Churchill Downs Stakes Recaps and Quotes: Kentucky Jockey Club, Golden Rod, Ed Brown and Fern Creek

Nov 30, 2024

First Resort sat just off a soft early pace and surged to the lead at the top of the stretch to comfortably win Saturday’s 98th running of the $400,000 Kentucky Jockey Club (Grade II) at Churchill Downs by 2 ¼ lengths over odds-on 4-5 favorite Jonathan’s Way on the “Stars of Tomorrow II” program for 2-year-olds.

 

First Resort, owned and bred by Godolphin LLC and trained by Eoin Harty, clocked 1 1/16 miles over a fast track under jockey Luis Saez in 1:43.01 amid early evening temperatures in the mid-30s and light snow flurries.

 

He earned $238,440 and collected 10 points as part of the “Road to the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve” series, which offered points on a scale of 10-5-3-2-1 to the top five finishers as a “Prep Season” race.

 

Breaking from post No. 7, First Resort, who previously rallied to finish fourth in the $500,000 Summer (GI) at one mile on turf at Woodbine on Sept. 14, raced in the clear just off the right hip of Dapper Moon, who went to the front and led the field of nine 2-year-olds through modest early fractions of :24.56, :49.30 and 1:13.63.

 

Leaving the final turn, First Resort poked his head in front of Dapper Moon at the quarter pole and quickly surged to a clear lead in upper stretch. Jonathan’s Way, the $300,000 Iroquois (GIII) winner who raced between horses in fifth down the backstretch, tipped out five-wide on the turn for home. He chased to grab second inside the final eighth of a mile but First Resort had first run on the field and was well clear nearing the wire.

 

“We were in a perfect spot early in the race,” Saez said. “In his dirt races he was on the lead but he was able to track just off the leader today with the pace being pretty slow. Turning for home I could feel I had a lot of horse beneath me. He really took off down the lane and I could tell the further this horse goes it will be better.”

 

First Resort paid $14.66, $5.50 and $4.32 as the 6-1 second betting choice. Jonathan’s Way, under Joel Rosario, paid $2.56 and $2.38. Tiztastic was another 1 ¾ lengths back in third at 11-1 and returned $5.20 to show with Cristian Torres aboard.

 

It was another four lengths back to Dapper Moon in fourth, who was followed by Render Judgement, Filoso, Redacted, He’s Not Joking and Sonic Skidaddle. Clock Tower was scratched.

 

Overall, First Resort has won two of his four starts with one second and earnings of $338,671. Prior to his turf run at Woodbine, First Resort broke his maiden over 5 ½ furlongs in the mud at Ellis Park on July 5 by 3 ½ lengths and finished second to Showcase in the $200,000 Saratoga Special (GII) over 6 ½ furlongs on Aug. 10.

 

First Resort, a bay son of Uncle Mo out of the Street Boss mare Fair Maiden, was bred in Kentucky.

 

“He displayed his versatility today trying two turns for the first time,” Harty said. “Initially I thought he’d be a little farther back but after I saw the opening quarter I realized why he was there. He’s a very talented colt and his mother wasn’t as mentally sound as he seems to be. He was bred to be a good one and he really is. It’s fun working with the generations of families with Godolphin. I’ll speak with the team over the next couple of days and come up with a plan for him going into next year. It’s very exciting to have a colt of this caliber.”

 

The Kentucky Jockey Club is named in honor of the holding company that operated Churchill Downs at the time of the race’s inaugural running in 1920. In recent years, the Kentucky Jockey Club produced Kentucky Derby winners in WinStar Farm’s Super Saver, who won both races for trainer Todd Pletcher in 2009 and ’10, and Mike Pegram’s Real Quiet, the runner-up in the 1997 Kentucky Jockey Club who returned to win the Derby the following spring.

 

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GOOD CHEER REMAINS UNTOUCHABLE IN GRADE II, $400,000 GOLDEN ROD

 

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024) – Godolphin’s promising homebred 2-year-old filly Good Cheer remained unbeaten in four starts when she put away stablemate Eclatant at the top of the stretch and easily turned back a late run by Quietside to comfortably win Saturday’s 81st running of the $400,000 Golden Rod (Grade II) at Churchill Downs by 2 ½ lengths.

 

Good Cheer, a 4 ¾-length winner of the $200,000 Rags to Riches at Churchill Downs a month ago, returned to run 1 1/16 miles over a fast track in 1:43.26 in a field of seven 2-year-old fillies. It was the second fastest clocking in Golden Rod history, only behind legendary Rachel Alexandra’s 1:43.08 in 2008.

 

She collected the $242,470 first prize and 10 points as part of the “Road to the Kentucky Oaks” series, which offers points on a scale of 10-5-3-2-1 to the top five finishers as a “Prep Season” race.

 

Luis Saez rode the winner for trainer Brad Cox, who saddled his second Golden Rod winner. The other came in 2020 with Travel Column.

 

My Lil Punky tugged her way to the front and led the field of seven through early fractions of a :24.31 and :48.66 as Eclatant pressed from second and Good Cheer was content to track in relaxed fashion from fifth down the backstretch. Good Cheer made a sweeping three-wide move on the turn to draw even with Eclatant, who put away My Lil Punky after six furlongs in 1:12.55. Good Cheer kicked clear of Eclatant at the three-sixteenths pole as Quietside rallied to hopelessly chase the winner down the stretch only to be a clear second-best.

 

“She’s been so impressive in all four of her starts so far,” Saez said. “She was really tugging at me around the turn and I knew it was time to go. She finished up really well down the lane.”

 

Good Cheer paid $3.32, $2.36 and $2.10 as the odds-on 3-5 favorite. Quietside, under Tyler Gaffalione, paid $3.28 and $2.30 at odds of 7-2. Eclatant, at odds of 2-1, was another six lengths back in third and returned $2.32 to show with Florent Geroux up.

 

Sturgeon Moon finished fourth and was followed by Flash Wear, Fixin to Bee and My Lil Punky.

 

Good Cheer has beaten her competition by a combined 32 ½ lengths in four starts. Her earnings now total $457,630.

 

“Her record really speaks for itself and the style in which she’s won all of those races has been very impressive,” Cox said. “She is another testament to Godolphin’s program. She’s handled everything we’ve done with her, so far, extremely well and I think we haven’t seen her best yet.”

 

By Medaglia d’Oro, Good Cheer is out of the Street Sense mare Wedding Toast. The bay filly was bred in Kentucky by her owners.

 

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KEEP IT EASY DEFEATS TOUGH CATCH BY 5 ¼ LENGTHS IN $225,000 ED BROWN

 

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024) – Keep It Easy sat just off the pace, swung wide at the top of the lane and powered home down the stretch to win Saturday’s fourth running of the $225,000 Ed Brown for 2-year-olds at Churchill Downs by 5 ¼ lengths over 4-5 favorite Tough Catch, who had a troubled trip while breaking from the rail.

 

Trained by Dale Romans and ridden by Corey Lanerie, Keep It Easy covered the 6 ½ furlongs on a fast track in a stakes record 1:15.42 for owners St Elias Stable (Vincent Viola), West Point Thoroughbreds (Terry Finley) and CJ Thoroughbreds (Corey and C.J. Johnsen).

 

“He didn’t break all that well but being drawn outside I was able to see what everyone else did inside of me,” Lanerie said. “I let him settle and he took me into the right spot around the turn. He makes you a little nervous down the lane because he knows exactly where the wire is and does just what he needs to. Then he put his ears up as soon as we hit the wire and galloped out really well. He couldn’t blow a match out when we got back to the winners’ circle.”

 

A 2-year-old Kentucky-bred son of Hard Spun out of the English Channel mare Boxwood, Keep It Easy improved his record to 2-0-0 in four starts, added $135,245 to his bankroll and increased his earnings to $207,671.

 

Keep It Easy returned $7.38, $3.44 and $2.70 as the 5-2 second betting choice in the field of eight juvenile sprinters. Touch Catch, who was away in third and checked to fifth shortly after the start under Tyler Gaffalione, returned $2.38 and $2.10 with Glean finishing another six lengths back in third under Gerardo Corrales and paying $2.84 to show.

 

Thrilla, Vehemently, Coming In Hot, pacesetter El Dandi and Wisconsin Gal completed the order of finish.

 

After breaking his maiden by four lengths over six furlongs on closing week of the Churchill Downs Spring Meet, Keep It Easy finished last at odds of 5-2 in the $200,000 Saratoga Special (Grade II) on Aug. 10 after a stumbling badly at the start.

 

“After stumbling as bad as he did in the Saratoga Special you never know how young horses will handle that mentally,” Romans said. “We’ve got a really nice horse on our hands and it was very impressive how he rebounded out of that race. I’m very proud of him. We have a lot of great people in this partnership including (Kentucky State) Senator Damon Thayer and it’s very special to be here celebrating with everyone today. On Stars of Tomorrow, they’re all Derby horses until they’re not.”

 

The winner was bred by Mr. and Mrs. William L. Pape.

 

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IMPULSE BUY RALLIES FROM FAR BACK TO WIN $225,000 FERN CREEK

 

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024) – Impulse Buy took advantage of a quick early pace and charged home from the back of the pack to win Saturday’s fourth running of the $225,000 Fern Creek for 2-year-old fillies at Churchill Downs by 2 ½ lengths over Echo Sound.

 

Impulse Buy, trained by Rodolphe Brisset and ridden by Tyler Gaffalione, ran 6 ½ furlongs over a fast track in 1:16.17.

 

“She broke a little slow but got into a nice rhythm down the backside,” Gaffalione said. “When I asked her to go, she really took off.”

 

The victory was worth $133,075 for owner/breeder Kenny Troutt’s WinStar Farm and increased Impulse Buy’s earnings to $236,655 with a record of two wins and two seconds in four starts. She is a Kentucky-bred daughter of Speightstown out of the Pioneerof the Nile mare Jojo Warrior.

 

“She didn’t break the best today which was a little surprising, but when the opening fractions came on the board, I thought we might be OK,” Brisset said. “The horses in front of her started to come back to her at the same time she was making a move and it really worked out well. I know this family pretty well from my time working with WinStar and physically looks like she could stretch out around two turns, but the best distances would be around one. I think she’s a horse that’s more of an Eight Belles-type than two turn races. I’m glad she was able to run well today and we will have a nice 3-year-old next year.”

 

Sent off as the 2-1 third betting choice, Impulse Buy returned $6.54, $3.14 and $2.48. Echo Sound, under Luis Saez, paid $3.54 and $2.58 with Shisospicy, who led early with splits of :21.70 and :44.30, another neck back in third, who paid $2.54 to show under Paco Lopez.

 

Me Governor, Praying, Shezafunkydrummer, Atomic City, Cotillard, Viral Plane Lady and Rosato completed the order of finish. Hollygrove was scratched.

 

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KENTUCKY JOCKEY CLUB QUOTES

 

Luis Saez (jockey, First Resort, winner): “We were in a perfect spot early in the race. In his dirt races he was on the lead but he was able to track just off the leader today with the pace being pretty slow. Turning for home I could feel I had a lot of horse beneath me. He really took off down the lane and I could tell the further this horse goes it will be better.”

 

Eoin Harty (trainer, First Resort, winner): “He displayed his versatility today trying two turns for the first time. Initially I thought he’d be a little farther back but after I saw the opening quarter I realized why he was there. He’s a very talented colt and his mother wasn’t as mentally sound as he seems to be. He was bred to be a good one and he really is. It’s fun working with the generations of families with Godolphin. I’ll speak with the team over the next couple of days and come up with a plan for him going into next year. It’s very exciting to have a colt of this caliber.”

 

Phil Bauer (trainer, Jonathan’s Way, runner-up): “He ran a solid race. He was stuck between horses going into the far turn. Joel got him outside at the quarter pole and he came with a run. We just weren’t able to catch the leader late.”

 

GOLDEN ROD QUOTES

 

Luis Saez (jockey, Good Cheer, winner): “She’s been so impressive in all four of her starts so far. She was really tugging at me around the turn and I knew it was time to go. She finished up really well down the lane.”

 

Brad Cox (trainer, Good Cheer, winner): “Her record really speaks for itself and the style in which she’s won all of those races has been very impressive. She is another testament to Godolphin’s program. She’s handled everything we’ve done with her, so far, extremely well and I think we haven’t seen her best yet.”

 

Tyler Gaffalione (jockey, Quietside, runner-up): “She tried really hard the entire time. I thought she ran a great race and was just second-best today.

 

ED BROWN QUOTES

 

Corey Lanerie (jockey, Keep It Easy, winner): “He didn’t break all that well but being drawn outside I was able to see what everyone else did inside of me. I let him settle and he took me into the right spot around the turn. He makes you a little nervous down the lane because he knows exactly where the wire is and does just what he needs to. Then he put his ears up as soon as we hit the wire and galloped out really well. He couldn’t blow a match out when we got back to the winners’ circle.”

 

Dale Romans (trainer, Keep It Easy, winner): “After stumbling as bad as he did in the Saratoga Special you never know how young horses will handle that mentally. We’ve got a really nice horse on our hands and it was very impressive how he rebounded out of that race. I’m very proud of him. We have a lot of great people in this partnership including Senator Damon Thayer and it’s very special to be here celebrating with everyone today. On Stars of Tomorrow, they’re all Derby horses until they’re not.”

 

 

FERN CREEK QUOTES

 

Tyler Gaffalione (jockey, Impulse Buy, winner): “She broke a little slow, but got into a nice rhythm down the backside. When I asked her to go, she really took off.”

 

Rodolphe Brisset (trainer, Impulse Buy, winner): “She didn’t break the best today which was a little surprising, but when the opening fractions came on the board, I thought we might be OK. The horses in front of her started to come back to her at the same time she was making a move and it really worked out well. I know this family pretty well from my time working with WinStar and physically looks like she could stretch out around two turns, but the best distances would be around one. I think she’s a horse that’s more of an Eight Belles-type than two turn races. I’m glad she was able to run well today and we will have a nice 3-year-old next year.”