Printer Friendly Page 

Evening Jewel the highweight in Madison

Shown winning one of her other Grade 1s, the Del Mar Oaks, Evening Jewel will seek a third top-level score in the Madison (Benoit Photos) EVENING JEWEL (Northern Afleet) and DR. ZIC (Milwaukee Brew) will each attempt to earn their second top-level score over the Keeneland Polytrack when squaring off in Thursday's $300,000 Madison S. (G1) over seven furlongs. Evening Jewel, who took the Ashland S. (G1) last season, will carry 119 pounds, two more than everyone else in the field including Dr. Zic, who registered a 15-1 upset of the 2010 Madison. Widely known for her prowess on a variety of surfaces, Evening Jewel will bring an 8-3-4-0 synthetic mark into the Madison. When last encountering this particular surface, Evening Jewel carried her speed the entire 1 1/16 miles of the Ashland, holding on to win by a neck. She went on to finish second by a nose in the Kentucky Oaks (G1), then spent time on the turf winning the Honeymoon H. (G2), San Clemente H. (G2) and Del Mar Oaks (G1). She concluded last season with thirds in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (G1) on Keeneland's turf and the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1).

The Jim Cassidy-trainee has had mixed success in three early 2011 starts. After a dull fifth in the Monrovia S. (G3), she was a game half-length winner on dirt in the Sunshine Millions Distaff. However, she could only finish 1 1/4 lengths second last time in the Valentine Dancer H., an off-the-turf event versus fellow California-breds.

The wheels came off Dr. Zic after she posted a 2 1/2-length win in last year's Madison over eventual divisional champion Dubai Majesty. After finishing second in the Hendrie S. (Can-G3), she finished up the track in her final three starts of the season in the Princess Rooney H. (G1), Presque Isle Downs Masters S. (G3) and Thoroughbred Club of America S. (G2), the latter over the Keeneland strip. She's been working consistently all winter at Tampa Bay Downs, gearing up for this with a five-furlong bullet work last week.

Grade 2 winner AMEN HALLELUJAH (Montbrook), second this season in the Inside Information S. (G2) and Sabin S. (G3), won twice over Polytrack at Arlington Park early in her career and was third in the 2009 Alcibiades S. (G1) in her only other appearance at Keeneland. The Rick Dutrow trainee is winless since taking back-to-back victories in the Davona Dale S. (G2) and Santa Ynez S. (G2) in early 2010.

MY JEN (Fusaichi Pegasus) has been soundly trounced in two starts since upsetting the Gallant Bloom H. (G2) at Belmont last September, but might fight the return to Polytrack uplifting. She captured her first two career starts over the surface in the fall of 2009, including one at Keeneland. Grade 3 veteran DECELERATOR (Dehere), a close second over this track in the Raven Run S. (G2) in October, enters off a 7 3/4-length Oaklawn allowance score for D. Wayne Lukas, while the Grade 3-placed KITTY IN A TIZZY (Tiznow) will make her first start since running fourth in the Raven Run.

The field is completed by FASCINATIN ' RHYTHM (More Than Ready), SHOTGUN GULCH (Thunder Gulch) and TREMENDAMENTE LOCA (Offlee Wild).

More Racing Headlines:

Miss Temple City earns hard-fought victory in Matriarch

Annals of Time captures first stakes win in Hollywood Derby

Penn Derby upgraded to Grade 1 for 2017

Miss Temple City headlines Del Mar's closing-day Matriarch

Trio of graded stakes on tap Saturday

Send this article to a friend