The first reported foal by Grade 1 winner J P's Gusto is a colt born Feb. 23 at Journeyman Bloodstock in Ocala, Fla.
The colt is out of the winning Belong to Me mare Golden Horseshoe, a half-sister to stakes-placed Helen's Startax. Their dam, the stakes-winning Strike the Gold mare Striking Profile, is a half-sister to Grade 3 winner Boom Towner, stakes winner and producer Kryptonic, and stakes-placed Frank Lark.
ELMONT, N.Y. - J P’s Gusto, the 6 3/4-length winner of Saturday night’s $400,000 Red Legend Stakes at Charles Town, will be pointed to the Grade 1 King’s Bishop at Saratoga on Aug. 27, trainer Mike Hushion said Monday. Hushion said it has yet to be determined whether J P's Gusto would make a start in between in something like the Amsterdam at the Spa on Aug. 1.
The Red Legend was the first start J P's Gusto made for Hushion and first he made at seven furlongs since he won the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity last September.
J P’s Gusto, cutting back to seven furlongs for the first time since taking the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity last September, demonstrated his fondness for the distance when he dominated Saturday night’s $400,000 Red Legend Stakes for 3-year-olds at Charles Town.
J P’s Gusto has yet to show he can run as well on dirt as he did on synthetic surfaces in California last year, when he won three graded stakes, including the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity and finished second in two other Grade 1 races.
Now with his second trainer since Gem Inc. owner John Waken transferred him from David Hofmans’s barn in California, J P’s Gusto will try to regain his best form when he switches to a more favorable distance for Saturday night’s $400,000 Red Legend Stakes at Charles Town.
J P’s Gusto on Tuesday joined The Factor as horses who were not expected to run in the Kentucky Derby and whose connections finally made that news official.
“We're not running,” Dr. John Waken, who owns J P's Gusto under his GEM Inc. banner, said Tuesday. “As far as I know, he leaves for New York today or tomorrow.”
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – J P’s Gusto donned blinkers for a Thursday workout at Oaklawn Park and after he breezed five furlongs in a bullet 58.60 seconds his trainer, Joe Petalino, said he would add the equipment for his next start. Thursday afternoon Petalino confirmed J P's Gusto's next race will be the Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby on April 16.
KENTUCKY DERBY NEWS: Track all the 3-year-olds on the Triple Crown trail
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The tempo of Oaklawn’s series for 3-year-olds will quicken Saturday, when speedsters The Factor and Sway Away invade from Southern California for the Grade 2, $300,000 Rebel.
But awaiting them is J P’s Gusto, a former California resident who is proven at the pace of racing out west. He defeated Sway Away by a half-length in the Grade 2 Best Pal last summer, then, one start later, was a front-running winner of the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – J P’s Gusto breezed six furlongs in 1:13.60 at Oaklawn Park on Saturday morning in preparation for the Grade 2, $300,000 Rebel Stakes on March 19. He is expected to be part of a large field for the 1 1/16-mile race, which is a stepping-stone in the Arkansas Derby.
