Just Might overpowers Colonel Power foes on front end

Just Might just might be as good on dirt as on turf.

In January 2020, he won an off-turf Fair Grounds allowance race by more than seven lengths, earning a 99 Beyer Speed Figure. Just Might since has plied his trade on turf, and done well at it, running a series of competitive stakes races, including third-place finishes in a pair of Grade 2s and a win a year ago in the Colonel Power Stakes on the Fair Grounds lawn.

Saturday, with the $100,000 Colonel Power rained onto dirt, trainer Michelle Lovell gave Just Might another chance on dirt, and the 5-year-old gelding appeared to love it.

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Putting his ample early speed to good use over a track favoring front-runners, at least during the card’s first half, Just Might made the lead, opened up into the turn, and never came close to being challenged, crossing the finish five lengths in front of runner-up Extravagant Kid, who rallied from far back in a fine performance.

Went West was a distant third and Manny Wah fourth as Just Might clocked a fast 1:02.75 for 5 1/2 furlongs on a fast track. Turned Aside, Jack the Umpire, and Captivating Moon were scratched.

“I think so,” said winning rider Colby Hernandez, asked if Just Might was as good on dirt as turf. “I don’t think it matters.”

There were other pace horses in the Colonel Power but they couldn’t come close to matching Just Might’s pace. “He breaks so sharp, just has that natural speed,” Hernandez said. “When I called on him at the top of the stretch, he really ran on.”

Lovell owns Just Might, a homebred, in partnership with Griffon Farms. Just Might is by Justin Philip out of Dynamite Babe, by Dynameaux. Griffon Farms owned Dynamite Babe, a one-time $5,000 claimer, and Lovell trained the mare at the time of her retirement. Turf or dirt, they’ve come up with a very nice horse.