Texas Red Rockets to BC Juvenile Win
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How appropriate for Texas Red to win the Breeders' Cup Sentient Jet Juvenile (gr. I) because a jet is what the colt looked like as rolled past his 12 other competitors from a distant trailing position and won driving by 6 1/2 lengths .
The son of Afleet Alex —Ramatuelle, by Jeune Homme, came into Breeders' Cup World Championships off a third-place finish behind early Juvenile favorite American Pharoah and Calculator in the grade I FrontRunner Stakes at Santa Anita Park. Injury forced American Pharoah out of the race last week and Calculator was scratched Saturday morning because of a sore left front foot.
Texas Red is co-owned by trainer Keith Desormeaux, Erich Brehm, Lee Michaels, Wayne Detmar, and Gene Voss. He hit the wire in 1:41.91 under jockey Kent Desormeaux, the brother of the trainer.
"The first thing I thought when he was drawing away was, 'How good is American Pharoah'? said Keith Desormeaux. You never want to see a defection, but it had to help."
Finishing second by a nose was the 9/5 favorite Carpe Diem with Upstart in third.
"I hadn't even asked him yet and the others start coming back to me at the quarter pole, so that made it real easy," said Keith Desormeaux, who picked up his fifth Breeders' Cup win. "You know, we were real poor when I was growing up but we always had horses. I don't know how my family ever fed them, but my education in horses came all together today with this win."
Texas Red paid $29.80 to win, $9.80 for second, and $5.60 for third. Carpe Diem paid $3.80 and $2.80, while Upstart paid $3.60. The $2 exacta paid $100.60. A $2 trifecta paid $671.40.
The colt was bred in Kentucky by Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings. He had been purchased by Erich Brehm for $17,000 at the 2013 Keeneland September yearling sale out of the Three Chimneys Sales consignment.
Both Carpe Diem and second-choice Daredevil were trained by Todd Pletcher, who said while Daredevil's last-place finish was disappointing, he felt Carpe Diem learned a lot in the race.
"(Carpe Diem) got a big education, a lot of dirt, and a different scenario than he's been in," Pletcher said. "I think he finished really well. He's a promising horse for the future.
About Daredevil, Pletcher said getting hung wide on the first turn was a factor but does not explain his performance.
"It would have been impossible for him to win from where he was on the first turn, but it doesn't account for the poor performance," Pletcher said.