Jessamine Stakes 2018 at Keeneland: Field & Odds

William Werner's My Gal Betty, fresh off a runner-up effort as the favorite in the Natalma (G1) at Woodbine on Sept. 16, heads a field of 14 2-year-old fillies and two also-eligibles entered Friday for Wednesday's 28th running of the $200,000 JPMorgan Chase Jessamine Stakes (G2).

Run at 1 1/16 miles on the turf at Keeneland, the JPMorgan Chase Jessamine is the last of 10 Breeders' Cup Challenge races this meet thas provides the winner a fee-paid berth into the World Championships Nov. 2-3 at Churchill Downs. Wednesday's winner will punch her ticket to the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) at a mile on Nov. 2.

Wednesday's race will go as the seventh on the eight-race program with a 4:24 p.m. ET post time. First post time Wednesday is 1:05 p.m.

Trained by Roger Attfield, My Gal Betty won her first two on starts on Woodbine's all-weather surface and on her first turf try won the Catch a Glimpse going 6 furlongs. The Natalma was run at a mile.

Javier Castellano will have the mount Wednesday and break from post position 13.

Looming as the main challenger to My Gal Betty is Fierce Scarlett, the 7-2 morning line favorite in this year's edition & runaway winner of a 1 1/16-mile turf maiden test at Belmont in her previous start.

Trained by Chad Brown, who won the JPMorgan Chase Jessamine in 2013 with Kitten Kaboodle and last year with RushingFall, Fierce Scarlett is owned by the partnership of Long Lake Stable, Madaket Stables, Thomas Coleman and Doheny Racing Stable.

Irad Ortiz Jr. has the mount on Fierce Scarlett and will break from post position 10.

Another with prior stakes appearance is Moravia, the lone European shipper in the field who exits a second-place effort in the Silver Flash (G3) at Leopardstown. The winner of that seven-furlong test, Skitter Scatter, followed up with victories in the Debutante (G2) and Moyglare Stud (G1).

In addition to Fierce Scarlett, a number of other recent maiden winners could make their presence felt. Rusty Arnold sends out Concrete Rose, who won at first asking going 5 1/2 furlongs at Saratoga in quick time. Other leading stables are represented by Pakhet (Todd Pletcher), Princess Carolina (Kenny McPeek), Speedy Solution (Wesley Ward), and Zalia (Brad Cox).

Trainer Jorge Abreu, who went out on his own in 2016 and saddled his first Keeneland winner this spring, will be gunning for his first Keeneland stakes victory Wednesday when he sends out two runners in the 28th running of the $200,000 JPMorgan Chase Jessamine (G2) for 2-year-old fillies going 1 1/16 miles on the turf.

Representing Abreu will be Steve Weston's Moravia (GB) and NY Final Furlong Racing Stable and Maspeth Stable's EspressoShot in the stakes, a Breeders' Cup Challenge race that awards the winner a fees-paid berth in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) at Churchill Downs on Nov. 2.

Moravia has made all four of her starts in Ireland with a maiden victory and a Group 3 runner-up finish coming at Leopardstown, the latter being her most recent start July 26.

"Mr. Weston bought her just before her last start and we got her in the barn in July," Abreu said. "The plan all along was for this race and then the Breeders' Cup."

The acclimation process for Moravia has gone well.

"I like what I have seen and she has trained really well since we got here," Abreu said of the filly, who last worked Sept. 29 at Saratoga.

Manny Franco will have the mount Wednesday.

Flavien Prat comes in from California to ride Espresso Shot, who comes into the race off a maiden victory at Belmont Park on Sept. 14.

"She has a lot of ability," Abreu said of Espresso Shot, whose two starts have come against fellow New York-breds. "She ran a good race at Saratoga going 5½ furlongs on the turf and then won the off-the-turf race (at 1 1/16 miles) at Belmont. She has got some class to her."

Ashbrook Farm and BBN Racing's Concrete Rose, an impressive maiden winner in August at Saratoga going 5½ furlongs, will try to punch her ticket to the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) with a victory in Wednesday's 28th running of the $200,000 JPMorgan Chase Jessamine (G2) at 1 1/16 miles on the grass.

"She is very talented and done exceptional here. I hope she gets us to Nov. 2 (for the Breeders' Cup)," trainer Rusty Arnold said Tuesday morning. "Her pedigree (Twirling Candy out of a Powerscourt [GB] mare) says she should get the distance. She has breezed and galloped like she should."

Arnold had entered Concrete Rose against the boys for last Sunday's Dixiana Bourbon (G3) at the same distance.

"I was worried we would not get in (the JPMorgan Chase Jessamine) because of the conditioned eligibility of the race," Arnold said. "There were only a few spots available, and there were five fillies that didn't get in. I didn't want to be unlucky.

"They entered for the Bourbon Thursday and the Jessamine Friday and once we got in, we had no intention of running in the Bourbon."

Jose Lezcano, who was aboard for the maiden victory, has the mount Wednesday.