Pulling Up The Transylvania Stakes
There was a light mist over the treasured Kentucky bluegrass as the runners aligned to compete in the 35th running of the Transylvania Stakes at Keenland today. The turf event at 1 1/16th Mile featured a promising and quite evenly matched field of 3 year olds. Today was the opening day for the meet.
As per usual, a European invader gained special attention. Musical Act, Irish bred, ridden by Frankie Detorri and trained by Charlie Appleby came to the running after two appearances in the United Arab Emirates. Musical Act was favorite at showtime. But the morning line favorite was Quatar Racing’s First World War, which was ridden by Tyler Gaffalione and trained by Brendan Walsh, and here off a win in the Kittens Joy at Gulf Stream Park. Neat, ridden by Ramon Gutierrez for Rob Atras, came in after a win in the Texas Turf Mile at Sam Houston, but that failed to impress the bettors, as the horse went off at 12-1.
This punter went with Full Nelson. The horse, trained by Jose D’Angelo, came in off three wins at Tampa Bay, and one at Gulfstream. At 8-1 on the morning line the horse seemed a fair bet, especially as Irad Ortiz would be pilot today. Admittedly, the class he faced today was superior to that at Tampa. His Beyers were competitive with this field
The race was replete with front runners. The pace was honest, but not startling. Keenland is a unique course, and its stretch run challenges many of the best steeds. Whether Full Nelson, a son of Lord Nelson, will be continue his winning ways as he tries the tougher tracks is still a question yet to be answered; he tracked well at the race’s outset, but lacked punch and faded in the stretch at Keenland. Perhaps a string of nine races since last July has tired Full Nelson.
The final order of finish was Neat (#4), Cugino (#12), and Lagynos (#3). At the start, Neat successfully moved to the front, vied for the lead, and then relaxed into a stalking position. Neat mounted a steady run in the late stretch, or as the chart has it “sustained grinding progress to narrowly prevail at the wire.” His jockey gently knifed through a slim gap between the runners-up, to win in a phot, by the smallest of noses.
Neat bested Cugino and Lagynos. All of which was something of a surprise. The winner paid $28; the second place finisher paid $7.64 and third finisher paid $17.02. That meant a $1 exacta paid $102, the 50 cent trifecta paid $901; and the Superfecta paid $2,253. Lord Bullington was fourth. Of the interesting paths the runners took to this contest, Sam Houston proved the most beneficial to a few of the assorted punters.
Past winers of the Transylvania include Avie’s Flatter, Analyze It, Shakihmat and Big Score. Wikipedia tells us The Transylvania Stakes is named for the heavily forested region of western Virginia known as the Transylvania Colony, which became most of Kentucky in 1792. - B.B.
“The long run is a misleading guide to current affairs. In the long run we are all dead.” - John Maynard Keynes
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