Jazzy Times Steps Up in Kentucky Downs Turf Sprint

Horses who show promise early and then, for whatever reason, drop into the lower levels of racing rarely return to show that early talent.

But every once in a while, some sort of change—a new trainer, a new style, a new surface—can shake things up.

Owner and trainer Wesley Hawley can only point to one reason why he moved Jazzy Times—once a grade 1-placed dirt sprinter with trainer Bob Baffert in Southern California—to the grass after he claimed the 5-year-old Discreetly Mine gelding for $25,000 out of a May 26 dirt race at Churchill Downs.

"I just had a gut feeling," said Hawley, who earned his first graded score this season with Hawaakom in the Razorback Handicap (G3) at Oaklawn Park. "Basically a good feeling that he would run on the grass."

After Jazzy Times' fourth-place finish back on the Churchill dirt in June, Hawley acted on his intuition and entered him in a five-furlong claiming turf sprint at Indiana Grand. He only won his first grass start by a head, but the final time was 53 hundredths of a second off the track record set by Chamberlain Bridge in 2009.

"I thought, 'This is not a cheap horse. Man, this horse was really impressive.'" Hawley said. "And then he came back and trained better than ever."

Following that gut instinct once again, Hawley ran Jazzy Times back in the Kentucky Downs Preview Turf Sprint Stakes at Ellis Park Aug. 5, and he rallied from fourth to win by a half-length at odds of 15-1. Now he'll take another step up on the grass in the $500,000 Kentucky Downs Turf Sprint Stakes Presented by Coca-Cola (G3T) Sept. 8.

"So far, everything has worked out as planned," Hawley said. "I claimed him and told everyone this is going to be the next Chamberlain Bridge (who went from maiden claimer to grade 2 winner in the 2010 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint).

"I've had horses take a little time to go your way, but to put him on the grass, win a $100,000 stakes, and now I'm looking at a $500,000 stakes and, hopefully, a Breeders' Cup—I've been lucky. That gut instinct paid off."

With another step up in class, Jazzy Times will also likely be a big price again. He's at morning-line odds of 15-1 and will face graded winners Undrafted and Conquest Panthera, as well as stakes winners Blind Ambition, Done Deal, Master Merion, Proforma, and Little Chesney in the field of 12.

Entries: Kentucky Downs Turf Sprint S. Presented by Coca-Cola (G3T)

Kentucky Downs, Saturday, September 08, 2018, Race 9

• Grade IIIT
• 6 1/2f
• Turf
• $500,000
• 3 yo's & up
• 5:29 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Conquest Panthera (KY)	Florent Geroux	121	Mark E. Casse	5/1
2	2Proforma (KY)	Joe Bravo	121	Michael Stidham	20/1
3	3Vici (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	121	Michael J. Maker	15/1
4	4Undrafted (KY)	Julio A. Garcia	121	Wesley A. Ward	4/1
5	5Blind Ambition (KY)	Luis Saez	125	Todd A. Pletcher	9/2
6	6Richiesinthehouse (IL)	Tyler Gaffalione	121	Larry Rivelli	15/1
7	7White Flag (KY)	Joel Rosario	121	Christophe Clement	6/1
8	8Jazzy Times (KY)	Ty Kennedy	125	Wesley E. Hawley	15/1
9	9Little Chesney (KY)	Julien R. Leparoux	125	Carlo Vaccarezza	20/1
10	10Maniacal (KY)	Flavien Prat	121	Michael J. Maker	15/1
11	11Master Merion (KY)	Albin Jimenez	121	Wesley A. Ward	6/1
12	12Done Deal (KY)	Chris Landeros	121	Ian R. Wilkes	8/1