Green Light Go Much the Best in Stymie
Image:
Description:
Photo: Coglianese Photos/Chelsea Durand
Green Light Go wins the Stymie Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack
Jockey Dylan Davis secured his fourth win on the Feb. 26 card as Stronach Stables homebred Green Light Go made every pole a winning one in the $125,000 Stymie Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Trained by Jimmy Jerkens, the 5-year-old Hard Spun bay notched his first stakes score since capturing the 2019 Saratoga Special Stakes Presented by Miller Lite (G2) as a juvenile.
Green Light Go broke alertly from the inside post to mark off opening splits of :22.99 and :45.16 under pressure from Parx invader Milton the Monster . Green Light Go persevered through the turn with Milton the Monster continuing to press in front of the Manny Franco-piloted Doubly Blessed , who raced to the inside of Our Last Buck .
The pacesetter opened up a three-length advantage at the stretch call as Doubly Blessed surged into contention with Pirate's Punch launching a late run, but there was no denying Green Light Go, who notched the 3 1/4-length win in a final time of 1:35.43 for the mile.
Doubly Blessed completed the exacta by three-quarters of a length over Milton the Monster. Pirate's Punch, Waxman and Our Last Buck completed the order of finish. Hanalei's Houdini was scratched.
"The one hole is really tough and our plan was to come out running, so we did that and they didn't make it easy for him to relax. He had a lot of company early and he was able to pull off," said Davis, who now leads the Big A winter meet with 45 wins, following earlier triumphs on the card with Bells On Her Toes (Race 4), Rocco Strong (Race 6), and Zoomer (Race 7).
Since rejoining the Jerkens barn last summer at Saratoga Race Course, Green Light Go has won two of three starts, all at the Big A, including a runner-up effort in the Nov. 28 Fall Highweight Handicap (G3) ahead of a nine-length optional-claiming score Jan. 13.
"I know (Green Light Go) ran well last time, but when the track is that super-fast it's hard to really gauge how good it was," Jerkens said. "It wasn't the greatest field in the world. It was good to see him duplicate it today, that's for sure. The track was very fast today. Maybe not quite as fast as last time, but close to it.
"He had been training well going into it—I would have been disappointed if he got real weak there at the end," Jerkens added. "He wasn't exactly accelerating, but he was holding his own. I didn't think he was stopping at all."
Jerkens said Green Light Go could target the seven-furlong, $300,000 Carter Handicap (G1) at the Big A April 9.
"For him to take a shot at a grade 1 would help him go to stud and stuff like that," Jerkens said. "He's grade 1-placed from the Champagne. If you're thinking of grade 1s anywhere along the line, that would be the most logical one."
Green Light Go banked $68,750 in victory while improving his record to 5-3-1 from 13 starts, and increasing earnings to $527,102. Sent to post as the 1-2 mutuel favorite, he returned $3.10 for a $2 win bet.
Bred in Kentucky out of the stakes-winning, grade 1-placed Pleasantly Perfect mare Light Green, Green Light Go is the first graded winner for the mare, who has produced two winners from two foals to race. The mare's recent progeny include an unraced 2-year-old Shaman Ghost filly named Shamaria and a yearling full brother to Green Light Go. She was bred to Ghostzapper for 2022.