WINTER MEMORIES LEADS QE II FIELD AT KEENELAND

WINTER MEMORIES LEADS QE II FIELD AT KEENELAND

One of the signature races of the Keeneland fall meet, the $400,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup S. (G1), will be held on Saturday. This prestigious race for sophomore fillies on the turf will be led by standout lass Winter Memories, who will ship in from New York. The sensational daughter of El Prado was blocked for much of the Garden City S. (G1) last out, but closed in a blur to win in a most impressive showing for conditioner James Toner. Her dam won this race and she will be the sure-fire favorite to bag this one.

Recent Del Mar Oaks (G1) heroine Summer Soiree should have a big say in the outcome for conditioner Graham Motion, coming off a pair of graded wins in her only two tries on turf. The sophomore daughter of War Front has blazing early speed and should be the one to catch in this spot. The John Shirreffs duo of Nereid and Star Billing have been among the top performers out west and should also be in the mix in the lane of this fine affair. They finished second and third, respectively, in the Del Mar Oaks.

The Friday feature at Keeneland is the $100,000 is the Buffalo Trace Franklin County S., a turf dash fillies and mares.