Joha, sent off at nearly 9-1, went straight to the lead and never looked back in the $400,000 Dixiana Breeders' Futurity (gr. I) this afternoon at Keeneland, staying on strongly in the stretch to win by a length.
Ridden to victory by Rajiv Maragh, Joha was able to set slow fractions of :23.90 and :48.41 while receiving only mild pressure from Tizracer and Pataky Kid. Craving Carats was racing four-wide in the fourth position, followed along the inside by Are You Kidding Me. Java's War, Dynamic Sky, and He's So Fine were racing in mid-pack, while Hightail, Charming Kitten, He's Had Enough, Tree of Life, and Positively trailed the field.
Joha continued to set a slow pace through three-quarters of a mile in 1:12.86 seconds, but turning for home, everything began to happen at once. Java's War began to rally on the outside, but was bumped hard by Pataky Kid, who was shifting to the outside while looking for racing room. Java's War probably would have recovered from the incident except that Dynamic Sky had suddenly appeared from nowhere on the far outside. Thus, Java's War was squeezed hard in between horses and his momentum was checked.
In the meantime, Joha continued to roll along on the lead, passing the eighth pole in front by a length. Dynamic Sky made a determined run at him, but Joha had plenty left in the tank, closing his final sixteenth in a good :6.37 seconds to stop the clock for 1 1/16th miles in 1:44.52 seconds.
Java's War finished three-quarters of a length behind Dynamic Sky in third, while Pataky Kid won a four-horse photo for fourth over Are You Kidding Me, Hightail, and Positively. He's So Fine, Charming Kitten, Tree of Life, He's Had Enough,Tizracer, and Craving Carats completed the order of finish.
The winner is owned by Bluegrass Equine Bloodstock and trained by Mike Maker.
-Keelerman
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