Impressive Iroquois (G3) winner Jonathan’s Way sustained his first career loss when seventh in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) at Del Mar, which was also his first two-turn attempt. The Phil Bauer trainee returns to Churchill Downs for another crack at 1 1/16 miles in Saturday’s $400,000 Kentucky Jockey Club (G2).
A scoring race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, the Kentucky Jockey Club offers points on the 10-5-3-2-1 format to the respective top five finishers.
The series of qualifiers began with the Sept. 14 Iroquois around a one-turn mile at Churchill. Jonathan’s Way showed a new dimension by going straight to the lead and drawing off by 2 3/4 lengths. Previously in his debut at Saratoga, he rallied from well off the pace after a troubled start. But Jonathan’s Way was unable to make an impact from midpack in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, ultimately dropping further back in a seven-length loss.
As a son of Vekoma and Female Drama, a stakes-winning sprinter by Indian Charlie, Jonathan’s Way doesn’t have an ironclad routing pedigree. He’ll need to prove his aptitude for the Derby trail here with a returning Joel Rosario.
Several contenders are coming off better efforts at the distance. He’s Not Joking rolled by four lengths in the Grey (G3) at Woodbine for Josie Carroll, while Filoso was a closing third in the Breeders’ Futurity (G1) at Keeneland, and Tiztastic was a distant second in the Street Sense (G3) over this track and trip. Dapper Moon was fourth in both the Breeders’ Futurity and Street Sense, but improved to finish nearer last time out. Clock Tower set the pace in the Bourbon (G2) on turf before tiring to third, and Render Judgment just scored in a course-and-distance maiden for Ken McPeek.
Godolphin’s First Resort is intriguing as he reverts to dirt. Runner-up in the Saratoga Special (G2) two back to the well-regarded Showcase, the Eoin Harty pupil tried turf and finished a respectable fourth in the Summer (G1), a Breeders’ Cup Challenge event at Woodbine. The son of Uncle Mo and Grade 1 winner Fair Maiden had flashed speed in both dirt starts, and the jockey switch to Luis Saez implies that he’ll be forward early.
Calumet Farm’s homebred Sonic Skedaddle has appeal in his stakes and two-turn debut. Trained by Brendan Walsh, the City of Light colt overcame trouble to go last-to-first in a seven-furlong maiden beneath the Twin Spires. Redacted exits a second in a similar maiden, but the son of Honor Code stands to move forward second time out for Dallas Stewart.
The Kentucky Jockey Club anchors four stakes on the Stars of Tomorrow II program, dedicated exclusively to the juvenile set. Alongside the companion Golden Rod (G2) on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks and the Fern Creek S. for fillies, the $225,000 Ed Brown S. features sprinters dashing 6 1/2 furlongs.
Tough Catch, denied by just a half-length in the Bowman Mill S. at Keeneland, squares off against Keep It Easy, who was one of the more memorable maiden winners during Churchill’s spring meet. Keep It Easy’s wire-to-wire romp made him among the leading chances in the Saratoga Special, only to see him get virtually eliminated by a stumbling start. Also of note are a pair of fillies – Glean comes off a Keeneland turf maiden score for Wesley Ward, and recent Churchill maiden winner Wisconsin Gal has run well in all three local starts.
