By John Manley
Coolmore Stud sponsored Keeneland’s Lexington Stakes, run last Saturday at the Kentucky oval, so the Irish tricolor was run up the flagpole in honor of the Tipperary equine colossus. But at the trophy presentation, that wasn’t John Magnier accepting on behalf of Turnberry Isle. Instead, that was trainer Niall O’Callaghan wearing the wall-to-wall grin as he greeted Keats and jockey Larry Melancon after they won the $371,475 Kentucky Derby prep.
Keats, owned by Henry Pabst, redeemed himself after a subpar effort in Turfway Park’s Spiral Stakes, in which he was compromised by a poor start.
The son of Hennessy broke from the gate in good order in the Lexington and set the pace down the backside, reeling off fractions of 23.03 and 46.39.
The only real challenge he faced came from Mr. John rounding into the straight. Keats picked up the tempo again as that one came to him and was striding strongly toward the wire.
"He’s a pretty quick horse," said Melancon. "When I started for home, he changed leads and I got that little extra effort I needed from him."
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Keats won by three-quarters of a length over Mr. John, which was subsequently disqualified and placed eighth. The winning time was 1:43.54 for a mile and a sixteenth. Keats paid $35.40 to win.
Turnberry Isle, under Pat Day, raced well off the rail throughout. He never reached contention and finished sixth, 23 lengths behind Keats.
O’Callaghan, who is a Cork native, was noncommittal about Keats’s chances of
entering the Derby off two weeks’ rest.
"I’ll have a chat with Mr. Pabst," O’Callaghan said. "[Keats] has got a long
way to go from a mile and a sixteenth to a mile and a quarter. We’ll just enjoy the moment."
This year’s Derby appears to be coming up unusually strong, devoid of the usual cast of dubious entrants. Should Keats test the race, he will find several high quality opponents alongside him in the starting gate, possessed of the same early speed that is his hole card. O’Callaghan’s previous Derby foray came several years ago with Smilin Singin Sam, which briefly led down the backside, before backing up and inhaling the winner’s dust.