Jedi Code entered the victory circle on Oct. 31st, 2007. Churchill
Downs felt good under his hoofs that day and race 7 was as sweet as can
be. He stalked the pack and won with a 3 1/2 widening lengths. Now the
Churchill result does mention that he Stumbled at the start, but he is
always slow at the start. I didn't bet this race though, which may be
the superstitious part of racing I have picked up on.
Juddmonte
was proud of Jedi Code's efforts, they posted the event on their site
the next day. I have a printout of it. It exclaimed "Another
Impressive First Crop Winner for Empire Maker."
Breaking his
maiden was such a lift. Not that morale was down, but lifted further
up so to say. When entered in the right race, Jedi Code can perform
and close a race. I say that, because he needs some speed in the front
and a distance to close with. As he is on the road to the Kentucky
Derby, it is nice to see he won at Churchill Downs, because that means
he can be competitive on their track.
This win also led to Jedi
Code being mentioned in his first auction listing in the Keeneland
January Winter Mixed Sale. Hip 483 Bay Filly (Empire Maker-Versailles
Treaty) has him listed as a money earner for Empire Maker.
Jedi Code's third race on November 24, 2007 held a 5th place finish for Jedi Code.
A
fourth start awaited Jedi Code on a bleak day in Gulfstream. I had
been anticipating this race, while following his workouts for some
time. He did receive a bulleted workout previous to this race. The
hype had grown around the company also, there was a large plan to
gather and watch this wonderful horse. Even Seth Merrow, from
Equidaily on the Capital OTB Network, mentioned he liked Jedi Code "as
recommended by staff at the Blood-Horse." So I have grown a lot of
respect for Mr. Merrow through this public advertisement of Jedi Code.
Anyway, the hype was growing.
Side note:
Can you
name the most famous hype man of all time, arguably? Hint, he has been
on his own tv show for a while now. Give Up? Flava Flav, from Public
Enemy was the correct answer for the hype man.
Hype is so
exciting, I could not believe Jedi Code was being supported so well.
This is the first race where I was really taught how to read the PP's
aka Past Performances and really see who had speed up front, if there
was enough speed to set up Jedi Code, being a Stalker, or if the speed
up front was too much for him to catch up to. None the less, with Ling
Ling Qi and a few other good horses, including Jerkins "the giant
killer"'s entry, I felt comfortable Jedi Code had a chance. So I
placed a bet. I couldn't help but think the last time I bet, he had
lost, but that was his first start and I could not let that rattle me.
I believe in my boy!
Alas, it was time for the race and what
happens? There is a delay. Why? We did not know, for a full half
hour there was a delay and his race was pushed back minute by minute.
The cameras were not working and mass panic was amuck in the office and
Mr. Merrow was exclaiming, "We have to see Jedi Code race." Okay,
maybe not mass panic. Finally a video feed came through the web...as
the TV had to move on. Yet the horses were still marching around in
the paddock, what a bummer. The time continued to be pushed back with
the horses and jockeys not anywhere near a post parade. Next the
cameras revealed Jockeys and trainers hopping off and unstrapping
horses. The news came, power outages hit Gulfstream. The last two
races are cancelled for the day. My heart sank, but Jedi's name is out
there now, so not all is lost. Alas, my betting must be cursed.
The
following week Jedi Code and most of the original field raced. I
definitely did not want to bet this race though. I completely shut
down Gulfstream with my last bet and two bets in a row on Jedi proved
him to fail and then not permit him to even race. So for a change in
luck, I let other handicappers bet this race. Maybe he would hit the
board this time. He failed to hit the board finishing fifth again, but
at least I am not afraid of my betting curse now. This fifth place
finish was close though, a neck off from nabbing fourth. I struggle
though, because Jedi's typical jockey, Calvin Borel, has switched
tracks and a different jockey, who handled Jedi a little different,
rode him.
MOST IMPORTANTLY:
Jedi Code was nominated for the Derby (Feb 4, 2008).
