Cruising along on the front end early in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Churchill Downs, Jaywalk showed all the signs of a gate-to-wire winner.
With polish well beyond her years, the 2-year-old daughter of Cross Traffic shot to the lead out of the gate, then relaxed on the front end under jockey Joel Rosario through fractions of :23.26 and :46.76 with Serengeti Empress and 9-5 favorite Bellafina in closest pursuit.
“Her cruising speed is wicked, and she just runs them off their feet,” said winning trainer John Servis, who collected his first Breeders’ Cup victory. “When she got to the lead going into the first turn, I saw her ears go up and saw she was relaxed. I thought we’d be pretty tough.”
Although the 1 1/16-mile test was her first try around two turns, when she hit the top of the lane, Jaywalk found another gear and easily put away her followers en route to a 5 1/2-length victory in a final time of 1:43.62 on a fast track.
“She got out of there and she just wanted to go,” Rosario said. “She just broke out of the gate and she didn’t wait for anybody. I was just sitting very easy with her and let her do her job.She did it so easy. I just let her be there and she feels like she could go for another run again.”
Restless Rider, who made a powerful closing move, finished second, while Vibrance was a half-length back in third. Bellafina wound up 3 1/4 lengths back in fourth.
Jaywalk has won her past four starts for Cash is King and D J Stable, with a victory in the Oct. 7 Frizette Stakes (G1) at Belmont Park preceding Friday’s triumph. But Saturday’s effort was her best yet, and a high for D J Stable, which is made up of Leonard and Lois Green and their son, Jonathan Green.
“Even though we’re from New Jersey, we’ve had two of our biggest wins here in Kentucky,” Jonathan Green remarked. “We won the Ashland back in ’91 with a great filly named Do It With Style, and now we’re back here with another great filly. We just feel very fortunate to have won the biggest races of our career here in Kentucky.”
Of Servis, Leonard Green added: “It’s a lot of trainers who can train, but John’s that special where he can see a good horse. He gets some very good help in doing it with (bloodstock agent) Jim McGreevy. But you can get lucky sometimes. We go down to Keeneland, and there’s 3,000 or 4,000 horses, and they look at 3,000 or 4,000 horses themselves. So, yeah, you get lucky sometimes, but I think if you work real hard, you get luckier.”
After the Keeneland purchase the Greens and their Cash is King partners elected to send Jaywalk to Hidden Brook Florida Breaking Training, where she learned her early lessons under the tutelage of Mark Roberts.
Jaywalk defeated a grade 1 winner in Restless Rider, who punched her ticket to the Breeders’ Cup with a win in the Oct. 5 Darley Alcibiades Stakes (G1) at Keeneland for Fern Circle Stables, Three Chimneys Farm, and trainer Ken McPeek.
Jaywalk is one of five Hidden Brook-associated Breeders’ Cup contenders in 2018 and the Breeders’ Cup Friday card was capped off by Hidden Brook yearling grad Rocketry’s victory in the $200,000 Marathon S. (G2).
