Blinkers key 'huge race' for Peace Achieved in Kentucky Downs Juvenile

JSM Equine's Peace Achieved backed up a big maiden win last time out with an easy, open-lengths victory in Saturday's $500,000 Kentucky Downs Juvenile.

Ridden by Miguel Mena, Peace Achieved was unhurried early in the one-mile contest over the European-style turf course. He ranged up along pacesetters Night Time and The Gray Blur in mid-stretch and spurted clear to win going away. Fenwick Station closed for second and was followed by Longclaw in third.

Trained by Mark Casse, Peace Achieved was well-beaten in two turf sprints at Churchill Downs before scoring a front-running victory by 6 3/4 lengths when stretched out to a mile and adding blinkers July 27 at Ellis Park. The son of Declaration of War out of Sense of Class, by Fusaichi Pegasus, was a $160,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase. 

Casse's assistant, David Carroll, acknowledged the equipment has been key for Peace Achieved.

"Absolutely," Carroll said. 

"He’s always trained beautifully. His first race, he ran very well. His second race, he acted very immature, just coltish. So we put the blinkers on and stretched him out and he just ran a huge race. He’s improved from that race."

The Casse barn also won the One Dreamer Stakes with Hanalei Moon earlier in the card. 

Mena said he had "a beautiful trip." He also rode Peace Achieved in his maiden victory. 

“This horse, he carries himself like a good horse," Mena said. "He has a great attitude, a lot of class. He doesn’t need a pony warming up. He shows what good horses do. 

“It was a beautiful trip. This horse has tactical speed and he put me in the race. He was going easy. i asked him a little bit at the quarter pole. The eighth pole when I tapped him, he just drew away. He was the best horse."

Fenwick Station was making just his second start after winning his debut by a nose in an Indiana Grand maiden turf race on Aug. 7 for trainer Eddie Kenneally. 

Jockey Declan Cannon indicated Fenwick Station, a son of Magician owned by Summerplace Farm, took a big step forward off that race. 

“He split horses and kept running all the way to the wire," Cannon said. "He wasn’t intimidated at all. 

"He improved so much from his first race. I worked him one morning at Churchill and I said to myself, ‘This is the real deal.’ I rode him confidently today. He did everything right. I was just second-best today.”