KEENELAND IS RAVISHING

What do you do when two stable-mail horses collide in the same race, such as the Grade 1 Alcibiades for juvenile fillies on opening Friday at Keeneland, where undefeated Thoughtfully (3-1) meets the troubled Crazy Beautiful (5-2)?

You keep working, and look for an alternative, which is not as flippant as it sounds. Thoughtfully could not have been more impressive taking Saratoga’s G2 Adirondack, drawing off powerfully in the final stages in an impressive effort.

And if it’s a rough trip poster child you seek, check our Crazy Beautiful’s troubled G2 Pocahontas at Churchill last out, blocked and checked in the midst of a big turn move, forcing her to settle for place behind the impressive Girl Daddy.

So, for the heck of it, we checked out the winner of a four-filly sprint in the listed P.G. Johnson, reduced in size when the two-turn turfer was rescheduled to the main track at 7 furlongs. Win or lose, we’re glad we did.

Beneath Luis Saez, Simply Ravishing (3-1) stalked the 6-5 favorite down the backside, moved without much encouragement to lead into the stretch and was ridden out to the sixteenth pole, at which point she was taken in hand and galloped out with reserves.

There are some fast fillies to her inside which will give Saez options. She’s the only runner two two turn experience, albeit on turf, and in that 7-furlongs jaunt, she finished up her last three furlongs in 36.21, and she’s worked well since.

We’re taking Simply Ravishing to win at early line odds or greater, key-boxing exactas with the two fillies to watch listed above, and super exotics part wheel Simply Ravishing and Crazy Beautiful on top of themselves and Thoughtfully and Travel Column (7-2) below.