By Stefanie Grimm
In a wide-open edition of the GII Bank of America Valley View Stakes, it was Claiborne Farm's homebred filly Admit (Blame) who stepped up to the mark Friday, capturing her first graded stakes race under John Velazquez.
After breaking her maiden in her third career start on the Tapeta at Turfway last December, the Thomas Drury trainee tried the Road to the Kentucky Oaks, earning placings in both the Cincinnati Trophy Stakes and the Bourbonette Oaks on the synthetic surface before switching to the dirt to contest the GI Central Bank Ashland Stakes at Keeneland Apr. 7. A no-impact seventh there, Claiborne opted to switch their filly to the grass and she rewarded them with an immediate win facing allowance runners June 14 followed by a placing in the 1 1/8-mile GII Pucker Up Stakes at Ellis Park Aug. 3. Stretched out to 1 5/16ths in the GIII Dueling Ground Oaks last out Sept. 10 at Kentucky Downs, she pressed things early but flattened to finish a better-than-her-odds fourth at 34-1.
Friday's Valley View saw her cut back to one mile, the only previous distance she'd seen success at in each of her three prior victories for Drury.
Rail-drawn but in no hurry under Velazquez, Admit was quickly swarmed by the field to her outside on the run into the clubhouse turn and had to check back off of heels as Play With Fire (Oscar Performance) assumed a rail slot in front of her. By the time the group of fillies sorted themselves out onto the backstretch, it was longshot Stormy Paradise (Get Stormy) who came away on the lead and she was keen to go on with it, opening up a several-length gap back to Totally Justified (Justify) and Sturgeon Moon (Instagrand) who gave chase through an opening quarter in 22.74.
Racing ahead of only three rivals, Admit went comfortably along now a path off the inside as the back half of the field began to bunch up nearing the half-mile pole. As Velazquez stayed largely motionless, his 9-1 shot began to make up ground past the half in :46.54, moving up but having to go wide to do it around the far turn. As Stormy Paradise wilted at the furlong pole, Admit was charging down the center of the Keeneland turf course. And, despite drifting in, she came clear with less than a sixteenth to run and was safely home, never in danger of being caught by a closing Classic Q (Classic Empire) who got up to nail 35-1 shot Somethinabouther (Mendelssohn) on the wire for the placing. The final time of 1:35.17 was a new stakes record.
“It's nice when it all works out, because often times it doesn't,” said Claiborne's Walker Hancock. “We really like this filly. We ran her here in the (Central Bank) Ashland because we had some (Kentucky) Oaks (G1) aspirations, but obviously she has an affinity for the turf, and she showed it today. I think she's the seventh or eighth generation of a (female) family of ours, so it's nice to see it all come to fruition, when you cultivate these families year over year, generation over generation. To have Blame be her sire, who's a homebred of ours as well (and stands at Claiborne), it's really special.”
Drury added: “We were hopeful. Her last couple works have been fantastic, and we were cautiously optimistic. After the Kentucky Downs race (when fourth in the GIII Blackwood Dueling Grounds Oaks Invitational on Sept. 10), Walker (Hancock, President of owner Claiborne Farm) reached out to me and said, 'The Valley View at Keeneland seems like it's the logical spot for her,' and we kind of worked backward from that. I'm just truly at a loss for words. This is a lot of fun.”
Velazquez, who with the win Friday tied Pat Day's record for the most stakes wins by a jockey in a Keeneland meet with seven, said: “We ran to the first turn to make sure we got in a good position. (Jockey) Flavien (Prat on Play With Fire) in front of me was having a little trouble, bouncing around the first turn against the rail. Once we got to the backstretch, I kept her right behind the horse in front of me and kept her there. I put her in the clear a little bit and (her ears pricked up). I put her right behind some of the horses in front of me. I didn't pull her out until the quarter pole when I came out and she put her ears (up), like fresh. When I asked her., she responded really well. Then she put her head in front and she felt by herself and she went to duck in, but I went left-handed and she responded nicely. (Trainer) Tommy (Drury Jr.) gave me a lot of confidence right before the race, that she was doing great, I should ride her how I want to, and it worked out really good.”
Pedigree Note:
Admit is the 25th stakes winner for Claiborne stalwart Blame who was announced at $25,000 for the 2026 breeding season. She is Claiborne-bred through and through with first dam Profess (also a farm homebred), out of another of the farm's longtime residents in War Front. Profess, out of GI Frizette Stakes winner Preach, is a half-sister to MGSW/GISP and late sire Pulpit (A.P. Indy) and to the dams of SW/GISP Endless Chatter (First Samurai), Irish G1SP Whitecliffsofdover (War Front) and GSW/GISP Wild Shot (Trappe Shot). The class extends further back still as third dam Narrate (still Claiborne!) produced the dam of MG1SW Minardi (Boundary) and GSW/MGISP and sire Tale of the Cat (Storm Cat).
From six foals to race for Profess, four have been winners including Admit's full-sister, Lady Lawyer. And while Profess is not represented by a yearling this season, she did report a filly by Cairo Prince this year and was bred back to Upstart for 2026.
Admit picks up her first graded stakes victory in the G2 Valley View! 🏆@tomdruryracing trains the @claibornefarm homebred and @ljlmvel was aboard!
🎥 #TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/i3ujcgEHtO
— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) October 24, 2025
Friday, Keeneland
BANK OF AMERICA VALLEY VIEW S.-GII, $396,013, Keeneland, 10-24, 3yo, f, 1mT, 1:35.17, fm.
1–ADMIT, 118, f, 3, by Blame
1st Dam: Profess, by War Front
2nd Dam: Preach, by Mr. Prospector
3rd Dam: Narrate, by Honest Pleasure
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN.
O/B-Claiborne Farm (KY); T-Thomas Drury, Jr.; J-John R.
Velazquez. $226,300. Lifetime Record: 11-4-1-3, $608,323.
Werk Nick Rating: F. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Classic Q, 118, f, 3, Classic Empire–Lovely Em, by Scat Daddy.
($40,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP). O-Gary Barber, Blue Crevalle Racing
& Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners; B-Winning Bloodstock (KY);
T-Mark E. Casse. $73,000.
3–Somethinabouther, 118, f, 3, Mendelssohn–Phantom Proton,
by Ghostzapper. ($210,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP). O-X-Men Racing IV
LLC, Madaket Stables LLC & SF Racing LLC; B-Stepaside Farm
LLC (KY); T-Brendan P. Walsh. $36,500.
Margins: 1HF, HD, 1. Odds: 9.30, 6.32, 35.27.
Also Ran: Next Up, Tabiti (GB), Totally Justified, May Day Ready, Play With Fire, Reining Flowers, Sturgeon Moon, Vixen, Stormy Paradise. Scratched: Golden Sunshine, Ramsey Pond, Yes It Tiz.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
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