Jackie's Warrior owner believes he'll get his Breeders' Cup win

Lexington, Ky.

This will not go down in history with Joe Namath’s guarantee that the upstart New York Jets of the old American Football League would beat the heavily favored Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.

But owner Kirk Robison exudes confidence as Jackie’s Warrior looks to break through in Saturday’s Sprint in his career finale after twice bowing as a Breeders’ Cup favorite.

When asked whether he would feel a sense of unfinished business if his speedball should fail to deliver a third time as the top choice, Robison replied, “I’m not going to go there because I think he will win.”

His confidence can certainly be justified. His reigning sprint champion is a heavy 4-5 favorite on the morning line. He is trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, North America’s all-time leader in wins. He will have regular rider Joel Rosario aboard. Rosario won the Eclipse Award last season as the leading jockey in North America.

Jackie’s Warrior has stood the test of time through three seasons. He never competed below the graded-stakes level after breaking his maiden at first asking, fashioning a record of 17: 12-2-1 for earnings of $2,779,164. When he commanded the July 30 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap (G1) by two lengths, it gave the son of Maclean’s Music the distinction of becoming the first horse to capture Grade 1 events in three successive years at Saratoga.

Perhaps all of this only adds to the connections' consternation that Jackie’s Warrior is still chasing Breeders’ Cup success. Asmussen told Jennie Rees, communications specialist for the Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protection Association: “What we really need and expect and want for him is the Breeders’ Cup.”

Robison called the first two defeats “a crusher.”

A deeper dive, though, shows that Jackie’s Warrior is guilty with an explanation. He looked to be unstoppable when he rolled into the Juvenile with a 4-for-4 record that included Grade 1 scores in the Hopeful and Champagne. He led as he turned for home at Keeneland – and then his pedigree caught up to him. He finished fourth to eventual 2-year-old champion Essential Quality.

So much for Derby chatter involving Jackie’s Warrior.

Robison said of the Juvenile, “We didn’t think any less of our horse. He just didn’t want to go two turns against top horses. So we said, ‘Let’s go the one-turn route and try to be the best sprinter in the country,’ and he turned out to be exactly that. No disappointment there.

“It was revealing in that we weren’t going to try to push a boulder uphill and assume he was a two-turn horse when he really wasn’t.”

It says volumes about the blistering speed of Jackie’s Warrior that he received the Eclipse Award as the top sprinter last season even though he surrendered an early lead and wilted to be sixth in the Breeders' Cup Sprint against Aloha West, who returns to defend his title.

Again, the reason for the defeat was easily explained. Ten days later, surgeons removed a chip from one of the colt’s knees.

“He had a legitimate excuse last year,” Robison said. “Were we disappointed? Of course we were. But that’s history. He’s got one more chance to make it right, and we’re not going to have any excuses this time. He’s coming into the race great.”

Robison was ecstatic when Jackie’s Warrior drew post nine. “If something on the inside is hell bent on winning the first quarter of a mile or the first half mile, you can just sit off that horse,” he said.

Jackie’s Warrior will be coming full circle when he races for the final time at Keeneland. The multi-millionaire was purchased for $95,000 there as a yearling. He has provided the Robison family and his fans with thrills that are priceless.

The Robisons will be there in force to send him off. The throng will include Kirk and his wife, Judy, daughters Amy and Jill, nine grandchildren and assorted family and friends. They all will be rooting for a fitting end to an illustrious career.