Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile runner-up Jesus' Team to prep for Pegasus in Claiming Crown Jewel

MIAMI – Jesus’ Team is coming off a second-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile and is headed for a showdown with the best handicap horses still in training when he launches his 2021 campaign in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational on Jan. 23 at Gulfstream Park.

But in between, Jesus’ Team will pay homage to his claiming roots when he closes his whirlwind 3-year-old season on Dec. 5 in the $150,000 Claiming Crown Jewel, the richest of nine stakes on the always popular Claiming Crown program, which will be decided for the ninth consecutive year at Gulfstream Park.

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Jesus’ Team, owned by Grupo7 Racing Stables, is the most notable of the 25 nominations to the 1 1/8-mile Jewel, carded for horses that have competed for a claiming tag of $35,000 or less in 2019-20. Other Claiming Crown Jewel nominees include Grade 1 winner Math Wizard, Grade 3 Pimlico Special winner Harpers First Ride, and defending champion Leitone.

Jesus’ Team, like most competitors on the Claiming Crown card each season, comes from modest beginnings, having needed five starts before finally registering his maiden win under a $32,000 claiming tag on March 18. He joined current trainer Jose D’Angelo’s barn following that victory, dropping in against $25,000 selling rivals to capture a mile race by 6 1/2 lengths six weeks later. He has gone winless but continued to show marked improvement ever since, finishing fourth behind likely 3-year-old champion and potential Horse of the Year Authentic in the Grade 1 Haskell, third in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy, and third in the Preakness prior to his career-best performance in the Breeders’ Cup.

Jesus’ Team outran his 62-1 odds in the Dirt Mile, overcoming a difficult post – 11 in a 12 -horse field with a short run to the first turn at Keeneland – to finish behind only Knicks Go. Jesus’ Team earned a career-best 102 Beyer Speed Figure.

“I prefer a race before the Pegasus World Cup,” said D’Angelo, who is stabled at the Palm Meadows training center, after nominations for the Claiming Crown were released earlier this week. “I don’t want to work him up to that race from the Breeders’ Cup. He needs a race in December. After the Breeders’ Cup, we sent him to Ocala for rest in the paddock and round pen for a week. He’s happy and healthy and is back at Palm Meadows and ready to start training again.”

The nine Claiming Crown stakes attracted a total of 271 nominations, including a whopping 52 nominations for the $95,000 Emerald, a 1 1/16-mile turf race for 3-year-olds and up that have started for a claiming price of $25,000 or lower. Mike Maker, the all-time leading trainer in Claiming Crown history, has nominated 10 horses to the Emerald, including Muggsamatic, who rallied to a 1 1/4-length victory in the 2019 edition of the event. The Florida-bred Muggsamatic captured the Soldier’s Dancer Stakes at Gulfstream in July.

◗ The Sunshine Millions Turf Preview and the Juvenile Fillies Turf, both of which were postponed last Saturday due to the condition of a turf course that had been inundated by rain the previous two weeks, have been rescheduled for Saturday’s program. The Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf Preview and Juvenile Turf, both of which also were postponed last Saturday, will be drawn Thursday and run here Sunday.

◗ The beleaguered turf course was finally open for business again Wednesday, with the 19-1 Twinkiesandturnips taking the opener on the grass, leading throughout under Luca Panici for trainer Larry Bates. Final time was 58.07 seconds for the five furlongs for a full field of bottom-level maiden claimers over the firm footing.