2024 Alcibiades Stakes Preview

The long-awaited Keeneland fall meet starts Friday. It is part of Fall Stars Weekend, featuring three days full of graded-stakes races, including a host of Breeders’ Cup preps. The first top-level race of the weekend happens Friday, October 4, with the Darley Alcibiades Stakes, a 1 1/16-mile test for sophomore fillies. The race offers a $600,000 purse, 10-5-3-2-1 Road to the Kentucky Oaks points to the top five finishers, and an expenses-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies for the winner, as part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series.

The race drew a field of eight, including two-time stakes winner The Queens M G as well as the top three finishers from the Spinaway (G1): Immersive, Quietside, and Sherbini. The Alcibiades has been a strong prep for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies in recent years, since the track reverted to dirt. The 2022 winner, Wonder Wheel, went on to win at the Breeders’ Cup, which was also held at Keeneland that year. Other horses to sweep the pair include British Idiom (2019), Silverbulletday (1998), Countess Diana (1997), and Eliza (1992). In 2011, when Keeneland had Polytrack on the main course, Alcibiades winner Stephanie’s Kitten went on to win the Juvenile Fillies Turf, as well.

Alcibiades Stakes Information

• Race Date: Friday, October 4
• Track: Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky
• Post Time: 5:16 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time
• Distance: 1 1/16 miles on the dirt
• Age/Sex: two-year-old fillies
• Where to Watch: FanDuel TV
• Where to Bet: FanDuel Racing

2024 Alcibiades Stakes Draw and Odds

This is the eight-horse field for the 2024 Alcibiades Stakes. It includes post positions, trainers, and morning-line odds for each horse.

Alcibiades Stakes Prep Race Results

The eight horses in the Alcibiades come out of five different races. Half the field comes out of the Spinaway (G1), the late-season feature at Saratoga. In that seven-furlong splash over the Saratoga mud, Immersive stalked the pace and got up by 1 ¼ lengths over Quietside, while Sherbini rallied from near the rear for third. The Queens M G, who won the other two juvenile fillies’ stakes at the Spa this summer, flattened out to fifth in the Spinaway.

One other runner comes out of graded-stakes company. Liam in the Dust tracked the pace in the Pocahontas but was overhauled late, crossing the wire ¾ length behind winner La Cara.

The other three runners come out of victories in non-stakes races, with two of them on dirt. Continuity romped by seven lengths in a six-furlong dirt sprint, a first-level allowance at Colonial Downs, on August 16. Quickick, the only horse without experience against winners, broke her maiden September 1 a Saratoga in a seven-furlong sprint, rallying from midfield and edging away to win by 2 ½ lengths.

Rich City Girl is the only horse who raced last out on the lawn. She stalked and pounced to win by ½ length in a 6 ½-furlong allowance on the lawn at Kentucky Downs. However, her first two starts were good efforts on dirt.

2024 Alcibiades Stakes Contenders

These are the eight horses entered in the race, organized by post position:

1. Continuity: This daughter of Speightster is undefeated in two starts, both six-furlong sprints. She should show some speed from the fence, though she may not make the top with some fast horses drawn outside of her. She has some things to prove, facing stakes foes for the first time and stretching out past six furlongs for the first time, with a pedigree that looks hit-or-miss for the trip. She also has to prove that she can run back to that last outing, which was a massive step up from her debut.
2. Sherbini: A debut winner at Churchill Downs in June, she has hit the board in a pair of stakes since. She hasn’t run a bad race, and she has some appeal on the stretch out, but pace is a question since she has only ever run a closing style against stakes horses. The short stretch at Keeneland may not help her case, but if all the possible speed really does step on the gas, she can pick up pieces at least for a share.
3. Liam in the Dust: She stepped up to stakes company in the Pocahontas after a tough frontrunning debut victory in a maiden special weight at Ellis. In her stakes debut, she stalked the pace, made an early move, but got reeled in late. The extra sixteenth of a mile plays well to her pedigree, though she is probably going to need to both work a better-timed move under new jockey Flavien Prat as well as take a step forward speed-wise.
4. Rich City Girl: Trainer Larry Rivelli has built a career on a barn full of speed horses, and he has another one here: she has been on or near the lead in all three of her starts. Though her richest win to date came on the grass last out, she broke her maiden on dirt and is takes-placed over dirt as well. The stretch out to 1 1/16 miles should work well given her pedigree, and trainer Rivelli has had success at a price before when keeping jockey Gerardo Corrales on a big horse he fits well. Consider her if speed is playing extremely well on Friday.
5. The Queens M G: It’s feast or famine with her, one of only two stakes winners in the field: in five starts, she has three sharp victories and two double-digit defeats. The weather report suggests she’ll get the dry track she prefers on Friday at Keeneland, and her pedigree does bode well for a stretch out to 1 1/16 miles. Especially with a victory over the course back in the spring, and a switch to high-percentage rider Tyler Gaffalione, there is a strong chance we’ll see the better version of The Queens M G.
6. Quickick: On debut, he settled in last and rallied for third behind a runaway winner, though that runaway winner was La Cara—who franked the race nicely by winning the Pocahontas next out. Quickick moved up nicely next out, too: she chased much closer to the pace and then won by daylight. That more tactical gear could help her, as she could get a nice trip a couple of lengths behind the pace. It is also interesting that Dylan Davis, who has been the regular rider of both her and The Queens M G, stays with Quickick.
7. Quietside: A 6 ¼-length debut maiden win at Saratoga on August 4 punched her ticket to the Spinaway, where she was bet down to favoritism. She didn’t win, but she showed the same tactical speed and was just put away late by Immersive. Quietside would be well suited by showing more maturity at the start this time than she did in the Spinaway, where she veered out early. But, if she can, she can make good account.
8. Immersive: She is the other of two stakes winners in the field. Her dam was the beaten favorite in this race ten years ago, but she very well could avenge that. She has won both her races in stalk-and-pounce fashion: a maiden sprint and the Spinaway, both at Saratoga. This will be her first two-turn try, but she is bred top and bottom for this distance. She should also get a very clean and tactical trip from the outside in a relatively short field.

2024 Alcibiades Stakes FAQ

Q: When and where is the Alcibiades Stakes?

A: The Alcibiades Stakes happens on Friday, October 4, at 5:16 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The race is carded as the ninth of ten on the opening-day card at Keeneland Race Course.

Q: Which trainer has the most wins in the Alcibiades Stakes?

A: D. Wayne Lukas leads all trainers with six victories in the Alcibiades Stakes between 1983 and 2003. Lukas is still actively training; he does not have an entrant in this year’s edition. Among trainers with horses in the 2024 Alcibiades, Mark Casse leads with four wins, most recently with Wonder Wheel in 2022. He can make it five if Sherbini wins in 2024.

Q: Who is the favorite for the Alcibiades Stakes?

A: Immersive is the 2-1 morning-line favorite off of her victory in the Spinaway. She would be no surprise to hold that status, especially since her trainer, Brad Cox, has already won this race twice before.

Q: Who is the best Alcibiades Stakes jockey?

A: Jockeys Don Brumfield and Rafael Bejarano have both won the Alcibiades Stakes three times. Though Bejarano is still actively riding, he does not have a call in the Alcibiades this year. Among riders this year, Luis Saez leads with two wins, with Simply Ravishing in 2020 and Candied in 2023. Saez can make it three with Quietside.

Q: Who won the Alcibiades Stakes in 2023?

A: Candied won the 2023 Alcibiades Stakes, en route to a third-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. Candied won for trainer Todd Pletcher under jockey Luis Saez. Pletcher does not have an entrant this year, but Saez rides Quietside for trainer John Ortiz.

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