'Jenny' coasts at Arlington

Pretty Jenny, her trainer Christine Janks has said in the past, dislikes having dirt thrown in her face when she races on the main track. The way to avoid that is by racing in front of the other horses, which is what Pretty Jenny did on Monday at Arlington, going straight to the front under jockey Chris Emigh and winning the $41,875 Safely Kept Handicap by two lengths over favored Trippi Street.

Pretty Jenny, a 4-year-old Illinois-bred, won five of six starts last year, but scored for only the second time in seven races in 2006. And with a win in the Safely Kept, Janks now has won 10 stakes during the Arlington meet.

Pretty Jenny ($12.80) had been dropping back and coming with a late run in previous starts, but a change in tactics worked well Monday. Away sharply, Pretty Jenny set fractions of 22.21 seconds for a quarter-mile and 45.26 for a half while pressed by Red Cherries Spin down the backstretch and around the turn. Pretty Jenny switched leads and put away Red Cherries Spin at the three-sixteenths pole, then opened up on a hard-trying Trippi Street. Pretty Jenny was timed in 1:09.77 for six furlongs on a track rated sloppy.

Bluesbdancing, trapped inside at the top of the stretch, ran evenly for third. Second choice Tax Refund finished last in a field reduced to six by three scratches.