LEXINGTON, Ky. – Hat Creek Racing’s Averly Jane rocketed to the front after the gates opened and cruised to a 3-length victory in the fourth running of the $200,000 Indian Summer (L) Presented by Keeneland Select for 2-year-olds.
Ridden by Tyler Gaffalione and trained by Wesley Ward, Averly Jane covered the 5½ furlongs on a turf course labeled as good in the stakes-record time of 1:02.65. It is the second victory in the race for Ward, who saddled Kimari to win the 2019 running.
Undefeated in three starts on the dirt, Averly Jane went right to the front in her turf debut and ripped off an opening quarter-mile in :21.64 and the half-mile in :44.50 while under no pressure and giving Gaffalione his third victory on the filly.
“It doesn’t really matter (whether she runs on dirt or turf). She’s just a quality filly. She’s got a tremendous amount of speed, and she just keeps going. She’s one of the fastest (out of the gate) I’ve ever been on. She almost throws you in the back seat. She’s a lot of fun,” Gaffalione remarked.
Now a three-time stakes winner, Averly Jane is a Kentucky-bred daughter of Midshipman out of the Richter Scale mare Sh Sh Shakin’. With Sunday’s $120,000 check, Averly Jane increased her earnings to $313,140.
Averly Jane returned $3.80, $2.40 and $2.20. Stablemate Kaufymaker rallied for second and returned $3.40 and $2.80 under Irad Ortiz Jr. with Circle Back Jack finishing another neck back under Robby Albarado and returning $7 to show.
“I had a beautiful trip, I just got beat by a nice horse. She just came running and finished,” Ortiz, Jr., commented.
Robby Albarado, rider of third-place finisher and 47-1 longshot Circle Back Jack, remarked: “Nice colt – he moves well, he trains well and is an overachiever. This was a big move, a big step up for him today. I didn’t look at (my) odds, I just figured the filly (Averly Jane) would be hard to beat. She is dominant and special.”
Averly Jane and Kaufymaker were the lone fillies in the race.
It was another neck back to Detroit City with Pure Panic, Roman Poet, Big Boss Ben, Bonus Appreciation and Diamond City following in order.
Click here for a replay of the Indian Summer and the post-race interview with winning connections.
Racing resumes Wednesday with an eight-race program beginning at 1 p.m. ET that is highlighted by the JPMorgan Chase Jessamine (G2) for 2-year-old fillies. The stakes is a “Win and You’re In” race for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) to be run Nov. 5 at Del Mar.
For info on the Best Breeders’ Cup Seminar click HERE.
Keeneland Press Release
Photo: Averly Jane (Keeneland/Coady Photography)
