Keepmeinmind Arrives for Toyota Blue Grass

Trainer Robertino Diodoro gave Keepmeinmind the morning off Thursday after the colt arrived from Oaklawn Park at 11 p.m. Wednesday.

“He’ll go the track after 9 (Friday) morning,” Diodoro said of the Laoban colt, who is owned by Spendthrift Farm, Cypress Creek Equine and Arnold Bennewith.

Keepmeinmind’s success at Keeneland last fall was a major reason Diodoro opted to run in Saturday’s $800,000 Toyota Blue Grass (G2) instead of waiting a week for the Arkansas Derby (G1) at Oaklawn.

“The track down there at Oaklawn has been speed favoring,” Diodoro said. “We know he loved this track last year and decided to bring him back.”

Keepmeinmind finished second in the Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity (G1) and third in the TVG Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance behind Toyota Blue Grass rival Essential Quality.

In his lone 2021 start, he finished sixth in the Rebel (G2) at Oaklawn on March 13. Initially, the plan had been to start the year in the Southwest (G3), but the race was delayed twice because of weather.

“I’m from Canada and that was a true Canadian storm that hit there,” Diodoro said of the track in Hot Springs, Arkansas. “We missed 12 days of training but we got lucky in that with the barn we have, we were able to jog inside so we didn’t miss a whole lot. It was just disappointing planning to run and not being able to.”