Spendthrift Farm's Tommy Jo improved to 3-for-3 in capturing the $650,000 Alcibiades Stakes (G1) on opening day of the fall meet Oct. 3 at Keeneland, though only after a five-minute stewards' inquiry and the disqualification of the first-across-the-wire finisher, Percy's Bar.
The six-horse race for 2-year-old fillies essentially proved to be a two-horse contest from start to finish between Percy's Bar, the distant runner-up to Tommy Jo in the Aug. 30 Spinaway Stakes (G1), and Tommy Jo, the 2-5 favorite. The rail-drawn Percy's Bar, in a change of style from her three sprint races, shot to the front under Luan Machado, with Tommy Jo in pursuit.
The two remained this way from start to finish, with Tommy Jo dialing up the pressure on Percy's Bar, only for the latter to gradually inch clear again. As the duo raced just inside the final furlong of the 1 1/16-mile race, Percy's Bar ducked out under left-handed urging from Machado, fouling Tommy Jo and Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, who had trailed by about a length. Tommy Jo then swapped back to her left lead and sputtered, fading to finish 2 3/4 lengths behind Percy's Bar at the wire.
Velazquez told stewards in a customary telephone conversation during the inquiry that Percy's Bar "hit my horse sideways," and opened up "a length and a half" on him, and that he needed to ask his filly to re-engage. He added to the stewards that he informed an outrider he wished to claim foul multiple times when galloping out, though that claim of foul was not announced until after his discussion with the stewards.
Machado expressed disappointment with the disqualification, feeling he was aboard the best horse. "I don't think it's fair, but it's how it is, I guess," he said.
He appears at risk of a careless riding suspension. Stewards typically determine whether to suspend riders after reviewing films with jockeys in a follow-up meeting.
Percy's Bar—who races for Hat Creek Racing, an ownership group headed by Keeneland vice president of racing Gatewood Bell—was demoted to second. She set fractions of :23.13, :46.90, 1:11.52, and 1:37.47 on her way to a final time in 1:44.69.
Tommy Jo paid $2.88 to win.
Percy's Bar and Tommy Jo were tired at the finish, with Percy's Bar clocked covering her final sixteenth in :07.22 and Tommy Jo in :07.45. It was the first route for both fillies.
Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher acknowledged Tommy Jo's performance Friday was not at the same level as her two earlier starts at Saratoga, where she blitzed maidens when racing 6 furlongs by 3 3/4 lengths and rolled by 6 1/2 lengths in the 7-furlong Spinaway. He maintains faith in Tommy Jo as a router based on numerous factors, including her training.
"She had two good races in Saratoga. She shipped into Keeneland against some horses that are based here, training here, and (Tommy Jo's) first time around two turns," Pletcher said. "So I'm hoping that that builds her up for the next one."
The "next one" is the Oct. 31 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Del Mar, a race for which she has a paid, automatic berth. Both the Spinaway and Alcibiades are part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In, providing guaranteed entry into the Juvenile Fillies.
Since the initial Breeders' Cup in 1984, six Alcibiades winners have repeated in the Juvenile Fillies, including three times since 2019, most recently by champion 2-year-old filly Immersive in 2024.
Ben Colebrook, trainer of Percy's Bar, was not convinced that the Alcibiades outcome was close enough to warrant a disqualification. Stewards must weigh whether a foul potentially costs an impacted horse a placing.
"I thought if the margin had been a head or a neck, I could see it. But I probably disagree with it, but I have to go back and watch (a replay), cool our heads. It's disappointing.
"We thought if we won, we would go to the Breeders' Cup. I think we've got to. We'll not make any decisions now, but we'll talk about it with Gatewood and the (ownership) group. I think it will be in the cards for sure."
The Grumpy Rabbit, a maiden winner at Ellis Park in her second start, rallied for third, another 2 3/4 lengths behind Tommy Jo. Go to Girl, Wonzee Weather, and Haute Diva completed the order of finish.
Tommy Jo, a bay daughter of Spendthrift Farm's six-time leading general sire Into Mischief and named after the granddaughter of Spendthrift owner Eric Gustavson, was also bred by Spendthrift. She is out of the stakes-winning, grade 1-placed Pioneerof the Nile mare Mother Mother. Spendthrift Farm bought Mother Mother for $1.8 million from Fasig-Tipton's The November Sale in 2020.
Into Mischief stood this past breeding season at Spendthrift for $250,000.
Tommy Jo made $397,963 for her Alcibiades victory, raising her career earnings to $617,963.
As part of the Road to the Kentucky Oaks, the Alcibiades top five finishers also earned points toward the 2026 Kentucky Oaks (G1) on a 10-5-3-2-1 basis.
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