Heywoods Beach Looking to Go Long at Keeneland

Lost in the mega-ton wattage of the spotlight that shines on John Sadler trainee Flightline  is the solid year had by another one of his pupils.

While Heywoods Beach  doesn't have the same sort of eye-catching results (2-0-0 in four starts this year) that spark conversations that begin with rarely used superlatives, he is primed to show what he can do in the long run. That is, in the 1 5/8-mile, $350,000 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Stakes (G2) at Keeneland Nov. 4.

Of the 10 3-year-olds and up in the field, Heywoods Beach is the only one to have won a race at a distance of 1 1/2 miles this year. That's something he's done twice. 

"He's shown himself very well this year," Sadler said. "He's won two of those mile-and-a-half races. So this is my one and five-eighths, even a little further. So we hope he's good with the distance. He's a nice horse, a nice hard-trying horse. So we think he should be in good shape. He had a decent work over the track."

Heywoods Beach's first 1 1/2-mile triumph came July 24 at Del Mar in the Cougar II Stakes (G3). More recently, his last time out, the son of Speightstown   won the Oct. 2 Tokyo City Cup Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita Park. On that day, he edged out fellow Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Stakes competitor Win the Day  by a neck. 

With 4-1 odds, Heywoods Beach comes in as the third choice. Leading the way are Rattle N Roll  (5-2) and Bal Harbour  (7-2). 

Rattle N Roll, bred by St. Simon Place and owned by Lucky Seven Stable, comes in, um, rolling. The 3-year-old Connect   colt out of the Johannesburg  mare Jazz Tune has won two in a row and three of the last four. Most recently, he took the Oklahoma Derby (G3) Sept. 25 at Remington Park. He is trained by Kenny McPeek.

First Samurai   gelding Bal Harbour is one of the more experienced horses in the race. He is 6-5-9 in 32 starts and most recently won a claiming race at Saratoga Race Course where he was claimed for $50,000 by his new connections. Now owned by John Holleman and trained by Robertino Diodoro, Bal Harbour has only ran twice this year.

Rounding out the field are Win the Day (6-1), Always Above  (8-1), Sheriff Brown  (10-1), Next  (15-1), Claytnthelionheart  (20-1), Cupid's Claws  (20-1), and Kazan  (30-1).

As for what is in store after the race for Heywoods Beach, who is owned by Hronis Racing and was bred by SF Bloodstock, Sadler said the eyes are already looking at 2023. 

"We'll give them one more run, then we'll put them away in the winter, you know, for a campaign next year," Sadler said. 

Entries: Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance S. (G2)

Keeneland, Friday, November 04, 2022, Race 5

• Grade II
• 1 5/8m
• Dirt
• $350,000
• 3 yo's & up
• 2:15 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Rattle N Roll (KY)	Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.	118	Kenneth G. McPeek	5/2
2	2Next (KY)	Luan Machado	122	William D. Cowans	15/1
3	3Cupid's Claws (KY)	Manuel Franco	122	Mark E. Casse	20/1
4	4Heywoods Beach (KY)	Ramon A. Vazquez	124	John W. Sadler	4/1
5	5Sheriff Brown (KY)	Florent Geroux	122	Todd W. Fincher	10/1
6	6Bal Harbour (KY)	Luis Saez	122	Robertino Diodoro	7/2
7	7Kazan (IRE)	Reylu Gutierrez	122	Jonathan Wong	30/1
8	8Claytnthelionheart (KY)	Julien R. Leparoux	122	Philip A. Bauer	20/1
9	9Win the Day (KY)	Umberto Rispoli	118	Doug F. O'Neill	6/1
10	10Always Above (KY)	Joseph Talamo	118	Michelle Nihei	8/1