Key Of Life First Stakes Winner For Mo Town

It was a first stakes win for Mo Town’s talented daughter Key of Life (2f Mo Town x Longride to Wisdom, by Harlan’s Holiday) on Friday with an authoritative victory in the Myrtlewood Stakes at Keeneland.

The Brad Cox trainee shot out of the gate and set the pace up front while another foe applied pressure on her early on in the six furlong sprint but jockey Florent Geroux never seemed worried. Geroux asked his mount to pick up as they entered the stretch and Key of Life quickly put the field away.

Her jockey gave her a tap in the stretch and she extended even more before asked to gear down as she romped to a 6 ¾ length victory as the heavy favorite.

“She really has put it together over the last month or so,” Cox said. “Her win at Churchill she ran big but she came back here and I thought really showed who she is opening weekend (when she won by 6¼ lengths). We took her back to Churchill and she was training well, and this race came up with a big field so (we decided to) give it a shot. We liked the (post position) she drew. She broke well. Very happy with her performance today.”

It’s the third straight victory for the filly owned by Flurry Racing Stables and Hoffman Family Racing, who was purchased for $350,000 at the OBS April Sale by Flurry Racing Stable from Top Line Sales in the spring.

Bred by Moreau Bloodstock International, Key Of Life is one of four winners from four to run out of two-time winner Longride to Wisdom. That mare is a daughter of multiple stakes winner Clever Idea, who is the dam of three winners from three to race.

Clever Idea is a half-sister to the dam of Grade II winner and successful sire Kantharos and Grade III winner Ikigai with 10 stakes performers under Key of Life’s third dam.

Mo Town’s 13 winners is eighth best of all freshman sires with many of the horses above him having more runners. His first crop runners include two stakes performers, led by today’s winner.