Rushing Fall swept past the field with an ultra-impressive turn of foot to win the $150,000 JPMorgan Chase Jessamine S. (G3) for 2-year-old fillies by 3 1/4 lengths on Wednesday afternoon at Keeneland.
The More Than Ready filly, who was named a TDN Rising Star in her Sept. 16 debut win at Belmont Park, is now two for two and has earned $135,000 for e Five Racing Thoroughbreds.
Javier Castellano and Rushing Fall were relaxed out of the gate and settled near the back of the 14-horse field through the first half-mile, which went in :48.79. Rushing Fall began to pick up horses going around the final turn, then really kicked into gear in upper stretch, flying by the field with ease to win going away.
The winner covered the 1 1/16 miles on a turf course labeled as “soft” in 1:46.20.
“The way she did it today, very amazing. Big field, very competitive horses,” said Castellano. “The way she did it with the soft ground, come from way back, had to go around a couple of horses – I went a little wide – all those situations. She really came through.”
Rushing Fall earned a berth in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) to be run Nov. 3 at Del Mar.
Rushing Fall was bred in Kentucky by Fred Hertrich III and John Fielding. She is More Than Ready’s eighth North American graded stakes winner this year and sold for $320,000 at the Fasig-Tipton New York 2016 Select Yearling Sale.
