Buy TicketsWhisper 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.
Neat nips Cugino by a nose to win Transylvania Presented by Keeneland Select
Red, White and Blue Racing’s Neat got his nose on the wire just in time to edge Cugino to win the 36th running of the $397,263 Transylvania (G3) Presented by Keeneland Select for 3-year-olds.
Trained by Rob Atras and ridden by Rey Gutierrez, Neat completed the mile and sixteenth over a turf course labeled as good in 1:44.93. Neat provided Atras and Gutierrez with their initial Keeneland stakes victory.
Neat led the field of 12 into the first turn, but by the time the field reached the backstretch, Musical Act (IRE) had surged to the front with a three-wide move chased by Cugino. While those two battled it out on the front end through a half-mile in :48.78 and 6 furlongs in 1:13.53, Neat was receiving a ground-saving trip from Gutierrez.
Inside the sixteenth pole, Musical Act began to fade and Neat moved to his outside for a clear run and caught Cugino at the finish line.
A Keeneland sales graduate, Neat is a Kentucky-bred son of Constitution out of the More Than Ready mare Orabella. Now a winner of four of six starts, Neat bankrolled $226,300 with the victory to increase his earnings to $347,900.
Neat returned mutuels of $28.82, $14.90 and $11.14. Cugino, ridden by Javier Castellano, returned $7.64 and $5.78 and finished a half-length in front of Lagynos, who paid $17.02 to show under Cristian Torres.
It was another length back to Lord Bullingdon, who was followed in order by Musical Act, Can Group, Depiction, Guy Named Joe, First World War, Full Nelson, Oscar’s World and Tennessee.
Glengarry goes wire to wire to win Lafayette
Aaron Kennedy, Toby Joseph and trainer Doug Anderson’s Glengarry took the lead out of the gate and never was headed in winning the 76th running of the $320,050 Lafayette for 3-year-olds by 3½ lengths.
Ridden by Luis Saez, Glengarry completed the 7 furlongs on the fast main track in 1:22.91.
Glengarry immediately went to the front and maintained a length advantage over Doncho with favored Booth just to the outside of Doncho. The top three raced in that order until the top of the stretch when Glengarry began to draw clear.
Glengarry is an Iowa-bred son of Maximus Mischief out of the Tizway mare L.A. Way. Now a two-time stakes winner at Keeneland, having taken the Bowman Mill last fall at 6 furlongs, Glengarry has a record of 5-4-1-0 and earnings of $418,851 that includes Friday’s $181,350 check.
Glengarry returned payoffs of $13.56, $5.22 and $3.80. Who Dey, ridden by John McKee, rallied to get second and returned $5.52 and $3.68 and finished a length in front of Frosty Indulgence, who paid $8.56 to show under Adam Beschizza.
It was another length back to Doncho, who was followed in order by Booth, Baytown Chatterbox and Bolt At Midnight.
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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.