The short but sweet Keeneland Spring Meet starts Friday with the $750,000 Ashland Stakes (G1) as the opening-day headliner.
The Keeneland session, which runs through April 24, is loaded with prestigious stakes starting with the Ashland for 3-year-old fillies. It is one of the final stops for Kentucky Oaks contenders, and it awards 100 Oaks qualifying points to the winner.
Zany looms as the 4-5 morning-line favorite in the field of seven. She’s earned that respect with a sparkling resume. Zany is 3-for-3 with stakes victories in the Demoiselle Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct and the Suncoast at Tampa Bay Downs.
The Suncoast was her return to action following a winter break, and she responded with a 2¾-length victory for the team of trainer Todd Pletcher and jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr.
The Suncoast victory looks even more impressive in hindsight as Life of Joy, the second-place finisher, captured the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) in her next start.
Zany did lug in during the Suncoast stretch run, something Pletcher chalked up as inexperience.
“I think she’s still learning,” Pletcher said after the race. “She’s an extremely talented filly that’s still doing most of it on natural talent, it seems. She was a little late on her lead change and kind of drifted about, and was looking around. It’s a tribute to her talent that she’s able to win impressively while still learning how to finish a race.”
Unquestionably talented, Zany will be a short price in a small field. That sends us off on a value quest for a better return on our investment. That brings us to Star Actress (6-1) for the always dangerous duo of jockey Junior Alvarado and trainer Bill Mott.
This will be her stakes debut after two encouraging races at Gulfstream Park. She surged to finish second in her debut at 7 furlongs and responded with another driving finish to score the maiden victory at this 1 1/16 miles distance.
Yes, we know it's a big leap into a Grade 1 stakes, but then there is no reward without risk.
We’ll complete our Ashland trio with Percy’s Bar, making her first start since a rallying third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1). She has the advantage of a race over the track, a pacesetting effort in the Alcibiades Stakes (G1) last October. She was first under the wire but was disqualified for a bumping incident in the lane and was placed second.
Percy’s Bar is certainly battle-tested, and she has been training brilliantly for the comeback with four consecutive bullet workouts (all the fastest at the distance that morning) at Keeneland. However, that 154-day layoff could be too much to overcome at first asking.
Post time for the Ashland is 5:16 p.m. ET.
| # | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | M/L |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nycon | J A Torres | D Beckman | 20/1 |
| 2 | Percy's Bar | L Machado | B Colebrook | 7/2 |
| 3 | Zany | I Ortiz, Jr. | T A Pletcher | 4/5 |
| 4 | French Friction | C A Torres | M E Casse | 9/2 |
| 5 | Omaha Bay | J Castellano | I R Wilkes | 12/1 |
| 6 | Hollybygolly | T Gaffalione | R Brisset | 20/1 |
| 7 | Star Actress | J Alvarado | W I Mott | 6/1 |
Last Updated on 04/01/2026
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