From the Keeneland Media Team / Amy Owens:

  • MI BAGO HEADLINES OVERFLOW FIELD FOR FRIDAY’S TRANSYLVANIA PRESENTED BY KEENELAND SELECT ON OPENING DAY OF THE SPRING MEET

  • SWALE WINNER GATE TO WIRE TOPS FIELD OF EIGHT FOR FRIDAY’S LAFAYETTE

  • PROSPECTIVE OPENING WEEKEND STAKES FIELDS

 MI BAGO HEADLINES OVERFLOW FIELD
FOR FRIDAY’S TRANSYLVANIA PRESENTED BY KEENELAND SELECT
ON OPENING DAY OF THE SPRING MEET

Gary Barber’s Mi Bago, riding a three-race win streak, headlines a field of 12 3-year-olds plus four also-eligibles entered Monday for Friday’s 37th running of the $600,000 Transylvania (G3) Presented by Keeneland Select.

The 1 1/16-mile grass test will be run as the eighth race on Friday’s 10-race program with a 4:44 p.m. ET post time. First post is 1 p.m.

Trained by Mark Casse, Mi Bago was a frontrunning, 4¾-length winner of the Colonel Liam (L) at Gulfstream Park on March 1. Prior to that, Mi Bago won the Dania Beach (L) and Pulpit (L) at Gulfstream. Irad Ortiz Jr., who was aboard for the Colonel Liam victory, has the call Friday from post 11.

Returning to the grass for the first time since winning the Cecil B. DeMille (G3) at Del Mar on Dec. 1 is Mrs. Fitriani Hay’s Clock Tower.

Trained by Wesley Ward, Clock Tower has two victories and a third-place finish in three starts on the grass. Gerardo Corrales has the mount from post 10.

Trainer Rob Atras, who won last year’s Transylvania Presented by Keeneland Select with Neat, returns with three-time stakes winner Chasing Liberty. Owned by the partnership of Twin Creeks Racing Stables and CMNWLTH, Chasing Liberty recorded his most recent victory in the Texas Turf Mile in January, the same race Neat won a year ago. Luis Saez has the mount from post 1.


Field for the $600,000 Transylvania Presented by Keeneland Select,
1 1/16 miles (turf), Race 8, 4:44 p.m.:

Post Horse Trainer Jockey Weight
1 Chasing Liberty Rob Atras Luis Saez 118 lbs.
2 Reagan’s Wit Cherie DeVaux Jose Ortiz 118
3 Golden Afternoon Nick Vaccarezza Joel Rosario 118
4 Maui Strong Dale Romans Vincent Cheminaud 118
5 Sabertooth Brittany Russell Brian Hernandez Jr. 118
6 Versus Kelly Breen Luan Machado 118
7 Test Score Graham Motion Manny Franco 118
8 Scipio Richard Baltas Flavien Prat 118
9 Tom’s Magic Mike Stidham Ben Curtis 118
10 Clock Tower Wesley Ward Gerardo Corrales 118
11 Mi Bago Mark Casse Irad Ortiz Jr. 118
12 Hammerhead Chad Summers Luca Panici 118
AE/13 Barricade Todd Pletcher Irad Ortiz Jr. 118
AE/14 Septarian Chad Brown Dylan Davis 118
AE/15 Pretty Capable Tom Amoss Edgar Morales 118
AE/16 Valentinian Todd Pletcher John Velazquez 118

SWALE WINNER TOPS FIELD OF EIGHT FOR FRIDAY’S LAFAYETTE

Donegal Racing’s Gate to Wire, 5-length winner of the Swale (L) at Gulfstream Park going 7 furlongs in February, heads a field of eight 3-year-olds entered Monday for Friday’s 77th running of the $400,000 Lafayette (L).

The Lafayette, run at 7 furlongs on the main track, will go as the afternoon’s seventh race with a 4:12 p.m. ET post time. First post is 1 p.m.

Trained by Todd Pletcher, Gate to Wire returns to a sprint distance following a fifth-place finish in the Coolmore Fountain of Youth (G2) going 1 1/16 miles. Dylan Davis has the mount from post 5.

Another stakes-winning Florida invader in the Lafayette is St. George Stable’s Rolando. Trained by Fausto Gutierrez, Rolando won the 6-furlong Hutcheson on March 15 at Gulfstream. Irad Ortiz Jr. has the mount from post 8.

Field for the $400,000 Lafayette (L), 3-year-olds, 7 furlongs, Race 7, 4:12 p.m.:

Post Horse Trainer Jockey Weight
1 Gunmetal Brad Cox Flavien Prat 118 lbs.
2 Colloquial George Weaver Manny Franco 118
3 Smoken Wicked Dallas Stewart Brian J. Hernandez Jr. 118
4 Touchy Wesley Ward Joel Rosario 118
5 Gate to Wire Todd Pletcher Dylan Davis 118
6 Itsmybirthday Robertino Diodoro Jose Ortiz 118
7 One True Shance Eddie Kenneally Luis Saez 118
8 Rolando Fausto Gutierrez Irad Ortiz Jr. 118

 

PROSPECTIVE OPENING WEEKEND STAKES FIELDS

Entries taken Tuesday; races Saturday

$1,250,000 TOYOTA BLUE GRASS (G1) – Burnham Square (Ian Wilkes), Caldera (D. Wayne Lukas), Chancer McPatrick(Chad Brown), East Avenue (Brendan Walsh), Owen Almighty (Brian Lynch), Render Judgment (Kenny McPeek), River Thames (Todd Pletcher).

$650,000 RESOLUTE RACING MADISON (G1) – Dazzling Move (Saffie Joseph Jr.), Emery (Brad Cox), Justique (Cherie DeVaux), Mystic Lake (Joseph Jr.), Scylla (Bill Mott). Possible: Royal Spa (Rodolphe Brisset).

$500,000 APPALACHIAN (G2) PRESENTED BY JAPAN RACING ASSOCIATION – Foxtastic (Josie Carroll), Lush Lips (GB) (Walsh), Nitrogen (Mark Casse), Totally Justified (Rusty Arnold), Vixen (Casse). Possible: Good Temper (Will Walden), Presha (Walden), Ramsey Pond (Joseph Jr.).

$400,000 VALVOLINE GLOBAL SHAKERTOWN (G2) – Arzak (Mike Trombetta), Coppola (Dale Romans), Our Shot (John P. Terranova II), Petcoff (Brittany Russell), Rogue Lightning (IRE) (Tom Clover), Think Big (Mike Stidham). Possible:Arrest Me Red (Wesley Ward), Mountain Bear (IRE) (Ward), Run Carson (Kelsey Danner), Shards (Danner).

$350,000 COMMONWEALTH (G3) – Best Actor (Ed Moger Jr.), Extra Anejo (Steve Asmussen), Hoist the Gold (Dallas Stewart), Nutella Fella (Gary Contessa), Prince of Power (Jesus Esquivel).

Entries taken Tuesday; races Sunday

$400,000 MIDDLEGROUND CAPITAL BEAUMONT (G2) – G W’s Girl (Greg Compton), Verity (Eoin Harty). Possible:Eclatant (Cox).

$300,000 PALISADES  (L) – Flat to Da Mat (Mike Maker), Makeit to Cheyenne (Joe Orseno), Out On Bail (Maker). Possible: Brie’s in Town (John Ennis), Warheart (Brisset).