One year ago on the Citation Handicap undercard, B.J. Wright’s Jeranimo
blitzed an allowance over the same distance on Hollywood Park’s turf course. In
a measure of how far he’s come this season, the Michael Pender charge not only
won the Grade 2, $250,000
Citation,
but he simply trounced the field as the 8-5 favorite. Indeed, Jeranimo was
exiting a seventh in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, and not finding anyone of that
league here, he rammed his class edge home. Rallying from midpack for Garrett
Gomez, Jeranimo inhaled his one-paced foes and stormed 2 3/4 lengths clear.
“The doubters and naysayers were saying, ‘Coming back with three weeks rest?’
I actually started believing that stuff,” Pender said. “But you follow your
horse, I guess. He’s just so push button. Everything he does seems so easy for
him. He takes everything in stride and wakes up every morning with a big happy
smile on his face and says let’s just go out there and do it. He’s the epitome
of a racehorse.
“I promised him win, lose or draw after the Breeders’ Cup I was going to give
him at least 60 days, but there I am going back in 21. About a week after he got
back here he was bouncing and prancing on the way to the track. He didn’t blow
out a match after I two-minute licked him. He was just screaming, ‘Breeze me.’
It was almost like the Breeders’ Cup gave him that extra foundation that he
needed.”
As expected, the sprinter Bob Black Jack went to the fore in his turf debut
and reeled off splits of :24 1/5, :48 3/5 and 1:11 2/5. Jeranimo, who had chased
the pace in his last three turf starts, was more patiently handled by Gomez and
settled about four lengths back.
Bob Black Jack tried to steal away on the final turn, but was soon
surrounded. Calimonco, John Johny Jak and War Element all swamped the pacesetter
in the stretch. Then, wider out, Jeranimo was produced, and the race was over in
a few jumps. Stopping the teletimer in 1:40 4/5 for 1 1/16 miles on the firm
turf, he returned $5.40, $3 and $2.80.
“He relaxed real well and found himself in a nice little spot,” Gomez said.
“They weren’t going very fast, but he was real comfortable and traveling well.
That’s the main concern with him. I was actually surprised the last couple of
races that he showed that kind of speed. I was a little tempted, even with Bob
Black Jack, to kind of ride him the way he’s been running the last couple of
races, but then I decided to ride him the way he’s always been ridden.
“Even on the first turn I relinquished my spot and took him back one little
notch. He settled in beautiful and it was just a matter of finding somewhere to
go. When I showed him where to go, he put it all together.”
War Element, who was off a step slow, subdued Calimonco by a head for second.
John Johny Jak crossed the wire in fourth, with Leroy’s Dynameaux a close fifth
in the bunched-up group. After a gap of 1 1/2 lengths came Bob Black Jack,
trailed by Make Music for Me, Buenos Dias and Assessment.
Jeranimo’s fourth career victory at the Grade 2 level advanced his line to
24-7-4-4, $810,400. At three, the bay finished third in the Grade 2 San Felipe
in his stakes debut, and at four, he upset the Grade 2 Strub and took fourth in
both the Sunshine Millions Classic and the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap.
His career took off in earnest when he was switched to turf last fall. A
good-looking winner over Grade 1 hero Fluke in the aforementioned Hollywood
allowance, Jeranimo came right back to garner the Grade 2 San Gabriel. For most
of his 2011 campaign, the five-year-old was running well without winning,
placing in such events as the Grade 1 Frank E. Kilroe Mile, Grade 1 Eddie Read
and Grade 2 Arcadia. Jeranimo snapped his skid in the Grade 2 Oak Tree Mile two
starts ago on October 8, which punched his Breeders’ Cup ticket.
Bred by Brylynn Farm in Florida, Jeranimo fetched $50,000 as an OBS August
yearling and $70,000 as a Barretts May two-year-old. The son of Congaree is out
of the stakes-winning Jeblar mare Jera, who is also the dam of the stakes-placed
Wealthy Aviator and Tizthen. Unbeaten Grade 2 star Kantharos and multiple Grade
1-winning sire First Samurai are prominent family members. A new addition to
that list is O’Prado Again, who captured the Grade 2 Remsen earlier on Saturday
to kick off a banner day for the female line.