Pick 3 of the Week: Keeneland Sunday

The Pick 3 of the Week will come from Keeneland on Sunday, concluding with the ultra-competitive Giant’s Causeway S. 

Race 6 Wager

$1 Pick 3: 4,6 with 1,5,9,10 with 2,4,6,7 ($32)

Race 6 – Maiden Special Weight

The opening leg of the play will feature a dozen sophomores in a 1 1/16-mile turf test. I’ll look for big value to kick off the play with a pair of longshot contenders in the tilt. My top pick, #4 A Bourbon for Toby (15-1), showed little in his latest run on the dirt but will make his turf debut for Thomas Morley, and I expect a big effort on the surface change. His dam is a half-sister to Canadian Horse of the Year and turf standout Up With the Birds, and this barn does a lot of its best work on the green, in general. 

Trainer Rusty Arnold always has his horses ready for Keeneland and will saddle first-time starter #6 Big Ritz (15-1). The Caravaggio colt is a half-brother to a turf stakes victor, and in a cast lacking a standout, the Calumet homebred is worth including at healthy odds with Jose Ortiz taking the reins. 

Race 7 – Allowance/ Optional Claiming

A 6 1/2-furlong dash for fillies and mares attracted 10 in the middle leg. Juddmonte homebred #1 Impel (9-5) was third in the 2024 Ashland S. (G1) in her lone prior local assignment and looms large while making her seasonal bow. Brad Cox pupil has never missed the board from six lifetime runs and wouldn’t be the worst single in the world with Prat taking the reins. 

But, stakes victress #5 Into Champagne (6-1), Kelly Breen’s surging #9 Pleasant Embrace (9-2), and the vastly improved #10 Easy Red (8-1) will also make my ticket, too. 

Race 8 – Giant’s Causeway S. 

A total of 10 fillies and mares will go postward in the 5 1/2-furlong turf dash. Grade 3 heroine #2 Toupie (7-2) has really found her niche as a turf sprinter for conditioner Graham Motion. The Uncle Mo homebred led throughout in a facile Las Cienegas S. (G3) triumph most recently, and she will be a major contender with her best under Prat. 

Two-time Grade 2 vixen #4 Future is Now (9-5) is the morning-line choice for trainer Michael Trombetta. Great Notion five-year-old toppled a fine field in the Franklin S. (G2) on the oval in the fall and is training forwardly in advance of her return. Paco Lopez retains the mount. I’ll also toss in the Christophe Clement duo of #6 Danse Macabre (8-1) and #7 Pandora’s Gift (6-1) in the closing leg.