Joe Labozzetta Photo

New York connections connect on Breeders' Cup Future Stars Friday

by Keith McCalmont

New York-based connections celebrated in four of Future Stars Friday's five races led by jockey Joel Rosario who scored wins in the Tito's Handmade Vodka Juvenile Fillies and featured Sentient Jet Juvenile on opening day of the Breeders' Cup from Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.

The veteran Rosario increased his Breeders' Cup tally to eight after winning the Juvenile Fillies with New York-based Jaywalk and the Juvenile with California raider Game Winner. Rosario now leads in the race for the Bill Shoemaker Award, given to the most outstanding jockey of the Breeders' Cup World Championships at Churchill Downs.

The Shoemaker Award is based on a 10-4-2-1 scoring system on first- through fourth-place finishes in each of the 14 Breeders' Cup World Championship races.

Rosario's 20 points put him six ahead of fellow New York rider Irad Ortiz Jr., who won the Juvenile Fillies Turf on Newspaperofrecord and finished second in the Juvenile Turf with Uncle Benny who is based in New York for trainer Jason Servis and owner Ara Aprahamian's Beach Haven Thoroughbreds.

Jaywalk punched her ticket to the Breeders' Cup with a victory in the 'Win and You're In' Grade 1 Frizette at Belmont Park. The daughter of Cross Traffic went gate-to-wire under Rosario in the $2-million Juvenile Fillies, contested at 1 1/16 miles over the Churchill main, to win by a commanding 5 1/2 lengths in 1:43.62. It was the first Breeders' Cup victory John Servis. Jaywalk has now won four of her five career starts.

Servis was expecting a strong performance from his star filly.

"I was looking for a big effort from her, but I didn't expect for her to go to the lead again. I really thought there was enough speed in here that she'd probably be sitting off it a bit. But, Joel (Rosario) said when she left the gate, he knew right then she had running on her mind. And, he just took it from there. Once she got the front, she started flicking her ears and looked nice and relaxed," said Servis.

The veteran conditioner hopes to return to Louisville in May with Jaywalk for the prestigious Kentucky Oaks.

"That's a long way off, but that would nice, yes," admitted Servis.

Rosario closed out the Breeders' Cup action with a rousing score aboard the undefeated Game Winner. Sent to post as the even-money favorite for trainer Bob Baffert and owners Gary and Mary West, Game Winner was forced wide into the opening turn, but showed marked determination to reel in a stubborn Knicks Go to secure a 2 ¼-length win. Game Winner covered 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.67.

"He broke fine, but it looked like they took my spot and I had to go wide. He seemed like he didn't mind that. He was comfortable. That's why we got him moving at that point, instead of getting inside and taking back. Turning for home the more I rode him the more he gave it to me," said Rosario.

A strong day for New York racing talent also featured recent Belmont Fall Meet leaders Chad Brown, Ortiz, Jr., and Klaravich Stables combine to win the $1-million Juvenile Fillies Turf with Newspaperofrecord. The bay daughter of Lope de Vega, who captured the Grade 2 Miss Grillo at Belmont on September 30, was first out of the gate and first home in the one-mile turf event, stopping the clock in 1:39 flat over a yielding turf. She provided Ortiz, Jr. with his fourth Breeders' Cup win and Brown with his eleventh.

Brown was full of praise for the budding superstar filly.

"For her to win as easy as she did is remarkable. So, I'd say right now she's well on her way [to superstar status]," said Brown. "I'm more reserved about saying superstar and such until they're a little deeper into their career and seeing how far they can really go. Obviously, this is a horse that's done everything we've asked, and she's done it really easy. I don't think I've ever trained a horse that after their first three starts we never let her run. I don't believe the horse has been let to run yet."

The familiar New York-based jockey-trainer combination of Todd Pletcher and Javier Castellano teamed up to win the day's opening Breeders' Cup race, the newly minted $1-million Juvenile Turf Sprint with Bulletin. The speedy chestnut, a winner at first asking at Gulfstream Park, blasted out of the gate in the 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint and never looked back en route to a 2 ¾-length score in 1:05.54. The victory marked the ninth Breeders' Cup win for Castellano and the tenth for Pletcher.

In other Breeders' Cup action, European shipper Line of Duty captured the $1-million Juvenile Turf. The Godolphin homebred was piloted by William Buick for trainer Charles Appleby.

Live racing continues at Aqueduct on Breeders' Cup Saturday with the Grade 3, $150,000 Turnback the Alarm at nine furlongs for 3-year-olds and up, combined with full simulcast coverage of the Breeders' Cup in Louisville, highlighted by the $6 million Classic, with a locally scheduled post of 5:44 p.m. Doors open at 9 a.m. on Saturday at Aqueduct with first post set for 11 a.m. Fans purchasing a program on Saturday will receive a free Aqueduct Tumbler.