Lowering the 'boom' on the Raven Run

Juddmonte Farms' homebred JIBBOOM (Mizzen Mast) didn't draw into the grassy

Valley View S. (G3) as an also-eligible on Friday, so as an alternative, she

slammed 12 rivals in Saturday's $300,000

Raven

Run S. (G2) on the Polytrack at Keeneland. In the process, the gray became

the first North American graded stakes winner for her young sire, Mizzen Mast.

Making her stakes debut, and her first start on a surface other than turf,

the Bobby Frankel sophomore was settled into a close stalking position by Robby

Albarado. Up front, Exciting Justice (Glitterman) carved out fractions of :22

3/5 and :45 3/5, pressed all the while by Her Majesty (Giant's Causeway) and

Seaside Affair (Sea of Secrets) in a dense, compact field. At the top of the

stretch, the bulky group fanned out across the track, and many contenders

appeared to have a fighting chance. Or so it seemed.

Jibboom spurted through along the inside and rapidly turned the affair into a

rout. Opening up by 2 1/2 lengths at the eighth-pole, she extended her advantage

to 4 1/2 lengths at the wire while completing seven furlongs in a sharp 1:22.

The nearly 16-1 shot gave back $33.60, $11.80 and $6.80 and keyed healthy

exotics worth $158.40 (exacta), $998 (trifecta) and $8,688.60 (2-7-11-13

superfecta).

"She's a very nice filly," Albarado said. "I've ridden against her all winter

in New Orleans, so obviously I knew she had some quality to her. She got up for

position within herself at the three-eighths pole and instilled a lot of

confidence in me. I was just hoping to get through there at some point, and she

did. She just sprinted home. I hit her a time or two just to keep her mind on

it. She galloped out awful well, also."

"We had a very high opinion of this filly always," said Garrett O'Rourke,

Juddmonte's Kentucky farm manager. "She's a beautiful-looking filly by our own

stallion, Mizzen Mast, which makes it doubly pleasurable.

"I guess it's fate that it just worked out perfectly today," he added,

mentioning the good fortune of not drawing into the Valley View. "It's worth

more money today, which is all the sweeter, as well."

West Coast Swing (Gone West), the 2-1 favorite, rallied from near the back of

the pack to finish a clear second, returning $3.80 and $3.20. Mini Sermon

(Pulpit) checked in another 1 1/2 lengths adrift in third to pay $5 at 6-1. Look

Deep (Petionville) was fourth, followed by Over the Edge (Thunder Gulch),

Exciting Justice, Quota (Seeking the Gold), Swiss Diva (Swiss Yodeler), Her

Majesty, High Cholesterol (Until Sundown), Seaside Affair, Shesa Little Flirt

(Richter Scale) and My Fair El (Three Wonders). Super Freaky (Smart Strike) was

withdrawn after finishing 10th in the Valley View.

Jibboom's record now reads 4-2-2-0, $229,700. A debut maiden winner on the

turf at Fair Grounds in January, she finished a troubled second in an allowance

at the historic New Orleans oval the following month. She was sidelined until

September, when she reappeared in a Belmont Park allowance and turned in an

encouraging runner-up effort.

The Kentucky-bred was produced by the winning Gone West mare Palisade, and

she has a weanling full brother. Jibboom's second dam, Peplum (Nijinsky II),

captured the 1991 Cheshire Oaks and placed in the Princess Royal S. (Eng-G3).

This is the family of Irish champion Al Bahathri (Blushing Groom [Fr]), winner

of the 1985 Irish One Thousand Guineas (Ire-G1), and herself the dam of English

highweight Haafhd (Alhaarth), hero of the 2004 Two Thousand Guineas (Eng-G1) and

Champion S. (Eng-G1).