The 27th running of the Lexus Raven Run Stakes Saturday at Keeneland promises to be a stellar event. A full field of 12 talented 3-year-old fillies, plush three also-eligibles, are set to compete in the seven-furlong dirt race ffor the lion’s share of the $400,000 purse. Nine entrants already have stakes wins on their résumés.
Delightful Claire drew the rail post position for trainer Phil Bauer. She recently finished second in the Prioress Stakes to Praying, who came back to win the Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes at Keeneland on opening Fall Stars weekend. In start after that, Delightful Claire finished third in the Dogwood Stakes Presented by Resolute Racing to Raven Run entrants Ragtime and Strong State. Vixen is in post position two and will be making her first career start on dirt following nine consecutive races over the turf for trainer Mark Casse. Strong State is fresh off her runner-up finish to Ragtime in the Dogwood and will have blinkers added for trainer Albert Stall Jr. Volleyballprincess is a 30-1 longshot on the morning line for trainer Louis Linder Jr. with Jaime Torres scheduled to ride for the first time. She has just one win from seven starts in her 3-year-old campaign, romping by 10 lengths in the Ruthless Stakes at Aqueduct back in February. Om N Joy will be making her first start outside of California for trainer Aggie Ordonez. Ordonez also be making her first start outside of that state for the first time in her career after 1,430 starts. Reputation dominated the Tyson Gilpin Stakes at Colonial Downs by 6 ¾ lengths two starts back and gets Luan Machado back aboard for the first time since posting a win in an allowance race at Ellis Park in July where she earned a career-best 94 Equibase Speed Figure.
Maida has won her last three starts by a combined 21 ½ lengths, including an eight-length romp in the Weather Vane Stakes at Laurel Park last time out for the Brittany and Sheldon Russell trainer-jockey team who have been firing on all cylinders recently. Usha earned her first win by 11 ½ lengths in her fifth career start after a trainer switch back to Bob Baffert and dominated an allowance optional claiming race by 5 ¼ lengths last time out at Del Mar in early September, earning the highest last-out Equibase Speed Figure of any horse in this field, a 106. Ragtime is the 3-1 morning line favorite in the Raven Run, fresh off a 2 ¼ length win in the Dogwood Stakes. She narrowly missed winning the Grade 1 Test Stakes Presented by Ticketmaster two starts back, losing by a neck. She is 3-for-4 lifetime, all at this seven-furlong distance. 2025 Longines Kentucky Oaks contender Simply Joking will be making her first start since the first Friday in May with a trainer switch to the Michael McCarthy barn. Quietside also ran in the Kentucky Oaks in her most recent start, and has won two graded stakes for trainer John Ortiz, including a win over Simply Joking in the Fantasy Stakes at Oaklawn Park back in March. Vodka With a Twist drew post 12 and will be making her eighth career graded stakes bid for trainer Phil D’Amato with Luis Saez getting the mount. Also-eligibles Kappa Kappa, Taliesin, and Tetiaroa complete the field.
Analysis and Main Contenders:
Om N Joy is incredibly intriguing at 15-1 morning-line odds. Om N Joy posted her first win going 6 ½ furlongs on the dirt in her eighth career start earlier this year in March following four consecutive bids over the turf. Since winning that race by 1 ¾ lengths at Santa Anita Park, Om N Joy has not looked back, posting five consecutive wins including a graded stakes win last out in the Torrey Pines Stakes held at one mile on Del Mar’s dirt track, good for a 103 Equibase Speed Figure. The runner-up in that race, So There She Was, won the Remington Park Oaks in her next start. Tenma, a four-time graded stakes winner, finished third in the Torrey Pines as the 3-5 favorite as well. In her only start at the Raven Run’s seven-furlong distance, Om N Joy dominated the Fleet Treat Stakes by 4 ¼ lengths at Del Mar in July, a race where the third-, fifth-, and 10th-place finishers all came back to win their next start. This Om filly has posted three consecutive increasing Equibase Speed Figures going into Saturday’s race. With a keen ability to find the winner’s circle, a dominating win at this seven-furlong distance, a win at open graded stakes company last time out and the connections willing to make the gamble to ship across the country, Om N Joy looks poised for an upset at a nice price.
Godolphin’s Ragtime looks incredibly tough for the team of trainer Bill Mott and jockey Junior Alvarado. Historically over the last four years, Bill Mott has won at a tremendous 42% in graded stakes races with horses owned by Godolphin, posting 22 wins from 53 starts. This Union Rags filly won her first two career starts by a combined nine lengths going seven furlongs on dirt at Saratoga in each start before narrowly missing by a neck in the Test in her third career start. The runner-up finish was no deterrent as last time out she drew clear to win the Dogwood Stakes by 2 ¼ lengths, finishing full of run after a slow start and splitting horses at the sixteenth pole in a very impressive win under Alvarado. Ragtime is also out of the mare Burmilla, who’s progeny have dominated dirt sprints with a combined 12 wins from six horses. This filly checks all the boxes and ranks first in average speed as well. Her morning-line price of 3-1 would be a gift and she should not be left off any tickets.
Quietside romped by 6 ¼ lengths in her career debut at Saratoga in August of last year before going on to run second in the Spinaway Stakes and third in the Darley Alcibiades Stakes to eventual champion juvenile filly Immersive. She then finished second to Good Cheer in the Golden Rod Stakes and second to Take Charge Milady in the Martha Washington Stakes before going on to win back-to-back graded stakes races in the Honeybee Stakes and Fantasy Stakes. In the Fantasy, Quietside earned a career-best 100 Equibase Speed Figure for her three-quarter length win over Raven Run entrant Simply Joking. This will be Quietside’s first start since finishing sixth over a wet fast track at Churchill Downs in the Kentucky Oaks; however, she has put in some fantastic works over the course of the summer at Churchill and Keeneland including a sharp four-furlong drill in :47.40 at Keeneland on Oct. 4. Although the Raven Run will be her first start at a sprint distance since her runner-up finish in the Spinaway, this Malibu Moon filly is very talented and should run tough against this stellar group of fillies.
The rest of the field, with their best Equibase Speed Figures in similar races, is Delightful Claire (103), Vixen (107), Strong State (97), Volleyballprincess (95), Reputation (94), Maida (98), Usha (106), Simply Joking (98), Vodka With a Twist (102), Kappa Kappa (AE) (89), Taliesin (AE) (103), Tetiaroa (AE) (95).
Win Contenders in Preference Order:
Om N Joy
Ragtime
Quietside
