A field of 14 line up at Churchill Downs in the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) with Kentucky Derby points up for grabs. (Photo credit: Churchill Downs).
A full field of 14 juveniles will line up in Saturday’s $400,000 Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) led by the Brian Lynch trained Classic Causeway.
The Kentucky Jockey Club goes off as the 11th race on the 12 race “Stars of Tomorrow” card at Churchill Downs, all races for two-year-olds. The race is a Road to the Kentucky Derby points race with 10-4-2-1 points up for grabs toward entry into next spring’s Run for the Roses.
The co-feature on the card is the $400,000 Golden Rod (G2) which is a Road to the Kentucky Oaks points race.
Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) runner up Tiz the Bomb is the 3-1 morning line favorite. The Ken McPeek trainee came with a good late run to finish second behind Modern Games, who ran for purse money only in the controversial race. For bettors the Tiz the Bomb paid $17.60 for the win.
“Tiz the Bomb was impressive last out at Del Mar after dealing with all of the pre-race incidents in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf,” McPeek said. “He’s handled really anything we’ve thrown at him so far so going back to the dirt shouldn’t be a problem for him.”
Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Replay
Classic Causeway (7-2) looks like a good fit. The Brian Lynch trainee was the pacesetter in the Breeders’ Futurity (G1) at Keeneland before weakening to finish third in his stakes debut. He picks up a new rider in Joel Rosario.
“Last out in the Breeders’ Futurity, he was hung wide from the gate and he battled pretty hard on the lead through fast fractions,” Lynch said. “I thought he gamely held on for third after the field closed in on him. Going into this start I’ve been trying to get him to relax a little bit in his training. I’ve worked him behind horses and in company so he doesn’t have to be on the engine.”
The Dale Romans trained Howling Time is the co-second choice at 7-2 on the morning line. The colt was a smart looking winner of the Street Sense over the Churchill Downs main track in his last outing.
Let’s head out to Churchill Downs for Saturday’s featured race of the day:
Churchill Downs Race 11 The Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) 5:56 ET
1 Classic Causeway 7-2
5 Howling Time 7-2
8 Smile Happy 12-1
6 Tiz the Bomb 3-1
Classic Causeway
The Lynch trainee set a sharp early pace in the Breeders’ Futurity (G1) at Keeneland in his first start against winners. He went 22.81 and 46.74 and weakened to finish third. The runner up and fourth place finisher came back to run eighth and seventh respectively in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1). In his debut our top pick wired the field at Saratoga going seven furlongs to win by 6 ½ lengths and earned a slid speed figure. The runner up in that race was Trafalgar who came back to graduate in his next outing on here on Oct. 2. Our top pick gets Rosario in the irons and draws the rail. He owns solid enough early and mid pace numbers and should be able to get a good position going into the first turn. There is not an abundance of early zip despite the large field and he has worked sharply since his last effort. He figures to bounce back with a much better effort here. He is out of the stakes winner Private World ($166,058).
Howling Time
This colt is perfect in two starts. He broke his maiden in his debut coming with a good late run here going six furlongs. Two he beat graduated next out and two others ran second next out. He then went in the Street Sense here going two turns and was sent off as the 9-5 favorite. He did not disappoint, stalked the early pace and taking command heading for home, drawing clear to win by 3 ¼ lengths. The colt should get a good tracking trip sitting mid pack and looks as if he still has some upside.
Smile Happy
The son of Runhappy was a good looking maiden winner in his debut. He stalked the early pace and came with a good rally to take over the lead and went clear to win by 5 1`/2 lengths in a sharp looking effort. That effort was going long at Keeneland. Only one runner has come out of that race to run back, a third-place finish. I have not been overly impressed with the Runhappy runners going long but this guy handled it and is out of a Pleasant Tap mare. Looks as if he is going to be a decent price in this spot. McPeek won the 2018 edition of this race with Signalman.
