The $600,000 Darley Alcibiades Stakes (G1) for 2-year-old fillies is the third Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” race on Friday’s opening day card at Keeneland, with the winner earning an automatic berth in the BC Juvenile Fillies (G1) on Nov. 1 at Del Mar.
Immersive. NYRA/Coglianese Photo.
Immersive is the favorite for Friday’s Alcibiades Stakes
The Alcibiades is named for the 1930 Kentucky Oaks heroine who became an outstanding broodmare. Recent Alcibiades winners Wonder Wheel (2022) and British Idiom (2019) also took the Juvenile Fillies and earned the Eclipse Award as champion 2-year-old filly.
For those who like to bet on horse racing, here are a few handicapping tips for the Alcibiades:
The 1 1/16-mile distance is an unknown zone for all eight fillies, none of whom has raced around two turns. Who will go long and prosper, and who will tire and fade? Only Liam in the Dust has been beyond 7 furlongs, finishing a strong second in the Pocahontas Stakes (G3), a one-turn mile at Churchill Downs.
Four from Spinaway in field
Four horses come out of the 7-furlong Spinaway Stakes (G1) at Saratoga, which usually would provide valuable clues on winner Immersive, runner-up Quietside, Sherbini (third) and The Queens M G (fifth). However, the Spinaway was run on a muddy track, and there’s no rain in Friday’s forecast for Lexington, Kentucky. Immersive is the 2-1 morning-line favorite.
Quickick an impressive maiden winner
Quickick broke his maiden impressively going 7 furlongs at Saratoga, stalking from midpack before drawing off by 2½ lengths. He’s by hot first-crop sire McKinzie, is eligible to improve and might go off at higher than his 4-1 morning-line odds. Liam in the Dust, by stamina influence Liam’s Map, should like two turns, and the speedy Continuity could control the pace breaking from the rail.
The Alcibiades is race 9 with a post time of 5:16 p.m. ET.
The picks: 1 Quickick 2 Liam in the Dust 3 Continuity
The field for the $600,000 Alcibiades Stakes, from the rail out, with jockey, trainer, and odds:
1 Continuity (Ben Curtis, Eddie Kenneally), 20-1
2 Sherbini (Florent Geroux, Mark Casse), 8-1
3 Liam in the Dust (Flavien Prat, Rodolphe Brisset), 10-1
4 Rich City Girl (Gerardo Corrales, Larry Rivelli), 12-1
5 The Queens M G (Tyler Gaffalione, Saffie Joseph, Jr.), 6-1
6 Quickick (Dylan Davis, Tom Amoss), 4-1
7 Quietside (Luis Saez, John Ortiz), 5-2
8 Immersive (Manny Franco, Brad Cox), 2-1