Steve Asmussen | Horse Racing Free Tips

Maker Barn Sprints to Early Spa Lead

Mike Maker, with 42 training titles at Kentucky's five racetracks, is very much a contender this summer for the coveted prize at Saratoga Race Course.

A remarkable stretch of nine wins from 25 starters last week pushed Maker to the top of the table with 14 wins in the first 14 days of the 40-day season. He had at least one winner in each of the five racing days of the week and his stable hit the board at a 72% rate. That run of success enabled Maker to finish the week on Sunday with a six-victory lead over Todd Pletcher and Steve Asmussen and he was seven ahead of Chad Brown and Brad Cox. His win streak ended during Wednesday's program he had a third and a fourth with his starters.

Maker, 52, acknowledged that he was optimistic about how his stable might fare in the opening weeks of the Saratoga season.

“The condition book fit us well,” he said. “We had a lot of horses doing well, a lot of babies getting ready to run. It's hard to predict 14 wins, but we have had a good start.”

Maker's stable is typically strong on the turf–he started Wednesday's card with a meet-leading seven wins on the grass– had to deal with what has been an unusually rainy summer in upstate New York. A total of 21 races–10 last week alone–have been moved from the turf to the main track this season.

“It kind of hurt us the first week, but that's racing,” Maker said. “You keep plugging along.”

Maker earned his 11th Saratoga stakes victory, and seventh in the past two seasons, according to Equibase, on Saturday when Three Diamonds Farm's Cross Border (English Channel) picked up a repeat victory in the GII Bowling Green S.

With 44 horses at Saratoga and another 50 at Belmont Park, Maker has a well-stocked stable to compete at Saratoga.

“We've been rotating them in and out and we've got Kentucky to draw from, too,” he said. “We're still going to try to place the horses properly and see what happens.”

Maker had his best showing at Saratoga in 2020, finishing in a tie for third place with Christophe Clement at 20 victories. Todd Pletcher led the way 32 wins, four ahead of Chad Brown.

With a smile and nod, Maker said he thinks about winning the Saratoga title.

“It's a nice thought,” he said. “Chad, Todd, Christophe are tough and we know racing can turn around in a hurry. You've got to have a lot of racing luck.”

Maker said finishing on top at Saratoga is always a goal, but one that has not yet been achieved.

“It'd be great, obviously,” he said. “Very prestigious meet. We're fortunate to be in the position we are.”

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Jackie’s Warrior Dominant In Amsterdam, Brings Asmussen Closer To Record

After a thunderous deluge delayed the Grade 2 Amsterdam for thirty minutes, soaking the sealed Saratoga surface, Jackie's Warrior showed that the delay and the track were no trouble at all for the son of Maclean's Music. At Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., the 3-year-old's multi-length victory brought Steve Asmussen another win closer to passing Dale Baird and becoming racing's winningest trainer.

A troubled break in the Grade 1 Woody Stephens last time out compromised Jackie's Warrior's chances at the victory on the Belmont Stakes undercard, with Drain the Clock taking that G1 stakes race. The two hooked up again early in the G2 Amsterdam, dueling for the first couple of furlongs out of the gate. As the field of six entered the turn, Jackie's Warrior accelerated, leaving Drain the Clock in his wake, stretching his lead out to five lengths before they hit the stretch.

Jackie's Warrior lengthened his lead in the stretch, easily pulling away from the rest of the field with jockey Joel Rosario chilly in the saddle. Behind him, Crowded Trade looked poised to make a move on the rail, Drain the Clock in the center of the track trying as well, but neither had enough to catch up to the Asmussen trainee. Rosario eased his colt in the last part of the stretch, the margin of victory 7 1/4 lengths. The final time for the 6 1/2-furlong G2 Amsterdam was 1:15.46. Drain the Clock, Crowded Trade, Flash of Mischief, Mister Luigi, and River Dog rounded out the order of finish.

Jackie's Warrior paid $3.00, $2.20, and $2.10. Drain the Clock paid $2.90 and $2.50. Crowded Trade paid $3.00 to show.

Find this race's chart here.

Bred in Kentucky by J & J Stables, Jackie's Warrior is by Maclean's Music out of Unicorn Girl, by A. P. Five Hundred. Consigned by Taylor Made Sales, the 3-year-old colt sold for $95,000 to owner J. Kirk Robison at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. The G2 Amsterdam brings Jackie's Warrior to a record of 2-1-1 in four starts in 2021, for a lifetime record of six wins in nine starts with career earnings of $1,058,964.

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Jackie’s Warrior ‘Rains’ Supreme in Amsterdam

Sunday, Saratoga
AMSTERDAM S.-GII, $200,000, Saratoga, 8-1, 3yo, 6 1/2f, 1:15.46, sy.
1–JACKIE'S WARRIOR, 124, c, 3, 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
($95,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP). O-J. Kirk & Judy Robison; B-J & J
Stables (KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen; J-Joel Rosario.
$110,000. Lifetime Record: MGISW, 9-6-1-1, $1,058,964.
Werk Nick Rating: A+++. Click for the eNicks report &
5-cross pedigree
2–Drain the Clock, 124, c, 3, Maclean's Music–Manki, by
Arch. O-Slam Dunk Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Wonder
Stables & Michael Nentwig; B-Nick Cosato (KY); T-Saffie A.
Joseph, Jr. $40,000.
3–Crowded Trade, 118, c, 3, More Than Ready–Maude S, by
Jump Start. ($185,000 Wlg '18 KEENOV). O-Klaravich
Stables, Inc.; B-Forging Oaks LLC (KY); T-Chad C. Brown.
$24,000.
Margins: 7 1/4, 1, HF. Odds: 0.50, 3.40, 7.30.
Also Ran: Flash of Mischief, Mister Luigi, River Dog.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

Leading 3-year-old sprinter Jackie's Warrior re-established his divisional supremacy following a tough-luck short-odds defeat last out with a comprehensive rout in the GII Amsterdam S. Sunday at Saratoga.

Starting his career with four open-lengths scores, including Grade I successes in the local Runhappy Hopeful S. and Champagne S. at Belmont, the $95,000 Keeneland September buy suffered his first setback when fading to fourth after moving into a fast pace in the GI TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Taken off the GI Kentucky Derby trail following a disappointing third in the GIII Southwest S. in his seasonal debut Feb. 27 at Oaklawn, the bay gamely held on to capture the GIII Pat Day Mile S. despite being pushed through sizzling fractions of :21.75 and :43.68. Again setting a scorching tempo in addition to navigating a troubled start last out in the GI Woody Stephens S., he was just worn down late by re-opposing Drain the Clock in a neck defeat.

Maintaining the confidence of the bettors as an overwhelming chalk against five rivals here, Jackie's Warrior engaged in a ding-dong battle with Drain the Clock through an enervating :21.46 quarter. Starting to do better than that rival inside the half-mile marker, he swiftly drew clear past an eye-popping :43.85 half, he entered the stretch in control while kept off the rail and finished with authority while wrapped up for the final sixteenth by Joel Rosario. Drain the Clock held second, giving Maclean's Music the exacta.

“He's a very special horse,” said winning trainer Steve Asmussen, who moved within three wins of Dale Baird's record of 9,445 victories. “I think that he's shown that on many occasions. He gets the respect I think he deserves and it's extremely fun to watch him run. He won on an off track today, which is the first time, and to get that variable out of the way knowing that weather doesn't care how important we think something is, that he'll be able to handle that going forward. With his performance today on top of what he did in the Pat Day Mile, he'll have a lot to say in the one-turn division the rest of the year. I wouldn't be scared to run him against anybody anywhere going one turn and how do I measure that? We've had some good ones, and he's one of them.”

“He broke really well today; better than last time,” added Rosario. “He's fast and then he just kept going. That's what he likes to do. He just got out of there and does it so easy. He's amazing. He's so fast. It doesn't even feel like he's going that fast.”

Pedigree Notes:

One of 24 stakes winners, six graded stakes winners and four Grade I scorers for Maclean's Music, Jackie's Warrior has a juvenile Candy Ride (Arg) half-sister named Lenni Girl and a yearling half-brother by American Pharoah. His dam was bred to Into Mischief for 2022.

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Countdown To 9,446: Could Today Be The Day For Asmussen?

With 10 entries on Sunday and needing only five wins to tie all-time win leader Dale Baird, trainer Steve Asmussen's relentless quest for win No. 9,446 could – mathematically at least – come become a reality by day's end.

Asmussen sits at 9,440 wins after Madame Ready won a maiden special weight race for the Hall of Fame horsemen in the eighth race at Ellis Park on Saturday. His seven other entries on the day at Ellis Park, Louisiana Downs, Monmouth Park and Saratoga failed to find the winner's circle.

On Sunday, the Gettysburg, S.D., native has three entered at Saratoga (including Jackie's Warrior in the Grade 2 Amsterdam Stakes); five at Ellis Park (including two in one race) and two at Monmouth Park (including Tizplenty in the Colleen Stakes).

On Monday, Asmussen has three runners, one each at Louisiana Downs, Colonial Downs and Indiana Grand.

Asmussen began training in 1986 after a brief stint as a jockey. The two-time Eclipse Award winner been the national leader by yearly wins on numerous occasions and holds the all-time record for most victories in a single season, with 650 in 2009.

Baird recorded 9,445 victories before his death in an automobile accident in 2007, winning mostly at West Virginia tracks. Asmussen operates multiple stables throughout the country.

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