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La Lune an Imposing Presence for Vaughan in Dowager

The 5-year-old daughter of Champs Elysees scored over 1 1/2 miles in Britain.

Trainer Ed Vaughan

Trainer Ed Vaughan

Edward Whitaker/Racing Post

Ed Vaughan, a multiple group stakes-winning trainer in Europe who shifted his operation to the United States this past winter, won his first domestic stakes race this week when Alnaseem captured the $75,000 H.B.P.A. Stakes at Presque Isle Downs.

Now he pursues a more rewarding prize: the $150,000 Rood & Riddle Dowager Stakes (G3T) for fillies and mares at Keeneland Oct. 24. If successful with his charge, Alex Frost's La Lune, he'll have saddled his first graded winner on U.S. soil. The trainer is 8-for-35 overall in 2021 (23%).

This year, the Irish-born Vaughan previously had Mariafoot run fifth in the June 26 Chicago Stakes (G3), Alnaseem finish sixth in the Aug. 22 Dance Smartly Stakes (G2T), and Inhalation run fifth in the Oct. 9 Woodford Stakes Presented by TVG (G2T).

La Lune, a 5-year-old daughter of Champs Elysees, is the 7-2 second choice in the morning line. A group 3 winner in Britain over the 1 1/2-mile trip of the Dowager, she has already exhibited the necessary class and stamina. She also has the current form to match, having rallied from 10th to run second, beaten a neck, in her domestic debut in the $501,000 Kentucky Downs Ladies Marathon Stakes at 1 5/16 miles Sept. 12.

"She was just a little bit further back than you'd like," Vaughan said of her first start for him after she previously racing for trainer Henry Candy in Britain. "She made up a lot of ground. She kind of used her run to get there. If she had been handier or more experienced, she would have likely laid closer to the pace."

Family Way wins 2021 Kentucky Downs Ladies Marathon Stakes
Photo: Coady Photography
La Lune (red cap) runs a close second in the Kentucky Downs Ladies Marathon Stakes at Kentucky Downs

Vaughan said she has schooled in the starting gate since her start at Kentucky Downs.

"She will have to be away sharper now on Sunday because you're running on a tighter track, so will be hard to make up ground," he said.

Sunday, Vaughan again teams with jockey Adam Beschizza, his primary go-to jockey in 2021. Beschizza also rode some for Vaughan in England, where Vaughan trained for about 15 years. The rider shifted his base to the U.S. in 2017.

La Lune is stabled at Keeneland, where Vaughan currently trains 11 horses, including recent pick-up Waliyak, who ran fourth in the E. P. Taylor Stakes (G1T) Oct. 17 at Woodbine for prior trainer Roger Varian.

Three other fillies that raced in the Kentucky Downs Ladies Marathon—Luck Money, Micheline, and Eesha My Flower—also return in the Dowager. They finished fourth, sixth, and eighth, respectively.

Catherine Wills' homebred Luck Money, trained by Arnaud Delacour, went off as the 5-2 favorite and advanced from eighth to finish a length and a quarter behind victorious Family Way and a length behind La Lune. The 4-year-old daughter of Lookin At Lucky is also a stakes winner at the 1 1/2-mile trip, having captured the Zagora Stakes at Belmont Park last fall. Luck Money is the slight 3-1 favorite in the morning line.

The leading money earner in the field with $680,103 in earnings is graded stakes winner Micheline, trained by Mike Stidham for owner/breeder Godolphin. Runner-up in last year's Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Presented by Dixiana (G1T) at Keeneland, she won her seasonal debut in the Hillsborough Stakes (G2T) in March at Tampa Bay Downs.

The 4-year-old Bernardini filly has gone unplaced in four starts since, though she only lost the Kentucky Downs Ladies Marathon by 2 3/4 lengths. Two of her four recent losses have come on turf courses rated either yielding or soft.

According to an Oct. 22 forecast from the National Weather Service, there is a chance of rain Sunday in Lexington.

Other threats in the 10-horse Dowager include 2021 stakes winners Summer in Saratoga and Key Biscayne.

Entries: Rood and Riddle Dowager S. (G3T)

Keeneland, Sunday, October 24, 2021, Race 7

  • Grade IIIT
  • 1 1/2m
  • Turf
  • $150,000
  • 3 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
  • 4:12 PM (local)
PPHorseJockeyWgtTrainerM/L
11English Affair (KY)James Graham121George R. Arnold, II10/1
22I Hear You (KY)Keeneland Sales GraduateRicardo Santana, Jr.121Brendan P. Walsh8/1
33Summer in Saratoga (KY)Keeneland Sales GraduateCorey J. Lanerie121Joe Sharp9/2
44La Lune (GB)Adam Beschizza123Edward Vaughan7/2
55Luck Money (KY)Joel Rosario121Arnaud Delacour3/1
66Micheline (KY)Florent Geroux121Michael Stidham9/2
77Eesha My Flower (KY)Keeneland Sales GraduateBrian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.121Ian R. Wilkes20/1
88Kelsey's Cross (FL)Alex Achard121Patrick L. Biancone20/1
99Key Biscayne (FL)Tyler Gaffalione121Michael J. Maker6/1
1010Viburnum (KY)Reylu Gutierrez118Kelsey Danner30/1