Peace and War Invades for Alcibiades Upset

Peace and War prevailed in the Grade 1 Darley Alcibiades Stakes for 2-year-old fillies on Friday at Keeneland Race Course. (Coady Photography/Keeneland)
Peace and War rallied from last to first in her U.S. debut to win the $400,000 Darley Alcibiades Stakes on opening day at Keeneland Race Course on Friday.
The Alcibiades is part of the Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” Challenge Series, so the victory punched Peace and War’s ticket to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies on Nov. 1 at Santa Anita Park.
A bay filly by War Front, Peace and War got off to a slow start in the 1 1/16-mile Alcibiades, but that actually might have worked to her advantage. She raced comfortably behind a torrid pace set by Take Charge Brandi with Grade 3 winner Fashion Alert on her outside flank in the Grade 1 race for 2-year-old fillies.
Both Take Charge Brandi and Fashion Alert were out of gas by early stretch and overhauled by a wall of late-running closers. Peace and War spurted through an opening near the sixteenth pole and edged past game runner-up Top Decile to prevail by a half-length under Julien Leparoux.
“She broke slow, but they were going fast in front of us, and that helped,” Leparoux said. “She’s very nice, very relaxed and nothing seems to bother her. They brought her here to give her a test on dirt. Now, the big test will come at Santa Anita.”
Trained by Olly Stevens for Robert Levitt’s Qatar Racing, Peace and War improved to two wins from four starts. She entered the Alcibiades off a runner-up finish in England on the grass at Haydock Park.
“She had a really tough trip, but she’s always been a brave filly,” Stevens said of the Alcibiades. “I was very comfortable to have her in the rear (early), and when I saw how fast they were going, I was delighted.”
Peace and War covered 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.86 to win at 23.10-to-1 odds. She returned $48.20 for a $2 win bet.
Top Decile finished 1 ¾ lengths in front of third-place finisher Paige with Milehigh Butterfly another three-quarters of a length back in fourth. 
WORK ALL WEEK STRIKES IN PHOENIX STAKES

Photo by Coady Photography/Keeneland
Work All Week drew away in the stretch to a dominant win in the $200,000 Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix Stakes, a 6-furlong sprint that serves as a Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” race for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint.
Ridden by Florent Geroux, Work All Week pressed pacesetter Zee Bros early and took charge nearing the top of the stretch en route to a one-length victory.
Roger Brueggemann trains the City Zip gelding for owner-breeder Midwest Thoroughbreds. Work All Week improved to 11 wins from 14 career starts and has won eight of his last nine races, including five stakes wins.
“We’ll see how he comes out of this, and if he comes out good, then yes, we’ll go to California,” Richard Papiese of Midwest Thoroughbreds said when asked about the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. “[He] loves dirt – has never lost on dirt.”
Work All Week completed the 6 furlongs in 1:09 to take the Phoenix in his graded stakes debut.
For Equibase charts, click here.