LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Instant Coffee was clearly best in the Grade 2, $399,625 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs when giving jockey Luis Saez his sixth winner of the Stars of Tomorrow card Saturday. Saez worked out a decent trip on Instant Coffee after breaking from post 8 in a field of nine colts in the 1 1/16-mile KJC, the highlight of a 12-race card exclusively for 2-year-olds. Down the stretch, after wheeling out for the drive, Instant Coffee flew past the opposition, winning by 1 1/4 lengths when finishing in 1:45.25 over a fast track. He paid $5.08 as the favorite. “Today he got into a perfect spot to make his run,” Saez said. “When we came to the three-eighths pole, he was coming, and at the top of the stretch, he just took off.” A real scramble for second unfolded behind Instant Coffee, with only about two lengths separating the next seven horses. Curly Jack, the 7-2 second choice, was second, a head before Hayes Strike, who in turn nosed out both Red Route One (fourth) and Denington (fifth) for third. Cyclone Mischief, who held a tenuous lead to the furlong grounds, was engulfed late when fading to seventh. :: Save 20% on DRF PPs, Clocker Reports, and other handicapping essentials for a limited time  The 96th KJC and its filly counterpart, the Golden Rod Stakes, were run under the Churchill lights with a hint of winter chill on its way. The KJC was worth 20 qualifying points toward the 2023 Kentucky Derby on a revised scale of 10-4-3-2-1 to the top five finishers. Instant Coffee was coming off a fourth-place finish in the Breeders’ Futurity last month at Keeneland in just his second career start. He will soon head to Fair Grounds in New Orleans for a short break before being readied for a 3-year-old campaign, trainer Brad Cox said. “He overcame a little bit of a wide trip today, but he’s a horse that just keeps on coming,” said Cox, who trains the Bolt d’Oro colt for the Gold Square LLC of retired New Jersey businessman Al Gold. “He’s got some real quality to him. Obviously we’ll work backward from the Derby when we get started back with him.” Saez, the 30-year-old Panamanian who in previous Novembers was based in New York, won five of the first six races on the day, allowing him to essentially clinch the riding title in his first full Churchill meet. He had a chance to tie the record for most wins on a Churchill card (seven) held jointly by Pat Day (1984) and Julien Leparoux (2009) when riding King d’Oro in the 12th and final race, but the colt finished eighth. Saez co-holds the record of seven wins on a card at Gulfstream Park, having done it twice in 2018. The KJC, first run in 1920, has been won by five horses that went on to capture the Derby the following spring, although Cannonade (1973-74) and Super Saver (2009-10) are the only ones in the last 90-plus years to pull off that double. Hoosier Philly does it easily One race beforehand, Hoosier Philly put herself on the short list of leading candidates for the 2023 Kentucky Oaks with a five-length jaunt in the Grade 2, $400,000 Golden Rod. Jockey Edgar Morales barely moved a muscle aboard the gray daughter of Into Mischief in the final furlong. “I’ve said this multiple times, and I hope it doesn’t come off as arrogant, because I don’t mean it to be,” said Tom Amoss, who trains Hoosier Philly for the Gold Standard Racing Stable of Bill Stone and Rod Ratcliff. “But I’ve never been around one like her before in my entire life, and I’ve been doing this since 1987. She is different than anything I’ve ever had, and I think she continues to show that.” Now undefeated in three starts, including a last-out romp in the Oct. 30 Rags to Riches at Churchill, Hoosier Philly paid $2.96 as a heavy favorite in a field of eight after finishing in 1:43.94. Four fillies finished within 1 1/2 lengths of each other behind Hoosier Philly in a fierce battle for the minor awards, with Knockyoursocksoff edging Pretty Mischievous for second. Morales worked out a great trip for Hoosier Philly, deftly maneuvering her into third and in the clear midway down the backstretch, from where she took over with ease by the time they reached the quarter-pole. “I had a ton of horse the whole trip,” Morales said. “She was really professional.” Hoosier Philly also will head to Amoss’s longtime winter base at Fair Grounds for a short rest before gearing up for a campaign aimed at returning to Churchill in the spring. Like the KJC, the Golden Rod was worth 10-4-3-2-1 in qualifying points for the Oaks. Sprinters star on undercard A pair of 6 1/2-furlong races preceded the Grade 2 twins on a busy Saturday card, with Red Carpet Ready taking the $200,000 Fern Creek and Powerful winning the $200,000 Ed Brown. Red Carpet Ready ($16.84) hounded the pacesetting Twirled with a clean outside trip before speeding away to a 3 1/4-length score in the Fern Creek while 2-5 favorite Key of Life could do no better than third in a field of six fillies. The winning time was 1:16.72. Red Carpet Ready, a daughter of Oscar Performance, is owned by Ashbrook Farm and Upland Flats Racing. Her only prior race resulted in a 10-length maiden win at 36-1 on the first Stars of Tomorrow card. Jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. and trainer Rusty Arnold, both enjoying an outstanding fall meet, teamed for the win. Some 60 minutes later, Powerful ($7.16) turned back a series of challenges when prominent from the start of the Ed Brown, finishing a length before Mr Bob as the slight favorite in a field of seven colts and geldings. Tyler Gaffalione was aboard. Equipped with blinkers for the first time, Powerful finished in 1:17.12 when rebounding from an 11th-place finish in the Breeders’ Futurity off a Saratoga maiden win. Steve Asmussen trains the Nyquist colt for Courtlandt Farms. *** The 19-day fall meet ends Sunday with the Grade 3 Commonwealth Turf as the 11th of 12 races, although a forecast for rain means the feature might have to be moved to the main track. First post is 1 p.m. Eastern. All betting pools will be forced out, including the Derby City 6 jackpot wager (races 7-12), which will offer a carryover of $23,661 into Sunday. After two dark days on the circuit, the newly renovated Turfway Park in northern Kentucky begins four months of winter racing Wednesday evening. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.