Jas likes Street Sense's dirt, Asmussens not surprised

They kept it all in the family Sunday at Churchill Downs, where jockey Keith Asmussen rode Jas to victory in the Street Sense Stakes for trainer Steve Asmussen, his father.

Jas campaigns for Red Lane Thoroughbreds and before the Grade 3, $195,000 Street Sense never had raced on dirt. Runner-up Staunch bid boldly into the stretch and appeared to head Jas at the furlong grounds, but Jas continued on gamely and scored by a neck.

Mystik Bayou, hard held down the backside sitting behind pacesetting favorite Card Man, was blocked in upper stretch but had no rally once steered into the clear past the three-sixteenths marker and, while third, he finished five lengths behind Staunch. 

Blessed Flyer was a creditable fourth in his first start since late June and first since being gelded, while Card Man, 9-5 favorite with Flavien Prat riding for Chad Brown, set reasonable splits of 24.20 and 48.03 but had nothing for the stretch run, checking in fifth.

Card Man nonetheless earned 1 qualifying point toward the 2027 Kentucky Derby, as the Street Sense, contested at 1 1/16 miles around two turns, is a very early stop on Churchill Downs’s Road to the Kentucky Derby. The four ahead of Card Man earned 10, 5, 3, and 2 points respectively.

Asmussen, a Hall of Famer, still seeks his first Derby win, and never had won the Street Sense.

Jas -- ridden by Erik Asmussen, Keith’s younger brother – finished sixth debuting Aug. 1 over yielding turf in an Ellis Park maiden route. Four weeks later Jas scored a sharp one-mile maiden win at Kentucky Downs, and 11 days after that he vied for the lead and held second in the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile, won in a gallop by Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf-bound How’s Al Today.

Jas, a son of Justify and Flag Day, by Giant’s Causeway, had no trouble adapting to dirt. He settled second behind Card Man, both jockey and horse keeping their cool as 41-1 shot Never a Doubt sauntered up three or four paths from the rail to stick Jas between horses going down the backstretch.

Never a Doubt would play no final part, but behind him Staunch was traveling smartly, jockey Tyler Gaffalione biding his time. Trained by Brendan Walsh, Staunch finished a fast-closing third in his sprint debut before winning a one-turn mile second out, and he was very ready for his first start against winners in his two-turn debut. 

Gaffalione made his move at the three-furlong marker and Staunch responded, cruising up to the leaders after turning for home. Card Man folded his tent and Staunch briefly appeared to be getting the better of Jas – until he wasn’t. Jas, who has a long, steady stride, never wavered, pushing back out to the lead at about the sixteenth pole before edging clear to the wire.

Jas clocked 1:43.99 over a fast track and paid $20.12 as the fifth choice.

Jas is a half-brother to the graded-stakes-class dirt-route horse Hall of Fame. Both Asmussens expected the colt to transition to dirt.

“When I first got on him, I thought he might be a dirt horse,” Keith Asmussen said. “But he was able to handle his turf campaign at Kentucky Downs so well that it speaks to the class of this horse.”

His father would agree.

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