Chelsea Durand Photo

Sunny Ridge finds daylight to win Jazil; Yorkiepoo Princess supreme in Ruthless

by Heather Pettinger and Brian Bohl

Dennis A. Drazin's Sunny Ridge overtook Doyouknowsomething out of the final turn to capture the $125,000 Jazil for 4-year-olds and up at one mile and 70 yards on the inner dirt track on Saturday at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Res Judicata set the early fractions in going 23:32 seconds for a quarter-mile and a half in 46.87. Sunny Ridge stalked the pace and jockey Manny Franco urged him near the three-sixteenths pole to take the lead entering the stretch and outkicked Grasshoppin for a 4 ¾-length victory. The 4-year-old gelding hit the wire in 1:42.45 for his first victory in six starts. 

"The plan going in was to stay as close to the rail as possible," Franco said. "We were able to get there and from the half-mile to the quarter-pole, he took me. I didn't have to urge him. He was ready and did it easy today."

Sunny Ridge, off at 5-2, paid $7 on a $2 win bet and improved his career earnings to $758,002. The Jason Servis trainee won his first stakes since the 2016 Grade 3 Withers on January 30 at the Big A.

Grasshoppin railed for second and Doyouknowsomething, Royal Posse, Res Judicata and Bay of Plenty completed the order of finish.

Earlier in the day, Danny Chen's Yorkiepoo Princess scored her second straight stakes win with a 7 ½-length romp in the 40th running of the $100,000 Ruthless for 3-year-old fillies at six furlongs.

Sent off as the heavy 4-5 favorite, the sophomore filly by Kantharos bobbled slightly at the break and recovered to secure second early as Waves of Blue covered the opening quarter-mile in 23.58. Angled to the outside by jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr., Yorkiepoo Princess swept past Waves of Blue in the turn, leading the half-mile in 46.91 and five furlongs in 59.19 and drawing off in the stretch to stop the clock in 1:12.42.

"I knew she was going well at the three-eighths and I knew she could keep going at the pace, so I just let her keep going," said Ortiz. "The track has been playing well for speed the last two days so I let her move a little early to try to make the lead as soon as we had an opportunity. She was ready today."

Yorkiepoo Princess, purchased for $8,000 as a 2-year-old-in-training, picked up her third victory and boasts career earnings of $154,811. Trained by Eddie Barker, the winner returned $3.60 for a $2 win wager.

Tiz Rae Anna closed for second, a half-length ahead of Banty's Girl in third. Treatherlikestar and Waves of Blue completed the order of finish.