Exotics Plays for the 2025 Jenny Wiley Stakes

A fantastic field of nine fillies and mares will travel 1 1/16 miles over the Keeneland grass in Saturday’s $650,000 Jenny Wiley S. (G1). The affair has a strong international flair to it, and I feel that the imports will have the ultimate say inside the final furlong in the important event. 

Jenny Wiley Exotics

• $16 exacta 6 with 1 ($16)
• $6 exacta box 1-6 ($12)
• $5 trifecta key 6 with 1,2 ($10)
• 50-cent superfecta 1,6 with 1,6 with 2 with all ($6)
• 50-cent superfecta 1,6 with 1,6 with all with 2 ($6)

I’m going to give a slight edge to #6 Jabaara (9-2) as my value play in the heat. The Godolphin homebred flashed some potential as a juvenile and really prospered in her three-year-old campaign for Roger Varian. She proved her class when second to the superb Porta Fortuna in the Falmouth S. (G1) at Newmarket in July, and followed that performance up with a runner-up effort behind the talented Raqiya in the Oak Tree S. (G3) at Goodwood in her three-year-old finale. The daughter of Exceed And Excel had a nice prep for this over the synthetic at Wolverhampton in her four-year-old debut, and I expect her to take a big step forward at Keeneland under Joel Rosario. 

#1 Excellent Truth (5-2), who brought in excess $1.6 million in December at Arqana, will make her stateside bow on Saturday as well as her initial attempt for conditioner Chad Brown. The Group 3 victress capped 2024 with a big second in the Prix Rothschild (G1) behind Msqe de Sevigne at Deauville and the mare should be ready for her stateside unveiling from the rail. I have a hunch that the five-year-old will like more ground to be at her peak, but she is full of class and could surely win this race, nonetheless. Flavien Prat will be in the stirrups. 

Simon Crisford’s #2 Choisya (4-1) earned her most impressive win to date by holding off the excellent Cinderella’s Dream in the Balanchine S. (G2) at Meydan last time out. The chestnut daughter of Night of Thunder was a daylight heroine in the Cape Verdi S. (G2) in Dubai two back at the one-mile distance, and while she proved her class at 1 1/8 miles last time, I like that she retreats back to eight panels for her U. S. debut on Saturday. She will be forwardly placed to some extent in the early stages.