J Kirk Robison | Horse Racing Free Tips

Drain the Clock, Jackie’s Warrior Meet Again in Amsterdam

Drain the Clock (Maclean's Music) and Jackie's Warrior (Maclean's Music) hooked up in a memorable duel in the June 5 GI Woody Stephens S., with Drain the Clock grinding out a narrow victory in the seven-furlong event. The two sophomores match up again in the 6 1/2-furlong GII Amsterdam S. at Saratoga Sunday.

Slam Dunk Racing and Madaket Stables' Drain the Clock, 2-1 on the morning line, captured the seven-furlong GIII Swale S. at Gulfstream in January and was second in the 1 1/16-mile GII Fountain of Youth S. Shipped north and cut back to seven furlongs, the chestnut colt won the Apr. 3 GIII Bay Shore S. before his Woody Stephens victory.

“Most of his one-turn races were won in hand,” trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. said. “He was basically geared down the last sixteenth in the Bay Shore. We always thought he had more to give but until you see it you don't know for sure and the Woody Stephens was definitely his breakout race. He earned his respect that day and beat a game horse in Jackie's Warrior. He's in good form and I think he's going over there with a really good chance.”

J. Kirk and Judy Robison's Jackie's Warrior is already a two-time graded winner over the Saratoga surface having won last year's GII Saratoga Special and GI Hopeful S. during his flashy juvenile campaign. Fourth in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile and third when again trying 1 1/16 miles in the Feb. 27 GIII Southwest S., he was cut back in distance to win the May 1 GII Pat Day Mile and was game in defeat in the Woody Stephens. The bay colt, trained by Steve Asmussen, is 6-5 on the morning line.

Klaravich Stables' Crowded Trade (More Than Ready) graduated going one mile at Aqueduct in his Jan. 28 debut and jumped right up to graded company where he was nosed out of the win when second in the Mar. 6 GIII Gotham S. He was third in the Apr. 3 GII Wood Memorial and will be making his first start since finishing fifth in the GI Preakness S. May 15. The Chad Brown trainee is 7-2 on the morning line.

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Spendthrift Secures Breeding Rights to Jackie’s Warrior

B. Wayne Hughes’s Spendthrift Farm has acquired the breeding rights to undefeated multiple Grade I-winning juvenile Jackie’s Warrior (Maclean’s Music–Unicorn Girl, by A.P. Five Hundred), recent winner of Belmont’s GI Champagne S., a ‘Win and You’re In’ event to the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Keenland next month. Trained by Steve Asmussen, the J & J Stables-bred colt has earnings of $402,564 in four career starts for owners Kirk and Judy Robison.

“Jackie’s Warrior is proving to be one of the fastest 2-year-olds to come around in the last decade or more, and we are extremely excited to follow his racing career and witness the special things he can accomplish before he joins us at Spendthrift,” said Ned Toffey, Spendthrift general manager. “For such an imposing colt, Jackie’s Warrior is extraordinarily athletic and light on his feet. We could not be more impressed by the way he continues to run good fields off their feet and pour it on late when he lengthens that beautiful stride of his.”

Jackie’s Warrior was a dominant 5 1/2-length winner in Saturday’s Champagne, completing the mile event in 1:35.42. He earned a 100 Beyer for the win, marking the fastest Champagne since Daredevil in 2014.

Last month, Jackie’s Warrior established a new stakes record in Saratoga’s GI Hopeful S., drawing off to a 2 1/4-length victory. His final time of 1:21.29 for seven furlongs is the fastest in the last 28 years the Hopeful has been contested at the distance. The juvenile earned a 95 Beyer for that win, marking the fastest Beyer in the Hopeful since 2007, and his two most recent Beyers are the two fastest by a juvenile so far in 2020. The bay becomes the first horse to complete the Hopeful-Champagne double since Practical Joke in 2016, and first to win the Saratoga Special, Hopeful and Champagne in New York since 2-year-old champion Dehere in 1993.

“A month after lowering the 28-year-old stakes record in the Hopeful [1:21.29], he comes back and runs a mile in 1:35 [.42] in the Champagne and did not look the least bit tired at the wire. We are obviously very happy to be associated, and we wish Kirk and Judy Robison and the Asmussen team the best of luck in the Breeders’ Cup.”

Kirk Robison confirmed that neither Spendthrift nor Myracehorse.com would be involved in his racing career, but he will retire to Spendthrift at the end of his career.

“I wanted to control his racing career and I got that,” said Robison. “They agreed to that. Steve Asmussen and I are going to manage that. I get all of the purse money during his racing career.”

He continued, “Judy and I are very grateful to campaign this exceptional colt, and Spendthrift will give Jackie’s Warrior every chance to be a leading stallion when his racing career is over. Few do what he has done in four starts-four wins over three different tracks, three in graded stakes, two in historic Grade I races and recording a 100 Beyer speed figure in the Champagne. He is a lifetime horse and is just getting started. Steve Asmussen and his team have done an exceptional job in his development. We are excited to be part of his unlimited promise.”

The colt’s connections also plan to support aftercare throughout his racing career.

“Judy and I are pledging 2% of Jackie’s Warrior’s potential purse earnings from the Juvenile to New Vocations for their tremendous work in Thoroughbred aftercare,” said Robison.

In June, Jackie’s Warrior won on debut at Churchill Downs by 2 1/2 lengths, running five furlongs in :57.49. He followed up that effort with a three-length victory in the Saratoga Special, covering six furlongs in 1:09.62.

“In this day and age, to win the Saratoga Special, Hopeful and Champagne in the fashion in which he did it is truly remarkable,” said Asmussen.

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Maclean’s Music Colt Turns in ‘Special’ Performance at the Spa

J. Kirk Robison’s Jackie’s Warrior (Maclean’s Music), the “other” Steve Asmussen runner signed on for Friday’s GII Saratoga Special S., out-footed them all and never looked back en route to a powerful score at the Spa. The imposing bay took his Churchill debut by 2 1/2 lengths June 19, and was flattered when the runner-up that day, re-opposing Therideofalifetime (Candy Ride {Arg}) returned to romp at Keeneland and earn ‘TDN Rising Star‘ status. He was less proven on paper than stablemate, GIII Bashford Manor S. winner and ‘Rising Star‘ Cazadero (Street Sense), but if their work together on July 26 (5f, 1:01.72, 16/31, XBTV Video) was any indication, 3-1 Jackie’s Warrior may have been coming into this class test better than 8-5 Cazadero. After a gate incident that prompted the scratch of a longshot and reload, the outside-drawn Jackie’s Warrior broke on top and quickly cleared with ‘Rising Star‘ Momos (Distorted Humor) and Therideofalifetime in hot pursuit through splits of :22.06 and :44.85. The leading trio were far in front of the rest of the field–including a hard-ridden Cazadero–at the top of the stretch, but Jackie’s Warrior was in a race of his own as he bounded away with impressive strides to prevail by a geared-down three lengths in 1:09.62. Momos held third, while Cazadero could only manage fifth.

Friday, Saratoga
SARATOGA SPECIAL S. PRESENTED BY MILLER LITE-GII, $150,000, Saratoga, 8-7, 2yo, 6f, 1:09.62, ft.
1–JACKIE’S WARRIOR, 120, c, 2, by Maclean’s Music
1st Dam: Unicorn Girl, by A. P. Five Hundred
2nd Dam: Horah for Bailey, by Doneraile Court
3rd Dam: Horah for the Lady, by Rahy
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($95,000 Ylg
’19 KEESEP). O-J. Kirk Robison; B-J & J Stables (KY); T-Steven M.
Asmussen; J-Joel Rosario. $82,500. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0,
$127,564. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus* Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Therideofalifetime, 120, c, 2, Candy Ride (Arg)–Cosmic
Evolution, by Proud Citizen. ‘TDN Rising Star’ O/B-Stephen
Lawrence Fidel (KY); T-Ignacio Correas, IV. $30,000.
3–Momos, 120, c, 2, Distorted Humor–Inspeight of Us, by
Speightstown. ($75,000 Ylg ’19 OBSWIN; $180,000 2yo ’20
OBSMAR). ‘TDN Rising Star’ O-Ironhorse Racing Stable LLC &
Secure Investments; B-Tami D. Bobo & Distorted Humor
Syndicate (KY); T-Christophe Clement. $18,000.
Margins: 3, 4, 1 3/4. Odds: 3.10, 3.75, 7.50.
Also Ran: Garoppolo, Cazadero, Papetu, Market Alert, Pickin’ Time, Hold the Salsa. Scratched: Caramel Chip, Roderick.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

“[Trainer Steve Asmussen] wanted me to get him out of there where he put himself,” said winning rider Joel Rosario. “He broke well and we were just hanging on the lead, so I just rode it from there. He was looking really nice and he was enjoying that. He had his going ears back and forth and he looked like he was going easy even though the fractions were fast. He was having no problem with that. When they came close to him he wanted to go, and I felt even more confident at that point. I knew he had something left.”

This was Asmussen’s fifth Saratoga Special win (Cuvee 2003, Kodiak Kowboy 2007, Kantharos 2010, Copper Bullet 2017).

“With babies, I just wanted a clean break as he did in his first race and let his talent take over,” he said. “Being Saratoga, there were a lot of nice forms coming into it but when you get to Saratoga, not everybody likes the circumstances. I’m glad to see that he does.”

The Hall of Famer added, “I think this was a new test for him. He won first time out at five-eighths of a mile and obviously was sharp. [Sire] Maclean’s Music is a horse that we had that was brilliantly quick but we always thought from training him that he would stretch out.”

Asmussen said the GI Runhappy Hopeful S. here over seven panels Sept. 7 would likely be next on the agenda for Jackie’s Warrior. As for the beaten favorite: “[Jockey] Ricardo [Santana, Jr.] didn’t think [Cazadero] handled the racetrack at all. Most likely, with him being two-for-two at Churchill Downs, we’ll get him back there.”

Pedigree Notes:

Jackie’s Warrior is the 18th black-type winner and fourth graded stakes winner for Hill ‘n’ Dale resident Maclean’s Music, whose half-brother Uncle Chuck (Uncle Mo) will look to play the role of spoiler in Saturday’s GI Runhappy Travers S. Trained by Asmussen for Cazadero’s owner/breeder Stonestreet, Maclean’s Music made just one start–a 7 1/4-length romp at Santa Anita as a March 3-year-old, good for a 114 Beyer Speed Figure, the fastest ever earned by a debuter. The horse Maclean’s Music beat that day was named Flightofalifetime–no relation to Therideofalifetime.

Maclean’s Music’s most accomplished performer, GI Preakness S. hero Cloud Computing, is out of a mare by Jackie’s Warrior’s maternal grandsire, A.P. Indy. Jackie’s Warrior is the first graded winner out of a mare by A.P. Five Hundred, who began his stud career in Florida before quickly being exported to Chile.

Jackie’s Warrior’s hard-knocking dam Unicorn Girl was far and away A. P. Five Hundred’s most productive U.S.-sired runner–she was a 19-time winner who racked up $483,508 before being claimed out of her last lifetime start for $16,000 at the age of eight. Jackie’s Warrior is her third foal.

Unicorn Girl was bought back for $110,000 at KEENOV ’18 carrying a Candy Ride (Arg) filly and produced an American Pharoah colt this Mar. 8 before being bred to Into Mischief for 2021. Unicorn Girl is out of SW Horah for Bailey, making her a half to MSW Bernie the Maestro (Bernstein), GSP Richard the Great (Distorted Humor) and MSP juvenile Awesome Mass (Brethren).

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