Keeneland Barn Notes: Grand Sonata Returns in Elkhorn

(Grand Sonata / Photos by Coady Media)

From the Keeneland Media Team / Amy Owens:

• GRAND SONATA TOPS OVERFLOW FIELD FOR VISITLEX ELKHORN
• UNO MAS BOURBON HEADLINES FIELD OF SEVEN FOR BEN ALI
• NEXT FOR MAKER’S MARK MILE WINNER CARL SPACKLER (IRE): “THAT’S A CHAD DECISION”
• TOP CALIFORNIA JOCKEY HERNANDEZ CONTINUES WINNING WAYS AT KEENELAND
• MRS. ASTOR TOPS ROSTER OF 22 NOMINEES FOR CLOSING-DAY BEWITCH PRESENTED BY KEENELAND SALES
• SPRING MEET LEADERS
• SECOND WEEK SPECIAL EVENTS

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GRAND SONATA TOPS OVERFLOW FIELD FOR VISITLEX ELKHORN

Whisper Hill Farm’s Grand Sonata, winner of last September’s $2 million FanDuel TV Kentucky Turf Cup (G2) at Kentucky Downs, headlines a field of 12 plus one also-eligible entered Saturday for the 40th running of the $400,000 VisitLEX Elkhorn (G2) for 4-year-olds and up going 1½ miles on the grass on Saturday, April 19.

The VisitLEX Elkhorn will go as the ninth race on the 11-race program with a 5:16 p.m. post time. First post is 1 p.m.

Trained by Todd Pletcher, Grand Sonata comes into the race off a runner-up effort in the Mac Diarmida (G2) Presented by FanDuel TV on March 1 at Gulfstream Park going 1⅜ miles. Junior Alvarado has the mount from post 2.

Supplemented into the race is Andrew Farm, For the People Racing Stable and Debra O’Connor’s Verstappen, winner of the 2023 Elkhorn. Trained by Brendan Walsh, Verstappen will be ridden by Declan Cannon from post 4.

Saturday, April 19: Race 9, 5:16 p.m. — $400,000 VisitLEX Elkhorn (G2),
4-year-olds and up, 1½ miles (turf)

UNO MAS BOURBON HEADLINES FIELD OF SEVEN FOR BEN ALI

Bourbon Lane Stable and Six Column Stables’ Uno Mas Bourbon tops a field of seven entered Saturday for the 94th running of the $350,000 Ben Ali (G3) for 4-year-olds and up going 1 3/16 miles on the main track on Saturday, April 19.

The Ben Ali will go as the 10th race on the 11-race program with a 5:48 p.m. post time. First post is 1 p.m.

Trained by Ian Wilkes, who has two Grade 1 victories on his ledger for the Spring Meet, Uno Mas Bourbon won the Super Derby Presented by Cypress Solar & Roofing in his stakes debut last September. He closed 2024 with third-place finishes in the Hagyard Fayette (G2) and the Clark (G2) Presented by Norton Healthcare.

Brian Hernandez Jr. has the mount from post 7.

Saturday, April 19: Race 10, 5:48 p.m. — $350,000 Ben Ali (G3),
4-year-olds and up, 1 1/16 miles

NEXT FOR MAKER’S MARK MILE WINNER CARL SPACKLER (IRE):
“THAT’S A CHAD DECISION”

After Carl Spackler (IRE) made a spectacular return to the races with a record-setting 4¼-length victory under Flavien Prat in Friday’s Maker’s Mark Mile (G1), the question was where the 5-year-old would run next.

“That’s a (trainer) Chad (Brown) decision,” owner Bob Edwards of e Five Racing said Friday evening before jetting back to a balmier Boca Raton, Florida.

One possibility would be the $1 million Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic (G1) run at 1⅛ miles on May 3 at Churchill Downs. The Maker’s Mark Mile-Turf Classic double has been accomplished four times by three horses with the recent being Hall of Famer Wise Dan in 2013 and 2014.

The Maker’s Mark Mile represented the first start for Carl Spackler since finishing sixth in the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) Presented by PDJF on Nov. 2 at Del Mar.

“(After the Breeders’ Cup) we thought about it (of possibly retiring Carl Spackler),” Edwards said Saturday morning by phone. “He had won two Grade 1s in a row (the Fourstardave at Saratoga and the Coolmore Turf Mile at Keeneland) and it was a lot to ask.

“We gave him some time off to let him just be a horse, and he came around quickly. We thought maybe there is something left in the tank.”

In the Maker’s Mark Mile, Carl Spackler showed there was plenty in the tank when he swept past the leaders on the far turn and cruised to the victory.

“I was a little nervous because he was a little far back early,” Edwards said. “But he made that move and I knew he was back to his old form. He is more mature and we are looking to a great 2025 for him with the Breeders’ Cup as the ultimate goal.”

With Carl Spackler’s performance, e Five earned a Keeneland Tray to recognize its eighth graded stakes win at Keeneland as part of the track’s Milestone Trophy Program.

This afternoon, Brown could make another bit of Keeneland history when he sends out Resolute Racing’s Excellent Truth (IRE) in the 37th running of the $650,000 Jenny Wiley (G1) for fillies and mares.

No trainer has swept the Maker’s Mark Mile and the Jenny Wiley in the same year. Brown has saddled the Jenny Wiley winner the past three years and has six wins during the past seven years. He has a total of seven wins overall.

Prat, who rides Excellent Truth, could become the fourth rider to sweep both races in the same year with the most recent being Javier Castellano in 2019.

Maker’s Mark Mile runner-up Integration, owned by West Point Thoroughbreds and Woodford Racing, will remain in Kentucky for the time being with the Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic next “if all goes well,” said Reeve McGaughey, son of trainer Shug McGaughey.

TOP CALIFORNIA JOCKEY HERNANDEZ CONTINUES
WINNING WAYS AT KEENELAND

Jockey Juan Hernandez competed in a few races at Keeneland during the 2022 Breeders’ Cup World Championships, but he had not ridden into the Winner’s Circle here until Wednesday when he scored aboard Paradise Farms Corp. and Case Chambers’ Summer in Adriane in the finale. Hernandez picked up another victory in the final race the following day aboard Exline-Border Racing, Scott Mawaka, Estate of Brereton Jones and Aaron Kennedy’s Forty Love.

Hernandez is on something of a working vacation after finishing the Santa Anita winter meet on April 6 as leading rider for the eighth consecutive time. He has several Keeneland mounts through Sunday, then returns to his Southern California base for Santa Anita’s reopening on April 18 with plans to be back in the Bluegrass State for the Kentucky Derby (G1) Presented by Woodford Reserve and the Kentucky Oaks (G1) at Churchill Downs.

“We have a week off between race meets at Santa Anita, so my agent and I decided to come here to keep the good momentum,” he said.

Thus far Hernandez primarily has ridden for Summer in Adriane’s trainer, Mike Maker. The combination has a history of stakes success together.

“My agent, Craig O’Bryan, called Mike Maker to see if he had some horses for me,” Hernandez said. “I have ridden for him (mostly in stakes) all over the country.”

While the jockey is quick to credit the agent, the reverse also is true. After representing a stream of Racing Hall of Fame jockeys in Southern California, O’Bryan retired several years ago. But when the opportunity to book mounts for Hernandez, then based in Northern California, arose, O’Bryan unretired in 2020. Together they have consistently collected the leading jockey trophy at both Santa Anita and Del Mar.

“My agent is a big part of my success because he picks the good horses for me to ride,” Hernandez said.

The son of a Quarter Horse jockey, Hernandez grew up in Mexico and gained experience with horses and cattle on a ranch.

“I watched my dad ride, and I wanted to be like him,” he said. “I always wanted to be a jockey.”

Hernandez, 33, rode in his first race in 2009 and has since won 2,809 times from 12,853 mounts that have earned $96 million.

“Keeneland is amazing,” Hernandez said. “I am just happy to be here. My agent asked me if I am having fun and I said, ‘How can I not have fun when I am winning races at Keeneland?’ Hopefully, I will be back soon.”

MRS. ASTOR TOPS ROSTER OF 22 NOMINEES FOR CLOSING-DAY
BEWITCH PRESENTED BY KEENELAND SALES

Augustin Stable’s Mrs. Astor headlines a roster of 22 fillies and mares nominated to the 63rd running of the $350,000 Bewitch (G3) Presented by Keeneland Sales going 1½ miles on the turf on Friday, April 25, closing day of the 15-day Spring Meet.

The Bewitch Presented by Keeneland Sales is the ninth race on the 10-race program with a 4:38 p.m. ET post time. First post that afternoon will be 12:30 p.m. to accommodate the Keeneland April Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale after the races.

Trained by Jonathan Thomas, Mrs. Astor closed her 2024 campaign with victories in the Red Carpet (G3) at Del Mar and the Robert J. Frankel (G3) at Santa Anita. In her 2025 debut, Mrs. Astor was second in the Santa Ana (G3) on March 15 at Santa Anita.

Other nominees of note are Beach Bomb (SAF), a two-time Grade 3 winner last month at Gulfstream Park, and Ag Bullet, a multiple graded stakes winner.

Entries for the Bewitch Presented by Keeneland Sales will be taken Friday.

SPRING MEET LEADERS

Through April 11 (6 days of 15-day season)

SECOND WEEK SPECIAL EVENTS

Keeneland has been investing in the horse industry and the Central Kentucky community since it began racing in October 1936. Throughout the 2025 Spring Meet, special events at the track will benefit worthwhile organizations, while other activities are designed to educate and entertain racing fans.

Year-round

Official Keeneland Tours. Click here for availability and to purchase.

Through Aug.15

Keeneland Library. Located on Keeneland’s campus, Keeneland Library is presenting the free exhibit Of Turf and Stone: Keeneland Through the Ages to commemorate the 90^th anniversary of the founding of the Keeneland Association. Enjoy photographs and memorabilia in the exhibit, which coincides with 250LEX celebrations of Lexington’s 250^th anniversary this year. The Library is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. To reach the Library, enter Keeneland at Gate 1 on Keeneland Blvd. and take the first right on Entertainment Court. The Library is to the left of the Keene Barn and Entertainment Center.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday

The Hill. No ticket or reservation is required for tailgating on The Hill, located adjacent to the Keene Barn & Entertainment Center and accessible via Gate 1 (at Man o’ War Blvd.) or Gate 4 (off Van Meter Road on the east side of Keeneland). Fans can watch the racing action via a jumbo TV and place their bets in a wagering tent while they enjoy live music presented by The Burl, food trucks and handicapping assistance from BETologists. Complimentary shuttles to the track are offered.

The Hill is open from 8 a.m. to 60 minutes after the final race. Amenities are available from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

For fans who want to elevate their experience, Keeneland again is partnering with RevelXP to offer tailgate packages for groups of any size. RevelXP will organize tailgates by furnishing a designated tent, catering, amenities and more.

New this meet is the Race Day Social at The Hill located in the RevelXP Village. This exclusive space offers guests a perfect blend of comfort and excitement to enjoy the race day in style. Relax under a covered tent with plush lounge seating, enjoy classic yard games and watch live race coverage while having a catered lunch featuring local cuisine. A full bar with signature cocktails and other alcoholic beverages is available for purchase. BETologists will be on hand to provide wagering insights throughout the day. Exclusive amenities include access to private restroom trailers, comfortable seating and a premium atmosphere. The space has a capacity of 250 guests per day. Visit Keeneland.com/tailgating for full details.

Sunday, April 13

Heroes Day. Event honors members of the military (active duty and veterans), first responders, health care workers and their families. Heroes and their families will receive free general admission, reserved Grandstand seating, access to the Family Zone on the North Terrace and a complimentary meal provided by Marriot Griffin Gate. The day will have special programming on the track, including a flag rollout.

A POW-MIA Chair of Honor will be displayed near the Paddock to bring awareness to past and current POW-MIA military members through a partnership with The Rolling Thunder Kentucky Chapter 5.

Each hero is eligible to receive up to four complimentary tickets. Click here to reserve.