John C. Oxley's La Coronel (Colonel John) remained perfect on the turf with a decisive triumph in Wednesday's GIII J.P. Morgan Chase Jessamine S., earning a “Win and You're In” berth to the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa Anita Nov. 4. The Mark Casse trainee was perfectly positioned stalking the pace under Florent Geroux and pounced in the lane, pulling clear to win with gas left in the tank.
La Coronel got going a bit too late when a closing fourth on debut behind stakes winner Make Me Shiver (Maclean's Music) sprinting 4 1/2 furlongs over the main track at Churchill Downs June 17 and followed with a fifth-place effort in a 5 1/2-panel dash at Saratoga July 22. The dark bay showed immediate improvement when switched to the turf, breaking through with a powerful four-length triumph in a productive 1 1/16-mile maiden heat at the Spa Sept. 5. La Coronel was flattered when runner-up New Money Honey (Medaglia d'Oro) returned to capture Belmont's GIII Miss Grillo S. Oct. 2, while third-place finisher Starr Bear (Broken Vow) annexed a maiden test in Elmont Sept. 25.
Away in good order as the 9-5 favorite, the $375,000 OBS April purchase skimmed the rail in fourth as longshot Divine Humor (Divine Park) doled out lively splits of :22.89 and :47.37. Guided out to the two path on the far turn, La Coronel gained momentum turning for home and moved to counter a forward move by Lull (War Front) in midstretch. She kicked clear under moderate urging, reported home much the best and continued on to gallop out with storng energy.
With a trip to the Breeders' Cup seemingly in the plans, La Coronel has the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of stablemate Catch a Glimpse (City Zip), who won last year's Juvenile Fillies Turf.
“Norman [Casse, Mark's son and assistant] has done a good job with this filly,” Mark Casse commented. “This filly is kind of excitable. He got her ready for this today, so my hat's off to him…I think we're in [for the Breeders' Cup]. When she broke her maiden at Saratoga, Florent came back and said, 'We have another Catch a Glimpse.' So we were excited.”
Geroux added, “When you ride good horses, they make it easier for you. [We had a] good trip. she put me exactly where we needed to be. When I asked her down the lane, she just exploded. Very nice turn of foot, and that was it.”
The win gave Casse his fifth graded stakes win with a juvenile since Saturday, having also won Keeneland's GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity with Classic Empire (Pioneerof the Nile) and GIII Bourbon S. with Keep Quiet (Fr) (Elusive City), as well as Woodbine's GIII Grey S. with Golden Hawk (Tapit) and GIII Mazarine S. with Gale Force (Giant's Causeway). Casse won last year's Bourbon with another Oxley colorbearer by Colonel John, Airoforce.
Pedigree Notes:
La Coronel RNA'd for $37,000 as a Keeneland November weanling and sold for that same price as a Fasig-Tipton October yearling prior to her ultimate sale at OBS April. The winner's dam Listen, a half-sister to MGSW Listen Here (Gulch) and SW Indy Bird (A. P. Indy), produced a colt by Gemologist earlier this year. La Coronel's second dam Listen Now is a half-sister to MGISW Listening (Night Shift).
Wednesday, Keeneland
JPMORGAN CHASE JESSAMINE S.-GIII, $150,000, KEE, 10-12, 2yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 1:43.37, fm.
1–#@LA CORONEL, 118, f, 2, by Colonel John
1st Dam: Listen (GSP), by Chester House
2nd Dam: Listen Now, by Storm Bird
3rd Dam: Listen Well, by Secretariat
($37,000 RNA Wlg '14 KEENOV; $37,000 Ylg '15 FTKOCT;
$375,000 2yo '16 OBSAPR). O-John C. Oxley; B-Kim & Rodney
Nardelli, Susan Bunning, & A.& B. Jaffreys (KY); T-Mark Casse;
J-Florent Geroux. $90,000. Lifetime Record: 4-2-0-0, $144,615.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick
Rating: A.[bullet ad=”winners-circle-mark-casse-congrats”][bullet ad=”kbif-g2g3″][bullet ad=”thoroustride-hip-1060″]2–Lull, 118, f, 2, War Front–Quiet Now, by Tiznow.
O/B-Claiborne Farm & Adele B. Dilschneider (KY); T-Christophe
Clement. $30,000.
3–Rum Go, 118, f, 2, Mizzen Mast–Pina Colada, by Speightstown.
O/B-Elisabeth Alexander (KY); T-Thomas F. Proctor. $15,000.
Margins: 4 1/4, 1 3/4, 1HF. Odds: 1.90, 5.90, 84.40.
Also Ran: Sweeping Paddy, Majestic Bonnie, Liberale (Fr), Tapa Tapa Tapa, Lipstick City, Majestic Gale, Wicked Lick, Zero Zee, Divine Humor. Scratched: Senora Acero, Queen Del Valle. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
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