Top contenders for the Nov. 1 juvenile dirt races on Breeders’ Cup Friday were out in full force Oct. 25 at Churchill Downs, with East Avenue and Jonathan’s Way recording their final works ahead of the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) and Immersive doing the same for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1).
Godolphin homebred East Avenue went to the Churchill Downs main track just before the sun came up at 7:15 a.m. ET and worked five furlongs in 1:00 1/5 in company with San Siro , a 3-year-old gelding who won a Churchill Downs allowance Sept. 26.
“I thought it was a great work,” said jockey Tyler Gaffalione. “Very smooth, very forward, doing everything the right way. He does everything so effortless.”
Gaffalione started breezing the son of Medaglia d’Oro ahead of the Oct. 5 Breeders’ Futurity (G1) at Keeneland. He never had a chance in those works to really let East Avenue loose, which made him excited to see what the colt could do at 1 1/16 miles in the Futurity.
“He never really got out of second gear,” Gaffalione said. “I asked him about the five-sixteenths pole to stretch his legs and he lengthened his stride and still had his ears straight up in the air.”
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East Avenue and Tyler Gaffalione after winning the Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland
East Avenue took the 1 1/16-mile event gate to wire, winning by 5 1/4 lengths for his second victory in as many starts. However, Gaffalione is confident the colt will handle any race scenario thrown at him.
“He definitely gives me the confidence that I can ride him wherever the race comes up,” Gaffalione said. “We’ve worked him a couple times behind horses, he’s taken dirt inside, outside. Nothing seems to phase him.”
Asked about the Juvenile competition, Gaffalione smiled and said, “I wouldn’t trade places.”
Gaffalione has ridden several top horses for trainer Brendan Walsh over the years, but says the Irishman had only ever given two horses the same high praise that East Avenue received early on. Those two were multiple grade 1 winner Maxfield and 2023 Eclipse champion 3-year-old filly Pretty Mischievous .
“(Walsh) has a good eye, he knows what he’s looking at,” Gaffalione said. “He knows his horses, and he called this one right.”
In 2019, Maxfield won the Breeders’ Futurity and was one of the likely favorites for the Breeders’ Cup. Unfortunately, he was sidelined before the race and missed his opportunity to clinch championship honors. Now, East Avenue gives Walsh a second chance.
“These horses don’t come around too often, but we’re lucky enough to get another shot at it,” Walsh said. “He seems every bit as good as Maxfield was. It is nice to get another go at it.”
Jonathan’s Way Overcomes Adversity in Workout
Equally as confident in their promising 2-year-old are the connections of Jonathan’s Way, who went to the track at 9 a.m. He completed his four-furlong breeze in :49 1/5 while in company with Our Favorite Son , a 2-year-old maiden.
The work did not go quite according to plan for the Ohio-bred son of Vekoma . Trainer Phil Bauer was aiming for a work in :48 and change, but a pair of workers ahead of the Bauer trainees forced Jonathan’s Way to run the far turn three wide instead of the intended rail position. Turning for home with his new workmates, he eased away at the eighth pole and galloped out far ahead of his stablemate.
“I think if anything, it shows what kind of a horse he is and how he handles adversity very well,” Bauer said. “It all worked out fine, we got what we wanted out of it. … I think he’s as fit as he’s going to get, I just wanted to keep the horse in good rhythm and keep him a happy horse.”
A pacesetter when winning the Sept. 14 Iroquois Stakes (G3) going a one-turn mile at Churchill Downs, Bauer believes the work showed he will be able to rate if needed.
Jonathan’s Way wins the Iroquois Stakes at Churchill Downs
“It enhances your confidence in him being able to handle two turns and the extra sixteenth of a mile,” Bauer said. “It’s that push-button ability that he can just be cruising along and you ask him to accelerate and he does. That’s what I saw in the work and we’ve seen since we had him.”
Owner Richard Rigney, who employs Bauer as a private trainer, was on-site to watch.
“We were thrilled to death with his work,” Rigney said. “I think we’re ready.”
Rigney said they typically focus on racing fillies, but Jonathan’s Way is the first colt that really excited them early on to the same level as Rigney Racing’s grade 1 winner Played Hard and multiple graded stakes winner Xigera .
“We always knew he was different than the other colts that we’ve had,” Rigney said.
A trip to California for the Breeders’ Cup will be a homecoming for Rigney as he is originally from Pasadena, Calif. He said he plans to visit his parents during the week. Along for the journey will be Jonathan, Rigney’s son for whom Jonathan’s Way is named.
Immersive Works Steady Ahead of Juvenile Fillies
Beating the boys to the track at 5:30 a.m. was another Godolphin homebred, Immersive, the likely favorite for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.
Jockey Manuel Franco celebrates aboard Immersive while winning the Spinaway Stakes at Saratoga Race Course
The daughter of Nyquist worked five furlongs in 1:01 outside of 2-year-old maiden colt Admiral Dennis .
“It was a good steady move, galloped out very well,” trainer Brad Cox said. “She seems to get stronger when she goes further.”
Already a grade 1 winner thanks to her victory in the seven-furlong Spinaway Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course Aug. 31, she proved Cox’s theory correct when successfully stretching out to 1 1/16 miles in the Alcibiades Stakes (G1) Oct. 4 at Keeneland.
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