Red Oak Stable's homebred Unbridled Mo, a winner of five of seven starts and two grade 3 events, heads a field of five fillies and mares entered for the $100,000 Hilliard Lyons Doubledogdare Stakes (G3) at Keeneland April 21.
Trained by Todd Pletcher, Unbridled Mo enters Friday's race off a victory in the Houston Ladies Classic Stakes (G3) at Sam Houston Jan. 29 where she defeated a field that included multiple grade 1 winner I'm a Chatterbox. That score proved a nice rebound after the 4-year-old daughter of Uncle Mo had a rare off day in the Comely Stakes (G3) Nov. 26, when she finished sixth in the seven-horse field.
Unbridled Mo won four straight prior to that loss in the Comely, including a victory in the Monmouth Oaks (G3) last August.
"We were originally going to go to the Azeri (G2 on March 18 at Oaklawn Park) but she had a foot abscess and that put us back a couple of weeks," Pletcher said of Unbridled Mo. "This was an alternative spot and we felt like it was a good spot."
John Velazquez will have the mount on Unbridled Mo from post 5 for the 1 1/16-mile test on the main track.
The chief rival to Unbridled Mo figures to be The Elkstone Group's Lady Fog Horn. Trained by Anthony Granitz, Lady Fog Horn closed out her 2016 campaign with a victory in the Falls City Handicap (G2) at Churchill Downs. The daughter of Zavata finished second in her 2017 debut at Keeneland April 9 in an allowance race going 1 1/16 miles and has not been out of the top two placings in her last six starts.
Albin Jimenez has the mount and from post 2.
Keeneland, Friday, April 21, 2017, Race 9Entries: Hilliard Lyons Doubledogdare S. (G3)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Power of Snunner (PA) Mike E. Smith 118 Joe Sharp 5/1 2 2Lady Fog Horn (IN) Albin Jimenez 120 Anthony J. Granitz 5/2 3 3Dear Elaine (KY) Julien R. Leparoux 118 Charles Lopresti 7/2 4 4Twirl Girl (KY) Javier Castellano 118 Joe Sharp 20/1 5 5Unbridled Mo (KY) John R. Velazquez 120 Todd A. Pletcher 4/5
