’s activities and expressed no concern about an off-track possibility Saturday.

Post 7 – Classy Class

  • Cheyenne Stables’ Classy Class turned in an easy gallop once around the main track at about 9 a.m. Roger Horgan was aboard the colt, trained by Kiaran McLaughlin.

Post 8 – Danzig Moon

  • John Oxley’s Danzig Moon galloped a mile and a half under exercise rider Jason Hoyte before the morning renovation break. Danzig Moon finished fourth in his debut here last October on the opening day of the Fall Meet over a track that was labeled as good.