Jean Elizabeth Could Extend Streak in Captiva Island

Jean Elizabeth got her racing career off to a fast start, winning four consecutive starts for co-owner/breeder and trainer Larry Rivelli in her home state of Illinois. That proved to be a preview of things to come for the now 5-year-old mare, who brings a seven-race winning streak—all in stakes—into the $75,000 Captiva Island Stakes March 7 at Gulfstream Park.

The Captiva Island for fillies and mares 4 and older shares top billing on a 12-race program with the $75,000 Silks Run Stakes for 4-year-olds and up, both sprinting five furlongs on the grass.

Rivelli bred Jean Elizabeth with Richard Ravin and shares ownership with Ravin and Patricia's Hope. The daughter of grade 2 winner Adios Charlie  has never finished off the board in 20 starts, racking up 14 wins, four seconds, two thirds and $607,668 in earnings.

The Captiva Island comes just two weeks after Jean Elizabeth extended her streak with a frontrunning half-length score in the Lightning City Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs. She already has two wins at Gulfstream's 2019-20 meet: the Jan. 25 Ladies' Turf Sprint and the Dec. 28 Abundantia, which was moved off the grass to the main track.

"It is a quick turnaround, but I entered her, and so as long as she continues to be bouncing back like she has been, that's the plan," Rivelli said. "It's not necessarily that we have to run in this race, but if it comes up where she's doing well in the next day or two, we'll go ahead. If not, we'll maybe find a different spot. We'll let her tell us, but right now she's doing fantastic."

Albin Jimenez has the call from post 11 of 12. He won on her in both the Dec. 6 Holiday Inaugural Stakes on Turfway Park's synthetic surface and the Lightning City on turf, where she dug in to win by a half-length in a stakes-record :55.09.

"When they got to about the eighth pole, from the camera angle that we had, it looked like they were going to run right over the top of her," Rivelli said. "Jimenez said he just needed her to see that they were coming, and when she saw they were coming, she just took off. She's gutsy; she doesn't want anybody to go by her. She's just one of those types of fillies. She's a special horse."

Jean Elizabeth became a graded winner in the Ontario Fashion Stakes (G3) last fall going six furlongs at Woodbine. Her last loss came when she placed second by a nose in a 6 1/2-furlong allowance-level race Aug. 4 at Presque Isle Downs; both races came on synthetic surfaces.

"The best thing about her is she runs on any surface, which you never know until you do it or have the opportunity to do it. You've got a lot of options with a horse like her, which is nice," Rivelli said. "We really thought a lot of her early in her career, but she hadn't been running against the type of competition that she has this year. She took a step forward this year and had to in order to keep her win streak going. We always thought she was nice; we were hopeful she would continue to get better and better, and she has."

Triton Stable, Brian Chenvert, and trainer Eddie Kenneally's multiple stakes winner Girls Know Best finished behind Jean Elizabeth in both the Abundantia and Ladies' Turf Sprint, the latter by a half-length as the favorite after setting the pace. Edgard Zayas replaces the injured Jose Ortiz in the irons from post 5.

"She was second to a very, very good filly that's won several stakes in a row now, and that filly looks like she's the new leader of the filly turf sprint division. She's since come back and won another stake at Tampa, so I think the form is good," Kenneally said. "They've got similar running styles. We were on the inside of her in the stake on Pegasus Day, and that filly got the better of us the last few strides. We were second-best that day, but we're ready to go again."

Like Jean Elizabeth, 6-year-old Girls Know Best knows how to win. She has 12 victories and $582,672 in earnings from 26 starts and is a three-time stakes winner.

"She's got natural speed, so I don't think they ever lose that. The key is that she's happy and sound and healthy, and we've been able to space her races out plenty," Kenneally said. "We haven't overtaxed her, and she's still performing at a very high level. Long may it last."

Since being claimed by Kenneally for $40,000 out of an October 2017 win at Keeneland, Girls Know Best has won or placed in eight stakes, including a third in the Buffalo Trace Franklin County Stakes (G3T) last fall.

"Frankly, we just thought she was a sound, hard-knocking claiming filly that knew how to win. When we decided to try and claim her, we didn't think that she was potential stakes-caliber," Kenneally said. "We felt like she was a solid filly in her own right."

Entries: Captiva Island S.

Gulfstream Park, Saturday, March 07, 2020, Race 11

• STK
• 5f
• Turf
• $75,000
• 4 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
• 5:12 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Charmaine's Mia (KY)	Cristian A. Torres	118	Michael K. McDonald	20/1
2	2Nikee Kan (FL)	Miguel Angel Vasquez	118	Joseph C. Catanese, III	30/1
3	3Violent Times (PA)	Emisael Jaramillo	118	Ralph E. Nicks	10/1
4	4Bohemian Bourbon (KY)	Edgar S. Prado	118	Ian R. Wilkes	8/1
5	5Girls Know Best (KY)	Edgard J. Zayas	120	Eddie Kenneally	7/2
6	6Mae Never No (IRE)	Jeffrey Sanchez	118	Wesley A. Ward	20/1
7	7Lovesick (FL)	Marcos Meneses	118	Brendan P. Walsh	20/1
8	8Kitten's Covergirl (KY)	Jairo Rendon	118	Jose A. Gallegos	15/1
9	9Keota (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	118	Jason Servis	9/2
10	10I'llhandalthecash (KY)	Harry Hernandez	118	Raymond Handal	15/1
11	11Jean Elizabeth (IL)	Albin Jimenez	124	Larry Rivelli	2/1
12	12Hidden Facts (KY)	Angel Rodriguez	118	Brian A. Lynch	15/1
13	13Knarsdale (KY)	Victor Lebron	118	Rodolphe Brisset	20/1