Successes Bolster F-T Horses of Racing Age

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Two horses entered in next week's Fasig-Tipton July Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale burnished their résumés with stakes success on the June 29 card at Gulfstream Park.

Laurie Plesa's Kentucky homebred Itsmyluckycharm, consigned to the July 8 auction as Hip 492 by ELiTE, agent, posted her third stakes victory of 2019 from six outings so far when she took the $75,000 Azalea Stakes.

The daughter of Itsmyluckyday  trained by the owner's husband, Eddie Plesa, Jr., got up to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:24.85 for seven furlongs on a track rated good.

With the victory, the 3-year-old filly improved her record to 7-3-0 from 13 starts and increased her bankroll to $225,781.

Considering the filly's overall breadth of work, Itsmyluckycharm's latest stakes success will reinforce in buyers' minds her overall form going into the sale ring, said ELiTE's Bradley Weisbord.

"I'm not sure it's a gigantic significance that she won a stakes as much as her recent form is good," Weisbord said. "I don't think the win alone was that important as her overall body of recency and that is tremendous. She's a winning machine. She has run eight times since November 2018 and has lost twice. It's hard to win six of eight races and she's won three different stakes, both on dirt and turf, since February."

The filly was produced from the Hard Spun mare Hard Hat, a half sister to grade 1 winner Albert the Great and stakes winners Watch the Bird and Sheer Bliss. All four foals of racing age out of Hard Hat are winners, including Honey Jade, a daughter of Harlan's Holiday who has earned the U.S. equivalent of $566,664 while racing in Japan.

In the $250,000 Smile Sprint Stakes (G3) at six furlongs, Jalen Journey—cataloged by Four Star Sales, agent, as Hip 494—set the pace with fractions of :22.74 and :45.31 before succumbing late to finish second by three-quarters of a length behind Diamond Oops in a winning time of 1:09.92.

A 4-year-old gelded son of With Distinction bred in Florida by Dennis Foster and Edward Pendray, Jalen Journey was a $14,000 purchase by Randy Bradshaw from consignor Kim Harrison at the 2016 Ocala Breeders' Sales August Yearlings Sale.

Racing for Commonwealth Stable, Jalen Journey was fourth in his career debut and only start as a 3-year-old. Switched to the barn of Kathleen O'Connell for his 4-year-old campaign, this year Jalen Journey annexed all three starts—at six furlongs, seven furlongs, and a mile—prior to his stakes debut in the Smile Sprint.

Four Star Sales' Tony Lacy said Jalen Journey represents a viable option for a stable looking for a versatile, consistent campaigner.

"When he won his first race in March he was pretty impressive, and he has done nothing but improve since," Lacy said. "What this does is he can run in whatever company you want him to run in. What we love about this horse is his toughness. He has speed and is able to carry it through his races, even when he changes from a mile back to six furlongs, where he just got beat at the wire. It shows his versatility, courage, determination, and genuine nature.

"Obviously, you're not looking at a breeding prospect with him, but a lot of people are looking to buy a racehorse they can have some fun with on a Saturday afternoon. Trainers love an uncomplicated genuine horse like this. They just bring their lunch box to work every day. He is a model of consistency and has been very straightforward."

Held a day prior to The July Sale, Fasig-Tipton's Kentucky selected yearling sale, the Horses of Racing Age Sale begins at 4 p.m. EST Monday.