Well-traveled Crown Imperial may get right trip in Jessamine

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Crown Imperial has traveled to five tracks in her nascent career. After stakes placings on dirt and turf, she broke through with a win in the Untapable Stakes at Kentucky Downs.

On Friday at Keeneland, she is the only stakes winner in the field of 11 for the Grade 2, $350,000 Jessamine Stakes, a 1 1/16-mile turf race for 2-year-old fillies. The race awards its winner a fees-paid berth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf on Nov. 3 at Santa Anita.

Crown Imperial, a homebred by Classic Empire for 4 G Racing, is trained by John Ortiz, who also has favored Brightwork in the Grade 1 Alcibiades on Friday’s card. Crown Imperial was among the barn’s juveniles who came to hand relatively early, winning her debut in May at Horseshoe Indianapolis going five furlongs on dirt. She then was second by a head in the Prairie Gold Lassie, a 5 1/2-furlong dirt race at Prairie Meadows.

Ortiz then switched Crown Imperial to turf.

“She is small in size, and I wasn’t ready to try six furlongs on the dirt,” Ortiz said.

The filly gave a good account of herself, finishing third in the Colleen Stakes going five furlongs at Monmouth Park. The winner, Amidst Waves, is a candidate for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint. Crown Imperial got even closer to Amidst Waves when second in the Bolton Landing at 5 1/2 furlongs in August at Saratoga. Despite racing inside and appearing to be intimidated by the crop of Amidst Waves’s rider late, she was beaten just a nose.

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Crown Imperial showed she learned some lessons about racing in tight quarters in the Untapable Stakes on Sept. 13 at Kentucky Downs when she split horses and got up to win the 6 1/2-furlong race by 1 1/4 lengths. Because of the unique undulating turf course at Kentucky Downs, with the last furlong a gradual uphill climb, 6 1/2 furlongs there can feel longer than a sprint.

“We know that she’s bred to go two turns,” Ortiz said. “I just wasn’t ready to stretch her out [earlier], but after such a good effort at Saratoga, I knew that Kentucky Downs would prepare her for the Jessamine. Basically, that race was not just to see if she can stretch out, but it was with Keeneland in mind.”

Ricardo Santana Jr., aboard at Kentucky Downs, retains the mount. While Crown Imperial sat just off the pace in prior stakes tries, she was eighth after the opening half-mile in the Untapable before rallying. If Santana chooses similar tactics, she should have some pace to work with in a field largely comprised of maiden winners. Abeyance, Asternia, Bella Haze, and Toupie won their respective maidens on the front end, while Appellate, Pharoah’s Wine, and Smooth Waves used pace-pressing tactics.

Morning-line favorite Time to Dazzle gets a rider change to the comebacking Luis Saez for Mark Casse. She earned the top Beyer Speed Figure in this field, an 83, with a debut victory going a mile Sept. 17 on the Woodbine turf under Sahin Civaci.

The only others in this field with stakes experience are Bella Haze, second in the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Fillies at a mile; and Toupie, second to the Juvenile Turf Sprint-bound colt No Nay Mets in the Rosie’s Stakes at Colonial Downs.

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