Expert Pick of the Week: 2026 Raven Run Stakes

Oct 14, 2026 John Mucciolo/TwinSpires.com

Mashallah wins at Keeneland. (Photo by Coady Media)

A dozen three-year-old fillies will jaunt seven panels over the Keeneland dirt surface in Saturday’s $400,000 Raven Run (G2). The Brendan Walsh-trained Mashallah is four-for-four sprinting in her career with wins by a combined 21 1/4 lengths and will be the one to beat in her second run on the surface. Purchased for a whopping $1.25 million in the spring of 2025, the daughter of Maxfield aced her first graded test with a five-length victory in the Prioress (G3) at Saratoga on Sept. 6, and she has trained well in advance of Saturday, as well.

Mashallah turned heads in her debut performance at Keeneland in April, cruising home to an easy score and earning a hefty 102 Brisnet Speed rating while running six furlongs on the course. The Kentucky-bred is arguably the quickest filly in the field, with many late-running types drawn inside her, and I expect her to take the lead early in this affair. She smoked a bullet five-eighths on the course on Oct. 9 in preparation for this assignment and will be a formidable foe from the outset with Tyler Gaffalione in the controls.

👑𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗔𝗛 proves to be the best and wins the Prioress S. at Saratoga under @jockeyfranco for trainer @brenpwalsh. pic.twitter.com/S4bK3uukgb

— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) September 6, 2026

Percy’s Bar has run three of her most impressive races on the Keeneland surface and returns to the main strip following a failed turf experiment last time out at Kentucky Downs. By Upstart, the sophomore lass from the Ben Colebrook barn is a Grade 1 winner locally and ran a big second in her latest dirt effort when runner-up in the deep Test (G1) at Saratoga on Aug. 8. The bay uses this venue as her main training base throughout the year, and she will be moving best in the stretch with Jose Ortiz in the irons.

Juddmonte homebred Conceit is perfect from four lifetime races on the dirt and comes off a game score in the Dogwood (G3) at Churchill Downs most recently. The Brad Cox charge has shown a versatile running style during her current three-race winning streak and seems likely to handle this course in her first try at Keeneland, with Irad Ortiz, Jr. inheriting the ride.

Expert Pick

An exacta with #9 Mashallah on top of #6 Percy’s Bar and #8 Conceit in the 2026 Raven Run Stakes is the Best Bet of the Week.