Keeneland Select Pick of the Day | November 19, 2022

Race 10 at Churchill Downs | Saturday November 19 | Post Time 5:35 PM Eastern

Chilukki Stakes – Grade 3 | Purse $300,000 | One Mile | Fillies and Mares, Three Years Old

Win contenders:

She Can’t Sing (6) moves back to dirt after eight straight races on grass going back to New Year’s Day. She won three of those races, all routes and all stakes, but her best effort of the year came when third behind multiple graded stakes winner Campanelle in the Ladies Sprint Stakes in September, her most recent start prior to the two month layoff she returns from here. Rested for two months since then, the mare put in a very strong half-mile workout on the dirt at Churchill Downs which was the best of 33 on the day. This not only signals she’s ready to run as well as she has in her best races this year, it also shows she really likes the main track at Churchill Downs, where she has won three times and finished second in two others. One of those wins came at the similar distance of seven furlongs a little over a year ago, a race in which She Can’t Sing drew off to win by five lengths, earning a 104 figure. She earned a career-best 108 figure in the Ladies Sprint and both of those figures are better than the best figures of any other horse in this field, which means She Can’t Sing appears to be the one to beat. Additionally, the race she won in October of 2021 came off nearly identical two month layoff to the one she’s coming back from in the Chilukki.

Mariah’s Princess (2) cuts back from a mile and one-sixteenth classified allowance race run around two turns at Keeneland last month. In that race she rallied quickly while four paths wide from fifth to make the lead after about a half-mile had been run and held that lead into the stretch, only to be run down by the winner while clearly holding second by a couple of lengths. She had been away from the races for more than10 months prior to that and won the Mistletoe Stakes right before the layoff, so it was logical she might be a bit short of 100% fit for that last effort. Likely to improve physically in her second start off the layoff and of the career-best 97 speed figure she earned last month, Mariah’s Princess may have a big say in the outcome of this race.

Center Aisle (3) has won five of 11 races in her career. She won three in a row between last October and December, earning a 102 figure in the best of that streak and closing out 2021 with a win in the Sugar Swirl Stakes at the end of the year. She returned in April and ran poorly in two straight races and took more time off. When she returned on October 9, Center Aisle was her old self and got right back into the winner’s circle with a game effort by a head after leading by two lengths. Similar to Mariah’s Princess making her second start off a layoff and leading late then settling for second, Center Aisle gave up a two length lead but held on by a head. She too is likely to be physically stronger second off the layoff and if she can run back to her career-best 102 figure effort she has a shot to earn her sixth career win in her 12^th start. 
 

Win bets:

She Can’t Sing (6) should be considered for a win bet at odds of 9 to 5 or more.

Mariah’s Princess (2) and Center Aisle (3) might be considered for win bets at 3 to 1 or higher.

Exactas:

Considering Coach (1) just finished second in a two-turn stakes on dirt following nearly 10 months off, she has potential to be part of the exacta so we’ll include her as well on this ticket as follows:

Mariah’s Princess (2), Center Aisle (3) and She Can’t Sing (6) over Coach (1), Mariah’s Princess (2), Center Aisle (3) and She Can’t Sing (6).

She Can’t Sing (6) over Coach (1), Mariah’s Princess (2) and Center Aisle (3).