Jackie's Warrior Outduels Dream Shake in Pat Day Mile
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Photo: Skip Dickstein
Jackie's Warrior (inside) holds off Dream Shake in the Pat Day Mile Stakes at Churchill Downs
Following his colt's second consecutive defeat when third in the Southwest Stakes (G3) this winter at Oaklawn Park, Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen opted to return dual grade 1 winner Jackie's Warrior to one-turn races, bypassing the lure of the Triple Crown.
The payoff on that decision yielded its first return for owners Kirk and Judy Robison May 1 on Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) undercard at Churchill Downs. There, back playing to his strength, the speedy 3-year-old fended off Dream Shake for a head victory in the $500,000 Pat Day Mile Stakes Presented by LG&E and KU (G2).
Though the trip of Saturday's race suited him—he took the Champagne Stakes (G1) last fall over a one-turn mile—not much else in the Saturday's race did. Facing an abundance of speed and drawn inside, jockey Joel Rosario had little choice but to send his mount, irrespective of how hot the fractions of the race might become.
So while Jackie's Warrior secured his preferred position on the lead, he had to work to do so. He threw down scintillating fractions of :21.75, :43.68, and 1:07.97 while pursued by Dream Shake, the third-place finisher from both the San Felipe Stakes (G2) and Runhappy Santa Anita Derby (G1).
Jackie's Warrior could never shake that rival, and by midstretch, Dream Shake was alongside, seemingly poised to inch past. But under left-handed urging from Rosario, Jackie's Warrior turned that rival away. Both horses grew tired in the final furlong, timed in :13.89 to complete the mile on a fast track in 1:34.39. He paid $6.60 as the favorite.
"I was pretty confident that he was going to hang on down the stretch," said Rosario. "He likes when a horse comes up to him, and he really digs in. I was not worried about the fast early pace because he fights very hard down the stretch."
Joel Rosario shares a moment with Scott Blasi (left) after winning the Pat Day Mile Stakes
Whiskey Double rallied to grab third, giving Asmussen a 1-3 finish. Defunded , who launched a menacing wide bid on the turn, before flattening out, ran fourth in the field of 11.
The victory was the third in the race for Asmussen, following Valid Expectations in 1996 and Hierro in 2012. It is the second for Rosario, who won in 2013 with Forty Tales .
"I'm proud of who Jackie's Warrior is; under these circumstances, it only validates the beliefs we had in him," said Asmussen. "It's quite obvious that he's a special horse, and there are plenty of opportunities for him out there that will serve his assets best."
Bred in Kentucky by J & J Stables, the son of Maclean's Music was purchased for $95,000 by Kirk Robison from Taylor Made Sales Agency's consignment at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. He is the lone stakes winner out of the A. P. Five Hundred mare Unicorn Girl, whose most recent foals include a Candy Ride 2-year-old filly and a yearling colt by American Pharoah .
The connections of Jackie's Warrior celebrate his Pat Day Mile Stakes score