Jackie's Warrior takes early lead all the way in Churchill Downs Stakes
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Reigning sprint champion Jackie’s Warrior served notice it will be difficult to take his crown away in 2022 by dominating an outstanding field that included 2021 Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner Aloha West and cruising to a convincing four-length victory over Reinvestment Risk in Saturday’s $750,000 Churchill Downs Sprint.
Jackie’s Warrior broke right to the lead and was immediately taken well off the inside rail in the run down the backstretch by regular rider Joel Rosario. Returning on just three weeks' rest after launching his 4-year-old campaign with a popular victory in the Count Fleet Sprint at Oaklawn Park, Jackie’s Warrior set modest splits of 22.76 seconds and 45.50 for the opening half-mile, settled into the stretch with a comfortable lead while fanning even farther out in the track, gradually increasing his advantage while ridden out to the wire.
Reinvestment Risk was last in a field of seven for the opening half-mile of the seven-furlong Churchill Downs, was eased out while rallying into the stretch and ran down a tiring Aloha West to finish a length clear for second money while never threatening the winner.
Aloha West was trapped down in what appeared to be the deeper going along the inside from the outset after breaking from the rail, raced within striking distance for nearly six furlongs before weakening through the final furlong while making his first start since upsetting the Breeders’ Cup Sprint six months ago.
Sir Alfred James finished fourth, followed by Mind Control, Long Range Toddy and Prevelance, who was eased to the wire.
Jackie’s Warrior, now a Grade 1 winner at 2, 3 and 4, completed the distance over a track upgraded from good to fast in 1:21.95 and paid $4.00. He earned a 105 Beyer Speed Figure.
“What a brilliant horse,” trainer Steve Asmussen said in the winner’s circle immediately after the race. “And I’m so thankful to Kirk and Judy Robison to put a champion stallion back in training, to let us enjoy him another year, to make a financial sacrifice to keep this horse in training. And needless to say I’m extremely pleased to get the chance to run him again at 4.”
Asmussen said there is little doubt Jackie’s Warrior is even a better horse now than he was during his championship season of 2021, when he won 4 of 7 starts and banked over $1 million.
“As beautiful as he was last year, when you see him now, as expected, he’s older, more mature, bigger, prettier,” Asmussen said. “I think Joel summed it best in the paddock before the race when he said ‘horses don’t come along like this all the time, do they?,’ They don’t!”
Asmussen said the strategy was to keep Jackie’s Warrior off the inside rail.
“Especially watching the Distaff earlier and that stuff, when you’re the jockey and you’re the speed of the race, you just stay on the path you want,” Asmussen explained. “I thought he really needed the Count Fleet, this was the target we set for him after the surgery and layoff, and this was the Jackie’s Warrior we were expecting to see.”
Reinvestment Risk has now finished second in a Grade 1 race four times and twice in succession, having been runner-up to the odds-on Speaker’s Corner in the Carter Handicap at Aqueduct one month earlier.
“This horse is an honest horse, he ran his race today,” trainer Chad Brown said. “He was a little farther back than I thought, but honestly it wasn’t going to make a difference. I was grateful he got up for second. This is four Grade 1s now he’s finished second. He’s run into some really, really good horses that were a little better than him. But I’m hoping there is a Grade 1 with his name on it, when he doesn’t have to run into any one of these killers, because he sure deserves one."
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