Curly Jack likely headed straight to Breeders' Cup Juvenile off Iroquois win

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Damon’s Mound exited the first defeat of his career in fine shape, with “any option on the table,” owner-breeder Cliff Love said in the aftermath of the Girvin colt finishing a tired sixth behind the victorious Curly Jack in the Iroquois Stakes here Saturday.

Damon’s Mound, trained by Michelle Lovell, was sensational in his first two wins. In the Iroquois, he and favored Echo Again led to the top of the stretch before both folded up, with Echo Again fading to seventh.

Curly Jack most likely will make his next start in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Nov. 4 at Keeneland, said his trainer, Tom Amoss.

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“I don’t have an issue with running a horse like him off a layoff,” Amoss said. “He’s got a good foundation under him with four starts already.”

It was a terrific weekend for Amoss and jockey Edgar Morales, who rode Curly Jack ($23.66). They also teamed to win two races Sunday with She’ll Never Know ($8.72) and Dawnland ($9.32).

Morales, 24, is “the best-kept secret in the jocks’ room,” said Amoss, who passed the 4,000-win milestone this past summer at Saratoga.

◗ Trainer Terry Brennan had not won a race in 2022, the most difficult year of his life. Brennan’s wife of nearly 27 years, Loretta, died in March after a fall at their Arkansas home, so Brennan was thrilled with how Winterwood came through in upsetting the third race Saturday at 30-1.

“That was a good one,” said Brennan, who shared six children and 10 grandchildren with his late wife.

◗ Godolphin went to the top of the September meet standings by winning three of the last four races Sunday, all of them with young homebreds. Godolphin was represented by debuting 2-year-olds Pretty Mischievous ($6.16) and Higginson ($5.58) in maiden specials as well as Dorothea ($15.36) in the allowance feature.

Brad Cox is the trainer of Higginson, while Brendan Walsh trains the other two.

◗ Trainer Paulo Lobo said Ivar “probably goes straight to the Breeders’ Cup Mile” after finishing second to Modern Games in the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile on Saturday. Ivar, based at the Thoroughbred training center in Lexington, Ky., got a 103 Beyer Speed Figure, with Modern Games getting a 112.