Jojo Warrior takes command from the start in Torrey Pines

Jojo Warrior is now fulfilling her early promise (Benoit Photos)

Zayat Stables’ Jojo Warrior scored her second graded stakes in a row just as
she did in her previous start, by taking the field gate-to-wire in Sunday’s
Grade 3, $100,250

Torrey Pines at Del Mar.

Jojo Warrior bobbled slightly at the start, but was still able to take charge
of the race from the beginning. The three-year-old filly put up fractions of :23
1/5, :46 3/5 and 1:11 1/5 as she held on to her lead in the end for a
three-quarters of a length victory.

Jojo Warrior stopped the teletimer in 1:37 going one mile on the Polytrack
with Martin Garcia aboard.

“She’s just improving and improving,” Garcia said. “The last time she ran (in
the Summertime Oaks at Santa Anita) she just came out of there so fast we just
went on with it. This time I thought there was more speed in the race, but I
wasn’t going to fight her. I just let her go and she did it from there. She’s a
good filly and she showed it again today.” 

Tiz Kissable closed from last to be second by a half-length over third-place
finisher Thegirlinthatsong.

“She’s a hard-trying filly,” jockey Tyler Baze said of the runner-up. “There
just isn’t enough ground for her. All the races around here are a mile. She
needs a mile and an eighth.” 

More Complexity, Fashion Plate and Margot Machance
rounded out the order of finish. Delta Flower was scratched from the race.

Jojo Warrior, who paid $4 for Sunday’s win as the even-money favorite, took
her maiden debut for trainer Bob Baffert by 3 1/4 lengths at Del Mar last
September in her only start as a juvenile. She returned on April 12 to be second
in Oaklawn Park’s Instant Racing but could only manage fifth next out at
Churchill Downs in the Eight Belles in her first graded attempt.