Reb Five storms late to upset Palisades at Keeneland at 16-1

Reb Five turned the $300,000 Palisades at Keeneland into a lesson in timing, not speed alone. The 16-1 shot won the 5 1/2-furlong turf stakes for 3-year-olds by a neck in 1:04.06 over a firm course, getting up late to run down Throckmorton in the race’s 20th running before an 11-horse crowd.

Monster made the early shape honest with an opening quarter in :21.05, and that pace helped set the table for a closer who never panicked. Reb Five was eighth early, got boxed in and checked off heels on the turn, then found a narrow opening along the rail. Jose Ortiz said the rail opening was too tight, so he shifted out for room and called that move the winning one, adding that saving ground around the turn helped.

That tactical patience mattered because Throckmorton also had every chance to finish the job. Luis Saez said Throckmorton had a good trip and that he thought he would win coming into the stretch. Azizam-GB, under Javier Castellano, finished strongly enough to get a piece of the purse, while the favored Schwarzenegger never found his best stride and wound up seventh. John Velazquez said Schwarzenegger had trouble getting a hold of the track and seemed to be spinning his wheels, a telling note after a little rain left the firm turf with some give.

For Reb Five, the victory was the first stakes score of his career and moved him to 3-for-6 lifetime with earnings of $288,413. The Kentucky-bred colt by Vekoma out of Ill Will, a Palace Malice mare, is bred by Stoneriggs Farm and races for CJ Stables for trainer Mark Casse. It was also another signal for Vekoma, who had his fourth stakes winner of 2026 and was leading the third-crop sire list at the time by progeny earnings and stakes winners.

Ortiz, who also won the Palisades aboard Fandom (GB) in 2024, got another perfectly judged ride in a race that rewarded restraint more than raw ambition. Normandy Coast (GB) won the 2025 running for Eddie Kenneally, Ben Curtis and Red Gate Racing, but this year the late-running trip belonged to Reb Five.