Gainesway Farm stands a dozen stallions in Central Kentucky, including the legendary Tapit, but on the racetrack in 2026 when partnering with co-owner Andrew Rosen, their fillies have also grabbed the spotlight.

Luster captured the King’s Plate, the first jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown, for Josie Carroll at Woodbine this summer, and on opening day of Keeneland’s fall meet on Oct. 2, the Brendan Walsh-trained Emphatic upset favored Summer Starlet in taking the $557,450 Darley Alcibiades Stakes.

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The aptly named Emphatic punctuated her status as one of the country’s elite 2-year-old fillies, setting the pace from her inside post under Tyler Gaffalione and turning back an extended bid from favored Summer Starlet, the Grade 1 Spinaway Stakes winner, to prevail by 1 1/4 lengths. After carving out quarter-mile fractions of :24.45, :48.74, and 1:12.49 in the 1 1/16-mile dirt race, Emphatic stopped the clock in 1:43.40 on a fast track to secure the Grade 1 win. Her final time in the Alcibiades was the fastest edition on dirt — Keeneland raced on an all-weather main track from fall 2006 through spring 2014  — since Silverbulletday ran the distance in 1:42.24 on dirt in the 1998 Alcibiades.

Silverbulletday returned to win that fall’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies on her way to a championship — as Emphatic will try to emulate. With the Alcibiades part of the Breeders’ Cup Win and You’re In” Challenge Series, she earned an expenses-paid, automatic berth in the $2 million race. The Juvenile Fillies will be run at the same track and distance as the Alcibiades this year on Oct. 30.

Also with a guaranteed Breeders’ Cup spot by virtue of the Spinaway is Summer Starlet, who also appears headed for the race, provided she exits Friday’s race in satisfactory condition. She lost momentum on the backstretch when a filly behind her clipped one of her hind legs, jockey Flavien Prat said. In a credit to her athleticism, she quickly recovered and challenged Emphatic. She lost for the first time in three races.

“I just need her to come back good, and Flavien said she felt great coming back,” said her trainer, Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen.

An Emphatic victory in Alcibiades (Eclipse Sportswire)

Indicative of how well the top -wo finishers performed, a 17 1/2-length gap separated the runner-up from the show finisher, Oh She Said Yes.

As part of the Road to the Kentucky Oaks, the race’s top five finishers also earned qualifying points distributed on a 10-5-3-2-1 scale toward next spring’s Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs.

Emphatic paid $8.78 for a $2 win wager in the Alcibiades. She improved to 3-for-3 after earlier victories in the Sorority Stakes at Monmouth Park and a maiden race at Colonial Downs.

Walsh credited his team for their work with her.

“They’ve done a great job with her because she was mentally a little fragile, but she’s gotten better and better with racing, which I think is the hallmark of a good horse,” he said.

Late Surge Propels Nakatomi to Repeat Win in Phoenix

Seventh of eight sprinters as the field neared the Keeneland stretch in the $368,238 Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix Stakes, Nakatomi  found another gear, passing six horses through the final quarter-mile to score a repeat victory in the Grade 2 race.

Nakatomi with Irad Ortiz Jr. aboard Friday (Coady Media)

His rally mirrored his success last year, though the margin of victory was greater Friday. Blowing past horses up the inside, he outran runner-up Little Thunder by a length, compared with a neck victory over Durante in the 2025 renewal.

Pacesetter Mad House settled for third in the Phoenix, America’s oldest stakes race with 174 runnings.

Closing behind quarter-mile splits of :21.67 and :44.68 set by Mad House under pressure from eventual fourth-place finisher Booth, Nakatomi completed six furlongs on a fast track in 1:09.93, the exact same time he posted in the 2025 race. He paid $6.64 for a $2 win wager.

Irad Ortiz Jr. rode the winner, as he did last year. Friday’s opening-day card at Keeneland marked the first time Ortiz had ridden since incurring seven small fractures in his left foot during a prerace incident at Saratoga.

“I felt like I had horse every step of the way, was traveling so good,” he said. “I won on him last year. He came from last to first. So I tried to have the same plan, and it worked out beautiful.”

As for his return, “I’m happy to be back, too, and it feels good to be here in the winner’s circle,” he added.—Byron King

Serenas Ghost Strikes for Upset in Jessamine Stakes

Less than a month ago, Serenas Ghost had not made a start.

On Oct. 2, just three weeks after her winning debut at Horseshoe Indianapolis, the daughter of Girvin registered a clear victory in the $388,250 Jessamine Stakes Presented by Keeneland Sales.

Serenas Ghost wins Jessamine Stakes at Keeneland (Eclipse Sportswire)

The win ensures a few more exciting weeks for the connections of Serenas Ghost, a homebred for Barry and Joni Butzow, as she lands a spot in the John Deere Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf with the 1 1/4-length win.

While Serenas Ghost didn’t make her debut until posting a clear victory Sept. 11 in a maiden special weight race going a mile on the turf at Horseshoe Indianapolis, trainer Joe Sharp at least had a good idea of the quality of the horse he had in the barn. Sharp trained Serenas Ghost’s dam, Sirenusa, by Tiznow, a two-time stakes winner at Horseshoe Indianapolis and Canterbury Park; as well as her sire, the late 2017 Louisiana Derby and Haskell Invitational Stakes winner Girvin.

“She’s a special filly to us with that pedigree,” Sharp said. “She’s just really been one of those horses that just continued to impress us in the mornings. She ran impressively first time out around two turns, and then all her energy since then has just been very forward.

“Since coming over to Keeneland a few days ago, the way she’s trained here has given us a lot of confidence that she would run her best effort. To see her what she did today, we’re very pleasantly surprised and pleasantly pleased with the outcome.”—Frank Angst