Goldencents’ J B Strikes Back wins Laffit Pincay S. (G2) in black type debut

With two allowance wins to his credit in the past two weeks, J B Strikes Back made his Dec. 26 stakes debut a winning one with a 1 ¼-length victory in the $200,000 Laffit Pincay S. (G2) at Santa Anita Park.

The 3-year-old son of Goldencents is one of a half-dozen stakes winners this year by his sire, topped by Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Mystik Dan. With over $13.5 million of progeny earnings in 2024, Goldencents is in the top 15 on the General Sire list.

J B Strikes Back took the fight to the field early in the 1 1/16-mile Pincay as he battled with Ascroft for the lead through the first half-mile. He took the lead for good after six furlongs, turning away Tarantino in the final furlong to edge clear and finish up in 1:43.80 on a fast track.

“My trip was great, amazing it was what we had planned,” said winning jockey Antonio Fresu. “What about this training performance by Doug? This horse he kept improving and now he is in graded stakes, that was amazing. I feel very excited to see where he goes next. Today, what I was thinking was if the track was fast, to get a nice trip out in front, or be pretty close. I thought the horse had a good chance. He proved to us his ability.”

J B Strikes Back has four wins in nine starts and has earned $191,660. He is owned by Purple Rein Racing and was bred in Kentucky by Woods Edge Farm, LLC. Out of the stakes winner Allanah, J B Strikes Back is a half-brother to Sham S. (G3) winner Reincarnate.