Rattle N Roll chases second Ben Ali win at Keeneland

Rattle N Roll will bring a resume that still carries real weight into Keeneland’s 95th Ben Ali Stakes, and that is exactly why the race has shape. The 6-year-old son of Connect returns to his favorite Lexington oval on April 18 in search of a second Ben Ali victory, with 31 starts, 11 wins and $3.9 million in earnings behind him. He already proved his Keeneland fit by winning the 2023 Ben Ali, and his Grade 1 victory in the 2021 Breeders’ Futurity remains the kind of early class that has kept him relevant in the older-horse division.

The Ben Ali will be run as Race 9 on Keeneland’s Saturday card, with a 5:16 p.m. post time, and the $350,000 Grade 3 is restricted to 4-year-olds and up. BloodHorse has Rattle N Roll listed as the second betting choice at 3-1, a sign that bettors still respect the old pro even with a strong barn challenge waiting. The main obstacle comes from Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, who sends out the favorite Batten Down and the third choice Stars and Stripes. Batten Down has banked $800,795 in career earnings, while Stars and Stripes has earned $220,670, giving Mott two legitimate runners with upside against a horse whose edge is experience and proven Keeneland form.

That contrast gives the race its appeal. Rattle N Roll is the proven stakes horse, the kind whose 31-race body of work suggests he knows how to show up when the conditions are right. Batten Down and Stars and Stripes arrive with the look of horses still building their résumés, which makes the Ben Ali more than a routine spring stakes. It becomes a test of whether established class can repel a barnmate-heavy challenge from a stable that has plenty of tactical options.

The Ben Ali itself carries the kind of history that gives Keeneland spring racing extra texture. Keeneland traces the race to 1917, when it began at the Kentucky Association track in Lexington, and says it was revived at Keeneland in 1937 after its last run there in 1922. The race was also renewed at Churchill Downs from 1943 through 1945. It is named for breeder and financier James Ben Ali Haggin, whose name has stayed attached to one of the track’s most familiar older-horse stakes.

Tennessee Lamb won the 2025 running for trainer George Arnold II, jockey Jose L. Ortiz and Calumet Farm, and this year’s edition brings a different kind of intrigue. Rattle N Roll has already made the Ben Ali part of his own story, and another Keeneland score would reinforce his standing as one of the division’s most durable and recognizable names.