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Jaxon Traveler A Perfect 3-For-3 After Maryland Juvenile Futurity

West Point Thoroughbreds and Melvin Delfiner's Jaxon Traveler, pressed from the gate by stakes winner Singlino, shook off his pursuer at the top of the stretch and once again approaching the wire to remain undefeated with a three-quarter length triumph in Saturday's $100,000 Maryland Juvenile Futurity at Laurel Park in Maryland.

The 39th running of the Futurity shared top billing on the nine-race program with Street Lute's victory in the 34th renewal of the $100,000 Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship, both for Maryland-bred/sired horses sprinting seven furlongs.

Jaxon Traveler ($2.60) completed the distance in 1:25.07 over a fast main track to improve to 3-0 lifetime in his stakes debut. Based in New York with Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, he has raced exclusively in Maryland where he was bred by Dr. and Mrs. A. Leonard Pineau.

“It's been a real treat to watch him develop. Each time he's shipped down to Maryland he's been a total professional,” said Dawn Lenert, West Point's chief of marketing and director of partner relations. “We're very lucky to have a horse like this. Our partners have come out to watch him and cheer for him, both here and on TV. It's just been a super treat for them to be associated with this type of horse.”

The margin of victory was the smallest for Jaxon Traveler following a 10-length maiden special weight romp in debut Sept. 25 at Pimlico Race Course and a four-length optional claiming allowance score Oct. 23 at Laurel. All three of his wins have come in front-running fashion.

“This was the closest a horse had hounded him in his career and there was definitely a couple of nervous moments, but he showed his colors and stayed in front,” Lenert said. “He's definitely a little more tired today than he's been. I kept saying, 'Where's the wire?' ”

Sent off at 1-5 in a field of seven, Jaxon Traveler had First State Dash winner Singlino at his right hip through a quarter-mile in 22.56 seconds and a half in 45.61, with Maryland Million Nursery runner-up Alwaysinahurry, Doubleoseven and Ain't Da Beer Cold leading the second flight.

Jaxon Traveler and jockey Johan Rosado got the jump on Singlino turning into the stretch and created some separation before Singlino came with another surge. Latin Spice rallied to be third, followed by Ain't Da Beer Cold, Alwaysinahurry, Doubleoseven and Hunter Joe.

“We'll talk to Steve. I know we wanted to see how he did today at seven [furlongs],” Lenert said. “We could stretch him out in the Jerome going a mile; however, Laurel just put up that Spectacular Bid going seven furlongs in January. He proved he could go seven today, we'll see what he does next time.”

The newly created $100,000 Spectacular Bid for 3-year-olds sprinting seven furlongs is among six stakes worth $550,000 in purses scheduled for the Jan. 16, 2021 program at Laurel.

Street Lute Too Tough in $100,000 Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship
Lucky 7 Stables' Street Lute sat a perfect stalking trip before powering to the lead and pulling clear, avenging the only loss of her career with her second straight stakes victory and fourth overall in Saturday's $100,000 Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship.

Ridden by Xavier Perez for trainer Jerry Robb, Street Lute ($6) is a neck shy of being undefeated through five starts, caught at the wire when second in the Oct. 24 Maryland Million Lassie by Miss Nondescript, who never threatened Saturday and finished seventh.

“Everything worked perfectly. Jerry was on the phone with me. He told me he wasn't going to be able to make it,” Perez said. “The race before the horse went to the lead and kept going and he asked me to go the lead if we can without using her. That was the plan and then the other two horses went to the lead. I know my filly can settle and she did. We had just a perfect trip.”

Street Lute settled in third as Liam's Missy, a 10 ¼-length maiden special weight winner last out at Belmont Park, and Lassie third-place finisher Trip to Freedom battled through splits of 22.70 and 45.29 seconds for the half. Perez tipped Street Lute to the center of the track once straightened for home and hit the wire 1 ¾ lengths in front.

Juror Number Four, fourth to Street Lute in the Small Wonder Sept. 26 at Delaware Park, trailed the field early before coming with a late rally on the far outside for second. Maxine's Tap Room, Buckey's Charm, Targe, Liam's Missy, Miss Nondescript, Heartful and Trip to Freedom completed the order of finish.

“She's getting better. This week I was getting on her every morning and I got to know her a little more. She's just improving every single day,” Perez said. “This means a lot because Jerry has stood by me for my ups and downs and he put me on the map again. I've been riding for him for three years now and he trusts me and I trust him. Hopefully it stays like this for a long time.”

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D J Stable, Green Group’s Len Green Talks Making the Horse Business Profitable On Writers’ Room

It’s no secret that the horse business is a tough one if your primary goal is to make money. But your chances are better the more experience and expertise you accrue, and The Green Group’s Len Green has decades of both. Wednesday, the tax, accounting and consulting firm’s founder and principal of successful racing outfit D J Stable joined the TDN Writers’ Room presented by Keeneland to impart his advice on turning a profit in racing, discuss what tax changes could be coming down the pike with a new presidential administration in 2021 and reminisce on some of his favorite memories in racing.

“One, you really have to learn about setting [your horse investment] up so it looks, sounds and smells like a business,” Green said when asked for his advice for new owners. “Instead of writing checks out of your own regular checking account, which has personal deductions on it, etc., set up an LLC. It gives you protection in terms of liability, but it also gives you the appearance that you’re running it as a business. Two, you have to have some strategy. Three, you’ve got to keep on changing that strategy every couple of years.”

Elaborating on the last point, Green talked about making the eventual move from strictly racing claiming horses to the substantial owning and breeding program he now oversees, one that included champion 2-year-old filly Jaywalk (Cross Traffic) in 2018.

“You get used to a particular pattern of doing business and it really takes a shock sometimes to get you out of your comfort zone,” he said. “Our comfort zone was winning races. It was great, winning 30% of the time, but you were losing the horse because if the horse won for $25,000 our trainer would drop it down to 20. It would win at 20, but by that point, someone would claim the horse from you, and that horse may have originally cost you 100 [thousand]. His theory was, you run it where it belongs, which is correct, but that’s a great pattern to lose money with. So at a certain point in time, we said, ‘Hey, let’s get out of this claiming game. It’s too difficult to make money.'”

Elsewhere in the show, the writers reacted to an intriguing weekend of racing across the globe and, in the West Point Thoroughbreds news segment, lamented the slap-on-wrist punishments trainers continue to receive despite overall positive movement on drug issues in the sport. Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version.

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Undefeated Jaxon Traveler Headlines Maryland Juvenile Championship

West Point Thoroughbreds and Marvin Delfiner's undefeated 2-year-old colt Jaxon Traveler, an eye-catching winner of his first two starts, takes the next step in his progression when he makes his stakes debut in Saturday's $100,000 Maryland Juvenile Futurity at Laurel Park.

The Futurity shares top billing on a nine-race program with the $100,000 Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship, both for Maryland-bred/sired horses sprinting seven furlongs. Post time is 12:25 p.m.

Bred in Maryland by Dr. and Mrs. A. Leonard Pineau, Jaxon Traveler has dazzled in his two races to date, both in front-running fashion. He romped by 10 lengths in debut Sept. 25 at Pimlico Race Course over Lugamo, who came back to win his next two races and run third in the James F. Lewis III Stakes Nov. 14 at Laurel.

Jaxon Traveler was then pointed to the Maryland Million Nursery Oct. 24 but, not being Maryland-sired, he was excluded from the field. Instead, he ran in an entry-level optional claiming allowance for 2-year-olds the day before and was never threatened in a four-length triumph under a hand ride from Johan Rosado in 1:09.34 for six furlongs.

“He's showed that he can run a little bit, and we are impressed. He acts like a nice horse,” Delfiner said. “He's just doing everything right so far, so we just have to keep our fingers crossed that everything stays in good position.”

West Point purchased Jaxon Traveler for $140,000 out of the Ocala Breeders' spring sale that was delayed from April to June amid the coronavirus pandemic, bringing Delfiner on as a partner. The dark bay or brown son of multiple graded-stakes winning sprinter Munnings originally fetched $80,000 as a yearling last fall at Keeneland.

“I liked the way he worked. I liked his conformation, I liked the way he moved at the 2-year-old sale, so I decided to invest in him. But, as you know, you never know how they're going to turn out,” Delfiner said. “He's very, very smart and he did everything right coming out of the gate training. Since he broke out of the gate in the first race, he's acted like he's an older horse. He's a smart little colt.”

Delfiner's background in racing includes being co-breeder of 2013 Skip Away (G3) winner Cigar Street and co-owner of Theregoesjojo, second in the Fountain of Youth (G2) and third in the Florida Derby (G1) in 2009, and Afleet Tizzy, a Pennsylvania-bred stakes winner of more than $376,000 in purse earnings.

“We've had some nice horses, no complaints,” Delfiner said. “He's going to take us as far as he wants to go. So far, he's done everything we've asked and we'll just go to the next step.

“I've been around long enough to know that you can't count any chickens,” he added. “He just happens to be a really, really nice horse and we're excited about him.”

Several of Jaxon Traveler's rivals bring previous stakes experience into the Futurity including shippers Singlino and Latin Spice, respectively first and third in the First State Dash Sept. 26 at Delaware Park. Owned and trained by John Worsley, Singlino has run into trouble in each of two subsequent starts including a seventh in the James Lewis, while Latin Spice was third in an open second-level allowance Nov. 23 at Mountaineer. He is trained by co-owner Jason DaCosta.

Mopo Racing's Alwaysinahurry owns two wins and a second in three starts since being gelded this fall, the only loss coming to Dale Capuano-trained stablemate Kenny Had a Notion in the Maryland Million Nursery. Alwaysinahurry returned to post a gutsy neck triumph in an entry-level optional claiming allowance Nov. 7 at Laurel at the Futurity distance.

“Since we gelded him he's run very well,” Capuano said. “The seven-eighths he won at last time shouldn't be a problem this time. [Jason Traveler] is pretty tough. We'll see what he can do.”

The Futurity will be the eighth career start for Alwaysinahurry, making him the most experienced horse in the field. He has also proven to be adaptable in his races, winning from both on and off the pace.

“However the race comes up, he can go either way. I don't think that really matters to him. He's pretty versatile, so that makes a difference,” Capuano said. “He's already run seven times, so that's quite a bit. He's a got a lot more seasoning than some of the other ones. I think the more they run the better they should get, and it looks like he's doing that. Hopefully he'll improve a little bit more.”

Ain't Da Beer Cold, Doubleoseven and maiden Hunter Joe complete the field.

Stakes winners Miss Nondescript and Street Lute, separated by a neck in their only previous meeting, will hook up again leading a field of nine in Saturday's $100,000 Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship.

Barak Farm homebred Miss Nondescript circled the field with a four-wide move and came flying on the far outside with a steady run to catch Lucky 7 Stables' Street Lute on the wire in the six-furlong Maryland Million Lassie Oct. 24 at Laurel.

It was the first start for the Mosler filly since joining trainer Mike Trombetta's Laurel string following a nose maiden special weight triumph in debut Sept. 4 at Monmouth Park, a five-furlong sprint that was originally carded for the grass.

“It was a good race for her. She'd only had one race under our belt and she was new to our barn so I didn't know a whole hell of a lot about her. We'd only had her three or four weeks. I was very happy with how she showed up and performed,” Trombetta said.

“She's trained good since. She's done well and breezed good,” he added. “We breezed her the other day before the rain so we were able to get that in and, from what I can tell, she seems like she's ready to go.”

Miss Nondescript went a half-mile in 48.80 seconds Nov. 29 at Laurel, where she has prepped both before and since the race. Trombetta also has a string of horses at the Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Md.

“She's gotten to train at Laurel; she's been there the whole time now. She's gotten a race in over the track so hopefully she's ready for this,” Trombetta said. “She does everything right, and she does everything you ask of her. This will be a little bit of a test, I'm sure, but I think it's the next step and she should ready for it.”

Street Lute's narrow Maryland Million loss is the only thing keeping her from being undefeated. The daughter of Street Magician made her first two starts at Delaware Park, graduating at first asking and then rolling to a front-running five-length triumph in the 5 ½-furlong Small Wonder Sept. 26.

Back at Laurel, where she is based with trainer Jerry Robb, Street Lute tracked pacesetter Trip to Freedom in the Lassie and forged a short lead in deep stretch before being edged late. She returned with a dominant 2 ¾-length score in the six-furlong Smart Halo Nov. 14.

“She came out of the race fine, and she's doing real good,” Robb said. “The only time she got beat she was chasing the speed and then she got caught by somebody else after she caught the speed. It happened in the last jump. I don't think she even saw the horse coming, to be honest with you. This race is a little bit farther so hopefully that'll fit her a little better. I think she wants to go a little bit farther. All along I've thought she was a distance horse, so I'll be anxious to find that out.”

The Juvenile Filly Championship is the final stakes for Maryland-bred sired fillies this year. The last stakes for 2-year-old fillies on the Maryland calendar are the $100,000 Anne Arundel County going about 1 1/16 miles and $100,000 Gin Talking sprinting seven furlongs Dec. 26.

“You've really got to hit the Maryland-bred spots. They'll be few and far between after now, so she'll get plenty of time between them,” Robb said. “You have to try to train them to make sure you make these and then sit back and not worry about the next one for a while.”

Also entered are Juror Number Four, a two-time winner who ran fourth in the Small Wonder; Liam's Missy, a 10 ½-length maiden special weight winner Oct. 31 at Belmont Park for trainer Tim Hills; Maxine's Tap Room, a Keeneland maiden special weight winner Oct. 23 in her lone start; Trip to Freedom, maiden winners Buckey's Charm and Targe and the maiden Heartful.

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West Point Founder Terry Finley Joins TDN Writers’ Room

Founder, president and CEO of West Point Thoroughbreds Terry Finley joined the TDN Writers’ Room presented by Keeneland Wednesday to discuss an array of industry issues and potential solutions. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Finley provided his insights on how the game can better attract new customers, whether or not racing’s drug problem is finally going to be cleaned up, the evolution of the owner partnership and much more.

Asked about how his friends who are casual observers of racing view the sport, Finley said he thinks the perception is improving thanks to the industry’s belated but united response to its equine safety and drug crises.

“The people we want to influence and impact are, by and large, reasonable, and all they want is for us to take these things that we’re not proud of as an industry seriously,” he said. “And I think we’ve shown over the last two years that we get it. We got our heads picked up. So I think they appreciate that. People come into the business and give us all a chance to show that we’re doing everything we can to give them a fair shot. I think we’re really starting to catch their attention in a sensible way and I’d like to think that we’re on the way to continuing to grow. I’m optimistic that we’re on the right track. I appreciate that a number of people and organizations have come to the table and compromised. When we’ve done that in the past, good things have happened, and I really think good things are on the way for us if we stay at the table and don’t get mad at each other. We all get frustrated at the pace of change in our business, but it’s all about an evolution.”

The discussion then turned to March’s FBI indictments and how Finley thinks the alleged cheating scandals have affected participation in the sport.

“I really hope that there are some trainers and vets and other people in our industry who haven’t slept in the last eight months because they’re waiting for that phone call,” he said. “We’ve got to take our medicine as an industry, because we let it happen. I think we got beat in seven graded stakes races by those two turkeys, where we finished second or third behind Jason Servis or Jorge Navarro. So when I’ve talked to people in the last eight months about the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, I’ve said, ‘Listen, they’ve taken money out of my pocket and my partners’ pockets.’ We’ve lost partners in the last eight months because they said the industry has had a long time to clean this up. Now we finally did it and I was very proud of the job that The Jockey Club did. We’re going to keep after this. That’s the only thing I can see that’s going to be effective long term, is to just stay vigilant and try to identify the guys who are taking an edge and cheating.”

Elsewhere on the show, the writers talked about the latest coronavirus-related interruptions to the racing calendar, previewed a big holiday weekend of graded stakes, and in the spirit of Thanksgiving, revealed what they’re thankful for in racing. Click here to watch the podcast, click here for the audio-only version.

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