Delight runs away from rivals in Jessamine Stakes
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Delight appeared to do just that in her trip around the Keeneland turf course on Friday afternoon. The filly controlled the tempo with her ears pricked down the backstretch and gladly turned on the afterburners when asked, coasting to a five-length victory in the Grade 2, $350,000 Jessamine Stakes for 2-year-old fillies.
That purse includes bonuses from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund, which Delight ($9.68), a Florida-bred from the first crop of Mendelssohn, was not eligible for. But along with her $169,725 winner’s share, the filly earned a fees-paid berth into the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, set for Nov. 4 at Keeneland. The Jessamine, previously held in the second week of Keeneland’s fall meet, was moved up slightly this year to provide more spacing into the Breeders’ Cup.
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“From a prep perspective, you couldn’t ask for anything better,” said Jonathan Thomas, who trains Delight for George Strawbridge’s Augustin Stable. “If she comes out of it well, we’ll start plotting.”
Delight made her debut in April on the Keeneland turf. She was bothered at the start and was 11th early in the 5 ½-furlong race. She rallied to be third behind Love Reigns, subsequently a stakes-winning turf sprinter who is expected to be the favorite in Sunday’s Indian Summer Stakes at Keeneland.
“We got bothered pretty bad, and were way in the back, and she came flying,” recalled the filly’s regular rider Luis Saez. “From that moment, we knew we had a special filly.”
Delight and Saez finished third in a 1 1/16-mile maiden on the Saratoga turf in early August. The filly broke her maiden on Aug. 27 going 7 1/2 furlongs on the Delaware Park turf, with Jaime Rodriguez in the irons. Saez, who remained at Saratoga to ride the Travers Stakes card, was watching intently, and noted the filly’s tractability.
“She broke pretty well, she had an outside post, and the jock took a little hold, and she did it pretty well,” Saez said. “So I know she can win on the lead or behind.”
That came in handy on Friday, as Delight and Saez broke from post 3 in a full field of 12, and had a head in front through a moderate opening quarter of 24.32 seconds on a firm turf course. With no one else pressing the issue, Delight led by a comfortable length through the half in 49.61 seconds, controlling the tempo easily.
“Honestly, I thought there was going to be way more pace than there was,” Thomas said. “You had horses coming out of one-turn races, [horses in] full-cup blinkers, I thought more pace would ensue, and we were hoping to actually get a drafting trip in behind horses, but [Saez] went to plan B really quickly and executed it perfectly.”
Bling, who had been stalking the pace, attempted to turn the pressure up leaving the backstretch, but Saez began to rouse his filly around the far turn. She kicked clear to lead by open lengths into the stretch, and was never seriously threatened as she widened from there to the wire.
“She had a big turn of foot, and she kept going,” Saez said.
Delight stopped the clock for the 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.14.
Knockyoursocksoff, who was fifth in upper stretch, came with a good turn of foot to edge Bling by a neck for second. They were followed, in order, by Sabalenka, C C Cruise Control, Dulcia, Happy Gal, second choice Towhead – who, after being fractious while saddling, briefly loomed in third before fading – Blind Spot, Stephanie's Charm, Recognize, and Promise of Hope.
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