Percy’s Bar works ‘bullet’ half-mile in 47 for KY Oaks

• CENTRAL BANK ASHLAND WINNER PERCY’S BAR RETURNS TO WORK TAB TO PREPARE FOR KENTUCKY OAKS
• GREAT WHITE POINTED AT PAT DAY MILE WHILE ENNIS WATCHES KENTUCKY DERBY DEFECTIONS
• DESVIO GOES FOR KEENELAND FIRST IN SATURDAY’S VISITLEX ELKHORN
• PROSPECTIVE FIELD FOR CLOSING-DAY BEWITCH PRESENTED BY KEENELAND SALES
• THIRD WEEK SPECIAL EVENTS
• SPRING MEET LEADERS

************************

Today’s Keeneland barn notes by the track’s publicity team (Coady Media/John Gallagher photo above of Percy’s Bar winning the G1 Central Bank Ashland)

CENTRAL BANK ASHLAND WINNER PERCY’S BAR RETURNS TO WORK TAB
TO PREPARE FOR KENTUCKY OAKS

Hat Creek’s Racing’s Percy’s Bar, winner of the opening-day Central Bank Ashland (G1), ramped up her preparations for the $1.5 million Kentucky Oaks (G1) by working a half-mile in :47 over a fast track at Keeneland Thursday morning. The time was the fastest for 30 works at the distance this morning.

Click here for a video of the work.

Working on her own at 9 a.m. — after the second morning renovation period — with jockey Luan Machado up, Percy’s Bar produced fractions of :12.20, :23.40, :35.40, :47 and out five-eighths in :59.60.

“It was a good work and she did it well within herself,” trainer Ben Colebrook said while flashing a thumbs up. “I am not worried about her bouncing off the layoff. We thought the best route (to get to the Kentucky Oaks) was to get the one prep and move on from there.”

Percy’s Bar’s victory in the Central Bank Ashland came after a five-month layoff from her troubled third-place finish in the NetJets Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Del Mar.

“Everything has all worked out,” Colebrook said. “She has gained weight and started to fill out. It is everything we hoped for.”

Colebrook plans to take Percy’s Bar to Churchill Downs on April 25. She won the Debutante (L) there last summer in her second start.

In the interim, Percy’s Bar might have one more work at Keeneland.

“Maybe. She’ll tell me, but I’ll do something with her,” Colebrook said. “If I do work, I may put her with horses in front of her or she’ll have an open gallop.”

GREAT WHITE POINTED AT PAT DAY MILE WHILE ENNIS WATCHES
KENTUCKY DERBY DEFECTIONS

Trainer John Ennis reported Thursday morning that Great White, who he owns in partnership with Three Chimneys Farm, “came out of the Toyota Blue Grass (G1) better than he went in.”

Fifth in the Toyota Blue Grass in his dirt track debut, Great White is being pointed to the $750,000 Pat Day Mile (G2) Presented by SAP on May 2.

May 2 also happens to be the day of the $5 million Kentucky Derby (G1) Presented by Woodford Reserve. The race is limited to 20 starters with up to four also-eligibles from the top point earners and invitees that pass the entry box on April 25. Great White stands 28th on the points list with several horses ahead of him and no guarantees he’ll be in the Run for the Roses.

“There have already been some defections, so we’ll see,” Ennis said.

DESVIO GOES FOR KEENELAND FIRST IN SATURDAY’S VISITLEX ELKHORN

Stonelea Stable and Bonnie Rye Stable’s Desvio is scheduled to arrive at Keeneland Thursday afternoon for a shot at track history Saturday in the 41st running of the $400,000 VisitLEX Elkhorn (G2). Winner of the Sycamore (G2) here last fall, Desvio will attempt to become the first horse to win the Sycamore and come back the following spring and win the Elkhorn. Both races are at 1½ miles on the turf.

“He will go to the track Friday morning and walk through the Paddock with a pony,” trainer Madison Meyers said via text. John Velazquez will have the mount from post 2 on Saturday.

Velazquez was aboard last fall when Desvio lit up the toteboard with a $70.90 win payoff for $2 to give Meyers, a Lexington native, her first graded stakes victory. It was the highest stakes payoff of the Fall Meet.

Desvio followed his Sycamore triumph with a third-place finish three weeks later in the Red Smith (G2) to complete his 4-year-old campaign.

“The Elkhorn was the plan all along, but after such a rough winter (in Virginia) I wasn’t sure we’d have him ready in time,” Meyers said of returning in the Elkhorn. “He has come to hand very quickly, much quicker than I expected, so we are happy with where we are.”

Desvio returned to the work tab March 11 at the Middleburg Training Center, where he had four works before a half-mile breeze at Laurel last Thursday.

“I have a barn at Laurel, so I sent him up to work over the deeper track so I could really get a line on him,” Meyers said. “He worked very well (:48.80) and kept galloping out, cooled out like it was nothing, so here we are.”

PROSPECTIVE FIELD FOR CLOSING-DAY BEWITCH
PRESENTED BY KEENELAND SALES

Entries Taken Friday. Race Friday, April 24

Dona Clota (CHI) (trainer Saffie Joseph Jr.), Golden Sunshine (Eoin Harty), Just Basking (Ian Wilkes), Mrs. Astor (Jonathan Thomas), Venencia (FR) (Joseph Jr.), Way to Be Marie (Eddie Kenneally). Possible: Literate (Brad Cox), Sarawak Rim (ARG)(Rusty Arnold).

THIRD WEEK SPECIAL EVENTS

Year-round

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

Keeneland Library is presenting the free exhibit Raices: The Making of Latino Legacies in Racing, which highlights 100 trailblazing Latino men and women whose contributions have shaped Thoroughbred racing and breeding from the late 1800s to today.

The Library is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Enter Keeneland at Gate 1 on Keeneland Blvd. and take the first right on Entertainment Ct. The Library is to the left of the Keene Barn and Entertainment Center.

Spring Meet

The Keeneland Shop isopen from 9 a.m. to 30 minutes following the final race and on Mondays and Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. On race days, Milliners Corner, Wagering Central and Finish Line locations will be open. 

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). 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. 

Saturday

Jockey Autograph Signing. Fans will meet active and retired Keeneland riders and Hall of Famers in an event that benefits the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF), which is celebrating its 20^th anniversary. Hats, posters, goggles and autograph books that can be signed will be available for purchase; personal items may be signed with a donation to PDJF. The event is on the North Terrace from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The Racetracks of America Book Signing. The first comprehensive chronicle of its kind, The Racetracks of America: From the Pre-Civil War Days to the 21st Century is an image-packed compendium of past and present U.S. race tracks with contributions by the top writers in Thoroughbred racing. Meet the book’s developers from the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame and Keeneland Library and purchase a copy while supplies last. All proceeds from book sales at Keeneland will benefit the Keeneland Library Foundation. Book signing will take place outside The Keeneland Shop from noon to 4 p.m.

PDJF Telethon Presented by Lane’s End. Racing Hall of Fame riders, leading active jockeys and racing personalities will take part in the eighth annual fundraiser. Keeneland will hold a call center in the Limestone Café in the Sales Pavilion. The event will be broadcast on both FanDuel TV and America’s Day at the Races on the Fox Sports family of networks and be streamed on tvg.com. Fans can participate by calling 1 844 884-7353 from 12:30-6 p.m. or by donating directly at https://pdjf.org/donate/.

Sunday

Kids Club Family Day Presented by Golisano Children’s at UK. The Keeneland Kids Club is the Official Kids Club for Keeneland fans ages 12 and under. Children 12 and under receive free general admission (no ticket required); Kids Club members may reserve up to two complimentary general admission tickets for accompanying adults in advance of the event. Access to reserved grandstand seating in Sections A, B & C is also available. Children’s activities in the North Terrace from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. will include face painting, sweet treats and activities with such local community partners as Amplify Horse Racing, Golisano Children’s at UK, LexArts and The Salvation Army. Sign up for the Kids Club at Keeneland.com/kidsclub.

SPRING MEET LEADERS

Through April 15 (8 days of 15-day season)

Rusty Arnold, Bill Mott and Wesley Ward have 5 wins apiece.