Maclean’s Music juvenile Raise the Bar
Dominant Keeneland performance for Texas-bred son of Hill ‘n’ Dale sire
By Frances J. Karon
Although not the feature race of the afternoon, the highlight of a sloppy Wednesday card at Keeneland was the professional performance by the debuting 2-year-old Raise the Bar, a Douglas Scharbauer homebred trained by Wesley Ward. The strapping Texas-bred colt is a Maclean’s Music grandson of dual Grade 1 10-fur. turf winner Pure Clan (Pure Prize) and won the 4 1/2-fur. 2-year-old maiden in hand as easily as jockey John Velazquez pleased by a geared-down 2 1/4 lengths.
His unplaced dam Paschali, a half-sister to 1 5/16-mile Kentucky Downs turf course record-setting stakes winner Princesa Carolina (Tapit), is by Bernardini, so Raise the Bar is bred on the excellent Maclean’s Music/A.P. Indy cross that’s already given us champion sprinter Jackie’s Warrior, Classic winner Cloud Computing, and Grade 1-placed Grade 3 winner Dance to the Music. While Maclean’s Music has yet to sire a stakes winner from 19 foals out of Bernardini mares, his sire Distorted Humor has three graded winners and Distorted Humor’s lesser son Alternation has Grade 1 winner Serengeti Empress, all with Bernardini.
Raise the Bar has the physique and mindset of an older, more mature horse who continue to move forward, and he could be an exciting one down the road for a stallion who got two of his four Grade 1 winners as 2-year-olds. This is also the family of Grade 2/Grade 3-winning 2-year-old Greater Good (Intidab)—a half to second dam Pure Clan—and Grade 1 sprinter Finley’sluckycharm (Twirling Candy), who won the 7-fur. Madison at Keeneland in 2018. His fourth dam is champion sprinter What a Summer (What Luck), who won two editions of the G2 Fall Highweight H. over males.
Hill ‘n’ Dale sire Maclean’s Music had an exacta of sorts in the race, as second-place finisher Tuxedo Park was the first starter for his Airdrie-based son Complexity, winner of the G1 Champagne at two and G2 Kelso at four. Trained by Paul McEntee, Tuxedo Park was the first mount at Keeneland for seven-pound apprentice Joe Bealmear, whose 16 career wins have all come at Oaklawn but who got his early start riding in the mornings at Keeneland.