Jackie's Warrior Speeds to Champion Male Sprinter Title

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Jackie's Warrior Speeds to Champion Male Sprinter Title
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Photo: Skip Dickstein
Jackie's Warrior (inside) defeats Life Is Good in the 2021 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes at Saratoga Race Course

Only one horse has been able to beat Jan. 29 Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes Presented by 1/ST BET (G1) winner Life Is Good , and that is Jackie's Warrior . The two dueled it out in the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes (G1) last August at Saratoga Race Course, with Jackie's Warrior gutting it out to win by a neck. A consistent season of impressive races—topped by his Jerkens performance—led Jackie's Warrior to be named the champion male sprinter of 2021.

Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen trains Jackie's Warrior for J. Kirk and Judy Robison.


"He's very exciting to watch," Asmussen said last season. "What a very special horse he's been. He's run some game races … He ran so valiantly with Life Is Good. They both ran such a good race that day."

Jackie's Warrior won or placed in six of seven starts during his 3-year-old season last year. In May he dug in to hang on by a head in the Pat Day Mile Stakes Presented by LG&E and KU (G2) at Churchill Downs, then went down by a neck to Drain the Clock  in the Woody Stephens Stakes Presented by Nassau County Industrial Development Agency (G1) the following month at Belmont Park. It was 7 1/4 lengths back to the third-place finisher.

Turning the tables on Drain the Clock, Jackie's Warrior rebounded to win the Amsterdam Stakes (G2) in August at Saratoga, leaving his rival 7 1/4 lengths behind in second. The Maclean's Music   colt was then favored behind Life Is Good in the Jerkens. He pressed the pace of the favorite, took over in the stretch, and held off Life Is Good as that competitor battled back. Behind that pair, it was 8 3/4 lengths back to the next horse.

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"'Jackie' continues to make us proud," Asmussen said after that performance. "He's incredible. The thing you love about him is his demeanor and the way he goes about everything."

Jackie's Warrior notched his fourth graded win of the season in the Gallant Bob Stakes (G2) in September at Parx Racing, an easy 6 3/4-length score. In his final start of the year, he faded to sixth in the Qatar Racing Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) at Del Mar. His earnings for the season were $1,051,400.

J & J Stables bred Jackie's Warrior in Kentucky from the A. P. Five Hundred mare Unicorn Girl , a winner of 19 races and an earner of $483,508. He was purchased for $95,000 out of Taylor Made Sales Agency's consignment at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.