by James Scully
After taking the Grade 2 Pocahontas Stakes on opening weekend, On Fire Baby
will seek to bookend the Churchill Downs meet with a victory in Saturday’s Grade
2, $150,000 Golden Rod Stakes. The 1 1/16-mile stakes for two-year-old fillies
shares the spotlight on closing weekend with the Grade 2, $150,000 Kentucky
Jockey Club Stakes for juvenile males.
On Fire Bay easily captured her career debut at Ellis Park and finished fifth
when making trying stakes company in the Grade 1 Alciabides Stakes at Keeneland.
The Gary Hartlage-trained filly showed speed in her first two starts, but
rallied from just off the pace in the one-mile Pocahontas, offering a well-timed
move to score by nearly a length. The gray daughter of Smoke Glacken will keep
Joe Johnson in the saddle.
Seven of the 11 entrants in the Golden Rod have stakes experience.
Glinda the Good finished second to Grade 1 winner Grace Hall in the Blue Hen
Stakes two starts back and exits a third in the Pocahontas. The Steve Asmussen
pupil figures to appreciate Saturday’s added ground. Golden History, a sharp
debut winner two starts back for conditioner Mark Casse, offered a belated rally
for fifth in the Pocahontas, passing a number of rivals in deep stretch. She’s a
logical contender with further improvement. Casse will also send out Spirited
Miss, who exits a head second in the Mazarine Stakes on Woodbine’s Polytrack and
will attempt to carry her form forward on dirt.
The Tom Proctor-trained Customer Base, who opened her racing career with a
pair of impressive wins before an unplaced effort in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile
Fillies Turf, can’t be dismissed from consideration if she handles a
conventional racing surface. Spring Eclipse is a stakes-placed performer from
the David Vance stable. Back Spin and Goldrush Girl are a couple of intriguing
recent maiden winners.
Super Saver used the Kentucky Jockey Club as a springboard to Kentucky Derby
success in 2009 and a well-matched field of 11 will head to the starting gate
this year. Most of the top contenders will be making their stakes debut in the 8
1/2-furlong test, including Ever So Lucky and Gemologist.
Ever So Lucky hails from the barn of Hall of Fame trainer Jonathon Sheppard,
who isn’t known for his prowess with first-time starters, but the word was out
in the bay colt’s career debut, a 6 1/2-furlong maiden special weight under the
Twin Spires on November 11. Ever So Lucky was hammered down to 4-5 favoritism in
the 12-horse field and rolled to an impressive 3 1/4-length tally, registering a
whopping 96 BRIS Speed rating in the process. The sky appears to be the limit at
this point for the speedy son of Indian Charlie, who is eligible to receive
plenty stamina from his dam side, and Ever So Lucky could easily go favored
Saturday with a returning Julien Leparoux.
Gemologist hails from the same connections of Super Saver (owner WinStar and
trainer Todd Pletcher) and has rolled to easy wins in both starts, garnering a
maiden special weight at Turfway Park by five lengths prior to a facile
two-length score in a recent optional claimer at Churchill Downs. The Tiznow
colt owns respectable BRIS numbers and will show speed with jockey Javier
Castellano.
Africanist and Atigun are both exiting commendable maiden wins over the local
track, and Cyber Secret and Saint Honore will invade off maiden tallies at
Belmont Park.
Optimizer, who finished second in the Grade 2 With Anticipation and third in
the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity prior to an eighth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile,
has the most stakes experience in the Kentucky Jockey Club field. The D. Wayne
Lukas-trained colt will be running late with Robby Albarado. Fine is only runner
to return from the Grade 3 Iroquois on Churchill Downs’ opening weekend,
checking in fourth last time for trainer Bret Calhoun.