Gold Square's Saratoga maiden special weight winner Instant Coffee was tabbed as the slight 5-2 morning line favorite in his attempt for graded stakes glory in Saturday's 96th running of the $400,000 Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) for 2-year-olds at Churchill Downs.
The Kentucky Jockey Club, run at 1 1/16 miles, will award the top 5 finishers points on a 10-4-3-2-1 scale towards a spot in the starting gate for the $3-million Kentucky Derby (G1) next May.
First post Saturday is 1 p.m. (ET) and the 12-race program features all 2-year-old races as part of “Stars of Tomorrow II.” The Kentucky Jockey Club will go as Race 11 at 5:56 p.m. The card will also include the $400,000 Golden Rod (G2), $200,000 Ed Brown, and $200,000 Fern Creek.
Trained by Brad Cox, Instant Coffee was a determined three-quarters of a length victor in his debut. The son of Bolt d'Oro returned in the Breeders' Futurity (GI) at Keeneland where he finished fourth behind eventual Breeders' Cup Juvenile (GI) winner Forte.
“We're looking forward to him in this spot,” Cox said. “The Breeders' Futurity came up a key race with Forte coming back to win the Juvenile. He had a pretty tough trip in the Breeders' Futurity, and I think that experience can benefit him by maturing off of that start.”
Here is the complete field for the Kentucky Jockey Club from the rail out (with jockey, trainer and morning line odds): Curly Jack (Edgar Morales, Tom Amoss, 3-1); Western Ghent (Mickaelle Michel, D. Wayne Lukas, 20-1); Denington (Brian Hernandez Jr., Kenny McPeek, 12-1); Gigante (Corey Lanerie, Steve Asmussen, 12-1); Red Route One (Tyler Gaffalione, Steve Asmussen, 7-2); Freedom Trail (Florent Geroux, John Terranova, 6-1); Hayes Strike (Rafael Bejarano, Kenny McPeek, 10-1); Instant Coffee (Luis Saez, Cox, 5-2); and Cyclone Mischief (Joe Talamo, Dale Romans, 8-1).
Inaugurated in 2005, Churchill Downs' Stars of Tomorrow programs have helped launch the careers of numerous graded stakes winners, including more than 50 Grade 1 winners led by Horses of the Year Gun Runner (2017) and Rachel Alexandra (2009), Kentucky Derby (G1) winners Super Saver (2010) and Mandaloun (2021) and Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) winners Rachel Alexandra (2009), Believe You Can (2012), Monomoy Girl (2018), and Secret Oath (2022).
The post ‘We’re Looking Forward To Him In This Spot’: Cox-Trained Instant Coffee Morning Line Favorite For Kentucky Jockey Club appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
