Weekend Stakes Races: Grade II Jenny Wiley and La Puente Stakes

Keeneland’s top race of their meet, the Grade I Bluegrass Stakes, will be run this Saturday.  Before the running of the Grade I Bluegrass Stakes, Keeneland will showcase a number of fillies and mares on the turf in the Grade II Jenny Wiley Stakes.

The other terrific weekend stakes race, that isn’t the Bluegrass or the Arkansas Derby, occurs at Santa Anita where three year olds will take to the turf for the 1 1/8 mile La Puente Stakes.

Weekend Stakes Races

Keeneland – Race 8

Race-time:  4:55 pm EST

Grade II Jenny Wiley Stakes

$200,000

For Fillies and Mares 4 Years Old and Up

1 1/16th miles on turf

Carribean Sunset should get the perfect trip behind speedster Wasted Tears.  The rest of this field is made up of closers.  So, if Garret Gomez can keep Wasted Tears in his sights without using Sunset up too much, the daughter of Danehill Dancer should get the jump on the closers. 

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Wasted Tears might have the lead all to herself in this. The turf at Kenneland has been favoring speed.  Horseplayers shouldn’t look past the 8 to 1 morning line front-runner.  How much money has Forever Together blown for bettors in her last 3 races.  She finished 2nd as a .30 cents to the dollar favorite in the Grade II Canadian.

Then, she finished 3rd as a $1.10 cent favorite in the Grade I First Lady and finally, in her last, she finished 3rd as a $2.20 cent favorite in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf.  Forever Together will be favored again on Saturday but again she faces a slow pace in the race.

1. Carribean Sunset
2. Wasted Tears
3. Forever Together

Santa Anita – Race 8

Race-time:  7:07 pm EST

La Puente Stakes

$100,000

For Three Year Olds

1 1/8 miles on turf

Trainer David Hoffman saddles last-out maiden winner Turns My Head in the La Puente Stakes.  Turns My Head is sired by turf champion Montjeu and ridden by one of the great underrated turf riders in the United States, Brice Blanc. 

Usually, a first-out maiden winner wouldn’t be able to beat a field like this but Turns My Head has all the makings of a graded stakes grass runner.  Even the slightest improvement puts him into the winner’s circle. Dream Nettie should get a good trip right behind the speed.  Jockey Joe Talamo seems to be getting better day by day and Nettie is bred to be very good on the turf. 

He has a shot.  El Mirage King lost by 13 lengths in the Grade III Sham in his last but that could have had something to do with the surface.  El Mirage King prefers turf, which he gets in the La Puente, and could be the upset special in this race.

1. Turns My Head
2. Dream Nettie
3. El Mirage King

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