Game Winner, Jaywalk in Good Order After BC Victories

Gary and Mary West's Game Winner proved to be just that when he overcame a less-than-ideal trip to take the Nov. 2 Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) by 2 1/4 lengths at Churchill Downs. Assistant trainer Jimmy Barnes reported that the colt came out of the race well and will now get a rest.

"He came out of the race in good shape and looked good this morning," Barnes said. "He just walked this morning and will walk again on Sunday. We ship on Monday."

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, who won the Juvenile for a fourth time, was non-committal about future plans but did say the colt will get some rest.

"We're going to freshen him up a little bit and get ready for the spring," Baffert said. "He had a pretty rough (trip) but still won. You can't compare horses, but of all (my) Juvenile winners, he's the best one."

Baffert previously won the Juvenile with Vindication (2002), Midshipman  (2008), and New Year's Day  (2013).

As for KRA Stud Farm's Juvenile runner-up Knicks Go, trainer Ben Colebrook was still beaming Saturday morning.

"He ran his eyeballs out yesterday, and he is fine this morning," Colebrook said. "We are going to dodge Game Winner for a while. I don't think (Bob) Baffert will be sending anybody to Tampa."

Colebrook's string winters at Tampa Bay Downs, and he is eyeing that track's series of 3-year-old stakes for Knicks Go in early 2019.

Trainer John Servis reported Saturday morning that Jaywalk exited her frontrunning triumph in Friday's Tito's Homemade Vodka Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) in fine order.

"She's great, doing really good," Servis said. "She's bright-eyed; she ate up good."

The daughter of Cross Traffic  broke alertly from the starting gate to grab an early lead she would never relinquish in her first start around two turns on her way to a 5 1/2-length victory under Joel Rosario.

"It was awful impressive. She's got such a fast cruising speed. I didn't expect her to be in front because (trainer Tom) Amoss said he was going to send his horse (Serengeti Empress) no matter what. I told Joel, 'Just sit off of Amoss. She'll rate. She'll do whatever you want her to do,'" Servis said. "When he came back, he said, 'Two jumps out of the gate and I knew there's wasn't any sitting back.' He said, 'She took me there.' Once she got in front, she just pricked her ears and relaxed."

Jaywalk ran the 1 1/16-mile test in 1:43.62, which compared favorably to Game Winner's time of 1:43.67 in the Juvenile two races later.

"They came home good," Servis said.

Jaywalk was the trainer's second Breeders' Cup starter and his first winner, following Jostle, who finished ninth in the 2000 Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) at Churchill.

"I shouldn't have run (Jostle). I should have scratched her. She just wasn't right. She wasn't eating up," Servis said. "She didn't have a temperature, but she wasn't herself."

Jaywalk is scheduled to fly Sunday to West Palm Beach, Fla.

"She'll stay at Palm Meadows (Training Center) for a week or so, and then I think I'm going to send her to Ocala (Fla.) for 30 days and let her be a horse for a little bit," Servis said.

With next year's Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) the first major goal, Servis said Jaywalk could take a similar path to the one taken by his 2016 Oaks winner Cathryn Sophia, who won the Forward Gal Stakes (G2) and Fasig-Tipton Davona Dale Stakes (G2) at Gulfstream Park before finishing third in the Central Bank Ashland Stakes (G1) at Keeneland.

Trainer Chad Brown reported that dominant Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T) winner Newspaperofrecord, who races for Seth Klarman's Klaravich Stables, exited her victory in good shape and that the daughter of Lope de Vega is done for the year. The undefeated bay filly will be pointed to a 2019 campaign.

"She's good so far," Brown said. "It was great to win for Seth. There's no nicer guy. It was a big deal."

Brown also commented on the surprisingly subpar efforts of Juvenile runners Complexity and Standard Deviation, who finished 10th and 13th (last), respectively. Complexity set the pace before fading in the final quarter-mile, and Standard Deviation never got involved.

"I'm disappointed, obviously, that neither fired," Brown said. "So far, both are OK physically. It's back to the drawing board with them, and neither will run again this year. We'll take them to Florida."

Undefeated Juvenile Turf Sprint winner Bulletin is likely to have a brief respite from racing before embarking on his 3-year-old campaign. Owned by WinStar Farm, China Horse Club, and SF Racing, the City Zip colt won the Hollywood Beach Stakes at Gulfstream Park in his only other start. Trainer Todd Pletcher said he will discuss Bulletin's future with WinStar president and CEO of racing operations Elliott Walden.

"I would imagine he would get a little vacation at WinStar Farm," he said early Saturday morning. "We haven't firmed anything up just yet. At some point, switching him to dirt might be under consideration but not any time in the near future."

           

All horses that ran in Friday's three Breeder's Cup Turf races were reported in good shape Saturday morning, including Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T) winner Line of Duty.