Delta Jackpot winner Rule headed to Florida
DiscreetCat
Moderator
Could face Winslow Homer...
from DRF:
VINTON, La. - Rule will be freshened in Florida following his gutsy win Friday night in the Grade 3, $750,000 Delta Jackpot and is expected to return to action in either February or March, said his trainer, Todd Pletcher. For the victory, Rule picked up $450,000 in graded earnings, which all but ensures him a spot in the starting gate for next year's Kentucky Derby.
"It puts him in a great position where we can manage him any way that we like," said Pletcher, who trains Rule for WinStar Farm. "Should he be good enough to be in the Derby field, we have enough graded earnings to be there. It's a great position, and we're happy for it."
Rule has now won three straight races, beginning with a one-mile maiden special weight around one turn at Belmont Park Oct. 8 in his third start. He then shipped to Delta from Kentucky and won the $175,000 Jean Lafitte on Nov. 6, setting a track record for a mile and earning a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 97.
Rule earned a Beyer Figure of 95 on Friday, edging Uh Oh Bango by a neck after the two raced as a team for much of the 1 1/16-mile stakes. The race was run over a sloppy and laboring track that had taken some snowfall earlier in the card. Pletcher said jockey John Velazquez felt Rule did not relish the track conditions Friday.
"He showed his class to overcome that and still give us a big performance," said Pletcher.
Pletcher said Rule was to be shipped to the Palm Meadows training center in south Florida. He said the next race for the horse will be determined after he talks with the team at WinStar: owners Bill Casner and Kenny Troutt and racing manager Elliott Walden.
Rule's win in the Jackpot gave WinStar its third graded 2-year-old win in three weeks following scores by Super Saver in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes and American Lion in the Grade 3 Hollywood Prevue.
The Jackpot was one of six stakes worth a cumulative $1.6 million at Delta on Friday.
from DRF:
VINTON, La. - Rule will be freshened in Florida following his gutsy win Friday night in the Grade 3, $750,000 Delta Jackpot and is expected to return to action in either February or March, said his trainer, Todd Pletcher. For the victory, Rule picked up $450,000 in graded earnings, which all but ensures him a spot in the starting gate for next year's Kentucky Derby.
"It puts him in a great position where we can manage him any way that we like," said Pletcher, who trains Rule for WinStar Farm. "Should he be good enough to be in the Derby field, we have enough graded earnings to be there. It's a great position, and we're happy for it."
Rule has now won three straight races, beginning with a one-mile maiden special weight around one turn at Belmont Park Oct. 8 in his third start. He then shipped to Delta from Kentucky and won the $175,000 Jean Lafitte on Nov. 6, setting a track record for a mile and earning a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 97.
Rule earned a Beyer Figure of 95 on Friday, edging Uh Oh Bango by a neck after the two raced as a team for much of the 1 1/16-mile stakes. The race was run over a sloppy and laboring track that had taken some snowfall earlier in the card. Pletcher said jockey John Velazquez felt Rule did not relish the track conditions Friday.
"He showed his class to overcome that and still give us a big performance," said Pletcher.
Pletcher said Rule was to be shipped to the Palm Meadows training center in south Florida. He said the next race for the horse will be determined after he talks with the team at WinStar: owners Bill Casner and Kenny Troutt and racing manager Elliott Walden.
Rule's win in the Jackpot gave WinStar its third graded 2-year-old win in three weeks following scores by Super Saver in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes and American Lion in the Grade 3 Hollywood Prevue.
The Jackpot was one of six stakes worth a cumulative $1.6 million at Delta on Friday.