2018 Shadwell Turf Mile Contenders & Odds at Keeneland

KEENELAND - Heart to Heart, seeking to become the third horse to complete a Keeneland Maker's 46 Mile (G1) and Shadwell Turf Mile (G1) double in the same year, headlines a field of 14 and two also-eligibles entered Wednesday for Saturday's 33rd running of the $1 million Shadwell Turf Mile Stakes.

The Shadwell Turf Mile is the centerpiece of an 11-race program Saturday beginning at 12:40 p.m. ET that features five graded stakes worth $2.35 million. The Shadwell Turf Mile and three other stakes are Breeders' Cup Challenge races for this year's World Championships Nov. 2-3 at Churchill Downs.

The other Grade 1 races are the 105th running of the $500,000 Claiborne Breeders' Futurity for 2-year-olds going 1 1/16 miles on the main track, which drew a field of 14, and the 21st running of the $400,000 First Lady Stakes for fillies and mares going a mile on the turf that attracted a field of 10.

Heart to Heart

The Shadwell Turf Mile, scheduled as the afternoon's 10th race with a 5:49 p.m. post time, is a Win and You're In race for the $2 million Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) on Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs.

Trained by Brian Lynch, Heart to Heart will attempt to join Miss Temple City (2016) and Wise Dan (2014) as horses who swept Keeneland's premier mile turf tests in the same year.

Trainer Brian Lynch said Thursday morning that the 7-year-old son of English Channel does his best running on firm turf as he did in April with a victory in the Maker's 46 Mile (G1) here. Overall Heart to Heart has 15 wins in 37 starts and has earned more than $2 million. He was second in the Shadwell Turf Mile last year.

"I know he is happy to be back at Keeneland because he has great energy around the barn and looks great on the track," Lynch said. "We graze him every afternoon. He loves to get out on the hill (with a handler) in front of our barn. It is a great spot to let a horse drop his head and eat some green grass."

An 11-time graded stakes winner including his Grade 1 score in this year's Gulfstream Park Turf, Heart to Heart comes into Saturday's race off a sixth-place finish in the Fourstardave (G1) at Saratoga in August.

Second in the Shadwell Turf Mile last year, Heart to Heart will be ridden by Julien Leparoux and break from post position five.

Complicating Heart to Heart's task Saturday is the presence of three other Grade 1 winners: Almanaar (GB), Divisidero and Voodoo Song.

Almanaar

Shadwell Stable's Almanaar, winner of last year's Gulfstream Park Turf, comes into Saturday's race off a runner-up effort in the Arlington Million (G1). Trained by Chad Brown, Almanaar will break from post position 11 and be ridden by Javier Castellano.

Divisidero

Gunpowder Farms' Divisidero, a two-time winner of the Grade 1 Turf Classic at Churchill Downs, was fourth in this race last year. Now trained by Kelly Rubley, Divisidero was fifth in the Woodbine Mile (G1) in his most recent start and will be ridden by Jevian Toledo out of post position two.

Voodoo Song

Barry Schwartz's Voodoo Song, winner of the Fourstardave, will be making his Keeneland debut for trainer Linda Rice. Fifth in the Bernard Baruch (G2) in his most recent start, Voodoo Song will be ridden by Jose Lezcano and break from post position 10.

The field for the 2018 Shadwell Turf Mile, with riders and weights from the inside, is: Next Shares (Tyler Gaffalione, 126 pounds), Divisidero (Toledo, 126), Great Wide Open (IRE) (James Graham, 126), Imperative (Albin Jimenez, 126), Heart to Heart (Leparoux, 126), Synchrony (Corey Lanerie, 126), Qurbaan (Mike Smith, 126), Multiplier (Brian Hernandez Jr., 126), Analyze It (John Velazquez, 123), Voodoo Song (Lezcano, 126), Almanaar (GB) (Castellano, 126), Mr. Misunderstood (Florent Geroux, 126), Big Score (Ricardo Santana Jr., 126) and Bound for Nowhere(Julio Garcia, 126). Also-eligible: Zulu Alpha (Luis Saez, 126) and Holiday Stone (Feargal Lynch, 126).

Synchrony was last seen racing at Keeneland 2½ years ago when he finished third in the Lexington Stakes (G3) on dirt for trainer Donnie Von Hemel.

A lot has changed since then. Synchrony returns to Keeneland as a major player for Saturday's $1 million Shadwell Turf Mile (G1), a "Win and You're In" race for the $2 million Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) at Churchill Downs on Nov. 3.

"He has gotten on the turf and never looked back," trainer Mike Stidham said of Synchrony, who has compiled a 9-5-2-2 record on grass. "That was the plan (to run on grass) when he came to me. He had run some good dirt races but they wanted to explore the turf, and Donnie raced at tracks such as Oaklawn where there is no grass racing."

Following the Lexington, Synchrony was off for 10 months before his career resumed under Stidham.

"He battled some issues," Stidham said. "He ran two good races (in early 2017), but we wanted to get him 100 percent and gave him time off."

Since returning in 2018, Synchrony has posted a 6-4-0-2 record with all victories coming in graded stakes. He enters the Shadwell Turf Mile off victories at Monmouth Park in the Oceanport (G3) at 1 1/16 miles and the Red Bank (G3) at a mile.

His lone setbacks came with a third-place finish in the Turf Classic (G1) at Churchill on Derby Day and a third in the 1 3/16-mile Arlington Handicap (G3) on July 7.

"The Arlington race was an experiment to see how he would do going longer," Stidham said. "But the longer distance took away his kick, and we decided to cut back to a mile or a mile and a sixteenth. Right now, I would not trade places with anybody."

The Shadwell Turf Mile Stakes was first run in 1986 and is a fall meet staple at Keeneland Race Course. The $1-million race is contested at one mile on the turf for horses age 3-years-old and older. The Shadwell Turf Mile is part of Keeneland's Fall Stars weekend, and is a "Win and You're In" qualifying race for the Breeders' Cup Mile.

This year is the 33rd edition of the race, which has been sponsored by Shadwell Stable since 1999. It was previously known as the Keeneland Breeders' Cup Mile.

The race has been won by numerous champions including Steinlen, Itsallgreektome, Perfect Soul, Gio Ponti and Wise Dan. Other leading horses such as Purim, Court Vision, Hap and Dumaani have also won the Shadwell Turf Mile.

Altibr set the stakes record when winning the race in 1:33.72 in 2000. Nothing to Lose won by a record 4 1/2 lengths in 2004. Robby Albarado has ridden a record four winners of the Shadwell Turf Mile. Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin and owner Rick Nichols, lessee from Shadwell Racing have partnered to win the race three times, a record for wins by a trainer and by an owner.