Jody’s Pride changes course, now going in Ashland Stakes

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The connections of Jody’s Pride have altered course and will now run their 3-year-old filly in the Grade 1, $600,000 Ashland Stakes on April 5 at Keeneland rather than the Grade 3, $200,000 Gazelle at Aqueduct the following day.

Jody’s Pride is coming off a 2 1/4-length victory in the Busher Stakes on March 2 at Aqueduct, her third victory in four career starts. The allure of a Grade 1 opportunity and a larger purse were the primary reasons for the change of plans.

Trainer Jorge Abreu said Jody’s Pride left New York by van for Kentucky on Sunday, giving her the opportunity to work once at Keeneland before the race.

By running in the Ashland, it allows jockey Flavien Prat to get back on Jody’s Pride. Prat rode Jody’s Pride in her two victories at 2 as well as her second-place finish behind Just F Y I in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita. Jose Lezcano rode Jody’s Pride in the Busher.

By choosing the Ashland, it likely makes for a BC Juvenile Fillies rematch with Just F Y I, who, after scratching out of the Davona Dale on March 2 at Gulfstream Park, is now targeting the Ashland.

“We got a race under our belt. She’s going to have to face [Just F Y I] at some point again, so this might be the time to face her,” Abreu said.

With the defection of Jody’s Pride, the Gazelle looks like it’s coming up light numberswise. Gazelle probables include Barbratina, Carmelina, Ghalia Princess, Gin Gin, and Life Talk.

The Gazelle offers 200 qualifying points to the Oaks, including 100 to the winner.

Repo Rocks in Dutrow’s barn

Repo Rocks, a four-time stakes winner in 2023 who has been away from the races since a seventh-place finish in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap last June, is now with trainer Rick Dutrow and could be about six weeks from a return to the races.

Repo Rocks, previously trained by Jamie Ness, was recently sent to Dutrow from Willowbrook Stables, a rehab, training, and breeding facility in upstate New York. He had his first published workout last Friday, a three-furlong move in 38.20 seconds over the Belmont Park training track.

“He looked good. He’s getting himself back in the swing of things,” Dutrow said.

Dutrow said he hadn’t picked out a specific race for Repo Rocks, but believes if all goes well the horse could be ready to run in six weeks. The Grade 3, $175,000 Westchester is run May 3 at Aqueduct and it’s a race Repo Rocks won by 5 1/4 lengths when it was held at Belmont Park last year. In 2023, Repo Rocks won the Blitzen at Parx Racing, the Grade 3 Toboggan and Stymie, both at Aqueduct, and he also finished second in the Carter, then a Grade 1 stakes.

“If things go every day his way, six weeks I’d be guessing,” Dutrow said when asked a reasonable time frame for Repo Rocks’s return. “He should be ready to run a big race then if every day is as it’s been since he’s gotten back.”

Repo Rocks, a 6-year-old gelding by Tapiture owned by the Double B Racing Stables of Steve Fox, has a record of 9-7-6 from 36 starts and has earned $803,371.

Meanwhile, Dutrow said Kinetic Sky and Petulante, who finished a half-length apart when first and third in the Stymie on March 3, are both under consideration for the Grade 2, $300,000 Carter on April 6.

In the Stymie, Petulante was making his first start for Dutrow and first in nine months. Dutrow was pleased with how well the 5-year-old son of Arrogate ran, especially given the layoff and the sloppy track on which the race was run.

“He ran huge off the bench. He ran over a track he’s never run on before, [with] a jockey that’s never ridden him before, a trainer that’s never had him before,” Dutrow said. “He showed up.”

Kinetic Sky, Dutrow said, will be considered for the Carter or possibly a race at Keeneland such as the Grade 3, $300,000 Commonwealth Stakes, also April 6. Kinetic Sky has finished second in two starts at Keeneland.

“It’s all about whom he matches up against,” Dutrow said. “We’re going to try and get him in the lightest field with the most money.”

CHELSEA DURAND/NYRA Repo Rocks, a four-time stakes winner last year, has been away from the races since his seventh-place finish last June in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap.