Hoist the Gold, Buchu, Candied claim stakes wins on opening day of Keeneland’s Fall Meet

Opening day of the 2023 Keeneland Fall Meet saw the return of the “Win and You’re In” qualifiers for corresponding, upcoming Breeders’ Cup races among a greater card of 10 races at Lexington’s historic Keeneland Race Track.

These 10 races played out on a fast track and good turf course in mostly sunny weather with temperatures fluctuating between the mid-60s and mid-70s.

The three stakes races — the Grade 2 Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix, the Grade 2 Jessamine Presented by Keeneland November and the Grade 1 Darley Alcibiades — were the first of 22 stakes worth a record $9.05 million, and the start of 11 stakes races taking place during this, the Fall Stars Weekend. Eight of those 11 races are part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge series, whose winners will automatically qualify, and receive free entry to, the 40th Breeders’ Cup, which takes place Nov. 3-4 at Santa Anita.

Here’s everything you need to know about the first day of this year’s Fall Meet.

Hoist the Gold, Buchu, Candied claim stakes wins

Hoist the Gold, trained by Dallas Stewart and ridden by John Velazquez, won the first of Friday’s stakes races with a final time of 1:09.13. Hoist the Gold edged out the other 10 horses aged 3 years and up on 6 furlongs of track in the 171st running of the Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix, including defending winner Manny Wah, to secure the $350,000 purse. With this win, Hoist the Gold is entitled to automatic entry into the Grade 1, $2 million Qatar Racing Breeders’ Cup Sprint.

“Dallas Stewart and I talked in the paddock and I watched his (Hoist the Gold’s) races …,” Velazquez said. “Seems like when he’s close to the pace he’s much better. So I told him I’m going to come out of there and get him third at least and we’ll have a really good chance. Once I got him back and got behind those two horses I was in a great position where I thought I wanted to be. But I almost messed up a little bit when I asked him a little too much the first sixteenth of a mile.”

It didn’t end up mattering, as Hoist the Gold outlasted Sibelius, who got off to a quick start, and late challengers Nakatomi (second) and Bango (third).

“When you show up with a nice horse and a jock that’s won five Grade 1s for you, you got a lot of confidence,” Stewart said. “I didn’t worry about a thing down the backside. It played out perfect. He got him out. The horse loves this track. He came home good, so we know where we’re going November 4: back west. It’s great to be here. It’s a great day. We got a great thing going with horse racing; we just gotta keep rolling.”

Fans cheer during the first race on a mostly sunny opening day of Keeneland’s Fall Meet on Friday.

▪ Buchu, trained by Phil Bauer and ridden by Martin Garcia, took home the $350,000 purse in the 33rd running of The Jessamine Presented by Keeneland November. Buchu defeated a field of 10 other 2-year-old fillies with a final time of 1:42.48 in the 1 1/16-mile turf race. With this victory, Buchu receives automatic entry into the Grade 1, $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

Garcia also served as the jockey in Buchu’s maiden win at Churchill Downs on Sept. 23, returning after a period of time where jockey Tyler Gaffalione had the reins.

“I think sometimes horses for courses, so maybe riders for horses,” Bauer said. “(Garcia) really gets a lot of credit for developing this filly.”

Buchu traveled in the ninth position during the opening quarter but surged down the center of the course to rally down the stretch and finish strong.

“The last time (maiden win at Churchill) she was a little fresh and she was inside,” Garcia said. “Today I had a really good position. I knew it was going to be big speed so I just let her break and relax. In the first turn I just took it easy and took her back and she relaxed on the backside. At the five-sixteenths (pole) I just took her out and then I asked her to go, and all I could see was just going by horses. I’m like, ‘I’m going to win!’”

Eddie Riddle, a mutual clerk, waits to to take bets on the opening day of the Keeneland Fall Meet on Friday.

Bill Renner, of Walton, looks at the Daily Racing Form near the paddock at Keeneland on the first day of the Fall Meet on Friday.

▪ Candied, trained by Todd Pletcher and ridden by Luis Saez, won the $600,000 purse in the 72nd running of the Darley Alcibiades. Candied overpowered the previously undefeated Brightwork, as well as recent Pocahontas winner V V’s Dream and five other 2-year-old fillies to gain automatic entry to the Grade 1, $2 million NetJets Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.

The Darley Alcibiades was just the second start for Candied, who won the mile and a sixteenth race over a fast main track in 1:44.17.

“That was my biggest concern,” Pletcher said. “I thought the filly had the talent to do it; I was just concerned about the seasoning. Several of the fillies in here that we had to beat today had good, solid campaigns and she was just making her second start. But I’ll tell you, she trained impressively before her debut and she then just kept getting better afterwards. She was finishing her works and galloping out like she wanted more ground.”

This was Candied’s first time going two turns, but Saez said he didn’t have much trouble getting her to relax — even in the presence of such impressive talent in the field.

“It was pretty easy,” Saez said. “She ran a pretty professional race. We knew the speed was going to go and that was the plan: to try to follow it and give them a surprise at the top of the stretch.”