Simply Ravishing draws away late to romp in Alcibiades

Oct 02, 2020 Vance Hanson/Brisnet.com

Simply Ravishing lived up to her name in the final quarter-mile of Friday's $350,000 Alcibiades Stakes (G1) at Keeneland, extending the lead she'd had from the start to 6 1/2 lengths at the wire of the 2021 Road to the Kentucky Oaks prep.

Trained by Kenny McPeek and guided by Luis Saez, Simply Ravishing set a pace of :24.43, :48.59, and 1:12.94. She finished up 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.58 over a fast track.

Owned by Harold Lerner, Sherri McPeek's Magdalena Racing, and Nehoc Stables, Simply Ravishing paid $6.40 as the 2-1 second choice in a race that also served as a Breeders' Cup Challenge prep for the Nov. 6 Juvenile Fillies (G1), also at Keeneland.

Simply Ravishing earned 10 qualifying points for next year's Oaks. Earning four points was second-pace finisher Crazy Beautiful, also trained by McPeek. Travel Column and Thoughtfully finished third and fourth to earn two and one points, respectively.

Simply Ravishing now heads to the Breeders' Cup with a 3-for-3 record. A one-length winner in a 1 1/16-mile turf race at Saratoga on Aug. 2, Simply Ravishing next romped by 6 1/2 lengths in the Sept. 3 P.G. Johnson Stakes at Saratoga, a race reduced to a field of four after being switched from the turf to the main track over 7 furlongs.

Bred in New York by Meg Levy, Simply Ravishing is by Laoban and out of Four Wishes, by More Than Ready. She sold for $50,000 at Fasig-Tipton last October.