Raven Run (Grade 2)- $250.000 Purse
KEE- For Fillies Three Years Old
Seven Furlongs on the Dirt
October 20, 2018

There was some rain for the 14th running of the Grade 2 Raven Run at KEE, and the track could only be listed as good for the event. There were six going to the gate, and at the end there were four of them hitting the wire in very close proximity. The stewards were unable to separate the top two, and a dead heat is declared between Out Of Wedlock and Cocoa Nut. Both of the winning trainers, D J C Racing Stables for the former and Team 7 Illusions for the latter are first time winners of the stake. I Ortiz Jr has now won the race twice, thanks to Out Of Wedlock, while A Beschizza is a first time winner. The time of the win on the good surface was 1:23.90. Congratulations to them! Let’s take a look at the race.

(1/4 Mile- :23.38)- Out of the gate, both Fortune Tune, from Aml Racing and Cocoa Nut from Team 7 Illusions were quite strong. After a quarter mile, Fortune tune outkicks her rival and leads by a length. Cocoa Nut is restrained a little bit here, and gives up the second position to her eventual co-winner, Out Of Wedlock, from D J C Racing Stables. The two of them still look good, and stalk the pace. Going back a couple lengths, we find Sunsweet (Team 7 Illusions) running side by side with Once Upon A Bombay (Hambletonian Stable), while Rainy Day Woman (John Henry) was another length and a half out of it as the race gets underway.

(½ Mile- :46.83)- Completing the backstretch trip, and moving into the turn, we see Fortune Tune continuing to lead the field as she runs a similar time for the second quarter. Out Of Wedlock was running with her, just to her inside, a little less then a length back. Co-winner Cocoa Nut had back off the close pursuit a little more, and could now be found two and a half lengths off the lead, but was still in the third position. Sunsweet and Once Upon A Bombay still ran side by side, and we had not seen any push out of either quite yet. Rainy Day Woman remained at the back, and still had two lengths to make up on the rest of the field.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)– Fortune Tune is still the leader, but things are tightening up. She drifted a little bit on exit of the turn, and while Out Of Wedlock would have had the rail regardless, this made her trip a little easier for the stretch. She was still half a length back. Cocoa Nut was beginning to get closer again, making up some of the ground to Out Of Wedlock that she conceded early in the backstretch. Sunsweet and Once Upon A Bombay were on the move as well, still running in unison, but Sunsweet looked to take the rail while Once Upon A Bombay took the third lane. Rainy Day Woman seemed more in interested in enjoying the rainy day at this point.

(Finish- 1:23.90)- Simply a fantastic finish here. With a furlong to go, everyone other then Rainy Day Woman still seemed like they had a chance to win. With half a furlong to go, we still had no idea what to expect as they were all still lined up. Out Of Wedlock had done well to come through on the rail, and was running hard, but so too was Cocoa Nut, and they were now heads apart. Sneaking through between them would be Sunsweet, and she too was making a great bid here. On the outside, Once Upon A Bombay was charging, and would have been closer had she not had to be so wide. Fortune Tune was not packing it in, and doing all she could. Rainy Day Woman had the best seat in the house for the action. In the dying moments, this was all going to be about who was going to win this dash, it could go any way between these five. In the end, Out Of Wedlock and Cocoa Nut had just a little bit more then their rivals, but there was no deciding it between them, and they will share the victory. Sunsweet gets a hard fought third, which is now her seventh third place effort in eleven starts. The longshot Once Upon A Bombay also battled tough, and will leave Hambletonian Stable thinking what might have been if she did not have to be so wide. Fortune Tune never went away, and finishes fifth. Rainy Day Woman did get a little closer late, but is sixth.

About the winners: Out Of Wedlock, trained by D J C Racing Stables, and ridden to victory by I Ortiz Jr, is a three year old filly by Unsuited, and is out of Danzig Ghost. She was bred in New York by D J C Racing Stables, as a first quarter two year old, and has been with her breeder throughout. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her sixth in 14 starts, her second stake win, and first graded win. Her career earnings are now $322.040.

Cocoa Nut, trained by Team 7 Illusions, and ridden to victory by A Beschizza, is a three year old filly by Cherokee Sunset, and is out of Orange Cedar. She was bred in New York by Team 7 Illusions as a third quarter two year old and has also been with her breeder throughout. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her fourth in eight starts, her second stake win, and first graded win. Her career earnings are now $304.250.

Looks like the NY-breds took over this race, too!

Track: Good
Time: :23¹  :46⁴  1:11   1:23⁴

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 2 – 6 Paid 11.00, 6 – 2 Paid 21.60
$1 Trifecta: 2 – 6 – 3 Paid 41.80, 6 – 2 – 3 Paid 164.20

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES