Heart to Heart Gate to Wire in Jefferson Cup

Terry Hamilton's Heart to Heart took command out of the gate before cruising unchallenged through the stretch to capture the $110,000 Jefferson Cup (gr. IIIT) on the turf Sept. 27 at Churchill Downs .

 

It marked consecutive front-running wins for the son of turf champion English Channel   who scored by four lengths over Captain Dixie, with Sportscaster another 2 1/4 lengths back in the third in the seven-horse field. The 1-2 favorite was exiting a three-length romp as the pacesetter in the one-mile Better Talk Now Stakes Aug. 20 on grass at Saratoga Race Course, his first stakes win. 

 

Guided by Julien Leparoux for trainer Brian Lynch, Heart to Heart broke on top and clipped off fractions of :24.31 and :47.86 for a half mile as Sportscaster stalked a length back with Jesus Castanon. As six furlongs went in 1:11.46, Heart to Heart extended his advantage to two lengths. Captain Dixie started his advance from fifth with Ricardo Santana Jr., and then to three lengths at mid-stretch. 

 

With Sportscaster's stamina wearing thin, Captain Dixie moved into second and chased in vain as Heart to Heart was ridden out for the win. 

 

Stormy Pacific, Hesinfront, Battlefront, and Almost Famous rounded out the order of finish. Speightsland was scratched.

 

Heart to Heart was timed in 1:34.44 for the one-mile test on firm turf. The Ontario-bred colt is 3-for-4 on the turf this season. He has a 5-1-2 career line from 12 career starts. The $66,836 winner's share of the Jefferson Cup purse bumped up his earnings to $263,325.

 

"We got the first quarter pretty easy; he was just galloping early on," Leparoux said. "He was just happy in front. He relaxed and then when I asked him at the quarter pole he just gave a big kick. He's a very nice, classy horse and he obviously won pretty easily."

 

Heart to Heart returned backers $3, $2.40 and $2.10. Captain Dixie brought $5.20 and $3.60, and Sportscaster was worth $3.80 to show. 

 

Heart to Heart was bred by Red Hawk Ranch from the winning Silver Deputy mare Ask the Question.