The Time is Now for St. John’s River
The daughter of distance loving sire Include, St. John’s River did not begin her career until last December for Louisiana based trainer Andrew Leggio. She won smartly in her second start in a Fair Grounds maiden race in January, and has been swimming with the big girls ever since. Despite the quick ascent to the best races of her division, only finish lines that came a bit too soon, have prevented her from being on quite a roll.
On March 26, in her fourth lifetime start, St. John’s River closed like a female freight train to narrowly miss in the Grade 2 Fair Ground Oaks at odds of nearly 8-1. That 1 1/16 mile race resulted in a second place finish, but served as a perfect prep for a trip to Churchill Downs.
On May 6, she was sent off at odds of 16-1 in the Kentucky Oaks. St. John’s River stumbled badly out of the gate from an extreme outside post position, before rallying boldly under the twin spires. At the wire, Plum Pretty held on by a desperate neck to win the female counterpart to the Kentucky Derby. That day, the distance was 1 1/8 miles.
“I like a lot of time, especially with these young fillies,” Leggio said.
Her return to the races came on July 9 in the Grade 2 Delaware Oaks. Against an admittedly far weaker field that she will see in the Alabama, the Dede McGehee owned bay filly battled with a slow early pace at a distance (1 1/16 miles) too short for her to be at her best. She still was able to gain her first stakes win, but just barely. St. John’s River got the win on the shadow of the wire, but moreover, she got a perfect prep for tomorrow’s showdown at Saratoga.
And tomorrow she gets it. She also faces an extremely talented group of five other sophomore fillies who also are looking to move to the head of their class with a big win in the Alabama, but there can only be winner.
The narrow losses are in the rear-view mirror, at the 1 ¼ miles of the historic Alabama Stakes, the time is now for St. John’s River.