From a plane crash in Australia to the winner’s circle of the Iroquois Stakes (G3) with a potential Kentucky Derby (G1) contender, it’s been quite the year for Richard Rigney and Phil Bauer.
The survivors of a horrific plane crash in January, the pair had plenty to celebrate after Rigney’s Jonathan’s Way wired the field for a handy 2 3/4-length score in the $254,745 Iroquois, collecting 10 points in the first Road to the Kentucky Derby contest of the season. The final time of 1:36.08 for one mile was nearly two seconds faster than the fillies ran two races earlier in the Pocahontas Stakes (G3).
Ridden by Joel Rosario, the colt returned $4.52 for a $2 win ticket as the 6-5 race favorite in the field of 11 juveniles.
Watch: Rosario Praises Jonathan’s Way’s ‘Cruising Speed’
“From the first day we bought him as a weanling (for $290,000 at the 2022 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale) we were impressed by him,” Bauer said. “We always knew how impressive he was training into his debut, and when he ran that day at Saratoga, he did so professionally after missing the break. Now, today showing a totally different dimension being on a lead, it’s an amazing feeling moving forward. I’m still trying to put it all in perspective—we’re the favorites on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.”
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The front-running victory came less than a month after the Ohio-bred rallied to a 4 1/4-length debut win at Saratoga Race Course.
In addition to pocketing Derby points, Jonathan’s Way was awarded $30,000 toward entry fees for Breeders’ Cup World Championships. As part of the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Dozen Bonus Series, the Iroquois offers $30,000 to the winner, $15,000 to the runner-up, and $7,500 to the third-place finisher to apply toward entry fees for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) Nov. 1 at Del Mar.
Owen Almighty and Giacoso finished second and third, respectively.
Jonathan’s Way became the first graded stakes winner for his first-crop sire, Vekoma . The Spendthrift Farm stallion ranked third on the freshman sires list with 18 winners and $1,022,029 in progeny earnings through Sept 13.
Video: Iroquois S. (G3)
La Cara Rallies to Win Pocahontas, Earns KY Oaks Points
The Road to the Kentucky Oaks points series kicked off Sept. 14 with the $292,335 Pocahontas Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs, and Tracy Farmer’s progressive homebred La Cara landed the first blow.
La Cara wins the Pocahontas Stakes at Churchill Downs
Trained by Mark Casse and ridden by Ricardo Santana Jr., La Cara sat 11th early in the field of 14 and rallied late out in the middle of the track to catch Liam in the Dust at the eighth pole and win by three-quarters of a length. Icona Mama finished another head back in third, followed by Pretty Sure and Atomic City . The top five earned Oaks points, as the Pocahontas awarded them on a 10-5-3-2-1 scale.
As part of the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Dozen Bonus Series, the one-mile dirt race for 2-year-old fillies offers $30,000 to the winner, $15,000 to the runner-up, and $7,500 to the third-place finisher to apply toward entry fees for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) Nov. 1 at Del Mar.
La Cara, by Darley stallion Street Sense , was coming off a breakthrough eight-length maiden victory going seven furlongs at Saratoga Race Course in her fourth career start. Her final time in the Pocahontas was 1:37.82.
“She was so impressive winning last time at Saratoga that I had a lot of confidence in her today,” Santana said. “She’s still learning and improving. I don’t see why she can’t handle going two turns with as impressive as she’s been her last two starts.”
Bred in Kentucky, La Cara is out of the placed Bernardini mare Cara Caterina , a full sister to multiple grade 1 winner and sire To Honor and Serve and grade 1 winner Angela Renee .
Video: Pocahontas S. (G3)
