By Andrea Branchini
The promising 2-eary-old filly Kenwick (Bernardini) may have won in Pennsylvania, but her pedigree shouts Lexington KY from the very rooftops of two local neighborhoods. Kenwick is a central residential area of the city, while Bell Court, as in the dam's name, is an almost adjacent zone, closer to downtown. Both areas have an Old America feel to them: nothing fake, nothing too gentrified, just authentic, with a touch of Thornton Wilder's “Our Town” ambiance. There is in fact a small theatre in the Bell House in Bell Court: the lovely Carriage House Theatre. Lexington visitors! The “Kenwick Table” locale on Owsley Road in Kenwick is the best for the weary traveler: coffee, live music (with an open mike on Monday evenings), beer & wine on the menu, two patios, out-of-this-world elegance – in a word: cool, like its equine namesake, who “got through a razor-thin hole” on the rail to go and win her race.
1st-Presque Isle Downs, $30,600, Msw, 9-5, 2yo, f, 6f (AWT), 1:12.44, ft, 2 1/2 lengths.
KENWICK (f, 2, Bernardini–Bell Court, by Street Sense) O/B-Godolphin LLC (KY); T-Eoin G Harty.
The name of Saratoga winning filly Just F Y I (Justify) is a sort of an anagram (rearrangement of letters to form another name) of the moniker of her dad – which is kind of unusual and brave, and therefore worthy of praise. She won on her debut, so novelty and quality are part of her repertoire.
6th-Saratoga, $105,000, Msw, 8-26, 2yo, f, 6f, 1:11.06, ft, head.
JUST F Y I (f, 2, Justify–Star Act {SP, $147,605}, by Street Cry {Ire}). O/B-George Krikorian (KY); T-William I. Mott.
There was horseracing in antiquity, and there is antiquity in modern horseracing. So much so that a recent sprint stakes race at Parx Racing Aug. 22 produced a very classical exacta, with a close finish. The winner is called Gordian Knot (Social Inclusion), as in the famous head-scratching problem solved by Alexander The Great with a dramatic blow of his sword on his way to conquering Asia. The runner-up is named Praetorian Guard (Speightster), after the dangerous posse of Roman Emperors – made up of veteran bodyguards who on occasion became a mortal danger to the very ruler they were to protect. “No one reigns innocently”, as it has been said.
SALVATORE M. DEBUNDA SPRINT S., $75,000, Parx Racing, 8-22, 3yo, 6 1/2f, 1:19.83, ft.
1–GORDIAN KNOT, 126, g, 3, Social Inclusion-Mia,
by Put It Back. O-Joseph M. Imbesi. B- Mr. & Mrs. Joe Imbesi.
T-Guadalupe Preciado. $43,200. Lifetime Record: 8-6-0-1,
$386,960.
2–Praetorian Guard, 121, g, 3, Speightster–Super Shopper,
by Super Saver. ($25,000 2yo '22 OBSOPN). O-Conway Racing
LLC (Mark Conway), Over The Moon Racing and Innovest BC
LLC; B-Jimmy L. Gladwell, III (KY); T-Louis C. Linder, Jr. $14,400.
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