The Jerkens Memorial – Grade I
7 Furlongs Dirt Stake Purse $500.000 Open 3-Year-Olds.

1st Chisel Fractious Franco M

Turned the Amsterdam form around with a powerful finish which carried him a length clear at the wire. Positioned in his usual spot, he had too much in the tank down the stretch and this win is just a reward for some consistent efforts leading into this race. The stablemate that beat him in the Amsterdam after running a similar race to Chisel in that race decided to set the pace today as he did in the Stephens when he also beat Chisel. Still, he had to go pretty hard from the wide gate today which opened the door for his stable mate to get revenge.

2nd Inviting Mb Stables Lezcano J

The strong early pace opened the door for the closers but getting that timing right can be very hard on this engine and this one couldn’t get near enough to the winner who had already flown. The Amsterdam form was key as he ran a similar race there finishing strongly for fourth and whilst this one no doubt has talent his running style at this level has made it very difficult to find a win.

3rd Smack Fractious Velazquez J R

Second in the Amsterdam and third today all but the winner of that race were in the finish again today. He made the running from a wide gate in the Amsterdam but took a sit as his stable mate did the donkey work keeping on really gamely for third. The stable has a real stranglehold with the three-year-old sprinters and any one of the three they raced today could be the best of them on any given day.

4th Blue Finn Luz International Luzzi L J

Drawn ten, he was always going to go too far back as the race engine took path B and though he rattled home for a good fourth he was never looking like he would reach the leaders. I think this effort will convince the trainer to have another go at this level and with a better draw and better AI decisions I think he could well be a force in this grade.

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES