Grade III Kentucky Juvenile Attracts Precocious Field of Nine

Apr 26, 2009 by Gary Yunt

Six debut winners at Keeneland, a record-setting filly from Maryland and a West Coast invader highlight a field of nine 2-year-olds entered Sunday for Thursday’s 21st running of the $100,000-added Kentucky Juvenile (Grade III) at Churchill Downs.

    The five-furlong event, which has been won seven times by fillies, serves as the first graded stakes of 2009 for 2-year-olds. Five fillies have been entered for Thursday’s race, including Jealous Again and Gator Prowl.

    Jealous Again, owned by Robert Abrams, Mitch Dutko and Wesley Ward and trained by Ward, won the first 2-year-old race of the recently concluded Keeneland meet by 11 ¼ lengths on April 3. Rene Douglas will be aboard Thursday and break from post position two.

    Gator Prowl, owned by Danny Divver and John Salzman Jr. and trained by Salzman, won her debut at Laurel Park on April 9 by 11 ½ lengths and broke a 45-year-old track record in the process for the 4 ½-furlong distance with a clocking of :52.11. Jonathan Joyce, who was aboard for that win, has the riding assignment on Thursday.

    Other debut Keeneland winners in the field are Steven Bell’s Aegean, Heiligbrodt Racing Stable’s Heavenville and Kinsolving, Twin Creek Racing Stable’s Mission Impazible and J. Kirk Robison’s Western Smoke. Aegean and Kinsolving are fillies.

    Coming in from Southern California is Elizabeth and Patrick Everard’s Kitty in the Bag, a 3 ¼-length winner at Santa Anita over two furlongs on April. The filly is trained by veteran Mel Stute and will be ridden by Joe Talamo from post position three.

    Trainer Steve Asmussen, who has saddled the Kentucky Juvenile winner five times, will be represented by Heavenville, Kinsolving and Western Smoke. Two-time race winners Robby Albarado and Shaun Bridgmohan will be aboard Heavenville and Kinsolving, respectively.

    The field for the Kentucky Juvenile, from the rail out, is as follows: Aegean (Elvis Trujillo, 117 pounds), Jealous Again (Rene Douglas, 117), Kitty in the Bag (Joe Talamo, 117), Western Smoke (Brian Hernandez, 120), Kinsolving (Shaun Bridgmohan, 117), Heavenville (Robby Albarado, 120), Mission Impazible (John Velazquez, 120), Seattle Court (Calvin Borel, 118) and Gator Prowl (Jonathan Joyce, 117).