Jones fine-tuning Cassatt for Cotillion

Highly talented but lightly raced, Cassatt will be taking a huge jump in class when she faces the upper crust of the 3-year-old filly division in Saturday’s Grade 1 Cotillion at Parx.

Trainer Larry Jones lost a good portion of the season with Cassatt when her shins became sore after a January maiden win at Fair Grounds. In two starts since, she has posted an effortless July allowance win at Delaware Park and then stepped up in company to score a front-running 3 3/4-length victory in the Grade 3 Monmouth Oaks on Aug. 9.

“I would have liked to have one more race in her between the Monmouth Oaks and the Cotillion, but we only had a short window of opportunity to do that,” Jones said. “I entered her main track only once at Delaware, but the race stayed on the grass.”

In lieu of a race, Jones has put several strong works into the big, gray daughter of Tapit at his Delaware Park base. He sent her a mile in 1:40.60 on Aug. 30, five furlongs in 57.80 seconds Sept. 6, and five furlongs in 59.80 on Monday.

“I gave her the mile work instead of a race and put someone out there with her,” Jones said. “She worked real good.”

Her 57.80-second work was 2.40 seconds faster than the next best at the distance that day.

“The five-eighths was to make sure we hadn’t dulled her speed, which we hadn’t. Havre de Grace used to work that way,” Jones said, referring to the 2011 Horse of the Year, whom he trained for Cassatt’s owner, Rick Porter. “With those two works under her belt, we didn’t have to do much Monday. We just wanted to maintain what we have.”

Jones realizes that the Cotillion is an ambitious spot for a filly who has only started four times.

“I’m looking forward to seeing her run, but we might just be jumping into a great big-ass pond,” he said with a laugh.