Just Might rides Scherer Memorial win to top of stakes standings

No ifs, ands, buts, or maybes – Just Might is the winningest North American stakes horse in 2021.

The 5-year-old gelding won his seventh stakes race this year when he captured the $75,000 Richard Scherer Memorial on Sunday at Fair Grounds. That gave Just Might one more stakes win this year than six-time stakes winners Letruska, Going Global, and Chub Wagon. Going Global might well have notched her seventh 2021 stakes win on Sunday at Santa Anita had the American Oaks not been rained off turf and onto dirt, where she finished sixth.

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Funny thing is, Just Might appeared to be somewhat win-shy before this season, coming into 2021 just a three-time winner from 21 starts. But Just Might has proven both durable and determined during an 11-start campaign. The Scherer was Just Might’s third turf stakes win this year to go along with four dirt-stakes victories, and while there’s little doubt Just Might is better than he’s ever been, its hard to say which surface he prefers. Winning the Thanksgiving Classic last month on Fair Grounds dirt, he matched his career-best Beyer Speed Figure, 101, and in the Scherer, Just Might, ridden by Colby Hernandez, hit a new peak.

“He’s so amazing,” said trainer, co-breeder, and co-owner Michelle Lovell. “He got a 102 Beyer this time and Colby barely asked him.”

Just Might, by Justin Phillip, made his first 2021 start in January and raced through the end of December, but he’s gotten better through the year and Lovell sees no reason to give the gelding time off right now. “It’s easier to keep him happy with easy training and a race,” she said. “It suits him. I don’t like drilling him in the mornings to get him to a race.”

With that in mind, don’t be surprised to see Just Might show up in the entries for the $100,000 Duncan Kenner, a Fair Grounds turf sprint on Jan. 22. Though it will be nearly impossible for Just Might to put together a 2022 season as good as 2021.

Turf mares returning in 2022

Trainer Joe Sharp said Summer in Saratoga and Catch a Bid, turf stakes mares who will be 6-year-olds in 2022, basically controlled their destiny Sunday in the Blushing K. D. Stakes.

Show a continued willingness and capability out on the track and their racing careers would continue into 2022. A disinterested or especially poor performance could have led to retirement. But Summer in Saratoga won the Blushing K.D. and Catch a Bid held a close third after setting the pace, and Sharp said both horses would start again early next year.

Catch a Bid earned an 89 Beyer while Summer in Saratoga fell just short of her career best, 93, earning a 92 for a neck win over a game Bellagamba. There are six-figure stakes races for both horses at Fair Grounds in January, February, and March.

◗ A pair of Louisiana-bred allowance races headline the nine-race Thursday program, but perhaps more interesting is a pair of maiden special weight sprints – races 4 and 8 – carded for 2-year-olds