It was the Girl in Gold who came home best of all at Keeneland as Emery (More Than Ready) claimed the GII Lexus Raven Run Stakes for owner Stonestreet Stables.
Last seen playing bridesmaid to GISW Ways and Means (Practical Joke) in the GI Test Stakes at Saratoga, where MGSW & GISP My Mane Squeeze (Audible) ran third, Emery had come into that contest riding a three-race win streak which began in June. After claiming victory in the Leslie's Lady Stakes at Churchill Downs and then picking up her first graded victory in the GIII Victory Ride Stakes July 4 in New York, she'd shown the betting public enough to be crowned the 6-5 favorite here despite that loss Aug. 3.
Away alertly as Fibber (Frosted) took it upon herself to keep the pace honest through :22.53 and :45.29 opening fractions, Emery was content to stalk that leading bunch from their outside in fourth. Taking command as they turned for home and in clear control as Fibber tried to mount a response, the eye-catching filly was hard to miss as she strode home to a two-length win over My Mane Squeeze, who had been last early after a slow beginning, and flew late to overtake Fibber for that runner-up spot.
“I think [getting her to settle off the pace was key], but she could show the way if need be, if there's a lack of pace in the race,” said Brad Cox. “I want to start off by thanking the [owner] Stonestreet [Stables] team — Ms. [Barbara] Banke and her whole team. They're very easy to work for.”
“We had to give this filly some time off after her second start, and she's come back and rewarded them in a big way this year. I'm very proud of the filly, and [jockey] Tyler [Gaffalione] did a great job. He put her in a perfect position today and she fired.”
Luis Saez, who rode the furiously-closing runner-up My Mane Squeeze, accredited the tough trip to some pre-race antics in the blocks. “It was a tough trip. She was behaving a little mean in the gate, and she didn't break that well. We thought we were going to get [Emery], but the winner was too good; she kept going. It was a good second.”
Emery's win in the Raven Run was the fourth for Tyler Gaffalione and Brad Cox individually of the fall meet, but the first they'd won together. Both lead their respective title categories for the Keeneland season through Saturday's results.
Watch the full replay as EMERY convincingly wins the @Lexus Raven Run (G2)! pic.twitter.com/Lrm3hAkxJO
— Keeneland Racing (@keenelandracing) October 19, 2024
Pedigree Note:
Emery is the second winner from as many to make the races for Athena, but by far her most accomplished. Since this victress, the dam has produced a now 2-year-old named Athena's Secret (American Pharoah) as well as a pair of fillies in the wings–a yearling by Improbable and a 2024 Good Magic. She was not bred for 2025.
Athena, a three-time stakes winner in her own right, is herself out of a half-sister to GI Carter Handicap hero Peeping Tome, who visited the winner's enclosure on 14 occasions in addition to being multiple Grade I-placed in his career. This is the extended female family of multimillionaire Sun King, the multiple graded winning half-siblings Hurricane Bertie and Allamerican Bertie as well as course record-setter MSW West Ocean via her dam, MGSW Ocean Drive.
Saturday, Keeneland
LEXUS RAVEN RUN S.-GII, $340,000, Keeneland, 10-19, 3yo, f, 7f, 1:23.21, ft.
1–EMERY, 118, f, 3, by More Than Ready
1st Dam: Athena (MSW, $459,222), by Street Sense
2nd Dam: Race Rocks (Ire), by Rock of Gibraltar (Ire)
3rd Dam: Artful Pleasure, by Nasty and Bold
($235,000 Wlg '21 KEENOV). O-Stonestreet Stables LLC; B-Mary K. Grum (KY); T-Brad H. Cox; J-Tyler Gaffalione. $203,438. Lifetime Record: GISP, 7-5-1-0, $655,986. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–My Mane Squeeze, 120, f, 3, Audible–In Spite of Mama, by Speightstown. O-William J. Butler and WinStar Farm LLC; B-William Butler (NY); T-Michael J. Maker. $56,250.
3–Fibber, 118, f, 3, Frosted–Devious Intent, by Dixie Union. ($55,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-Flatland Racing Stable; B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC (KY); T-Chris A. Hartman. $32,813.
Margins: 2, 2HF, HD. Odds: 1.25, 3.42, 8.70.
Also Ran: V V's Dream, Mink's Palace, Miuccia, Haulin Ice, Riperton, Twirling Queen, Uno Le.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
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