First Resort surges to Kentucky Jockey Club triumph

Nov 30, 2024 Darren Rogers/Churchill Downs Racetrack

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024) – First Resort sat just off a soft early pace and surged to the lead at the top of the stretch to comfortably win Saturday’s 98th running of the $400,000 Kentucky Jockey Club (Grade II) at Churchill Downs by 2 1/4 lengths over odds-on 4-5 favorite Jonathan’s Way on the “Stars of Tomorrow II” program for 2-year-olds.

First Resort, owned and bred by Godolphin LLC and trained by Eoin Harty, clocked 1 1/16 miles over a fast track under jockey Luis Saez in 1:43.01 amid early evening temperatures in the mid-30s and light snow flurries.

He earned $238,440 and collected 10 points as part of the “Road to the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve” series, which offered points on a scale of 10-5-3-2-1 to the top five finishers as a “Prep Season” race.

Breaking from post No. 7, First Resort, who previously rallied to finish fourth in the $500,000 Summer (GI) at one mile on turf at Woodbine on Sept. 14, raced in the clear just off the right hip of Dapper Moon, who went to the front and led the field of nine 2-year-olds through modest early fractions of :24.56, :49.30 and 1:13.63.

Leaving the final turn, First Resort poked his head in front of Dapper Moon at the quarter pole and quickly surged to a clear lead in upper stretch. Jonathan’s Way, the $300,000 Iroquois (GIII) winner who raced between horses in fifth down the backstretch, tipped out five-wide on the turn for home. He chased to grab second inside the final eighth of a mile, but First Resort had first run on the field and was well clear nearing the wire.

“We were in a perfect spot early in the race,” Saez said. “In his dirt races, he was on the lead but he was able to track just off the leader today with the pace being pretty slow. Turning for home, I could feel I had a lot of horse beneath me. He really took off down the lane, and I could tell the further this horse goes it will be better.”

First Resort is on the #KentuckyDerby trail now! 🌹

He wins the G2 Kentucky Jockey Club at 6/1 for trainer Eoin Harty with @luissaezpty aboard! Another impressive win for @godolphin.

🎥 #TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/3yznMMYq54

— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) November 30, 2024

First Resort paid $14.66, $5.50 and $4.32 as the 6-1 second betting choice. Jonathan’s Way, under Joel Rosario, paid $2.56 and $2.38. Tiztastic was another 1 3/4 lengths back in third at 11-1 and returned $5.20 to show with Cristian Torres aboard.

It was another four lengths back to Dapper Moon in fourth, who was followed by Render Judgement, Filoso, Redacted, He’s Not Joking, and Sonic Skidaddle. Clock Tower was scratched.

Overall, First Resort has won two of his four starts with one second and earnings of $338,671. Prior to his turf run at Woodbine, First Resort broke his maiden over 5 1/2 furlongs in the mud at Ellis Park on July 5 by 3 1/2 lengths and finished second to Showcase in the $200,000 Saratoga Special (GII) over 6 1/2 furlongs on Aug. 10.

First Resort, a bay son of Uncle Mo out of the Street Boss mare Fair Maiden, was bred in Kentucky.

“He displayed his versatility today trying two turns for the first time,” Harty said. “Initially I thought he’d be a little farther back, but after I saw the opening quarter, I realized why he was there. He’s a very talented colt, and his mother wasn’t as mentally sound as he seems to be. He was bred to be a good one and he really is. It’s fun working with the generations of families with Godolphin. I’ll speak with the team over the next couple of days and come up with a plan for him going into next year. It’s very exciting to have a colt of this caliber.”

The Kentucky Jockey Club is named in honor of the holding company that operated Churchill Downs at the time of the race’s inaugural running in 1920. In recent years, the Kentucky Jockey Club produced Kentucky Derby winners in WinStar Farm’s Super Saver, who won both races for trainer Todd Pletcher in 2009 and ’10, and Mike Pegram’s Real Quiet, the runner-up in the 1997 Kentucky Jockey Club who returned to win the Derby the following spring.