Emirates Road First of Two Wins for Dam at Keeneland

This column highlights the performances of maidens who have made no more than five starts and who either sold for more than $500,000 at public auction, have siblings that are grade/group winners, or have dams that are grade/group winners. BloodHorse research shows maiden winners in particular who meet these criteria are more likely to go on to be graded stakes winners.

Keeneland 

Trainer Brendan Walsh had a red-letter day at Keeneland April 9, winning four on the card, including two graded stakes even though the weather was frigid and wet. The day started with Emirates Road , the half brother to Prevalence  who later won the Commonwealth Stakes (G3), taking race 2 in just his second start.

Ridden by Tyler Gaffalione, Emirates Road raced in eighth early in the seven-furlong maiden test for 3-year-olds. He improved his position as a half-mile went in :45.59, and by the time the leader Maqamat  backed up and Bourbon Heist  took over to post six furlongs in 1:10.70, Emirates Road was closing quickly in second. The Quality Road   colt finished a length in front in a final time of 1:23.91 on a sealed, sloppy track.

Like Prevalence, Emirates Road is a homebred for Godolphin out of the Ghostzapper   mare Enrichment, a full sister to grade 1 winner Better Lucky . Enrichment also produced 2019 UAE Two Thousand Guineas Sponsored By Al Naboodah Ashok Leyland Partnership (G3) winner Estihdaaf . The sibling's third dam is 1995 Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) winner Desert Stormer.

The following day Darley Alcibiades (G1) runner-up Distinctlypossible  broke her maiden in a 1 1/16-mile maiden test for 3-year-old fillies on the Keeneland main track for trainer Chad Brown.

The daughter of Curlin   and grade 2 winner Funny Proposition  (Medaglia d'Oro  ) had finished second in her Aug. 29 debut as a 2-year-old at Saratoga Race Course and then finished 4 1/4 lengths behind the winner in the Oct. 8 Alcibiades. Sunday's win marked Distinctlypossible's return to the track.

Under jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., Distinctlypossible stalked the leaders from fourth early on after being bumped at the start, she ranged closer on the far turn and closed to finish 1 1/4 lengths in front in a final time of 1:45.99 on a fast track.

Distinctlypossible was bred by John C. Oxley and sold to Bradley Thoroughbreds, who now campaigns her with a handful of partners. De Meric Sales made a successful pinhook of the filly, buying her for $200,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale and reselling her to Bradley for $670,000 at the Ocala Breeders' Sale Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training.

Later in the day, Trending  displayed ample turn of foot to win his fourth start for trainer Shug McGaughey. The Uncle Mo   colt, owned by Andrew Rosen, had three races at Gulfstream Park since January, but the move to Keeneland paid off in a 1 3/16-mile turf test for 3-year-olds.

Trending rated in third under jockey Jose Ortiz and swept past the leaders in the stretch to post a 2 1/2-length score in a final time of 1:56.28 on a course labeled good. He was followed home by longshot Determined Gold , another with a graded stakes-winning dam.

Bred by AR Enterprises, Trending is out of the graded 3-winning Bernardini  mare Theyskens' Theory .

On Keeneland's opening day, Thorndale Stable's Lavish Habits  won her third start for trainer Jeff Hiles, taking a 1 3/16-mile maiden special weight for 3-year-old fillies on the turf by a half-length.

The Flintshire   filly had finished off the board in her Jan. 30 debut at Gulfstream Park and then returned to the same track to place third Feb. 27 before taking Friday's test at the Lexington track.

Under James Graham, Lavish Habits was ninth in the 12-horse field as a quarter-mile went in :23.79, then moved up into seventh and then sixth through six furlongs in 1:14.12. Graham waited for racing room coming into the stretch, but ended up five wide. With a strong rally, Lavish Habits came home in 1:57.81 on a course labeled good.

Bred by Thorndale, Lavish Habits is out of the Gold Case mare Wicked Wish, the dam of millionaire and multiple graded stakes winner Rated R Superstar .

Sam Houston 

Crawford Farms Racing and Stonestreet Stables' Malibu Kendall  won her fourth start Friday for trainer Steve Asmussen, taking a one-mile maiden race for fillies and mares at Sam Houston Race Park.

The Curlin filly defeated a field of six others after rating in third and then battling gamely through the stretch to win by three-quarters of a length in a final time of 1:42.50 on a fast track.

Bred by Mike Abraham, Malibu Kendall is out of the Awesome Again mare Issues , the dam of Accelerate  , who counts the 2018 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) among his five grade 1 victories.