Mr. Jordan Makes Grade in Pegasus Stakes
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Mr. Jordan claimed his first graded score with a head victory over Tekton in the $150,000 Pegasus Stakes (gr. III) June 21 at Monmouth Park.
The 3-year-old Kantharos colt trained by Eddie Plesa stalked the pace, gained a short lead in the stretch, and then held off Tekton, who tried to rally again on the rail, to win by a head.
Mr. Jordan, the 2-1 favorite, hit the wire in the 1 1/16-mile dirt test in 1:42.71, after Tekton set fractions of :24.05, :47.95, and 1:11.93 through six furlongs while leading by a half length. Good Pick Nick finished third, 3 3/4 lengths behind the leading pair.
"I didn't want to go to the lead, because I knew there was some other speed in the race," winning jockey Paco Lopez said. "He was able to relax nice for me, and even though he drifted out a little, he was still running hard."
The gray or roan winner paid $6, $3.60, and $2.60. Tekton brought $5.60 and $3.40. Good Pick Nick returned $2.80 to show.
Plesa said after the race that he'll consider the $1 million Haskell Invitational (gr. I) at Monmouth Aug. 2 for the colt's next race.
Dontbetwithbruno, Instant Replay, Chipit, Bodhisattva, and Ambidextrous Alex completed the order of finish.
Mr. Jordan was bred in Florida by Philip and Karen Matthews, out of the Cloud Hopping mare Miss Skeetd, and has winnings of $253,095 for owners David Melin, Leon Ellman, and Laurie Plesa. His record sits at 4-2-0 from six starts.