Jackson Bend Pointing to BC Dirt Mile
Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito reported
Sunday morning that Robert LaPenta's Jackson Bend, second to Uncle Mo in
the Grade 2 Kelso Handicap; Bankers Buy
Jackson
Bend, winner of the Grade 1 Forego at Saratoga on September 3, will
continue to be pointed to the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, said Zito, while
Ice Box could take up the LaPenta banner against Uncle Mo in the
Classic.
"It was great running against Uncle Mo," said
Zito. "Everyone knows about Uncle Mo. But I think Jackson proved
something yesterday. People saw how good he was. Spotting him the four
pounds, that was a big thing. Right now, if Uncle Mo runs in the Classic
like they say he's going to, Jackson is going to be one of the choices
[for the Dirt Mile]. He won't be worse than third [choice]. That's good
enough.
"It's been wonderful, his last three races,"
said Zito of Jackson Bend, who won the seven-furlong James Marvin on
opening day at Saratoga Race Course. "You can't give the horse enough
credit. He's such a small guy, but so amazing. So far, so good. There
were great preps yesterday for Breeders' Cup day. You couldn't ask for a
better place to run your horses if you're going to the Breeders Cup. I
was grateful and happy about everything."
In the 1
¼-mile Classic, Ice Box would be returning to the scene of his most
memorable performance, closing from second-to-last, more than 20 lengths
back, to finish second to Super Saver in the 2010 Kentucky Derby.
"It's his favorite track and probably be his last race, maybe, you
never know, so why not?" said Zito. "He's trained good, he's fit now,
he's got all the races and Corey [Nakatani] basically said he made a
mistake [being that far back early on]."