Morticia Faces Tough Franklin County Field

G. Watts Humphrey Jr.'s ever-consistent turf sprinter Morticia is slated to face a deep field of 13 other fillies and mares Oct. 11 in the $150,000 Buffalo Trace Franklin County Stakes (G3T) at Keeneland. She got her first graded score in the race two years ago and enters Friday's edition after picking up her second graded win at Kentucky Downs.

"She came out of it good. She's acted good. She's trained well at Keeneland. She likes it there—that's her home," trainer Rusty Arnold said. "Everything's going into the race well."

The 5 1/2-furlong Franklin County comes after a wire-to-wire effort in the Sept. 7 Spendthrift Farm Ladies Sprint Stakes (G3T). She remained clear by 1 3/4 lengths to complete 6 1/2 furlongs in a snappy 1:15.85. That victory left the 5-year-old Twirling Candy  mare with $989,669 in earnings—closing the gap on $1 million—and a 10-6-5 record from 25 starts.

"She's carrying a lot of weight, and it's a very, very tough field," Arnold said. "It's going to be a whole lot different race than at Kentucky Downs."

Morticia, an eight-time stakes winner, has been assigned the highweight of 124 pounds, spotting her rivals two to six pounds. Jockey Tyler Gaffalione returns to ride from post 3.

"She's been steady. You get a lot of them that tail off," said Arnold, who has trained Morticia since her first start at 2. "I see Blue Prize (is) at the top of her game at the end of her 6-year-old year, and she won a grade 1 (the Juddmonte Spinster Stakes) a second time, so it can happen. (Morticia)'s a very, very sound filly—knock on wood—she's happy, and she shows up every time you run her. I think she's missed being (on) the board one time in her life, and it was her only dirt start."

Video: Spendthrift Farm Ladies Sprint S. (G3T)

There will be plenty of competition for Morticia in the Franklin County, which has a full field and two also-eligibles waiting to draw in. An intriguing newcomer to the Kentucky racing circuit is Hugh Robertson's Hotshot Anna, who defended her Presque Isle Downs Masters Stakes (G2) title last out Sept. 16.

Though the 5-year-old Trappe Shot  mare's biggest victories have come on the all-weather surface, Hotshot Anna has a 2-1-1 record from six races on grass. On Aug. 3, she won over Arlington International Racecourse's lawn going five furlongs in allowance optional claiming company.

Morticia will also face familiar rivals. The respective second- and third-place Ladies Sprint finishers, Christopher Johnson's A Little Bit Me and Team Valor International's Oleksandra, will return in the Franklin County.

Johnson claimed A Little Bit Me for $40,000 at the allowance level in November, and she went on to win the Unbridled Sidney Stakes in May, edging Morticia by a neck.

Oleksandra defeated Morticia two starts back, rallying from seventh to win the Aug. 17 Smart N Fancy Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. Morticia was fourth in that effort, her lone finish out of the top three in seven starts this year.

Colts Neck Stables' homebred Goldwood has won five consecutive stakes with early speed since May. Four of those victories came at Monmouth Park, and she last won the Sept. 21 Sensible Lady Turf Dash Stakes at Laurel Park. She has a 5-2-0 record from seven starts at 5 1/2 furlongs.

Triton Stable, Brian Chenvert, and Eddie Kenneally's Girls Know Best will try to make it three wins in a row. She kept Morticia at bay to win the Abudantia Stakes at Gulfstream Park in December, then returned from a nine-month layoff Sept. 15 to lead every step of a five-furlong turf allowance at Churchill Downs.

Entries: Buffalo Trace Franklin County S. (G3T)

Keeneland, Friday, October 11, 2019, Race 9

• Grade IIIT
• 5 1/2f
• Turf
• $150,000
• 3 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
• 5:30 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Violent Times (PA)	Jose L. Ortiz	120	Ralph E. Nicks	10/1
2	2Oleksandra (AUS)	Joel Rosario	120	Neil D. Drysdale	5/1
3	3Morticia (KY)	Tyler Gaffalione	124	George R. Arnold, II	9/2
4	4Stillwater Cove (KY)	Victor Espinoza	118	Wesley A. Ward	12/1
5	5Hotshot Anna (KY)	David Cohen	122	McLean Robertson	8/1
6	6Miss Gossip (IRE)	Miguel Mena	120	Eduardo Caramori	15/1
7	7Rocky Policy (MD)	James Graham	120	Robert B. Hess, Jr.	15/1
8	8A Little Bit Me (KY)	John R. Velazquez	120	Richard Baltas	8/1
9	9Beechwood Ella (IRE)	Julien R. Leparoux	118	Patrick L. Biancone	30/1
10	10Goldwood (KY)	Jose C. Ferrer	120	Jorge Duarte, Jr.	8/1
11	11Girls Know Best (KY)	Corey J. Lanerie	120	Eddie Kenneally	6/1
12	12Painting Corners (FL)	Javier Castellano	120	Peter Miller	8/1
13	13Ruby Notion (WV)	Florent Geroux	120	Darrin Miller	30/1
14	14Change of Control (KY)	Gabriel Saez	118	Michelle Lovell	30/1
15	15La Dame Blanche (KY)	Chris Landeros	120	Ian R. Wilkes	30/1
16	16Take These Chains (IRE)	Declan Cannon	120	Ben Colebrook	30/1