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Just Might’s Win An Emotional One For Lovell, Griffon

It was an emotional winner's circle celebration Saturday night as trainer Michelle Lovell was able to celebrate with her 86-year-old co-owner and breeder Dr. Robert “Pappy” Griffon and his family for their homebred Just Might's gritty front-running score in the $275,000 Louisville Thoroughbred Society.

“Pappy is the greatest,” Lovell said. “He's so kind and generous. He's like family to me and that's what makes it so special when you have a horse like this. You get to celebrate with family.”

Just Might, a 5-year-old son of Justin Phillip, is out of Lovell and Griffon's mare Dynamite Babe. Griffon and Lovell have been partners on several horses since the beginning of Lovell's training career in the early 2000s.

Griffon, a Friendswood, Texas native, has been able to travel to Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., in the past but described his latest trip as, “the best one of his life.”

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Major General Tops Road To Kentucky Derby Leaderboard After Iroquois Win

WinStar Farm and Siena Farm's $300,000 Grade 3 Iroquois Stakes winner Major General added 10 points on the “Road to the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve” and an automatic berth to the Nov. 5, $2 million Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

“I thought it was an impressive performance in only his second start for him to jump up like that and progress to two turns,” Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher said. “I was very pleased with him. Hopefully, he continues to make progress. I haven't talked to Elliott (Walden) and the WinStar team about his next plans but I would probably think we would train him up to the Breeders' Cup.”

Major General debuted at 6 ½ furlongs at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., where he recorded a front-running victory. In Saturday's Iroquois, the Constitution colt rallied from 4 ½ lengths off the early pace. He's scheduled to ship back to his New York base Sunday.

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Foley Eyeing BC Filly & Mare Sprint For Sconsin After Open Mind Win

Trainer Greg Foley's Barn 11 was buzzing with excitement Sunday morning following Sconsin's hard-fought victory over Bell's the One in Saturday's $300,000 Open Mind (Listed) at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Now, Foley and his team are eyeing a trip to Del Mar and the $1 million Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint.

“She's just a classy filly,” Foley said. “Neil (Pessin)'s mare (Bell's the One) is a really solid horse and they really battled last night. You get a little worried when the field is short about what the pace will be. They went quick last night and that helped us. In her two starts this year against Gamine they went almost two seconds slower for the opening quarter-mile.”

Sconsin improved her overall record to 15-5-4-1—$783,362. The 4-year-old Include filly is out of the former Foley-trained mare Sconnie.

“The guys with Lloyd Madison (Farms IV) have a really solid broodmare band going and it's really exciting for this filly to now have three stakes wins. I'm thrilled for those guys.”

The winner's circle was filled with about 30 members of Foley's friends and family. However, one family member was missing and that was his son and assistant trainer Travis, who was out of town on his bachelor party ahead of his Oct. 2 wedding.

“We would've loved to be there but we definitely had a good celebration after she won,” Travis Foley said.

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Feisty Fist Wins D. S. ‘Shine’ Young Futurity At Evangeline Downs

Evangeline Downs in Opelousas, La., wrapped up its 2021 Thoroughbred season on Saturday night with an 11-race program that featured the $60,000 D. S. 'Shine' Young Futurity for colts and geldings and recognition of the top horsemen for the meet.

The D. S. 'Shine' Young was won by Whispering Oaks Farm's Fiesty Fist. The 24-1 longshot was ridden to victory by jockey Kevin Smith, who got a leg up from trainer Steven Flint before the 5-1/2-furlong test for 2-year-olds.

Breaking from post nine in a 10-horse field, Fiesty Fist sat off the early pace of :22.08 for the opening quarter-mile and :45.92 for the half set by True Deal. As the field turned for home, True Deal held a narrow lead while riding the rail as Fiesty Fist and Tambourine Star were closing in during the final furlong. At the wire, Fiesty Fist passed the pacesetter by just a half-length to claim victory while Tambourine Star settled for third, another head behind the runner-up.

The final time for Fiesty Fist was 1:05.39 while racing over a track listed as muddy.

The win by Fiesty Fist was the second of his three-race career. He broke his maiden at first asking on May 20 before finishing sixth in the Louisiana Cup Juvenile at Louisiana Downs on August 21. He earned $36,000 for his win on Saturday while raising his overall bankroll to $50,400.

Bred in Louisiana by Carrol J. Castille, Fiesty Fist is a 2-year-old bay gelding by Iron Fist, out of the Roman Ruler mare Sheza Roman Ruler.

Fans who backed Fiesty Fist at the wagering window were rewarded with payoffs of $51 to win, $27.80 to place, and $15.60 to show. True Deal paid $5.40 to place and $3.60 to show. Tambourine Star was worth $3.20 to show.

During the closing night race card, the leading horsemen for the meet were honored in the winner's circle between races. The meet's leading jockey was Diego Saenz with 117 wins. The leading trainer crown went to Eduardo Ramirez, who scored a training triple on the last night of racing and 44 wins overall for the meet. The leading owner title went to Jimmy Johnson's Red Rose Racing, whose runners were victorious 30 times during the 84-day stand.

Evangeline Downs kicks off the 2021 American Quarter Horse season on Wednesday, October 6. The highlight of the season will take place on December 18 when the track hosts the Louisiana Million Futurity for 2-year-olds. First post time each Wednesday through Saturday night during the season will be at 5:35 pm.

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