Alcibiades Stakes (Keeneland) Predictions, Betting Odds, Picks 2022

Check out our predictions and odds for the 2022 Alcibiades Stakes at Keeneland!

Alcibiades Stakes Predictions and Best Bets

Here are my plays ($60 in total)

$10 Exacta Box – Fun and Feisty and Wonder Wheel = $20

$5 Exacta Part Wheel – Fun and Feisty and Wonder Wheel over Stellar Lady and Take Charge Briana = $20

$5 Exacta Part Wheel – Stellar Lady and Take Charge Briana over Fun and Feisty and Wonder Wheel = $20

If you’re playing only to win, go with my top pick Fun and Feisty (9/2).

Take a look at our Horse Racing Calculator and ensure your bets!

In a key Breeders’ Cup prep, Wonder Wheel and Fun and Feisty, both stakes winners at Churchill Downs, headline a full field of 14 juvenile fillies entered in Friday’s Grade 1 Alcibiades at Keeneland.

Wonder Wheel was the runner-up in the Grade 1 Spinaway at Saratoga in her most recent start, five weeks ago. The daughter of Into Mischief was a debut winner at Churchill Downs in June before graduating to stakes racing.

In her stakes debut, she rolled home by nearly seven lengths in the Debutante Stakes beneath the famed twin spires for trainer Mark Casse.

Fun and Feisty, meanwhile, looks to be her top competition in the $500,000 affair. The Midshipman filly was a rallying winner of the 1 1/16 mile Pocahontas (G3) at Churchill Downs three weeks ago.

It was her second consecutive win at the Louisville oval after running sixth and second in her first two career starts. She is trained by Kenny McPeek, who has won the Alcibiades five times.

The 1 1/16-mile feature has also attracted the Todd Pletcher-trained Kaling. A daughter of Practical Joke, she was a debut winner at Saratoga in July, before coming back to run third in the Spinaway in her stakes debut.

As a Breeders’ Cup Challenge race, Friday’s Alcibiades affords the winner an all-fees-paid berth into the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Keeneland on November 4.

Alcibiades Predictions and Race Analysis

Wonder Wheel

No filly in the race is more stakes proven than this Mark Casse-trained miss. A sharp winner of her first two career starts while sprinting at Churchill Downs, the second one came in a romp in the Debutante Stakes.

While her unbeaten record was blemished last time, she did little to tarnish her image as a good filly when a solid second in the Grade 1 Spinaway at Saratoga.

The daughter of Into Mischief will need to prove she can maintain her good form while trying two-turns for the first time, but her pedigree has me believing that it won’t be a problem. She is a top threat to my top pick.

Fun and Feisty

Improving in each and every start, this Midshipman filly has a big shot to make it two graded stakes wins in a row in Kentucky. An impressive winner of a maiden sprint two starts back at Churchill Downs, she certainly looked to appreciate the added distance last time.

In fact, she engulfed the field in the 1 1/16-mile, Grade 3 Pocohontas for trainer Kenny McPeek. Clearly sharp now and already proven at the distance, she seems like a logical horse in the Alcibiades.

While others in the field have plenty to prove, I think a repeat of her last will probably get the job done. She is the top pick.

Kaling

This filly from the Hall of Fame barn of Todd Pletcher made a fine account for herself in her first two starts at Saratoga. After a solid win going 6 furlongs, she moved right up to Grade 1 company and was a competitive third in the Spinaway.

If she can move forward off that effort, she rates a real chance on Friday. Having said that, she is still a little light on experience as she stretches out for the first time against 13 other fillies. I also wonder if two turns will ultimately be her game. She is still a danger, though.

Chop Chop

This City of Light filly has done little wrong so far for trainer Brad Cox. A debut winner while going a mile at Ellis Park, she came back three weeks later to earn a hard-fought victory in the $500,000 Juvenile Fillies at Kentucky Downs.

Now she will face an even tougher group in the Alcibiades. Complicating the issue, this will also be her first try on dirt. The pedigree says it won’t be a problem, but it seems like a difficult spot for her main track debut. I cannot dismiss the unbeaten stakes winner, though.

Raging Sea

This one will be giving up experience to the rest of the field, with only a 7-furlong maiden race to her past performances. The effort was good enough for the Chad Brown-trained filly, who was a determined winner by a neck at Saratoga.

It says something that her top connections have moved her right up to this Grade 1 test, but I’m not sure that I saw enough in her debut performance to get on her bandwagon just yet. Having said that, the Curlin filly is eligible to be a good one.

Essaouira

Trained by Graham Motion, this daughter of Super Saver ran a good race in her debut, finishing well in a 5 1/2-furlong grass race at Saratoga. Off that effort, she moved to Delaware Park where she scored an easy victory going 1 1/16 miles.

It’s hard to know what she beat there, so it will likely be a pretty serious bump up in competition for her on Friday. Still, her first two races promise plenty of potential. I do like a few others better in this big field, but it would not surprise me if she ran well here.

Infinite Diamond

This daughter of Bee Jersey has run three solid races in maiden company. Competitive in two sprints to begin her career, one at Gulfstream Park and the other at Del Mar, she exploded last time to win by 14 1/2 lengths when stretched to a mile.

That win came at Gulfstream Park. Now she travels to Keeneland and will need to prove that she belongs in the graded company. Because of the margin of victory in her last, I think she will take some betting action and I’m not sure if the value will be there for a filly moving up in class.

Just Cindy

This well-bred daughter of Justify was a smart winner of her first two starts, which came in a maiden race at Churchill Downs and then the Grade 3 Schuylerville at Saratoga. Trained by Eddie Kenneally, she was unable to keep the momentum going last time, though.

She did break poorly but did little after that in the Spinaway. While eligible to bounce back off that performance, I am not confident that she will be successful against this tough 14-horse field as she stretches out to 8 ½ furlongs.

Stellar Lady

This Shackleford filly is the second of two for trainer Kenny McPeek. After a solid debut in which she rallied for second behind a future Grade 1 winner, she switched to turf for her next two.

A decent third sprinting at Saratoga was followed by a maiden-breaking performance at Kentucky Downs while going a mile. While the turf races gave her a good experience, I like the switch back to dirt. She will have better odds than her stablemate and is dangerous here.

Take Charge Briana

This well-bred daughter of Curlin has been on the improve for Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas since finishing fourth in her debut three starts back. She was only third in her second start, but that effort came against Chocolate Gelato, who is now a Grade 1 winner.

Last time, she stumbled at the start and finished with a flourish to win going 7 furlongs at Saratoga. I like her workouts since she is one who should appreciate the extra distance. She is another filly with odds who I will be using here.

Boss Lady Bailey

This Connect filly actually got the best of Fun and Feisty in her career debut, winning by a neck at Ellis Park. While that one got the better of her in their rematch, her fourth-place finish was not bad in what was both her stakes and two-turn debut.

If she can improve off the effort, she is very playable here at attractive odds. The far outside post is not going to do her any favors, however.

Xigera

It will be the first time on the dirt for this daughter of Nyquist following two solid efforts on the turf to begin her career. Both came at 1 1/16 miles at Saratoga, and after a solid second in her debut, she rolled to an easy maiden score in her next outing.

Her pedigree points to the potential to handle the main track so that coupled with her good experience at the distance makes her an interesting filly on Friday. She’s worth a look at double-digit odds in her stakes debut.

Sabra Tuff

After a hard-fought victory in her debut for trainer Dallas Stewart, this Cross Traffic filly has faced stakes company in her last three. While she wasn’t embarrassed in any of them, she also was well beaten by Wonder Wheel twice.

While the two turns of the Alcibiades will throw a new wrinkle into their match-up, it’s hard to get excited about here against that rival, and several other talented fillies.

Mustang Lady

This daughter of Tonalist came from way back in her debut to get up in the final strides in a maiden race taken off the turf at Ellis Park. Moved up into stakes company next out, she didn’t show much in the Juvenile Fillies on yielding turf at Kentucky Downs.

Back on dirt this time for trainer Troy Newton, I’m not sure she has enough speed to make a serious dent in this full field on Friday at Keeneland.

How to Watch the Alcibiades Stakes