NYRA/Adam Coglianese
By Sarah Mace
With only yards to go in Sunday’s running of the $125,000, 1 1/8-mile Ashley T. Cole for New York-bred turf runners three and up, five of six horses were stacked across the track and the three main contenders were rallying with intent.
Eight-year-old millionaire Kharafa (5-1) had good momentum at the fence, odds-on favorite Get Jets was rallying from fourth four-wide, and, on the outside, Call Provision (5-2) was surging toward the finish line in the clear.
In the end, Get Jets (Scat Daddy) had “that little extra something,” and edged Call Provision by a nose for the win. Kharafa finished 3/4 lengths back in third. Cloontia (9-2) completed the superfecta, followed across the line by longshots All Is Number, who set the pace for the first three-quarters of a mile, and Pat On the Back.
The race, which began in a leisurely way (24:19, 49.06 and 1:13.26), ended with a rush. The final furlong was clocked in 11.27, and the final time was 1:47.74. [VIDEO REPLAY]
Before launching his winning rally, Get Jets traveled in fourth place in the four path around both turns and into upper stretch.
“Perfect trip. I landed where I wanted to be,” said winning jockey John Velazquez. “I had two horses coming from behind and one [Kharafa] got to the inside and the other one [Call Provision] went to the outside. I liked the one coming on the outside, so I stayed out there.”
Velazquez also loved Get Jets’ competitive spirit in the drive: “He put in a really good fight down the lane. As soon as we got head and head, I got after him.” The pilot continued, “I like that feeling when you get after the horse and your horse is giving it to you. They give a really good fight and as soon as they put a head in front, they’re like, ‘Nah uh, you’re not passing me.’”
NYRA/Coglianese Photo
Tony Dutrow, who is the colt’s trainer as well as a partner in Get Jets’ ownership group, Team D, commented, “I thought Jets broke well. On paper, it set up the way the race went. He settled some four or five lengths behind the speed of the race. Johnny [Velazquez] was content to keep him in that position and he knew the horses behind him we’re going to be the competition, so he waited for them and when they made their move, Get Jets did as well.”
Dutrow, like Velazquez, singled out Get Jets’ final push for praise. “When Call Provision came to Get Jets there at the eighth pole, they ran to the wire together and Get Jets maybe was a little too much today. I’m very happy with his effort today. I felt really good about [the distance]. But it was a test. He was also picking up some weight. I have to feel good about the result of today.”
As the 123-pound highweight in the race, Get Jets spotted rivals 3-11 pounds. The Ashley T. Cole was also the colt’s longest distance test to date by a sixteenth of a mile. Following a brief freshening, Dutrow will target the 1 3/8 Grade 3 Red Smith on November 11.
Winner of his debut at Saratoga and the Sleepy Hollow at Belmont in 2015, both on dirt, Get Jets did not revisit the winner’s circle until he switched over to turf in his final race of 2016. In six starts on grass, he has four wins and two seconds. Get Jets was last seen on August 25 at Saratoga closing like a rocket to collect a second career stakes victory in a highly competitive edition of the West Point at Saratoga.
Bred by Pat Pavlish and foaled at Akindale Farm in Pawling, Get Jets, whose earnings are $525,850 from 11 starts, with six wins and three seconds, fetched a gaudy $300,000 purchase price at the 2015 OBS April sale of 2-year-olds in training. Consigner Cary Frommer bought the colt originally for $162,000 at the Fasig-Tipton New York-bred preferred sale in Saratoga.
The chestnut colt is one of two winners from two foals to start out of Sunny, a winning New York-bred daughter of Dixieland Band bred by John Hettinger. Sunny is a half-sister to multiple stakes winner and Grade 1 producer Wake Up Kiss and is from the family of Grade 1-winning millionaires Dare and Go and Go Deputy, and sire Quiet American.
Sunny has a 2-year-old colt by Caleb’s Posse named Ride to the Sunset who has not yet started, a yearling Broken Vow colt and foaled a Tapit colt on April 18. In the spring, Sunny was bred back to Tapit.
