Defining Purpose Springs Ashland Upset
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Photo: Mathea Kelley
Defining Purpose (right) takes the Ashland Stakes at Keeneland
Trainer Kenny McPeek has long followed the "nothing ventured, nothing gained" maxim, a placement strategy that has led to some memorable graded stakes upsets.
In two notable examples from the Triple Crown, McPeek won the 2002 Belmont Stakes (G1) with 70-1 outsider Sarava, and more recently, the 2020 Preakness Stakes (G1) with 11-1 Swiss Skydiver , a filly who edged Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Authentic .
Before a crowd of approximately 20,000 on opening day of the Keeneland spring meet April 7, the 60-year-old trainer pulled off yet another grade 1 surprise, saddling 20-1 longshot Defining Purpose for a half-length victory over favored Punchbowl in the $600,000 Ashland Stakes (G1).
The Ashland field charges into the first turn
The gray daughter of Cross Traffic pushed fractions of :23.62, :47.25, and 1:11.64 set by Effortlesslyelgant in the 1 1/16-mile race, took command in the stretch, and fended off stalking rallies from Punchbowl and Julia Shining . The winner was timed in 1:43.31 over a fast main track.
An ungraded stakes winner late last year at Oaklawn Park, she was dismissed by bettors following two losses in 2023 over wet tracks when third in the Martha Washington Stakes and sixth in the Honeybee Stakes (G3), both also at Oaklawn. She paid $42.68 for a $2 win wager.
Defining Purpose with Brian Hernandez, Jr. in the irons after their victory in the Ashland Stakes
"When she turned for home she kicked on, and with the short stretch to the sixteenth pole, I was pretty confident in her," jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. said.
Races at 1 1/16 miles at Keeneland begin and end a sixteenth of a mile before the customary finish line, circumstances that may have worked against runner-up Punchbowl.
The 6-5 favorite, who had won both of her earlier starts against easier, was boxed in for the first six furlongs of the race before jockey Flavien Prat was able to float out Julia Shining leaving the second turn and give his filly a seam to clear racing room.
"Unfortunately I had to wait to get out," Prat said.
McPeek, who grew up in Lexington and attended college just miles away from Keeneland at the University of Kentucky, won the Ashland for the third time following earlier scores by Rosalind (2014) and Take Charge Lady (2002).
The winner's circle celebration for the Ashland Stakes
Like those two, Defining Purpose is headed 70 miles down 1-64 to Churchill Downs in Louisville in the coming weeks, aimed at the May 5 Kentucky Oaks (G1), a race McPeek has yet to win. Rosalind ran fourth in the 2014 Oaks, and Take Charge Lady was runner-up in 2002, caught in the final furlong by Farda Amiga.
"I've been second three times, which is a little frustrating," McPeek said. "But you know, you can't hit anything if you're not in it."
Defining Purpose is in it, based on Kentucky Oaks qualifying points. She earned 100 points for Friday's victory, pushing her total to 107 and placing her third on the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard heading into weekend racing. Churchill Downs officials use qualifying points as a preference system when the Oaks draws beyond its 14-horse maximum field size.
Bred in Kentucky by Colette Marie VanMatre, Defining Purpose races for her breeder, James Ball, and McPeek's Magdalena Racing. She is the first foal to race out of the Strong Hope mare Defining Hope , a multiple-stakes winner against Indiana-breds. The dam's youngest foals include a 2-year-old Runhappy filly and a Csaba filly born this year.
Defining Purpose failed to meet reserve at public auction as a short yearling when consigned by Four Star Sales to the 2021 Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale after bidding stalled at $14,000. The filly's other owners ultimately joined VanMatre to race her.
"This filly's a rags-to-riches story," McPeek said of Defining Purpose, who has now won three of seven starts and $543,688.
McPeek credited his staff, from Kentucky to Arkansas, for the filly's success.
While Defining Purpose is safely in the Kentucky Oaks, other Ashland participants may need defections to make the starting gate on the first Friday in May. Gary and Mary West's Punchbowl, in her stakes debut, picked up 40 points for second place in the Ashland, placing her 16th in the standings. Stonestreet Stables' third-place Julia Shining, a neck behind Punchbowl in third, earned 30 points, giving her 46 overall, good for 14th.
Their trainers seemed inclined to pursue the Oaks next, with Brad Cox saying of a hard-charging Punchbowl, "All I can say is she needs a mile and an eighth," a reference to the Oaks distance.
Hall of Famer trainer Todd Pletcher also seemed to think that Julia Shining will benefit from more ground. "I don't think we've seen the best of her yet. I know she'll like the additional sixteenth at Churchill," he said.
Others earning points Friday are farther down the list. Fourth-place Guns n' Graces picked up 20 points, giving her 40 points overall and ranking her 18th, and fifth-place Effortlesslyelgant picked up her first points to have 10, leaving her 30th on the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard.
Disappointing in the Ashland was second favorite Wonder Wheel , who earned no points in finishing sixth, ahead of only longshot Pride of the Nile .
"It just wasn't her day," jockey Tyler Gaffalione said.
Forty-eight earlier qualifying points tallied by Wonder Wheel, the champion 2-year-old filly of last year, could still leave her within range of qualifying for the Oaks, depending on points earned by other Oaks contenders in upcoming qualifying races. Through Friday, Wonder Wheel ranked 12th in the standings.