KY Jockey Club (Grade 2) (KYD)- $200.000 Purse
CD- For Two Year Olds
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
November 25, 2017

Quality two year olds were on display on Saturday in the KY Jockey Club, as a chance to earn valuable KYD points presented itself. Since the BC Juvenile and the DED Jackpot hold more prestige this month, this field was not as loaded, and therefore provided a great chance for a young star to make a name for himself and to take his game to the next level. That would happen as the current pride of First Class Stable, Living Healthy showed he is a first class threat on the two year old scene. For the trainer, it is their second career graded victory, and each have come in grade 2 events. Both of those wins have come during this season (and in the last two months) for this stable that first opened their doors in 2008. Aboard the winner was J S Rocco Jr, earning his first win in the stake as well. Congratulations to them! The time of the victory was 1:41.97, making it the fourth quickest in the stake’s fifteen year history. Let’s take a look at it!

(1/4 Mile- :23.73)- Wasting no time, our eventual winner, Living Healthy jumps right to the lead after an quick break from the gate, for First Class Stable. He has some company here, in the form of fellow longshot The Drifter, from D J C Racing Stables, but as they move into the first turn, Living Healthy pulls out by two as The Drifter drops back a tad. Emerging second now would be Moneyballer, from Mb Stables. Behind that one, they were four wide in the opening turn, with Controlled Lion (Our Athletes) taking the wide lane with The Drifter beside him. Also involved where the two from the inside posts, Id Rather Go Blind (TwinTowersRacing), and Mean Err Pirate (Estero Pirate). Next was the post-time favorite Splash Mountain, as the Smokey Stover entry trailed by five, with Joffre (Mb Stables) close by on the rail. Then came our trailers that were not interested in the early pace: Geek Once Over (Nakamura Stables), Zombie City (Pan Farms), Dominant Position (Nakamura Stables), and Babalu Time (Night Rider Stables).

(½ Mile- :47.52)- A little more action during the second quarter of the race then we may normally see, but there is no change up on the front end. Living Healthy is running healthy and opening up on the field. His lead has now been extended to about three and a half lengths while keeping the fractions reasonable. Were the rest of the field making a mistake and letting him get away? There was no real challenger, and a couple may have noticed this and wanted to do something about it. The first would be Controlled Lion, who used his four-wide move on the opening turn to pull into second on the backstretch. Also advancing was Geek Once Over, and did it quite emphatically. Moving from the back, he would now be running side by side for third with Moneyballer, and nearby was The Drifter. As for Moneyballer, he never did get up there a post a challenge to Living Healthy. Zombie City, in seeing the move by Geek Once Over, wisely opted to follow it. Id Rather Go Blind was biding his time on the rail while the rest of the field were putting themselves in a hole.

(Top of Stretch- 1.7F To Go)- At this point, Living Healthy might have thought this was just a workout. Anyone want to challenge him here? Anyone? Living Healthy and J S Rocco Jr have it pretty easy as the three length lead they opened up early is still holding strong. Nobody, not even now, is stepping up to challenge him. Not even Controlled Lion, who looked like he might in the backstretch, but could not cut into the lead while rounding the turn. Geek Once Over did not make up much more ground either, and only got closer to the second position. The Drifter had no forward move, either. Zombie City was looking like he had more run, but he was still a length behind Geek Once Over, let alone getting near Living Healthy. There was someone looking full of run, at least. That would be Splash Mountain, but he really dug himself a hole. At the top of the stretch, he was ready to roll, but still had seven lengths to make up. Perhaps C Hill thought Controlled Lion was leading, and didn’t realize Living Healthy. Not much to say with the rest of the field as several here simply were never contenders.

(Finish- 1:41.97)- At the end, all that was left to do was watch Living Healthy run to the wire, as he wins this race way too easily. So easily that he should also get the KYD points that were earned by 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place finishers, too. It will be good experience for him going forward against stronger competition. As for the others, it really seemed like the closers were acting as though they thought Controlled Lion, who had been second, was actually the race leader, and couldn’t see Living Healthy. Zombie City and Splash Mountain were good in the stretch and take second and third though were never within a length of the winner. Controlled Lion nips Geek Once Over for fourth place monies. The Drifter was sixth. Everyone else was a disappointment. The running order is finished by Joffre, Mean Err Pirate, Babalu Time, Id Rather Go Blind, Dominant Position, and Moneyballer.

About The Winner: Living Healthy, trained by First Class Stable, and ridden by J S Rocco Jr, is a two year old colt by Healthy Living, and out of Miss Condo. He was bred in Kentucky as a first quarter two year old by First Class Stable, the only trainer for which he has ever known. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his second in six races, and its his first stake win of any type. His career earnings are now $216.380.

Track: Fast
Time: :23³  :47²  1:11   1:41⁴

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 8 – 6 Paid 102.20
$1 Trifecta: 8 – 6 – 4 Paid 352.70

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES