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Jackie’s Warrior Challenged By Comebacking Life Is Good In H. Allen Jerkens Memorial

J. Kirk and Judy Robison's Jackie's Warrior will seek to solidify himself as the nation's leading sophomore sprinter when taking on a compact but highly talented field in Saturday's 37th running of the Grade 1, $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial at seven furlongs over the Saratoga Race Course main track.

The prestigious event, formerly known as the King's Bishop, has seen five of its winners go on to earn the Eclipse Award for Champion Sprinter in their respective years, including Housebuster [1990], Squirtle Squirt [2001], Lost in the Fog [2005], Runhappy [2015] and Drefong [2016].

Jackie's Warrior, trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, has shown an affinity for Saratoga having not come close to losing in three starts at the Spa. After a three-length victory in the Grade 2 Saratoga Special last August, the son of Maclean's Music won the Grade 1 Hopeful by 2 ¼ lengths en route to a 5 ½-length score in the Grade 1 Champagne at Belmont Park, where he earned a 100 Beyer Speed Figure.

“He's done really well,” Asmussen said. “All three of his races at Saratoga were obviously very good. We're anxious to run him here again.”

After falling to Essential Quality – the favorite for Saturday's Grade 1 Runhappy Travers – in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile and Grade 3 Southwest, both around two turns, Jackie's Warrior regained winning form when cutting back to one turn for the Grade 2 Pat Day Mile on May 1 at Churchill Downs, fending off a stretch rally from Dream Shake to win by a head.

Jackie's Warrior then saw his unbeaten record around one-turn thwarted when losing the Grade 1 Woody Stephens on June 5 at Belmont Park to returning rival Drain the Clock, but displayed his most dominant effort yet when splashing through a sloppy and sealed main track at Saratoga, to turn the tables on his familiar foe in the Grade 2 Amsterdam on August 1 by 7 ¼ lengths, earning a career-best 102 Beyer.

A victory would make Jackie's Warrior the third horse in the last four years to capture both the Hopeful at 2 and the H. Allen Jerkens at 3, joining Practical Joke [2018] and Mind Control [2019].

Regular rider Joel Rosario will vie for his second Allen Jerkens victory when he pilots Jackie's Warrior from post 2.

Jackie's Warrior's biggest obstacle could come from the presence of returning graded stakes winner Life Is Good, who arrives off a five-month hiatus and makes his debut for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher.

The highly-regarded son of leading sire Into Mischief, owned by CHC Inc. and WinStar Farm, is unbeaten in three starts on the West Coast and has never been behind horses at any point of call, when racing for Hall of Famer Bob Baffert.

After a scintillating debut, winning by 9 ½ lengths in November at Del Mar, he started his 3-year-old campaign with a narrow victory in the Grade 3 Sham on January 2 at Santa Anita. He put up his best effort yet with a runaway conquest in the Grade 2 San Felipe on March 6 at Santa Anita, which he won by eight lengths, recording a 107 Beyer.

Pletcher will seek his fourth H. Allen Jerkens victory having won with More Than Ready [2000], Discreetly Mine [2010] and Capo Bastone [2013].

“It's a tall order going into a seven-furlong Grade 1 off a layoff,” Pletcher said. “The horse has trained extremely well, has been impressive in all his breezes and we like what we've been seeing from him.”

Breaking from post 6, Life is Good will be piloted by Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith, a four-time Allen Jerkens winner who is currently tied with fellow Hall of Famer John Velazquez for most wins in the race's history.

Also from the Pletcher barn is Spendthrift Farm's Following Sea, who arrives from the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational where he was a distant third, elevated to second via disqualification.

The son of second-crop sire Runhappy, who won this race in 2015, cuts back to one turn. After defeating impressive next-out winner Happymac by 5 ¾ lengths in a six-furlong maiden special weight at Oaklawn Park, he defeated winners in his first start for Pletcher going 6 ½ furlongs on June 3 over a good main track at Belmont Park.

Velazquez will pilot Following Sea from post 4.

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Drain the Clock handed Jackie's Warrior his lone defeat around one turn in the Grade 1 Woody Stephens, tracking just to the outside of Jackie's Warrior down the backstretch and dueled with his foe in the stretch before putting his neck in front in the final furlong. While the same tactics were used in the Grade 2 Amsterdam, it was Jackie's Warrior who came out on top when utilizing his outside position down the backstretch and drawing away from Drain the Clock.

“Obviously, last time he was well-beaten fair and square by Jackie's Warrior,” said trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. “We feel on his best day, he's just as good as others in the field. But we have a new challenge in Life Is Good. It should be quite a race, and hopefully he shows up and runs his race.”

Drain the Clock, by Maclean's Music, is owned by Slam Dunk Racing, Madaket Stables, Wonder Stables and Michael Nentwig.

Breaking from the inside post, Drain the Clock will be ridden by Irad Ortiz, Jr. who will seek his second victory in the contest.

Trainer Danny Gargan will saddle Judge N Jury as he makes his stakes debut off a sharp 8 ½-length allowance victory on July 23 at the Spa, registering a 99 Beyer while racing off a 10-month layoff.

Owned by Flying P Stable and West Paces Racing, the son of Tapiture graduated at second asking over next-out winner Work Out and subsequential stakes-winner Devious Mo on September 4 at the Spa.

Judge N Jury, bred in the Empire State by Wellspring Stables, will attempt to be the first New York-bred to capture the Allen Jerkens since Willy Beamin in 2012.

Leading rider Luis Saez will retain the mount from post 5.

Completing the field is Down Neck Stables' Newbomb, a two-time winner for trainer Kelly Breen. After finishing behind eventual stakes-winner Founder and the now multiple graded-stakes placed Nova Rags in his first two starts last season, the son of Speightstown made the third time the charm when firing off an eight-month respite to win a six-furlong maiden special weight event on June 19 at Monmouth Park. Newbomb defeated winners two starts later with an eight-length victory on August 7 at Saratoga.

Jockey Jose Ortiz will ride from post 3.

The H. Allen Jerkens Memorial honors the late Hall of Fame conditioner known as “The Chief” who conditioned prominent racehorses such as Sky Beauty, Devil His Due, and Sensitive Prince among others. Perhaps Jerkens' greatest claim to fame is a penchant for defeating all-time greats in upset fashion, earning him the nickname “Giant Killer”. In 1973, he saddled Onion to a triumph in the Whitney and Prove Out in the Woodward, defeating Secretariat both times. Other all-time greats dethroned by Jerkens trainees include Kelso, Buckpasser, Cougar II and Forego.

The H. Allen Jerkens Memorial is slated as Race 9 on the 13-race card. First post is 11:35 a.m. Eastern. For the third consecutive year, FOX will air the Runhappy Travers as the centerpiece of a 90-minute telecast beginning at 5 p.m. The networks of FOX and FOX Sports will air 7.5 total hours of live racing and analysis on Runhappy Travers Day, with coverage scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. on FS1. For the complete Saratoga Live broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule.

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Champion Essential Quality ‘As Good As He’s Ever Been’ Ahead Of Saturday’s Travers

Reigning Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox has already secured a memorable meet at historic Saratoga Race Course and will be looking to accomplish a feat that has not been achieved in 79 years when he sends out ultra-consistent Godolphin homebred Essential Quality in Saturday's Grade 1, $1.25 million Runhappy Travers at the Spa.

The 152nd running of the Runhappy Travers – for 3-year-olds contesting the classic distance of 1 1/4 miles, is slated as Race 12 on the packed 13-race card that features seven graded stakes among six Grade 1 contests. First post is set for 11:35 a.m.

For the third consecutive year, FOX will air the Runhappy Travers as the centerpiece of a 90-minute telecast beginning at 5 p.m. The networks of FOX and FOX Sports will air 7 1/2 total hours of live racing and analysis on Runhappy Travers Day, with coverage scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. on FS1.

Cox, who has saddled Essential Quality to seven wins in eight starts, including three Grade 1 scores, won one of the most prestigious races for older horses at the Saratoga meet when Knicks Go posted a gate-to-wire triumph in the Grade 1 Whitney on Aug. 7. The Kentucky-born conditioner can now become just the third trainer all-time and first since John M. Gaver, Sr. in 1942 to win the Travers and Whitney in the same year with different horses.

Essential Quality offers his trainer a good opportunity to join that list, as the Champion 2-Year-Old drew post 2 with regular rider Luis Saez aboard in being installed as the 4-5 morning-line favorite.

“I feel like he's as good as he's ever been,” Cox said. “If we run our race, we'll be tough. There's six other good colts in there and we still have to play our game. If we do, I think we'll be a big factor.”

The gray Tapit colt was undefeated in three 2020 starts, racking up wins in the Grade 1 Breeders' Futurity in October at Keeneland before returning a month later to the same track to win the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

After posting back-to-back wins to start his sophomore campaign on the Kentucky Derby trail – capturing the Grade 3 Southwest at 1 1/16 miles in February at Oaklawn Park and the 1 1/8-mile Grade 2 Blue Grass in April at Keeneland, Essential Quality ran his only non-winning race with a competitive fourth in the “Run for the Roses” on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs.

Undeterred, Essential Quality overcame Hot Rod Charlie's blistering fractions to run down his rival in the 1 1/2-mile Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets on June 5 – giving Cox his first win in a Classic – and followed that effort, which netted a personal-best 109 Beyer Speed Figure, with a half-length win over Travers-rival Keepmeinmind in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy going 1 1/8 miles at Saratoga on July 31 in the local Travers prep.

“He's sharp, mentally. He's sharper this race than going into the Jim Dandy,” Cox said. “My plan all along was to have him peak in this spot. Our goal since the Kentucky Derby was to have him at his best Travers Day and from a mental and physical standpoint, I feel he's right where we want him.

“I think he's a classic-distance horse,” Cox added. “He's proven that already. I like the post. Hopefully, with a good trip, we'll get the job done on Saturday.”

Essential Quality has already amassed a field-high $3.5 million in earnings and will team with a familiar face, as Saez – the meet's leading rider – has been aboard for all eight of his previous starts.

“He fits him real well,” Cox said. “Luis is riding him with a lot of confidence. He thinks the world of him. He's been able to breeze him his last two works up here and he's super excited about the opportunity on Saturday. I don't give Luis many instructions with this horse. It's just 'do your thing' and it tends to work out.”

Cox's chase for history includes trying to join Gaver, Sr., who won the 1942 Travers with Shut Out and the Whitney with Swing and Sway, and James G. Rowe, Jr., who won the Travers with Twenty Grand and Whitney with St. Brideaux in 1931.

Keepmeinmind will attempt to thwart that bid for history, earning another opportunity to oppose Essential Quality. Owned by Cypress Creek Equine, Arnold Bennewith and Spendthrift Farm, the son of Laoban ran a hard-charging second to the Runhappy Travers morning-line favorite in the Breeders' Futurity and ran third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. The duo met up twice more in the spring, when Keepmeinmind finished fifth in the Blue Grass and seventh in the Kentucky Derby.

The Robertino Diodoro trainee competed in the Triple Crown's second leg, running fourth in the Preakness in May at Pimlico, before earning additional black type with a third-place Grade 3 Ohio Derby performance in June at Thistledown. Keepmeinmind matched his career-best 97 Beyer for closing on Essential Quality in the Jim Dandy last month, finishing second, 2 1/4 lengths ahead of fellow Travers foe Masqueparade.

Listed at 6-1, Keepmeinmind will have the services of Joel Rosario, who rode him for the first time in the Jim Dandy, from post 3.

“He's getting better and better,” Diodoro said. “The horse is overdue and he deserves a win. We definitely think the extra distance will help him big time and it's a huge plus having Rosario on the horse for the second time.”

Winchell Thoroughbreds' Midnight Bourbon, the runner-up to Rombauer in the Preakness, has not raced since clipping heels with Hot Rod Charlie and unseating rider Paco Lopez in the Grade 1 Haskell in July at Monmouth Park.

The son of Tiznow, who started his sophomore campaign with a win in the Grade 3 Lecomte in January at Fair Grounds, will look for a better trip in his first Saratoga appearance. Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, who set the all-time wins record for a North American thoroughbred conditioner earlier this month with a big Whitney Day at Saratoga, will look to add another milestone at the famous track in seeking his first Travers score.

Ricardo Santana, Jr. will be in the irons for Midnight Bourbon [9-2] from the inside post.

“He's a big horse and time should benefit him a bunch as he gets bigger and stronger and more mature,” said David Fiske, bloodstock advisor to Winchell Thoroughbreds. “He'll have to break well but I should expect to see him on or near the lead.”

FTGGG Racing's Masqueparade bested King Fury by a half length in the Ohio Derby, extending his winning streak to three, before finishing third in a Jim Dandy contest that will see the trifecta rematch in the Travers.

The Upstart colt's top three speed figures in his seven-race career have come in his last three starts, starting with an optional claiming victory in May at Churchill before graduating to stakes company. After showing an affinity for Saratoga last out, Masqueparade will stretch out to 10 furlongs for the first time for trainer Al Stall, Jr.

Stall, Jr. said Masqueparade, who drew post 6 with Miguel Mena aboard, will be looking for a better trip after leaving from post 2 in the five-horse Jim Dandy, with Dr Jack [to his inside] and Weyburn [outside] possibly putting undue pressure on his charge.

“I love the draw. It's completely different than the Jim Dandy draw,” Stall, Jr. said. “We're very happy with that. Being on the outside, we can chase some speed. If there's no speed, we can lay very close. He can be more comfortable. In the Jim Dandy, he was trapped inside between speed horses, so we couldn't get anything done because they were shuffling us back and we were last on the backside. Now he can float away from there and see how things go. He's got good natural speed, so I really like where we are. I think he deserves a chance.”

Stall, Jr. will be saddling his first Travers starter and is looking for the personal Whitney-Travers double, with Blame having won the 2010 Whitney.

Mena, who has been riding predominantly at Ellis Park and Indiana Grand Race Course, has been aboard for all of Masqueparade's starts and will travel to the Spa on Saturday. Masqueparade is listed at 8-1.

Three Chimneys Farm's King Fury, runner-up in the Ohio Derby, trained at Saratoga through an imposed quarantine due to a positive case of Equine Herpesvirus-1 in their barn, causing him to miss the Grade 2 Jim Dandy and instead return in the Grade 1 Saratoga Derby Invitational on August 7, where he finished 10th after a wide trip in his turf debut.

“He came out of it fine. He just got hung wide on the second turn,” trainer Kenny McPeek said. “I really feel like he needed a run. It was going to be a couple of months between races otherwise. Unfortunately, he didn't get a chance to run in the Jim Dandy, but he will be prepared for this.”

King Fury, a son of Hall of Famer Curlin, started his juvenile year with high expectations as a $950,000 purchase at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton New York Select Yearling Sale across the street from the Spa. After notching a win in the Street Sense in October at Churchill, King Fury made the grade with his 2 3/4-length score in the Grade 3 Lexington going 1 1/16 miles over a sloppy and sealed Keeneland track in April.

His previous start on dirt saw him rally from last-of-9 to get second in the Ohio Derby, and McPeek said a better trip on the fast track could have made the difference.

“I think he should have won. He got shuffled back at one point during the race and I think if that hadn't happened, he wins handily,” McPeek said. “He's a very good horse and he's going to relish a mile and a quarter.”

Jose Ortiz, aboard for the Saratoga Derby Invitational, will return to ride King Fury [15-1 odds] from post 7.

Repole Stable, Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable's Dynamic One – second in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino in April at Aqueduct – showed his affinity for the Saratoga track last out, rallying from last-of-seven to close strong, besting Miles D by 1 3/4 lengths in the Curlin on July 30 at Saratoga for his first stakes victory.

Dynamic One, trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, rebounded from an 18th-place finish in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby to garner a personal-best 97 Beyer in the Curlin. The Union Rags colt did not break his maiden until fourth asking in March at the Big A but enters with momentum as Pletcher seeks his third Travers score.

“He obviously didn't fire in the Kentucky Derby, but his maiden races were pretty fast,” Pletcher said. “He showed he belonged in the Wood. We were happy with the way he was training going into the Curlin, that appears to be his most professional race so far so hopefully he's going into his best.”

Irad Ortiz, Jr. will ride Dynamic One [post 4, 6-1].

The Travers is one of the few stakes to elude four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown, who will send out his 12th all-time starter in this race with Peter Brant and Robert LaPenta's Miles D, who handled the jump to stakes company with a runner-up effort in the Curlin.

The son of Hall of Famer Curlin has improved his Beyer Speed Figures in each of his three starts, including a 95 last out when running 1 3/4 lengths back to Dynamic One in his Saratoga bow.

Miles D [post 5, 12-1 odds] will pick up jockey Flavien Prat's services, with the rider looking to extend his success in the division aboard multiple horses. Prat guided Rombauer to victory in the Grade 1 Preakness and piloted Hot Rod Charlie to a close second behind fellow Travers-contender Essential Quality in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes, earning a placing in all three legs of the Triple Crown, as he was aboard for Hot Rod Charlie's third-place Grade 1 Kentucky Derby finish.

“He's obviously a bit of a longshot in the race, so he's going to have to step up,” Brown said. “I'm thankful to have a horse in the race and hopefully he runs the race of his life and will be right there.”

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Aug. 26 Insight

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency

WELL-BRED DUO DEBUT AT THE SPA

6th-SAR, $100K, Msw, 2yo, f, 5 1/2fT, 3:55p.m.

Stronach homebred SUPER STING (Awesome Again) is one of two well-bred fillies making her career bow in this event. She is out of champion Perfect Sting (Red Ransom), who is also the dam of GSW Smart Sting (Smart Strike), GSP Perfect Bullet (El Prado {Ire}) and SP Sweet Sting (Awesome Again). Live Oak went to $300,000 at the OBS March Sale to acquire Our Souper Love (Union Rags) after she breezed in :10 flat. Out of GSW Kiss the Devil (Kris S.), she is a half to GSW Kiss Moon (Malibu Moon) and MSW & MGSP Kiss Mine (Mienshaft). TJCIS PPs

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‘Safe’ to Say Queen’s Plate Conquest Huge for Serpe

It's been a difficult few years for Phil Serpe and his stable. Like many smaller outfits trying to compete at a top-tier racing circuit, he has seen his number of horses dwindle as owners move in favor of consolidating their operations in the barns of “super trainers”. Partly due to circumstance, partly due to that increasing monopolization of the sport, Serpe has had an especially trying 2021. Heading into this past weekend, he had just two winners to his name since the calendar turned–a 4-year-old maiden-breaker named King Angelo (Lemon Drop Kid) Aug. 14 at Saratoga and a 38-1 upsetter in a Belmont allowance/optional claimer back on May 2 named Safe Conduct (Bodemeister).

So it made all the difference in the world–certainly more than it would have to any of the factory-sized barns he tries to compete with–when the latter runner, overachieving $45,000 weanling buy Safe Conduct, worked out a trip from the rail, struck the lead at the five-sixteenths pole, fought off several stretch challenges and held on by one jump over fast-closing Riptide Rock (Point of Entry) Sunday at Woodbine to win Canada's richest and most famous race, the 162nd running of the $1-million Queen's Plate. Though he was unable to be there in person, Serpe fully relished the victory after the year his outfit has experienced.

“We had an unusual amount of injuries this past winter for some reason, that's just the way things are sometimes,” said Serpe. “So we are a little bit down on stock, but we're working on that now. A race like that means a lot, regardless of if you're training six horses of 60 horses. It's Canada's premier race and it's great to be a part of it. I wish I could've been there, but because of COVID reasons we decided it was best to do things the way we did them. So my partner Lisa Bartkowski went up with the horse and handled things up there, and everything worked out.”

Serpe deflected much of the plaudits for the triumph onto the brilliant ride by Irad Ortiz, Jr., riding in his first Queen's Plate and piloting Safe Conduct for the first time. Ortiz asked the dark bay colt for just enough speed early to escape the fence, giving his mount the perfect two-path stalking trip in the clear before finishing with typical gusto to just hold on at the wire.

“I really have to give a lot of the credit to Irad,” Serpe said. It's tough coming out of the one-hole up there. We were the last ones to pick so that's the slot we got. He did a great job getting the horse out of the there and getting some position without using a lot of horse. I think that was instrumental in the horse winning. And Irad finishes the best of anybody in the stretch so we knew we were going to get that.”

Serpe showed steadfast confidence in his horse by sending him to Woodbine to make his all-weather track debut in the Queen's Plate. After upsetting that Belmont allowance, in which he out-finished recent GII Hall of Fame S. hero Public Sector (GB) (Kingman {GB}), Safe Conduct had beaten just two horses combined in his next two starts, finishing a distant fourth in the rained-off GIII Pennine Ridge S. and fading to eighth over 'good' turf in the GI Belmont Derby Invitational S. But Serpe didn't waver from going after a race he has long had his eye on for the talented Ontario-bred.

“The Queen's Plate was always on our target map from last year,” he said. “That's what we were thinking about last year, was to try to get him in the Queen's Plate. The other races, it was just unfortunate but it wasn't like he didn't run well. The Pennine Ridge came off the turf and we tried to run him in the slop. The race had fallen apart and he's the kind of horse you think would run through anything. Then in the Belmont Derby, that turf had taken a lot of rain and he just wasn't getting anywhere. He came back from those races in good condition and coming into this race, there was nothing he could've done any better. His last work leading up to the race was sensational.”

Sunday's success in a marquee race was undeniably big for the Serpe barn. In 2018, Serpe cleared the $1-million earnings mark for the 11th time in his career, with his runners banking the third-highest total in his 38-year training career. But in 2019, his earnings fell to $642,351, and last year, his horses earned $406,785, his lowest total since 1984, the year he started training. For perspective, Serpe's barn earned C$600,000–currently equivalent to $476,490 in U.S. dollars–for Safe Conduct's Queen's Plate score alone.

“It's a big help to our stable,” he said. “We were one of the leading trainers for Flying Zee Stable and when we lost Carl Lizza, we lost a lot of horses in New York–for everybody, but 30-35 for us every year. Then we were fortunate enough to have Chester and Mary Broman, but Mr. Broman has now decided to slow way down. He just has a handful of horses left. We were lacking horses. It's kind of sad because I don't know what people think, that only a handful of guys know how to train horses? There's a lot of guys out there who are competent horsemen who don't have horses. And we're starting to feel the effect of that.”

Lizza died in 2011 after a successful 35-year run of owning horses in New York–he was NYRA's leading owner for the year at the time of his death–leading to a dispersal of his substantial Flying Zee stock. The Bromans have 28 starts in 2021 as of this writing; at their peak in 2017, they had 263. So without the support of those once-massive New York breeding and racing operations, Serpe has struggled to keep his foothold against seemingly an army of high-priced auction and private purchases.

“When we trained for Mr. Broman and Flying Zee Stable, you're training for breeders, so whatever comes out is what you get,” he said. “You don't get to handpick these horses, you don't get to go buy them privately, so sometimes it's good, but sometimes you might not get great horses. Now you're winning at 14 or 15% instead of the miracle workers that are winning at 37%. It's frustrating. It is. But we just keep working, doing our job and that's just the way we are.”

Serpe puts some of the blame for the consolidation on the backstretch on the tracks themselves, and says some owners may be getting the runaround from mega-barns for their non-star horses.

“Partially it's the racetracks' fault,” he said. “That's why they would put in a stall limit, because they didn't want guys monopolizing what was going on out there in the races. And if you've got a guy who's got 10 one-other-thans, he's not running all 10. So I got news for you, as an owner, you're getting put on [the shelf] if yours is horse number eight. That's where you're going. You might think you're running at Saratoga; you might not run until Aqueduct. I think people need to rethink that a little bit, because there are some really good guys out there, and I consider myself one of them, that just need a shot.”

For now though, Serpe is appreciative to have Safe Conduct in his barn, and he has WellSpring Stables' owner Dr. Robert Vukovich to thank, in more ways than one. Vukovich's operation, named after the pharmaceutical corporation he founded in 1999 and sold in 2011, has maintained its investment in Serpe as it has increased its earnings each of the past four years. And Vukovich himself picked Safe Conduct out as a nine-month old weanling at Keeneland November in 2018.

“I was kidding around with Dr. Vukovich. We kind of knew right away with the horse, we didn't know how good he was, but we just knew he wanted to be a racehorse,” Serpe said. “He just loves to train. I said, 'Did your wife pick out this one or something? He's different than all the other ones you've picked out.' I don't know how much he appreciated that [laughs], but I always rib him about it. But this horse is all him. I had nothing to do with it and I was very fortunate he sent the horse to me.”

Occasionally, fortune in racing does still smile on the little guy.

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