What could turn out to be a glorious weekend for owner Stonestreet Stables
and trainer Steve Asmussen got off to a rousing start Saturday when KENSEI (Mr.
Greeley) wore down the pace-setting Warrior’s Reward (Medaglia d’Oro) and drove
clear to a 2 1/4-length win in the $500,000
Jim
Dandy S. (G2) at Saratoga. The co-second choice at 5-2, Kensei rewarded his
backers with $7.50, $3.60 and $2.40 and completed 1 1/8 miles on a fast track in
a sparkling 1:47 4/5.
In Kensei, not only do Stonestreet and Asmussen have one of the best
three-year-old colts in training, but the connections are also represented by
Rachel Alexandra (Medaglia d’Oro), the best three-year-old of either sex, who
will try to stay undefeated for the year in Sunday’s Haskell Invitational (G1)
at Monmouth Park.
“It’s been a good day. Unbelievable,” said Asmussen, who also trained Soul
Warrior (Lion Heart) to an upset victory over Big Drama (Montbrook) and Mine
That Bird (Birdstone) in Saturday’s West Virginia Derby (G2).
In the Jim Dandy, Kensei tracked in second as Warrior’s Reward set fractions
of :23 2/5 and :47 2/5. Kensei challenged that one around the far turn, getting
his head in front after six furlongs in 1:11 2/5. Kensei pulled away from that
rival in the stretch and finished up smartly under Edgar Prado.
Warrior’s Reward, also at 5-2, held second by a neck and paid $4.10 and
$2.60. Charitable Man (Lemon Drop Kid), the 6-5 favorite, did not provide an
adequate late kick and finished third by a length, returning $2.30. The exacta
was $28.20 and the 3-4-5 trifecta was worth $46.40. Flat Bold (Flatter),
Convocation (Pulpit) and Saratoga Sinner (Harlan’s Holiday) rounded out the
order of finish after Miner’s Escape (Mineshaft) was withdrawn.
Both Ian Wilkes and Kiaran McLaughlin, the trainers of Warrior’s Reward and
Charitable Man, respectively, indicated they would likely go on to the August 29
Travers S. (G1). Asmussen was non-committal about Kensei’s participation in the
“Midsummer Derby” following the Jim Dandy, preferring to focus his immediate
attention on the Haskell.
“We’ll be happy and have a good dinner tonight and then deal with tomorrow
before anything else,” he said.
A $300,000 Barretts May two-year-old in training purchase, Kensei made a
winning debut at Saratoga last August but finished sixth of seven in the
Futurity S. (G2) in his only other outing as a juvenile. He returned on April 2
at Oaklawn to pass his first allowance condition by three parts of a length,
then finished a clear second in the Derby Trial S. (G3) before a troubled third
in the Woody Stephens S. (G2) on June 6. Last time, the bay romped home a 3
1/4-length winner of the Dwyer S. (G2). After earning his biggest paycheck to
date in the Jim Dandy, Kensei’s bankroll stands at $528,628 from a line of
7-4-1-1.
Bred in Kentucky by co-owner Gulf Coast Farms, Kensei is the first stakes
winner produced by Private Feeling (Belong to Me), who is also the dam of the
unraced two-year-old colt Lookin At Lucky (Smart Strike) and a 2009 colt by
Afleet Alex. Private Feeling is a half-sister to Grade 3 queen Grand Charmer
(Lord Avie), the granddam of 2006 champion three-year-old filly Wait a While
(Maria’s Mon). Sir Harry Lewis (Alleged), the 1987 Irish Derby (Ire-G1) winner,
also hails from this family.