Jackson Bend stars in Calder’s Juvenile Showcase

Jackson Bend has now won three straight stakes (Jim Lisa Photos)

Calder’s Juvenile Showcase was designed to highlight the Miami track’s
reputation for developing two-year-old talent, and the event lived up to its
billing on Saturday when JACKSON BEND (Hear No Evil) extended his winning streak
to four in the $150,000
Affirmed
division of the Florida Stallion S.

A homebred campaigned by Jacks or Better Farm, Jackson Bend was hammered into
3-5 favoritism on the strength of victories in the July 11 Frank Gomez Memorial
S. and August 8 Dr. Fager division of the Florida Stallion S. His credentials
had been boosted even further when the Gomez runner-up, D’ Funnybone (D’
wildcat), romped by 10 1/2 lengths in the August 20 Saratoga Special S. (G2).

With regular rider Jeffrey Sanchez aboard in the Affirmed, the Stanley Gold
pupil stalked the pace set by Mr. Green (Proud Accolade) through fractions of
:23 2/5 and :47 2/5. Jackson Bend threw down his challenge at the top of the
stretch, and after a tussle, he pulled 1 1/2 lengths clear of a game Mr. Green.
The winner completed seven furlongs on the fast track in 1:25.

“He’ll give you a cardiac attack sometimes the way he makes that big move up
to the leader, but then just inches away like he knows where the finish line
is,” Gold said. “You always have to be concerned when a horse gets loose on the
lead. In today’s race, we were concerned about Mr. Green in front, but you just
have to rely on your rider to decide where to be.”

Rosebud’s Ridge scored on the front end (Jim Lisa Photos)

In contrast, the $150,000
Susan’s Girl division witnessed an upset as 17-1
shot ROSEBUD’S RIDGE (Tiger Ridge) held on for a wire-to-wire score. Overlooked
as the longest shot on the board after breaking her maiden in her fourth try,
the Herman Wilensky trainee sprinted to the early lead beneath Cecilio Penalba,
opened up by 3 1/2 lengths in midstretch, and was all out to stave off the
rallying 9-5 choice Sweetlalabye (Sweetsouthernsaint) by a neck. Rosebud’s Ridge
stopped the teletimer in 1:26 2/5 for seven furlongs.

“I wasn’t exactly planning on being on the lead, but she was so sharp early
on that I was actually fighting with her at first and decided to just let her
run the way she wanted to,” Penalba said. “This filly is still learning how to
run a race and today was probably the best lesson she could get, win or lose,
she gained something out of it. She was tired at the end, of course, so when I
got to the top of the stretch I knew she only had a little bit left. So I let
her use it instead of letting it get wasted if we got caught halfway through the
stretch. Fortunately, we hung on.”

Owned by Angel Quiroz, Rosebud’s Ridge boosted her bankroll to $125,860 from
her 5-2-2-1 line. The chestnut was bred by her trainer in Florida, and she is a
half-sister to Successful Sarah (Successful Appeal), third in this year’s Next
Move S. (G3). They are out of the winning Sarah Rosebud (Unreal Zeal).

Wave Me By sailed home in the Seacliff (Jim Lisa Photos)

“The way he ran last time out breaking his maiden at seven furlongs, I knew
he would do well going the extra distance.” Nunez said. “I saw the favorite out
front getting a lot of pressure on the lead so I just let my horse sit back and
relax. When I turned him loose he was just cruising along and looking for more
to do.”

The Florida-bred Wave Me By advanced his record to 4-2-0-1 with $73,675 in
earnings. The dark bay gelding was produced by the Theatrical (Ire) mare Traffic
Jammer.

“Ultimately, he may be better on turf; he’s out of a Theatrical mare,”
O’Connell said. “He acts like he can run all day. But he’s still babyish; you
could see that today coming down the lane (bearing out). He certainly likes more
distance and we’ll most likely run him in the final division of the Stallion S.
(the In Reality). Mr. Campbell has another nice one that may go in there as
well.”

Miss Delite was uncatchable in her turf bow (Jim Lisa Photos)

Brenda Tabraue’s MISS DELITE (Exchange Rate) drove to a 2 1/4-length score in
the $100,000
Catcharisingstar
S. in her grass debut. Seventh in the early going,
the Pablo Andrade filly moved up to chase the quick tempo beneath Luis Arango
and overhauled the front-running Winey Taylor (Indian Ocean) inside the final
sixteenth. Miss Delite was dispatched as the slight second choice at 3-1. The
3-1 favorite, Big City Diva (City Place), wound up fifth.

The Florida-bred Miss Delite, who blitzed five furlongs in :56 4/5, was
coming off a distant runner-up effort to Dashing Debby (Medaglia d’Oro) in the J
J’sdream S.

“I missed a Stallion Stakes payment — I blew it — so she wasn’t eligible
for the Susan’s Girl,” said breeder Jorge Tabraue, Brenda’s husband. “She’s a
nice filly. The only horse to beat her (Dashing Debby), they sold for $2
million. I might take a lot less for this one. We’ll point her for the mile and
70 (yards) race (the Brave Raj S. on September 18). If she does good there,
maybe we’ll think about the Breeders’ Cup. She’s eligible for that.”