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Juke Joint
Photo Credit: Jeffrey Snyder
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LAUREL, MD. 10-04-08---R Legacy Racing Inc. & Lonnie Stokes Juke Joint remained undefeated after trouncing fellow 2-year-olds in the $150,000 Maryland Million Nursery.
Born in Pennsylvania but the son of Maryland sire Jazz Club, Juke Joint had won his first two starts at Presque Isle Downs, including the Send More Money Stakes.
Ridden in all three of his races by Dale Beckner, Juke Joint broke a step slow in the seven furlong test, ran by the pacesetter without urging and continued on to another impressive score, this time by 4-1/4 lengths over three others who were left to battle it out for minor shares - Cool Punch (2nd), Mr. Keeper (3rd) and In The Juice (4th).
Trainer Stokes said, “We bought him at the Fasig-Tipton auction as a yearling for $3,500. I really liked the horse but he’s far exceeded my expectations. He has a lot of natural ability and his last two races he seemed to be finishing very well, so we really didn’t train him any differently to stretch to seven furlongs. My one doubt was how he would switch from synthetic to dirt, but I guess he answered that question. Dale did a fantastic job of settling him but once he made the lead he just impressed with every stride. We think he could probably go two turns, but that will be in his future.”
Beckner said, “He broke a step slow and that one horse (Crafty Lion) wanted to go. He’s been schooling to run behind horses. He’s a nice colt, honest, keeps improving, always been there for me. I was confident he would go when I called on him today.”
Beckner, who recently won the riding title at Presque Isle, will join the Maryland colony beginning next week.
Mario Pino, who rode Cool Punch, said, “We didn’t get away all that well but he ran a good race. There was a lot of speed so we wanted to make a run late. If we were a little closer turning for home we might have been closer, but we still got second.”
Juke Joint paid $4.20. He was bred in Pennsylvania by David DiPietro.
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