Ellen Jay likely for dirt experiment in Safely Kept

Ellen Jay, who has gone 3 for 3 on turf including a victory in the Glen Cove Stakes at Aqueduct on Oct. 18, is expected to be heading back to the dirt for her next start.

The daughter of Constitution and the first foal out of the champion female sprinter Covfefe, Ellen Jay is targeting the $100,000 Safely Kept Stakes at Laurel on Nov. 30, according to Dustin Dugas, assistant trainer to Brad Cox.

With the turf season winding down this week in New York and limited grass opportunities elsewhere, the Safely Kept could be a good spot to find out if Ellen Jay can be effective on the dirt. She made the first two starts of her career on dirt, finishing fourth on debut in May and third, beaten 12 1/2 lengths in her second start, both at Churchill Downs.

Dugas breezed Ellen Jay in 49.17 seconds over Belmont Park’s training track on Sunday and liked what he felt underneath him.

“She breezed really good on dirt. We always though she could [run on] dirt; obviously she’s done nothing wrong on grass,” Dugas said. “Her breeze was solid, she was eager to do it, and did it really well. She galloped out good and came back happy.”

Dugas said that Flavien Prat, who rode Ellen Jay in the Glen Cove, commented to Dugas after the race “that she would handle dirt because she moved over it well in the warm up,” Dugas said.

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