Wonder Wheel Takes Another Spin at Keeneland in Ashland

"People gear up and point for Keeneland," racing secretary Ben Huffman said of horsemen in advance of the April 7 opening day of the Lexington track's spring meet.

And not just for the overnight races. So, too, for the stakes action, highlighted by the Friday afternoon feature for 3-year-old fillies, the $600,000 Ashland Stakes (G1), which drew a field of seven topped by last year's champion 2-year-old filly, Wonder Wheel . Also on the card are the $400,000 Transylvania Stakes (G3T) and $400,000 Lafayette Stakes, both for 3-year-old males.

Wonder Wheel is not the only big name lured to the Ashland. The 2022 Demoiselle Stakes (G2) winner Julia Shining  is also entered in the 1 1/16-mile dirt contest, breaking alongside the graded placed Guns n' Graces  and the promising Punchbowl , an exciting winner of her two starts.

An official prep leading toward the Kentucky Oaks (G1), the Ashland provides qualifying points toward the May 5 race at Churchill Downs on a 100-40-30-20-10 scale to the top-five finishers. All seven participants in the Ashland could stand to benefit from picking up some points, even Wonder Wheel, whose 48 points have her 11th on the Kentucky Oaks Leaderboard with key preps and elevated point totals still to come from other races in New York, California, and Kentucky.

The Oaks is limited to 14 starters, with Churchill Downs officials using qualifying points as a preference system when the race is overdrawn.

Both D.J. Stable's Wonder Wheel and Stonestreet Stables' Julia Shining approach the Ashland with the same preparation, having raced in the Suncoast Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs Feb. 11 in their only race of the season. Neither filly, however, was victorious, with Wonder Wheel settling for second behind frontrunning upsetter Dreaming of Snow  and Julia Shining finishing an even-rallying third.

Video: Suncoast S. (BT)

Wonder Wheel, who stalked the pace in fourth early in the Suncoast under regular rider Tyler Gaffalione, had looked poised to run past the leader in the stretch, only to be turned back.

Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse said he was happy with her first start, noting that she was "not fully cranked" after being away following her win in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) Nov. 4 at Keeneland.

"The Suncoast was a nice race, but it wasn't our goal," he said.

He aims to see consistent improvement from the daughter of Into Mischief   in much the way that she developed toward a peak effort last fall.

"I think you're going to see a better filly on Friday in the Ashland, and then I think a month later you will see an even better filly in the Oaks," Casse said.

She is 2-for-2 at Keeneland, having also won the Alcibiades Stakes (G1) in October, and she is 4-2-0 in six overall starts with earnings of more than $1.5 million. She recorded a local workout over a half-mile March 30 after breezing at Casse Training Center in Central Florida.

"She went in :47 2/5 and looked like she went in :50," the trainer said. "She loves Keeneland."

Likely to vie for favoritism with Wonder Wheel in the Ashland is Gary and Mary West's Punchbowl, a 4 1/4-length allowance optional claiming winner March 5 at Oaklawn Park at 1 1/16 miles after a first-out victory there Feb. 11 at six furlongs. In her first route, Punchbowl ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.80, earning a 99 Equibase Speed Figure.

Wonder Wheel's top Equibase Speed Figure is a 94 and Julia Shining's a 92.

A Brad Cox-trained daughter of Uncle Mo  , Punchbowl will be ridden by Flavien Prat, who last week teamed with Cox at Oaklawn to win the Fantasy Stakes (G3) with Wet Paint  and the Arkansas Derby (G1) with Angel of Empire .

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher adds blinkers to the equipment of Julia Shining following the Curlin   filly's first defeat in the Suncoast. Curlin's offspring typically improve with distance and maturity.

Pletcher aims to win the Ashland for the third straight year, having taken it with eventual champions Malathaat  and Nest , other daughters of Curlin who won the Demoiselle as juveniles. Malathaat, Julia Shining's sister, won the 2021 Ashland in her first start of the year, while Nest captured the Ashland last year after a score in the Suncoast.

The Ashland "has been a great race for us the last few years with Malathaat and Nest going on to have very successful campaigns," Pletcher said. "It's a super prep race for the Oaks since it is in Kentucky, has grade 1 status and points for the Oaks. It is a logical place to run at the highest level. Hopefully we will be back every year."

Luis Saez rides Julia Shining.

Frankie Dettori, Javier Castellano, Irad Ortiz Jr., John Velazquez, and Joel Rosario are other high-profile jockeys riding Friday at Keeneland, with Rosario on CHP's Guns n' Graces for trainer Chad Brown. 

Regular jockeys on the Kentucky circuit are also in action throughout the day. There are 104 entries in the day's 10 races, plus 16 also-eligibles, lured by the track's vibrant atmosphere and lucrative purses. Races for older maidens are worth $100,000 for Kentucky-breds, and allowances go up to $140,000. These are comparable to those offered last fall.

Huffman also expects plentiful entries for racing April 8, when the track hosts its top Kentucky Derby (G1) prep, the $1 million Blue Grass Stakes (G1) on what is usually the track's busiest Saturday of a meet that runs through April 28.

"Strong trainers. Strong jockeys. Strong horses," Huffman said. "That's kind of what we dream about here. That's our goal: to have the best racing in North America."

Entries: Central Bank Ashland S. (G1)

Keeneland, Friday, April 07, 2023, Race 9

• Grade I
• 1 1/16m
• Dirt
• $600,000
• 3 yo Fillies
• 5:16 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Pride of the Nile (KY)	Lanfranco Dettori	121	Doug F. O'Neill	12/1
2	2Wonder Wheel (KY)	Tyler Gaffalione	121	Mark E. Casse	8/5
3	3Guns n' Graces (KY)	Joel Rosario	121	Chad C. Brown	8/1
4	4Julia Shining (KY)	Luis Saez	121	Todd A. Pletcher	3/1
5	5Punchbowl (KY)	Flavien Prat	121	Brad H. Cox	2/1
6	6Defining Purpose (KY)	Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.	121	Kenneth G. McPeek	15/1
7	7Effortlesslyelgant (KY)	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	121	Norm W. Casse	20/1