There are only a handful of graded stakes for 2-year-olds remaining on the calendar - and this year’s class is sending its juvenile season out with a bang, not a whimper. Four Grade 2 events for the younger set will be contested on Saturday, and each race features some intriguing prospects.
Churchill Downs hosts the second of two "Stars of Tomorrow" cards, highly popular programs focused on 2-year-old racing. The program has proved wildly successful, as several of racing’s future stars have indeed captured these featured stakes races.
Last year, Super Saver set a stakes record in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes, showing an affinity for the track that would come in handy just over five months later, as he returned to win the Kentucky Derby. Including Super Saver, nine of the last 14 Kentucky Jockey Club winners have made it to the Derby starting gate the following spring - among them Captain Steve (1999), who eventually claimed the Dubai World Cup.
This year’s Kentucky Jock¬ey Club, a 1 /1-16 mile test, features an aptly-named star on the rise. Astrology is looking to score his second straight win on the Stars of Tomorrow program after winning the Iroquois on Oct. 31.
The son of AP Indy, out of the stakes-producing Quiet American mare Quiet Eclipse, was third in his career debut at Saratoga, then broke his maiden at second asking on closing weekend. He followed that up with a third-place effort in the Garden City Stakes at Monmouth before winning the Iroquois.
Not only is Astrology a formidable favorite in the Kentucky Jockey Club, he’s one to keep a very close eye on next spring.
The colt has improved with each race, turning in his best effort yet in the Iroquois, drawing away late despite coming wide into the stretch and behaving greenly.
"He does childish things," trainer Steve Asmussen said after the Iroquois win. "It’s his first day here with a new paddock and he was a wound up, a lot more excitable than you would like. … He just needs to get to the next step. This will help. I think he’s a little too childish, but he’s got a ton of ability. He is very impressive to train, he’s got a beautiful big stride - but I think he can do better."
Astrology clearly has room to improve as he abandons these shenanigans with additional racing experience. He’s also bred to be better with age and distance. This colt has caught the eye from day one, and win or lose on Saturday, the best is likely yet to come. He gives the impression that he’ll be adding his name to the list of accomplished Stars Of Tomorrow alumni.