Jackie's Warrior returns to the work tab, targets Southwest Stakes

Jackie’s Warrior, who was on track to be 2-year-old champion of 2020 before finishing fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, had his first post-Breeders’ Cup timed workout when he went a half-mile in 52.60 seconds Tuesday at Fair Grounds.

His trainer, Steve Asmussen, said Jackie’s Warrior would be aimed at the Feb. 15 Southwest Stakes for his 3-year-old debut. The Southwest is a two-turn, 1 1/16-mile contest, the same configuration and distance as the BC Juvenile, where Jackie’s Warrior lost his unbeaten record as the 4-5 favorite. Jackie’s Warrior had won a Churchill Downs maiden race, the Saratoga Special, the Hopeful, and the Champagne – those last two Grade 1s – before getting caught up in a very hot pace at Keeneland in November. Jackie’s Warrior forged to the front at the head of the stretch but could not produce the requisite finish and was beaten 3 1/2 lengths by victorious Essential Quality.

“Obviously disappointed with the result, but the way the race set up for him on that day was not in his favor,” said Asmussen, who trains Jackie’s Warrior for J. Kirk and Judy Robison.

Jackie’s Warrior is by Maclean’s Music out of Unicorn Girl, by A.P. Five Hundred, and has a brain to match his ample early speed. Still, it remains to be seen if he can carry that speed around two turns, and connections will waste no time finding out how to plot a spring and summer course with this super-talented colt by starting him out in the Southwest.

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Meanwhile, Asmussen said he entered crack sprinter Shancelot in a Fair Grounds allowance race that failed to attract enough entries to make it onto a racing program. Shancelot hasn’t started since he finished second in the 2019 Breeders’ Cup Sprint when he was trained by Jorge Navarro. Asmussen nearly had him ready to run this past summer before Shancelot suffered a relatively minor setback.

“He’s training well, but they were unable to fill an allowance race for him at Fair Grounds, so we’ll wait for Oaklawn or go for the stake at Houston,” Asmussen said referring to the $75,000 Stonerside Sprint on Jan. 31 at Sam Houston Race Park.

While Asmussen will send Jackie’s Warrior to Oaklawn, he has the capable colt Midnight Bourbon for the Jan. 16 Lecomte at Fair Grounds. Midnight Bourbon ended his 2-year-old campaign with a second-place finish in the Iroquois at Churchill and a distant third in the Champagne at Belmont.

◗ Featured on the New Year’s Day card at Fair Grounds is race 8, a turf route restricted to fillies and mares with a basic second-level allowance condition and a $40,000 claiming option. There’s rain in the forecast, and it’s up in the air whether Friday’s races will stay on turf, but if they do, this one could come down to Aife and Jeanie B. Aife drops from stakes competition to race for the $40,000 claiming price, while Jeanie B. comes off an encouraging first-level allowance win in late October at Woodbine.