Cooke Creek Begins 2022 Campaign in Jerome

The January 1st Jerome Stakes not only marks the start of a new racing year but also the beginning of a 3-year-old on the icy New York road to the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) .

For coach Jeremiah O’Dwyer, it’s familiar background.

Back in 2019, O’Dwyer coached winner Remsen Stakes (G2) Shotski and was chosen to start the son of Blame 3 year old campaign in Withers Stakes (G3), Aqueduct race trackEarly February stop on the Triple Crown trail.

Shotski finished second in Withers and was sidelined for almost 11 months after finishing fourth then at the Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) in Gulfstream Park.

O’Dwyer’s latest Triple Crown hope is also hitting the New York Racing Association’s minors circuit, albeit not on the same scale as Shotski, and is also starting the season. his 3-year-old prize in cold New York.

In Cheyenne Stable’s Cooke Creek , O’Dwyer has a Uncle Mo colt who is second in Belmont ParkNashua Stakes (G3) is a mile long on November 7 and returns after a nearly two-month refresh to face seven opponents on Saturday in a $150,000 Jerome car for 3-year-olds to stay with a one-way, eight-way trip Saturday at Big A.

“We don’t get a lot of good guys like him, so we’re not in a hurry. If we miss a race, there’s always another one. We gave him a 30-day break after the Nashua and this seems like a good point to start again,” said O’Dwyer, who will race the son of the Bernardini Mares for the third time in a row at the one-mile distance. “We’re hoping to get him back to the two-turn gap, possibly in the Withers.”

Jerome is one of three New Year’s Day stakes around the country in the Road to Kentucky Derby scoring streak and will award qualifying points 10-4-2-1 to the top four finishers. With 11 17-point races remaining on the schedule before the 85-point races begin on February 19, Jerome will not guarantee any of the eight starting a spot at the starting gate on Wednesday. The first seven of May. It does, however, provide a pleasant wallet for an unspent bet and will illuminate some of the 3-year-old’s future opportunities in longer and more important bets.

“If we need to go to Florida with him we can. But New York is a good option now. He’s going to run on a huge amount of ground and it’s definitely a good asset at this point. of the year,” O’Dwyer said of a foal that won two of three starts and two-round wins at the October 16 Rocky Run Stakes at Delaware Park. “He’s not one-sided but he needs a little more racing experience. The more he races, the stronger and better he will be.”

O’Dwyer said Cooke Creek is somewhat more aggressive in training than Shotski but said there are similarities in the two’s movements.

“They’re similar in some ways,” he said, “and we hope Cooke Creek can put us on the same path as Shotski and maybe climb the ladder a little bit higher.”

Cooke Creek was bred in Kentucky by owner Cheyenne Everett Dobson’s Candy Meadows breeding operation and was the second of four ponies from Genre. He is the first bet winner for his 1st grade, 3rd grader, who also has Violence child colt longing and a War front weaning foals.

Speaking of Remsen, the Jerome school also includes R. Larry Johnson’s crossbreed Mr. Jefferson , who was fourth in bets on December 4, 10 lengths short of the winner Mo Donegal . Raised in Maryland, son of Organization won two of the previous four races, winning both Laurel Park and Colony Downs for coach Michael Trombetta.

“Slow speed hurt his chances a bit (in Remsen) and it made him go wide. They were calloused, but I think the top two are very good horses,” said Trombetta, who won at Jerome 2020, said Independence Hall .

In this case, James Politano’s Ohtwoohthreefive will race on dirt for the first time after recording a 1-2-2 in coach George Weaver’s six starts. The son of Union Rags about to lose his nose in Central Park November 27 Stakes on the pitch in Aqueduct.

Among the four new entrants competing for shares are Hill ‘n’ Dale Equine Holdings and James Spry’s Courvoisier , One Tapit colt out of Take Charge Brandi, 1-year-old multi-year champion, 2014 champion. A first-time winner of the fourth attempt for coach Kelly Breen, he was picked up by Hill ‘n’ Dale in Xalapa. bought for $600,000 at 2019 Keeneland Livestock stock sale in November.

Bred by Elevage II and Hill ‘n’ Dale Equine Holdings, he is the third of five ponies and the first winner for his dam, whose offspring also include Medium , a longing Evenly dirty, and weaned Quality Sugar dirty.