Jackie's Warrior, Aloha West renew acquaintances in Churchill Downs Stakes

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Traditionally, in any given year, the Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner and the Eclipse Award sprint champ are one and the same. That was not the case, however, last season when the late developing Aloha West upset the BC Sprint but Jackie’s Warrior, who disappointed as the odds-on favorite on Breeders’ Cup day, was voted the Eclipse Award champion in the division.

On Saturday, those two will square off again as part of a stellar eight-horse field in the Grade 1 Churchill Downs Stakes to be decided at seven furlongs for a $750,000 purse.

Aloha West became only the second Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner dating back to 2010 not to be named sprint champion and the first since Secret Circle, who won the race in 2013 but lost the championship that year to Points Offthebench.

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A maiden when the 2021 campaign began, Aloha West’s rise to the upper echelon on the division was a rapid one, under the guidance of trainer Wayne Catalano, during a Cinderella season that culminated with two allowance victories at Saratoga and a near miss following an eventful trip in the Grade 2 Phoenix as a prelude to his late-running nose decision over Dr. Schivel in the Sprint.

“I know the others in here have been running already this year, but he’s doing great, training well, which is all I can ask for,” said Catalano. “I think he’s 100 percent fit and ready for this race. I’m really looking forward to the year with him. Obviously our main goal is to get back to the Breeders’ Cup again. We might consider something like the Met Mile down the road, although I just want to get this race under our belt and see where we stand before we start considering anything else at the moment.”

Aloha West will break from the rail under Jose Ortiz on Saturday.

Jackie’s Warrior won four of seven starts as a 3-year-old in 2021 including the Grade 1 Woody Stephens at Belmont Park and the Grade 2 Pat Day Mile at Churchill Downs earlier in the year. He wound up contesting a lightning-fast pace as the 1-2 favorite in the Sprint, ultimately paying the price when fading to finish sixth, 4 1/2 lengths behind Aloha West. Jackie’s Warrior does have the advantage over Aloha West in their rematch, having already run once this season, registering a three-quarter-length victory in the Grade 3 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap at Oaklawn just three weeks ago.

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“This race was attractive because of his run last year in the Pat Day Mile on the Derby undercard,” said trainer Steve Asmussen. “I’m very much looking forward to running him here at Churchill Downs again. The Count Fleet was a race I thought he definitely needed off the break and I expect him to run significantly better in the Churchill Downs.”

Jackie’s Warrior, who’ll break from post 3 under regular rider Joel Rosario, appears on paper to be the controlling speed in the Churchill Downs.

Todd Pletcher will send out both the Grade 1 winner Mind Control and multiple graded stakes winner Cezanne, who joined his stable last month after being trained by Bob Baffert for his first seven starts.

Like Jackie’s Warrior, Mind Control, who captured the 2019 Woody Stephens, has also started just once this year, finishing a tiring third behind Speaker’s Corner in the Grade 1 Carter on April 9. He won two of three starts under Pletcher’s tutelage in 2021, including the Grade 2 John Nerud Stakes last summer at Belmont Park. Mind Control made his first two starts last year for trainer Greg Sacco.

“I think Mind Control will move forward off his last start,” said Pletcher. “That was a tough race and he probably wasn’t fully cranked up for it.”

Cezanne won the Grade 2 San Carlos going seven furlongs at Santa Anita on March 5. He was subsequently transferred to Pletcher’s barn after finishing second, a neck behind Fulsome, as the odds-on favorite in the Grade 3 Oaklawn Mile five weeks ago.

“We’re still getting to know him, but he’s had three good breezes since we’ve had him and he’s an easy horse to train,” Pletcher said.

Reinvestment Risk became Grade 1-placed for a third time when second behind the heavy favorite Speaker’s Corner in the Carter, easily handling the others while earning a career-best 104 Beyer Speed Figure.

“He had a terrific race last time chasing a top, top horse,” trainer Chad Brown said. “Hopefully he’ll be able to bounce back on just four weeks’ rest off a hard race. That’s my biggest concern.”

Prevalence, who has won his last two starts, including the Grade 3 Commonwealth, will get a class check in the Churchill Downs. Long Range Toddy and Sir Alfred James complete the field.

–additional reporting by David Grening