Nickname highlights small Beaumont field

Grade 1 winner Nickname is the top name in Sunday’s $150,000 Beaumont (G3) at Keeneland, though the Scat Daddy filly may have a tough task ahead of her with some up-and-comers making their stakes bows.

Nickname could be using the Beaumont as a last-ditch effort to make the Kentucky Oaks (G1) on May 6 at Churchill Downs. The seven-furlong Beaumont is part of the Road to the Kentucky Oaks series of points races, and will award 10-4-2-1 points to the respective top four runners.

Nickname would probably need to finish at least second to make this year’s running of the nine-furlong Kentucky Oaks. The Steve Asmussen trainee has filled that spot in her two efforts thus far this season at Oaklawn Park in the Martha Washington S. and Honeybee (G3). Winner of the Frizette (G1) in 2015, Nickname was 6 1/2 lengths behind the Honeybee scorer last out and gets a jockey switch to Javier Castellano on Sunday.

Both Kinsley Kisses and Lightstream will be trying stakes rivals for the first time in the Beaumont. The former is two-for-two lifetime, including a seven-length romp last out on March 13 in a Tampa Bay Downs allowance/optional claimer. John Velazquez has the call.

Lightstream is facing winners for the first time after breaking her maiden by 2 1/4 lengths on March 6 at Gulfstream Park. The Harlan’s Holiday filly earned a field-best 104 BRIS Speed rating for that effort and gets Julien Leparoux back in the irons.

R Girls a Charmer romped in her maiden win on January 2 at Gulfstream, then switched trainers from Alfred McIntosh Jr. to Mark Casse in time to take the Gasparilla S. at Tampa Bay Downs 21 days later. The In Summation filly was last seen running fourth, beaten 21 lengths, in the one-mile Davona Dale (G2) back at Gulfstream, and will be cutting back to seven furlongs in this spot with Luis Saez holding the reins.

American Doll rounds out the Beaumont field in what will be her dirt debut. The Ben Colebrook trainee broke her maiden then scored in a pair of allowance/optional claimers over Turfway Park’s synthetic Polytrack prior to finishing fifth in the Bourbonette Oaks (G3) last out. American Doll gets Floret Geroux in the saddle for the first time.

Nickname photo courtesy of NYRA/Adam Coglianese Photography