Transylvania Marks 2017 Debut for Oscar Performance
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Photo: Skip Dickstein
Oscar Performance scores in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf
Amerman Racing Stables homebred Oscar Performance is entered for his 2017 debut in the $150,000 Transylvania Stakes Presented by Keeneland Select (G3T) April 7 at Keeneland, in what will mark the first start for the Kitten's Joy ridgling since winning last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T) at Santa Anita Park.
The 1 1/16-mile Transylvania for 3-year-olds on the turf is the featured race on opening day of the spring meet. It has attracted nine entries.
Trained by Brian Lynch, Oscar Performance closed out his 2-year-old season with three straight wins on turf. He won a maiden special weight at Saratoga Race Course by 10 1/4 lengths before taking the Pilgrim Stakes (G3) at Belmont Park by six lengths. Those races set up his 1 1/4-length score in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.
Each of those three wins saw Oscar Performance race on or near the lead. In preparing for his 3-year-old debut, Oscar Performance has worked nine times at Palm Meadows Training Center since Feb. 2. A highlight in those steady breezes was a March 25 move where he earned the bullet by completing five furlongs in :59.
The Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf fourth-place finisher, Woodford Racing's Ticonderoga, returns to the Keeneland turf where the son of Tapit finished second in last fall's Dixiana Bourbon Stakes (G3).
Trained by Chad Brown, Ticonderoga receives the benefit of a prep race. He rallied from eighth to win the Palm Beach Stakes (G3T) March 4 on the Gulfstream Park turf, securing his first stakes win.
Other stakes winners in the field include George Krikorian homebred Big Score, Lothenbach Stables' Sonic Boom, and Head of Plaines Partners and Cheyenne Stables' Cowboy Culture.
Transylvania S. Presented by Keeneland Select (G3T)
Keeneland, Friday, April 07, 2017, Race 9
- 1 1/16m
- Turf
- $150,000
- 3 yo
- 5:30 PM (local)
| PP | Horse | Jockey | Wgt | Trainer | M/L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1Profiteer (KY) | John R. Velazquez | 120 | Claude R. McGaughey III | 5/1 |
| 2 | 2Makarios (KY) |
Nik Juarez | 118 | Nicholas P. Zito | 20/1 |
| 3 | 3Big Score (KY) | Javier Castellano | 123 | Tim Yakteen | 5/1 |
| 4 | 4Oscar Performance (KY) | Jose L. Ortiz | 123 | Brian A. Lynch | 9/5 |
| 5 | 5Ticonderoga (KY) |
Joel Rosario | 120 | Chad C. Brown | 3/1 |
| 6 | 6Sonic Boom (KY) |
Julien R. Leparoux | 120 | Ian R. Wilkes | 6/1 |
| 7 | 7Dahog (KY) | Arienne Cox | 123 | Wayne W. Rice | 50/1 |
| 8 | 8Cowboy Culture (KY) |
Florent Geroux | 118 | Brad H. Cox | 10/1 |
| 9 | 9Holiday Stone (KY) |
Luis Saez | 118 | George Weaver | 12/1 |