Doubledogdare Spices Up Keeneland Friday

By Emily Shields

The grade 3 Hilliard Lyons-Bard Doubledogdare Stakes is the highlight at Keeneland on Friday. The $100,000 race goes as the ninth of ten and featuresa field of nine older fillies and mares going 1 1/16 miles on the main track.

The race featues the return of #2 Blue Prize (Arg), a six-year-old now who was last seen contesting the Breeders’ Cup Distaff in November. She finished fourth that day, only 1 ½ lengths behind Monomoy Girl. Before that, Blue Prize was a grade 1 winner over this course, taking the Spinster Stakes here. She had won three graded stakes in Kentucky in a row heading into the Breeders’ Cup, and has only been worse than third twice in 17 career starts. The millionaire is a daughter of Pure Prize.

#1 is Jala Jala (Mex), a five-year-old daughter of Point Determined who came to the United States after spending several seasons in Mexico to kick off her career. She won her first American race, a listed stakes at Gulfstream Park, on December 8, and has been second and fifth in two graded stakes since. Her speed figures appear to fit with this group, and she has never been worse than third at the distance. Jala Jala is 13 for 25 lifetime.

#3 Electric Forest is a daughter of Curlin out of multiple graded stakes winner Forest Music. Chad Brown trains the lightly raced four-year-old, who will be making just her fifth start. She was second last out in the Rampart (G3) at Gulfstream back on December 15. Jose Ortiz will be up.

#4 Promise of Spring is trained by local trainer Steve Margolis. The daughter of Drosselmeyer was second in the Bayakoa (G3) at Oaklawn on February 18, but has worked a bullet at Churchill Downs since. Her last win was March of 2018, and she was fifth in this race last year.

#5 Moonlit Garden was third in that Bayakoa, and has been first, second, or third in 11 of 13 starts since October, 2017. She has run here twice and won over this trip last April 20.

#6 La Force (Ger) ships in from California. She was eighth in the Breeders’ Cup but is grade 1 placed having run second in three consecutive grade 1s last year. She has only won two times in 23 starts, but has been on the board 13 times.

#7 Go Google Yourself has won two in a row for trainer Paul McGee. The daughter of Into Mischief was a winner over this trip last year and has really blossomed of late. Last out she defeated comebacking Queen’s Plate winner Wonder Gadot by 1 ¼ lengths.

#8 Golden Award took four tries to break her maiden but has since won three in a row. Her last race came on January 16, but trainer Bill Mott had her primed for a bullet at Payson Park on April 12.

#9 Eqho rounds out the field. The six-year-old daughter of Giant’s Causeway has been second in three straight starts at Turfway Park and Oaklawn Park, and missed last out in the Latonia on a synthetic surface after a slow break and a late rally. 

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