Jackie’s Warrior at his best in $750,000 Churchill Downs S. (G1)
May 7, 2022
Jackie’s Warrior rolls to victory in the 2022 Churchill Downs S. (G1) – Coady photography
Future Spendthrift stallion Jackie’s Warrior went gate-to-wire to win Saturday’s $750,000 Churchill Downs S. (G1) by four lengths in arguably the best performance of his stellar career.
Facing last year’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) winner Aloha West among the field of seven, Jackie’s Warrior took the fight to his foes right away, sprinting to a one-length lead after a quarter-mile in :22.76. He held that margin around the turn, then rocketed away from the field at the top of the stretch. With an insurmountable lead, jockey Joel Rosario eased up in the final sixteenth, finishing the seven furlongs in 1:21.95 on a fast track.
“First I can’t say enough about the (owners J. Kirk and Judy) Robisons putting a champion stallion back in training and letting us enjoy him another year,” said an ecstatic trainer Steve Asmussen. “He’s now a Grade One winner at 2, 3 and 4. And, the style in which he won today was just beautiful. I thought Joel said it best when we were in paddock just watching him standing there. He said ‘they don’t come along like this all the time, do they’ and they don’t. When you’re the speed of the race, you just stay on the path you want. He’s older, more confident and stronger.”
After the big payday, Jackie’s Warrior has now earned $2,309,664 and has Grade 1 wins in the Champagne S., Hopeful S. and Allen Jerkens Memorial S. among his nine graded stakes winners.