Jefferson Cup

Mill House's homebred BRILLIANT (War Chant) made his stakes debut a winning

one in Saturday's $219,200

Jefferson Cup S. (G2) at Churchill Downs, getting up beneath Robby Albarado

inside the final sixteenth to snare victory by a half-length in the grassy

nine-furlong affair for sophomores. The 4-5 favorite tracked in third as Tahoe

Warrior (Carson City) dictated the pace through soft fractions of :24 2/5, :49,

1:13 and 1:36 3/5. When asked for maximum effort in the stretch, Brilliant

answered the call to overhaul a stubborn pacesetter, completing the contest in

1:48 2/5 on firm turf. Conditioned by Neil Howard, the winner returned $3.80,

$2.40 and $2.10.

Tahoe Warrior held on valiantly for runner-up honors as the nearly 7-2 second

choice, paying $3.60 and $2.60. Storm Treasure (Storm Boot) finished with a

flourish in his turf debut to grab the show spot, just a half-length behind

Tahoe Warrior, and gave back $2.40 as the third choice in the wagering at 5-1.

The exacta was worth $12.60, the trifecta totaled $37.80, and with the 8-1 Obi

Wan Kenobi (Skywalker) another head back in fourth, the 1-2-3-7 superfecta paid

$94.40.

Act of God (Black Minnaloushe) crossed the wire in fifth, trailed by

Mercurius (Lemon Drop Kid). Yate's Black Cat (Black Minnaloushe), the morning

line favorite, was scratched.

Brilliant was scoring his third win in a row, having captured a pair of

allowances at Churchill Downs against older horses in his last two. The dark

bay's record now reads 8-4-3-1, and his bankroll has more than doubled to

$252,677.

The winner is the second foal from the unraced Known Fact mare Fairest, who

is herself a half-sister to 1992 Jerome H. (G1) hero Furiously (Danzig). This is

the family of Grade 2 winner Prussian Blue (Polish Navy) and multiple Grade 3

victor Tights (Nijinsky II). Brilliant has an unraced juvenile full brother

named Equal and a new half-brother by Seeking the Gold.