Miss Jimmy makes winning return to Finger Lakes in Monday’s $50,000 Arctic Queen Stakes. SV Photography.
By Tom Law
Miss Jimmy made her racing return to her old stomping grounds – and her stakes debut to boot – and splashed her way to victory in Monday’s $50,000 Arctic Queen Stakes at Finger Lakes.
The 5-year-old daughter of Colonel John, the winner off more than a six-month layoff last time out at Saratoga, led the 6-furlong Arctic Queen almost from the start on the way to a 3 3/4-length victory over Hannah Dances. Sent off the 2-5 favorite in the field of six New York-bred fillies and mares under Oscar Gomez, Miss Jimmy won for the eighth time in 13 starts at Finger Lakes to go with four seconds.
Trained by Bruce Anderson, Miss Jimmy hadn’t run at Finger Lakes since winning an open-company allowance there Sept. 15, 2020. She made 12 of her first 13 starts in Farmington, winning five times as a 3-year-old and twice last season.
Miss Jimmy spent last winter at Belmont Park with trainer John Toscano Jr. and raced five times at Aqueduct. She finished second four times and third once in those five races, all in state-bred optional sprints, before heading back to Anderson this spring to prep for a late-summer and fall campaign.
Miss Jimmy turned in four bullet works at Finger Lakes before her Saratoga return on Closing Day of the 2021 meeting, including back-to-back 5-furlong moves in 1:00.20 Aug. 20 and 1:00.30 Aug. 28 to set up the victory. She breezed another 5-furlong bullet in :59.20 Sept. 25 and her readiness for her stakes debut showed from the start.
Hannah Dances, coming off a third in the Union Avenue Handicap Aug. 19 at Saratoga for M. Anthony Ferraro, broke well to Miss Jimmy’s outside to take an early lead in the first few strides. Miss Jimmy and Gomez slid up the inside and were a length in front through the opening quarter-mile in :23.31. Hannah Dances and the comebacking Letmetakethiscall, winner of the Xtra Heat Stakes in late March at Aqueduct, chased from there and around the turn.
Miss Jimmy opened up and led by 4 lengths after the half in :46.49 and widened her advantage over the sloppy and sealed surface in the stretch. She and Gomez led by nearly 6 lengths at the eighth pole before cruising to finish well in front to win in 1:11.64. Hannah Dancers held second at 9-1 and finished 12 1/2 lengths ahead of Letmetakethiscall. Willow Grove, She’s Not Bluffing and Treatherlikestar completed the order of finish.
Bred by Laurel Least and Gabriel McDonough, foaled at Foggy Bottom Farm in Geneseo and raced by Least and Ann McDonough, Miss Jimmy is the second foal out of Smart Eyes. A three-time winner by Midas Eyes, Smart Eyes is out of 2004 Arctic Queen runner-up and $91,225-earner A Smart Punch.
Offered as Hip 120 through the Foggy Bottom Farm consignment at the 2017 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Eastern fall yearling sale and not sold on a bid of $6,000, Miss Jimmy is a half-sister to the winning 4-year-old Alpha filly Fast Fran and the unraced 3-year-old Encaustic filly Witt Lasting Speed currently in training at Finger Lakes. Smart Eyes did not produce a foal in 2019 or 2020 and was bred last year to Snow Trouble, who previously stood at Foggy Bottom Farm in Geneseo.
Miss Jimmy improved to 10-9-1 from her 22 starts and boosted her bankroll to $312,855 in the Arctic Beauty.
