Keeneland news: Jaywalk 'blossoming' ahead of Ashland try
After Eclipse Award winner Jaywalk finished fourth in the Davona Dale (G2) in her 2019 debut, it came as no surprise that trainer John Servis’ next step with her would be a trip to Keeneland for the Ashland (G1).
Servis made the journey in 2004 with Smarty Jones prior to winning the Kentucky Derby, and three years ago when Cathryn Sophia ran third in the Ashland before winning the Kentucky Oaks.
“I brought ‘Smarty’ here first from Oaklawn and then over to Churchill Downs so he could have a work over the track,” Servis said. “Cathryn Sophia was doing so good here. I don’t know if it is the weather or them just acclimating to the cooler weather, but they just blossom here.
"I called my son Tyler up here the other day and asked which of the four we have here is doing the best, and he said they were all blossoming.”
D.J. Stable and Cash Is King’s Jaywalk, the morning-line favorite for the Central Bank Ashland, arrived here March 26 from South Florida. The plan is to stay here until April 28 before going to Louisville for the Kentucky Oaks on May 3.
“When Cathryn Sophia ran here in the Ashland, I was worried about her getting the distance,” Servis said of the filly, who was beaten only two necks. “She came out of it so good and I have to give a nod to (owner) Chuck (Zacney of Cash Is King) to go on to the Oaks. Then the decision was made easier when Songbird didn’t run.”
Winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) in November at Churchill Downs, Jaywalk did not return to the races until the Davona Dale on March 2.
“I was a little disappointed she didn’t win that day, but the winner (Jeltrin) ran huge,” Servis said about the Keeneland sale graduate. “When I am prepping for a big race off a layoff, the first race is a steppingstone.
“Somebody asked me what kind of Beyer (Speed Figure) I thought she would run and I thought it was be an 84 or 85. She ran an 81, so I wasn’t far off.”
In addition to Jaywalk, Servis will saddle Lucky Lee for Cash Is King in the Toyota Blue Grass (G2).
“I think he is going to run big,” Servis said.
BULLETIN GIVES PLETCHER FAST START WITH PALISADES TURF SPRINT VICTORY
When Todd Pletcher won his fifth Keeneland training title last fall, he was fast out of the gate with a winner on opening day.
The pattern was repeated Thursday when Bulletin went gate to wire in the first running of the $100,000 Palisades Turf Sprint. The performance came in the colt’s 2019 debut and his first race since winning the inaugural Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint in November at Churchill Downs.
“He is fine this morning,” said Ginny DePasquale, who runs Pletcher’s Keeneland string. “He was a handful yesterday and was ready for another race.”
Owned by the partnership of WinStar Farm, China Horse Club and SF Racing, Bulletin was ridden to the 1½-length victory by Javier Castellano.
“He’s a good horse and I enjoyed the ride,” said Castellano, who notched his 38th Keeneland stakes victory, a mark that is eighth best all time here.
Following the race, there was talk of possibly taking the undefeated Bulletin to Royal Ascot in England for the Commonwealth Cup (G1), a 6-furlong test on June 21. In 2018, Pletcher sent Gidu to the Commonwealth Cup in which he finished sixth.
“I never have been to Royal Ascot, but I would like to go,” said Castellano, who won riding titles here in the spring of 2015 and 2016. The four-time Eclipse Award winner and Hall of Famer is scheduled to ride here this weekend, Thursday through Sunday of next week and return April 20.
KENNEALLY SEEKS TO KEEP PERFECT RECORD IN CENTRAL BANK ASHLAND
Anderson Stables’ Lady Kate has raced only twice, but trainer Eddie Kenneally has every reason to believe she will be competitive in Saturday’s Ashland.
Kenneally has a perfect Ashland record with two triumphs from as many attempts. He won in 2006 with Bushfire, who was 15-1, and in 2017 with 22-1 longshot Sailor’s Valentine.
“Lady Kate is a lightly raced filly, but I am encouraged by how she came up from Florida like the other two,” Kenneally said. “They thrived when they came to Keeneland. They liked the cooler air and the race track, which encouraged me to run them in the Ashland. Sailor’s Valentine worked really, really well over this track, and Lady Kate worked just as well here last Saturday.”
Lady Kate’s time that morning for 5 furlongs was :59.60, the best of 24 at the distance.
In her career debut on Jan. 12, Lady Kate won a Gulfstream Park maiden race. She next was second in the Suncoast Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs on Feb. 9.
“There are horses in the Ashland with way more experience than her, but she is on the improve,” Kenneally said.
Bushfire’s Ashland score propelled Kenneally’s career to a new level that included his first year with more than $1 million in stable earnings.
“She gave our stable a nice kick start because she went on and won the Acorn (G1) and Mother Goose (G1),” he said about his first Grade 1 winner. “The Ashland moved her forward and moved my career forward as well.”