McErin, Five Fillies Take on Kentucky Juvenile Stakes
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Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt
Wesley Ward trainee McErin on the track at Keeneland April 12
The $100,000 Kentucky Juvenile Stakes at Churchill Downs May 4, the first stakes of the year for 2-year-olds, will feature a field of five colts or geldings and five fillies that each made their first starts during Keeneland's spring meet.
Topping the list in the five-furlong dash is Waterford Stable homebred McErin, trained by Wesley Ward. The Trappe Shot colt impressed in his April 12 debut win over fellow Kentucky Juvenile entrant Go Chiva Go by 7 1/2 lengths. He completed the 4 1/2 furlongs in :52.41.
More than one filly in the field could be a match for McErin.
Amberspatriot defeated males in her first start April 19 going 4 1/2 furlongs. Charles Brown and Donna Hancock's Amberspatriot, trained by John Hancock, passed Baytown Lex and the Wayne Rice-owned and -trained Chateau, who will also return in the Kentucky Juvenile, near the wire to win by three-quarters of a length in :52.59.
Amberspatriot worked April 28, when she ran three furlongs in :37 flat at Keeneland.
The filly was the first starter and first winner for freshman sire Awesome Patriot , who is also the sire of Waki Patriot, Hancock's other filly in Thursday's race. She is also owned by Charles Brown and Donna Hancock.
Waki Patriot finished second in a dead heat with Baytown Lex in their debut April 7, but managed to turn that around April 20, when she faced her own sex. The filly rushed to challenge for the lead and pulled away to win by five lengths, completing the 4 1/2 furlongs in :52.55.
Ward's other entry was also an impressive winner first time out. Happy Like a Fool flew through 4 1/2 furlongs in :51.85, defeating a field of 11 other fillies by four lengths in an April 9 maiden special weight event. Ward is the breeder and owner of the chestnut Distorted Humor filly.
Freshman sire Violence is also represented by his first winner in the Kentucky Juvenile, with Kirk and Judy Robison's filly Buy Sell Hold coming in off a 4 1/2-length score over fillies April 20. The Steve Asmussen-trained filly broke sharp and buzzed through 4 1/2 furlongs in :51.84 unthreatened.
Rounding out the field is Randle Glosson's homebred filly Trickizar and Jon and Patience Jazdzewski's gelding Just Be Frank, who worked three furlongs at Keeneland April 29 in :37.
Kentucky Juvenile S.
Churchill Downs, Thursday, May 04, 2017, Race 10
- STK
- 5f
- Dirt
- $100,000
- 2 yo
- 5:45 PM (local)
| PP | Horse | Jockey | Wgt | Trainer | M/L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1McErin (KY) | Julio A. Garcia | 120 | Wesley A. Ward | 2/1 |
| 5 | 1AHappy Like a Fool (KY) | Julio A. Garcia | 117 | Wesley A. Ward | 2/1 |
| 1 | 2Trickizar (KY) | Luis Saez | 115 | Baltazar Galvan | 30/1 |
| 3 | 3Amberspatriot (KY) |
Paco Lopez | 117 | John A. Hancock | 5/1 |
| 4 | 4Waki Patriot (KY) |
Corey J. Lanerie | 117 | John A. Hancock | 4/1 |
| 6 | 5Chateau (KY) | Arienne Cox | 122 | Wayne W. Rice | 20/1 |
| 7 | 6Just Be Frank (KY) |
Jesus Lopez Castanon | 118 | William R. Helmbrecht | 10/1 |
| 8 | 7Go Chiva Go (KY) |
Joseph Rocco, Jr. | 118 | Edward Harrison Frederick | 20/1 |
| 9 | 8Buy Sell Hold (KY) |
Florent Geroux | 117 | Steven M. Asmussen | 5/2 |
| 10 | 9Baytown Lex (ON) | Carson Sullivan | 118 | Paul McEntee | 10/1 |