In a race where the favorites failed to show up, Claiborne Farm's Admit was left to pick up the pieces, powering to her first graded stakes victory in the $396,013 Valley View Stakes (G2T) Oct. 24 at Keeneland.
The Valley View marked trainer Thomas "Tommy" Drury Jr.'s return to the Keeneland graded stakes winner's circle. Five years ago, the Kentucky conditioner took his photo with Art Collector in the 2020 Blue Grass Stakes (G1).
"My two biggest (career) wins have been at Keeneland," Drury said. "I wish they would extend the Keeneland meet for the rest of the year."
Admit boasts a pedigree flushed rich with generational Claiborne breeding. Sired by farm stallion Blame , the filly is a fifth-generation homebred for Claiborne, stemming back to the Hancock family's Princequillo mare Monarchy, a stakes-winning mare born in 1957.
According to Drury Jr., the Valley View was a long time coming for the ever-consistent Admit. The 3-year-old was stakes-placed two times and had finished third in the Pucker Up Stakes (G3T) at Ellis Park leading into Saturday's feature. Her latest effort was a fourth in the 1 5/16-mile Dueling Grounds Oaks (G3T) at Kentucky Downs, where she was beaten a head for third. The filly clearly appreciated the cutback to a mile, a route she'd successfully navigated in her three previous trips to the winner's circle.
"She'd been working well leading up to the race, and she was certainly doing well," Dury said. "Walker (Hancock of Claiborne Farm) had reached out to me after the Kentucky Downs race and said the Valley View at Keeneland makes sense, and let's try to work backwards from that, and that's exactly what we did. I'd love to tell you a fancy story, but she's just taken us on a ride."
Typically just off the pace in her races, Admit, ridden by John Velazquez, found herself a little further back than usual when the field raced down the backstretch for the Valley View. The heated early tempo was to blame, as the front-running Stormy Paradise tore through an opening quarter in :22.74 and half-mile in :46.54. Coaxed off the rail as the field advanced into the far turn, Admit began steadily reeling in her rivals, despite fanning six-wide into the stretch drive. Surging down the center of the course, no one was moving quicker than Admit, who rolled to a widening 1 1/2-length score.
Admit ($20.60) stopped the clock in 1:35.17, clocking her final eighth-mile in a sparkling :11.93 over firm turf.
Classic Q, rallying from the back of the pack, got up for second, a head better than 35-1 shot Somethinabouther in third.
Race favorites Tabiti and Play With Fire were fifth and eighth.
"(Admit) really showed up today," Drury said. "Her races have been all good up this point, I don't know if she's ever ran a bad race. But everything fell into place today and she was able to get over the hump."
Video: Bank of America Valley View S. (G2T)
A Fine Chardonnay toasts field in Myrtlewood Stakes
Earlier on the Keeneland Friday card, second-time starter A Fine Chardonnay circled the field and won going away in the $250,000 Myrtlewood Stakes. The win marked the first stakes victory for the filly's owner, Philip Griesinger of Double 22 Stables.
Trailing in last in the field of six 2-year-old fillies behind early fractions of :22.11 and :46.03, jockey Tyler Gaffalione sent A Fine Chardonnay five-wide turning for home. The extra ground proved no issue for the daughter of Maclean's Music , who powered past her rivals for a one-length score.
A Fine Chardonnay ($6.26) stopped the timer in 1:11.80 for six furlongs. Favored On Time Girl was runner-up by a neck over Woodstock in third.
"It's almost impossible to even think about being at this point in our lives, and to win our first two races with our first horse. It's just incredible," Griesinger said.
An $85,000 purchase at Fasig-Tipton's Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale for Double 22 Stables, A Fine Chardonnary entered the Myrtlewood off a two-length debut score Sept. 11 at Churchill Downs. Bred by Alpha Delta Stables, she is one of six winners and the first stakes winner produced from the Bernardini mare Andele.
