In a photo finish that took the stewards several minutes to decipher, the GI Jenny Wiley at Keeneland Saturday finished in a thrilling dead-heat between Expensive Queen (Ire) (Lope de Vega (Ire) and Segesta (Ghostzapper).

The race dynamic changed hours before the race Saturday as a pair of early-morning favorite, Lush Lips (GB) (Ten Sovereigns {Ire}) and Destino d’Oro (Bolt d’Oro), both scratched. That opened the door for Juddmonte homebred Segesta to inherit the favorite’s role in her first start since winning the GI Matriarch Stakes at Del Mar Nov. 30.

Expensive Queen took her fair share of money at 5-2, shipping in from Fair Grounds where she won the Albert M. Stall Memorial Stakes Feb. 14. That race marked her third win from four starts since joining Brendan Walsh’s string, having spent much of her 2 and 3-year-old seasons in England. Her only prior Grade I experience came when fourth in last year’s GI Gamely Stakes at Santa Anita.



In a tale of two trips, the 5-year-old mares broke from opposite ends of the gate but ran much of the race in close proximity to one another. Frontrunner Aussie Girl (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) had Segesta right off her flank in second while Expensive Queen held her position along rail in third through opening fractions of :23.10 and 47.46.

Segesta looked to have a dream run around the far turn and into the top of the lane as the speed threw in the towel, hitting the front under Flavien Prat inside the furlong pole. But Expensive Queen now had company and, stuck in behind horses, had to work her way through the crowd. Able to find just the seam she needed along the fence, she split horses and burst through to engage the favorite who was now sandwiched with Medoro (Honor Code) to her outside.

In a grinding effort through the final strides, Expensive Queen just drew even on the fence with Segesta in a last-gasp bob to complete the dead-heat.

“I was riding her pretty hard and she was giving me a good turn of foot,” said Luis Saez who was aboard Expensive Queen. “I know it was kind of tight there but I just tried to look for the spot. We found the rail and she made a huge move. I thought we were going to run on by but the other filly (Segesta)–she’s a pretty good filly and she came back–so that’s why we get the (dead) heat. I’m pretty excited about the way our filly ran.”

“Like (jockey) Luis Saez said, she wasn’t in the ideal spot,” Walsh said of Expensive Queen. “Most of her races since she’s come here she’s come outside and been more comfortable with it. They were down there (on the rail) nice and tight, but credit to Luis, he kept after her and she responded to him, and we’re quite happy with the result. I was prepared for the worst but, listen, congratulations to the Knelmans (of owner Farfellow Farm) and all credit to my team. When you end up in this (winner’s) circle, it’s never too bad.”

“I thought I got beat,” Prat acknowledged of Segesta. “She was traveling good–I thought I was in a good spot. Very good run turning for home, she stayed with the field, then she reengaged herself.”

Juddmonte’s Garrett O’Rourke added, “She looked a winner until about the sixteenth pole, and then (jockey) Flavien (Prat) said he went to the outside to engage a filly and then the other filly (Expensive Queen) came up the inside. When I saw it on the replay, I turned around and said, ‘I’ll take a dead heat there.’ I meant I thought we were maybe out-nosed, and then when it flashed up on the screen and it came up 1-10, I turned around and went, ‘Argh–we got beat’ and then everyone said, ‘No, it’s a dead heat.’ So it’s up-and-down emotions. I’m delighted for the filly. She’s very deserving of it and had come so close in Grade 1s for so long. We did win a Grade I in the Matriarch, but we still got (Juddmonte’s) agreement to keep her in training this year. That’s a risk to take with a filly like that. Straight out credit to (trainer) Chad (Brown) for having her so ready to do this today. So very rewarding.”

Pedigree Note-Segesta:
Segesta is one of 19 top-level winners for the now-pensioned Ghostzapper. As one might expect from a Juddmonte homebred, she is a beautifully-bred daughter of ‘TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard’ and GI Longines Just a Games Stakes winner Antonoe, a mare who was also a winner in the French G3 Prix d’Aumale. From four foals to race, she has now produced not one but two Grade I winners including Segesta’s half-brother, Salamis (Speightstown) who took down the GI Hollywood Derby last year. Antonoe has a 2-year-old Speightstown filly, now named Bridgetown Rose, still to race.

Pedigree Note-Expensive Queen:
Lope de Vega picked up his 26th Grade/Group I winner in Expensive Queen who was a €260,000 yearling purchase out of the 2022 Arqana August Yearling Sale for Rabbah Bloodstock. First dam Witches Brew, herself placed in a pair of stakes in Ireland, has four winners from seven to race including this mare’s full-sister Antonia de Vega (Ire) who won a pair of Group 3 races in England. Clearly the cross works as two other full-siblings have placed in stakes racing, Luckin Brew (Ire) and GSP Al Haarith (Ire).

The mare is herself a half-sister to G1SW Al Wukair (Ire) (Dream Ahead) who also ran third in the G1 QIPCO Two Thousand Guineas in 2017. The top-level success runs through third dam Caerlina (Ire) who captured the G1 Prix de Diane Hermes-French Oaks before selling to BBA Ireland for $700,000 at Keeneland January in 1999.

Saturday, Keeneland
JENNY WILEY S.-GI, $581,713, Keeneland, 4-11, 4yo/up, f/m, 1 1/16mT, 1:40.98, fm.
(DH) 1–EXPENSIVE QUEEN (IRE), 123, m, 5, by Lope de Vega (Ire)
                1st Dam: Witches Brew (Ire) (MSP-Ire),
                                by Duke of Marmalade (Ire)
                2nd Dam: Macheera (Ire), by Machiavellian
                3rd Dam: Caerlina (Ire), by Caerleon
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST GRADE I WIN. (€260,000 Ylg ’22 ARAUG). O-Farfellow Farms, Ltd.; B-Fermoir Ltd (IRE); T-Brendan P. Walsh; J-Luis Saez. $197,313. Lifetime Record: 12-5-2-0, $382,616. *Full to Antonia de Vega (Ire), MGSW-Eng, $154,358. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
(DH) 1–SEGESTA, 123, m, 5, by Ghostzapper
                1st Dam: Antonoe (GISW-USA, GSW-Fr, $565,377),
                                by First Defence
                2nd Dam: Ixora, by Dynaformer
                3rd Dam: Imroz, by Nureyev
O/B-Juddmonte (KY); T-Chad C. Brown; J-Flavien Prat. $256,506. Lifetime Record: 12-5-4-0, $1,446,781. *1/2 to Salamis (Speightstown), GISW, $353,363. Werk Nick Rating: B+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
3–Medoro, 123, m, 5, by Honor Code
                1st Dam: Achira (MSP, $151,852), by English Channel
                2nd Dam: Styler, by Holy Bull
                3rd Dam: Set Them Free, by Stop the Music
O-C R K Stable, LLC; B-Parks Investment Group, LLC (KY); T-Peter Eurton. $62,563.
Margins: 3/4, 3/4, HF. Odds: 2.91, 1.56, 7.82.
Also Ran: Dynamic Pricing (Ire), Pin Up Betty, Fast Market, Aussie Girl (Ire), Deep Satin. Scratched: Destino d’Oro, Lush Lips (GB).
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

AN EXCITING 📸 FINISH! A DEAD HEAT!! In a Grade one!

#1 EXPENSIVE QUEEN ($3.46) & #10 SEGESTA ($2.84) both score the win in the $650,000 Jenny Wiley Stakes (G1) at @keenelandracing. @brenpwalsh & @luissaezpty teamed up for the 1. Chad Brown & Flavien Prat are with the 10. pic.twitter.com/KIyEpBMuTY

— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) April 11, 2026