Jaywalk, Restless Rider Keep Good Company for Ashland

Jaywalk needed a good, strong work March 24, something to tell trainer John Servis she was almost ready for the $500,000 Central Bank Ashland Stakes (G1) April 6 at Keeneland.

Servis also wanted to get a bead on a powerful colt in his string, Lucky Lee, to decide whether to run him in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G2) on the same day or the Stonetreet Lexington Stakes (G3) later in the meet.

The obvious solution was to work them together, so out over the Palm Meadows dirt the two went. Now, after that strong six-furlong drill in 1:14 2/5, Jaywalk is the 8-5 morning-line favorite for the Ashland, and Lucky Lee is taking his shot at 20-1 in the Blue Grass.

"That's the first and only time they've worked together, but that was the work that made me lean toward the Blue Grass as opposed to the Lexington (with Lucky Lee)," Servis said. 

"I wanted to get a decent work into Jaywalk, and I was kind of using him to do that. She ran away from him early, and Chris Landeros was on him and did an awesome job. He cruised along about a length and a half behind her till about the quarter pole, and when he put his hands down, Lucky Lee eased up to her and they finished up together pretty much in hand and galloped out pretty good. I was so tickled with the work, I decided to send him to the Blue Grass."

Jaywalk seeks redemption off a fourth in the March 2 Davona Dale Stakes (G2) going a mile at Gulfstream Park—a disappointing season debut for the champion 2-year-old filly of 2018. But Servis is putting that upset by 51-1 shot Jeltrin in the rearview mirror. 

"I thought she'd win," he said. "Did I think she'd win for fun? No. But I'll also tell you I thought she'd go out there and run an 84, 85 Beyer (Speed Figure) and that would get the job done. She was pretty close (she ran an 81 Beyer). We're just putting that behind us and moving forward now."

It was the first start for Jaywalk since her frontrunning 5 1/2-length romp in the 1 1/16-mile Tito's Handmade Vodka Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) Nov. 2 at Churchill Downs, a distance the daughter of Cross Traffic  returns to Saturday with Javier Castellano aboard from post 4 in an eight-horse field. 

"She came out of the Davona Dale great, better than I expected," Servis said. "I thought the race might take a little bit out of her, and it didn't. She's certainly fitter going into this race. She's actually great to train; she does everything you ask of her. I've always been a little concerned of doing a little too much with her because she is so light-framed, but mentally she's happy as can be, and I'm happy with where she's at. She's been at Keeneland for over a week training, handled the track really well, basically (had) a light blowout (March 31, four furlongs in :48 3/5), and is doing very well."

D.J. Stable and Cash is King's Jaywalk ranks 11th on the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard with 35 points, which should be enough to make the field for the May 3 Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1). The Ashland awards qualifying points on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks to the top four finishers on a 100-40-20-10 scale. 

In the Breeders' Cup, Jaywalk held off Restless Rider, the 5-2 second choice on the Ashland morning line. Fern Circle Stables and Three Chimneys Farm's Distorted Humor  filly will make her first start of the year for trainer Ken McPeek after capping her juvenile season with a runner-up finish—a nose behind Liora—in the Nov. 24 Golden Rod Stakes (G2) at Churchill. 

Like Jaywalk, Restless Rider has gone head-to-head with a potential Kentucky Derby contender in the morning—grade 2 winner Signalman, who is 5-1 on the Blue Grass morning line off a seventh in the March 2 Xpressbet Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) at Gulfstream.

"Restless Rider needed a workmate coming into the spring because she's coming off a nice, long layoff," McPeek said. "So in that particular situation, needing to press a little harder, I think for both of them, it's been beneficial. They've worked together the last couple of workouts. I don't know if we're using him for her or her for him, but it's a good position to be in. It's difficult to find workmates for horses with that kind of talent. It's reminiscent of when I had Take Charge Lady and Repent. They worked together. 

"You need to match horses that can compete with each other (in the mornings) as opposed to complete outmatching. Otherwise, you have to lay horses way behind or you have to adjust the distance. With those two, you can put them eyeball to eyeball, and that way they get a lot more out of it. You've got to have something to get ready, and I think it's ideal because it gets you more base in them."

Restless Rider returns to a track and distance that has served her well—she won the Oct. 5 Darley Alcibiades Stakes (G1) by 2 1/2 lengths going 1 1/16 miles at Keeneland. 

"I like the mile and a sixteenth that she won at here, and, yeah, she does like it here," McPeek said. "She had a beautiful gallop this morning. The mile and a sixteenth is a lot easier to do it than the mile and an eighth coming off the layoff, so I'm very optimistic."

Restless Rider has 22 points and ranks 14th on the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard. The field for the 3-year-old filly classic is capped at 14, so she'll need to finish well in order to secure a place in the starting gate.

"She needs to run well," McPeek said. "In hindsight, I wish I hadn't run her in late November. She needed a little more time coming out of the fall campaign, and it put us in a position where we didn't have her quite ready for early March. I was going to have to rush her to get ready for a prep for this. So we're really using this as a prep for (the Kentucky Oaks). She runs good off the layoff, and like I said earlier, her and Signalman have been setting it down. These two have been working hard. It's literally close to a race every Saturday."

In her last work, Restless Rider fired a bullet going four furlongs in :59.84 March 30 at Gulfstream, best of 59 at the distance.

"Our goal is to be third or better," McPeek said of his Ashland aspirations. "If we're third or better, then we're going to go on to the next one, as long as she runs well. I don't have any doubts she's going to run well. I think she's going to be highly competitive. She's a really good filly, and she's done really well all winter. I was all content training her right up to this. I think we'll be fine."

Looking to spoil the bids of the top two are two undefeated runners, but both will be tested to show new dimensions. 

Klaravich Stables' lightly raced Violence  filly Feedback broke her maiden by eight lengths going 6 1/2 furlongs Aug. 12 at Saratoga Race Course, then came back for Chad Brown to win the Feb. 2 Forward Gal Stakes (G3) going seven furlongs at Gulfstream.

Lothenbach Stables' Bell's the One took the March 9 Allen Black Cat LaCombe Memorial Stakes going a mile on the turf at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, but prior to that won two races on dirt and one on the all-weather for trainer Neil Pessin. 

Debby Oxley's March 9 Honeybee Stakes (G3) winner Chocolate Kisses—fourth in the Alcibiades in her lone Keeneland out—is also entered for trainer Mark Casse.

Allowance winner Out for a Spin completes the field along with maiden winners Bizwhacks, third in the Honeybee at Oaklawn Park in her last start, and Lady Kate, most recently runner-up in the Feb. 9 Suncoast Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs.

Entries: Central Bank Ashland S. (G1)

Keeneland, Saturday, April 06, 2019, Race 9

• Grade I
• 1 1/16m
• Dirt
• $500,000
• 3 yo Fillies
• 5:45 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Bizwhacks (KY)	Mario Gutierrez	121	Doug F. O'Neill	15/1
2	2Chocolate Kisses (KY)	Tyler Gaffalione	121	Mark E. Casse	5/1
3	3Lady Kate (KY)	Corey J. Lanerie	121	Eddie Kenneally	15/1
4	4Jaywalk (KY)	Javier Castellano	121	John C. Servis	8/5
5	5Feedback (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	121	Chad C. Brown	3/1
6	6Restless Rider (KY)	Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.	121	Kenneth G. McPeek	5/2
7	7Bell's the One (KY)	Florent Geroux	121	Neil L. Pessin	15/1
8	8Out for a Spin (VA)	Paco Lopez	121	Dallas Stewart	20/1