Horse Racing
Claire Novak 9y

Miss Behaviour tops Raven Run

Horse Racing

Charles Town Oaks winner Miss Behaviour is the 120-pound highweight in a field of 13 sophomore fillies entered for the $250,000 Lexus Raven Run Stakes at Keeneland.

Miss Behaviour comes off at scintillating 9-3/4-length victory as the 11-10 favorite at Charles Town to target the Lexington oval's seven-furlong sprint. The Raven Run is the ninth race Saturday with a scheduled post time of 5:13 p.m. ET.

Trained by Phil Schoenthal for Cal MacWilliam and Neil Teitelbaum, the homebred Jump Start filly has been first or second in all but one of six starts in stakes company this year. She was runner-up in the Prioress and the Test Stakes at Saratoga Race Course this summer, as well as second in the Victory Ride Stakes at Belmont Park in June.

Sheldon Russell rides Miss Behaviour from post 11 in the Lexus Raven Run in pursuit of her third graded stakes victory. She won the Matron at Belmont as a 2-year-old last season.

Among those who could give the likely favorite a good fight are grade III winners Cassatt and Sweet Whiskey.

Winner of the Aug. 9 Monmouth Oaks, Cassatt was fifth in the Cotillion at Parx Racing in her last start Sept. 20. Both races were run at 1-1/16 miles.

"The plan was to win the Cotillion and then go to the Breeders' Cup and win the Distaff, but that went out the window," trainer Larry Jones said. "But that was a nice group of fillies -- Untapable and Sweet Reason -- and if I only got beat six lengths by those horses, I have to feel like I like my chances here."

Cassatt tuned up for the Raven Run with a five-furlong work in 1:00 3/5 after the Oct. 13 morning renovation break over a track labeled as "good" with jockey Kerwin Clark up. Clark gets the mount on the gray filly from the 8 hole.

"Hopefully with the turn back in distance (from 1-1/16 miles), we don't have to worry as much about conditioning -- just if she is fast enough," said Jones, who won the 2004 Raven Run with Josh's Madelyn. "She needed a race after the Monmouth Oaks and I think she might have been just a little short, as much as I hate to say it."

By Tapit, Cassatt is out of the Giant's Causeway mare Justenufftime, a half-sister to champion Dreaming of Anna and grade II winners Lewis Michael and Justenuffhumor. She was purchased for $300,000 at Keeneland's 2012 September yearling Sale.

Alto Racing's Grade 3 winner Sweet Whiskey has been ambitiously placed by trainer Todd Pletcher, but counts back to Jan. 4 for her most recent win, the Old Hat Stakes at Gulfstream Park. In five starts since then, the daughter of Old Fashioned posted runner-up finishes by a half length in both the Beaumont Stakes Presented by Keeneland Select and in the Acorn. She needs to rebound from a sixth in the Prioress last time out Aug. 30. Rosie Napravnik has the mount from post 12.

Ken and Sarah Ramsey's Dogwood Stakes winner Thank You Marylou, graded stakes-placed California shipper Bajan, and undefeated Woodbine stakes winner Pirate's Trove could also figure. The latter, trained by Michael Stidham, is making her dirt debut.

Minor stakes winner Milam, third in the Dogwood last out, completes the field along with allowance winners Taketheodds, Taris, Divided Attention, Shayjolie, Courageous Julie, and La Madrina.

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