Freshman Cross Traffic sets sights on top

Cross Traffic already recorded a major accomplishment for a freshman sire, with a Grade 1 winner in his first crop in Frizette Stakes heroine Jaywalk. The Spendthrift Farm resident now goes for an even higher bar, as Jaywalk contests the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.

Jaywalk posted a Beyer Speed Figure of 84 in winning the Frizette, tied for the fourth-highest figure this year for a runner by a first-crop stallion. The Frizette was her third win from four career starts. The top number for a freshman is the 89 posted by both Mucho Macho Man’s Fortin Hill and Noble Mission’s Code of Honor, who is bound for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

Cross Traffic, a son of Unbridled’s Song, scored his signature victory in the Grade 1 Whitney Handicap in 2013. In addition to Jaywalk, his other first-crop highlights include stakes winners Dancin Shoes and Dame Plata, and stakes-placed Can’t Crosstraffic and Raising the Ante.

Through Oct. 17, Cross Traffic sat second to fellow Spendthrift Farm sire Goldencents on the freshman earnings list, and could take over first with a Breeders’ Cup score. His 13 winners tie him for second on the freshman list this year, again behind Goldencents, with 21.