Keeneland notes: Anna in First Lady prep

From Keeneland

Dreaming of Anna, who has earned $2 million in her career, will meet Grade 1 winners Forever Together, Precious Kitten and Rutherienne; Grade 3 winners Bayou's Lassie, Roshani and Rosinka (IRE) and stakes winner Stormy West in Friday's $400,000 First Lady (G1) at a mile on the turf. Friday is opening day of Keeneland's fall meeting and kicks off FallStars Weekend along with the $500,000 Darley Alcibiades (G1).

Dreaming of Anna last raced on August 9 at Arlington Park, where she set the pace in the 1 3/16-mile Beverly D. (G1) and finished fourth. Precious Kitten was fifth in the race, and Rosinka was ninth.

At Keeneland on Tuesday, Dreaming of Anna worked a half-mile in :49. with trainer Wayne Catalano aboard in preparation for the First Lady.

“It was just a nice, easy half-mile work,” said Catalano about the move by the four-year-old daughter of Rahy, a homebred racing for Frank Calabrese. “She's running on Friday; we don't want to do too much.”

Asked about plans for Dreaming of Anna after the First Lady, Catalano said, “We don't know yet. We'll see how she runs and go from there.” Last year, Dreaming of Anna closed her campaign at Keeneland with a second in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (G1). This year marks Dreaming of Anna's final season of racing, Catalano said.

Winner of the 2006 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1), Dreaming of Anna was that year's champion two-year-old filly. She has won three of five starts this year with one second coming when she finished behind Bayou's Lassie in the Churchill Distaff Turf Mile (G3) in May. She has earned $2,024,550 in her career.

The field for the First Lady, from the hedge out, is as follows: Precious Kitten (R. Bejarano), Dreaming of Anna (R. Douglas), Rutherienne (G. Gomez), Roshani (J. Velazquez), Bayou's Lassie (R. Albarado), Forever Together (J. Leparoux), Rosinka (IRE) (J. Rose) and Stormy West (K. Desormeaux). All starters will carry 123 pounds.

Mani Bhaven heads Alcibiades cast

Puglisi Racing and TYB Stable’s undefeated Mani Bhavan will face six rivals Friday in the 57th running of the $500,000 Darley Alcibiades (G1) for two-year-old fillies when she shoots for her fourth consecutive victory.

Trained by Steve Klesaris, Mani Bhavan is scheduled to arrive at Keeneland on Wednesday afternoon from her home base at Fair Hill, Maryland., for the 1 1/16-mile test on the main track. The winner will earn an automatic berth in the Bessemer Trust Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) on October 24 at Santa Anita.

A Kentucky-bred daughter of Storm Boot, Mani Bhavan debuted with a 9 ¼-length victory at Delaware Park on July 12. She followed that with front-running victories in the Grade 2 Adirondack and Grade 1 Spinaway at Saratoga under jockey Alan Garcia, who will be aboard Friday.

Only two fillies in the field of seven have tried the Darley Alcibiades distance: Tim Ritchey and Blaze of Glory Stable’s Bon Jovi Girl, winner of the Fairway Stakes at Delaware on September 13 and runner-up to Mani Bhavan in her July 12 debut, and Livin the Dream Racing’s Dream Empress, who broke her maiden on the turf at Saratoga on August 22.

The field for the Darley Alcibiades, from the rail out, is as follows: Be Smart (G. Gomez, 118 pounds), Devotee (E. Coa, 118), Bon Jovi Girl (J. Caraballo, 118), August Rush (J. Garcia, 118), Mani Bhavan (A. Garcia, 118), Dream Empress (R. Albarado, 118) and Amanwella (J. Rose, 118).

Reynaldothewizard preps for Lane's End

Zabeel Racing International’s Reynaldothewizard had one of the flashiest debuts of any two-year-old this spring at Churchill Downs when he romped by 4 ¾ lengths on July 2 while covering 4 ½ furlongs in :51.51. Off that victory, Reynaldothewizard was made the favorite in the August 14 Saratoga Special (G2).

“He kind of rocked back at the start and spotted the field many lengths,” said Brian Ange, assistant to trainer Eoin Harty of the Saratoga Special in which Reynaldothewizard rallied to finish third.

Julien Leparoux, who has ridden Reynaldothewizard in both of his starts, is scheduled to be aboard again Saturday in the $500,000 Lane’s End Breeders’ Futurity (G1). On Tuesday, Reynaldothewizard worked a half-mile in :49.80 in preparation for the 1 1/16-mile test.

“He usually works bullets, but I didn’t want him to do too much this morning,” said Ange, who was with the colt here this spring prior to his debut at Churchill.

“We knew he had talent and thought he would run good, but you never know until they get that first race,” Ange said. “The funny thing about him is that he has always trained on Polytrack, but never run on it.”

While at Saratoga, Reynaldothewizard did his morning work at the Greentree Training Center, which has Polytrack.

A son of 2004 champion sprinter Speightstown, Reynaldothewizard will be stretching out to two turns for the first time on Saturday.

“We wanted to give him some extra time after his last race and I thought he might stay in New York, but they wanted to try him around two turns instead of the Champagne (G1, also on Saturday),” Ange said. “I think he can get the mile and a sixteenth.”

The work tab:

Several hopefuls for weekend stakes put in their final moves over Keeneland’s Polytrack surface Tuesday morning. Working together for trainer Bill Mott were Lane's End Breeders’ Futurity (G1) candidate Pioneerof the Nile and Juddmonte Spinster (G1) hopeful Indescribable, who covered a half-mile in :49.20. Also working for Mott was War Monger , a possible starter in the Shadwell Turf Mile (G1) on Saturday, who went a half-mile in :50.20. ... IEAH Stables’ Pictural worked five furlongs in :59.40 in advance of Saturday’s Phoenix (G3). … Stronach Stable’s Sugar Swirl, a possible starter for Saturday’s Thoroughbred Club of America (G3), worked a half-mile in :50.20. Also prepping for the TCA was Ride Em Cowgirl, who worked a half-mile in :49.40. … Jibboom, winner of the 2007 Raven Run (G2) here and nominated to the Juddmonte Spinster, worked a bullet five-eighths in :58. ... The second-fastest five-furlong work of the morning went to Breeders’ Futurity candidate Notonthesamepage (:58.40).

Galloping out ...

Transduction Gold, winner of the 2007 Sycamore (G3), is back at Keeneland after a successful West Coast stint with designs on a repeat performance in the 1 1/2-mile grass stakes on October 18.

“If he had run first or second in the Clement Hirsch (G1) last weekend, I would have left him out there at Santa Anita for the Breeders’ Cup,” said co-owner, breeder and trainer John Glenney. “He got back here Monday morning and I am looking at the Sycamore.”

Transduction Gold was second in the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap and prior to ran second in the Round Table Handicap and fourth in the Sunset Handicap (G2) at Hollywood Park.

Another homebred Glenney plans to run this meet is a two-year-old son of Pulpit named Orthodox, who scored a front-running victory last Saturday at a mile on the turf at Santa Anita.

“People were telling me I should leave him out there for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf because he was the only two-year-old to have won going two turns on the grass there,” Glenney said. “There is a mile allowance race on the grass here October 16th that I am looking at for him.”

Dreaming of Anna's year-older full brother, Lewis Michael, worked a half-mile in :50.40. Trainer Wayne Catalano said the five-year-old son of Rahy, who won the Pat O'Brien (G2) at Del Mar on August 24 in his last start, would not race at Keeneland but would train up to the Breeders' Cup.

Today's move came 10 days after Lewis Michael's last work in which he covered six furlongs in 1:10.80 at Arlington. “He worked extremely good last week, so we just gave him a little maintenance work,” Catalano said.