With another year coming to an end, BloodHorse staff members recently voted on the best races of 2024.
Rated No. 5 is the Jaipur Stakes (G1T), June 8 at Saratoga Race Course.
How it played out
In terms of pure speed, there was no better race in 2024 than the Jaipur Stakes.
Contested on firm turf at Saratoga Race Course, Cogburn ran a hole in the wind in taking the 5 1/2-furlong sprint stakes.
Like some other races on the Top 10 list, the Jaipur did not feature a scintillating stretch duel. This would be a race between Cogburn and the timer.
Trained by Steve Asmussen, Cogburn came into the Jaipur as the favorite off four wins in his previous five starts, including a victory in the Twin Spires Turf Sprint Stakes (G2T) last time out. With a record like that, he was sent off at 2-1 odds, but given the performance he would uncork, that price proved a steal.
Quickly put on the lead by jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., Cogburn blazed through an opening quarter-mile in :21.33 and continued to pour it on with a half-mile in :43.07. In the stretch, the son of Not This Time continued to move with the speed of lightning. Increasing his lead in the final furlong, he reeled off five furlongs in :54 and then crossed the wire 3 1/2 lengths ahead of the rest of the field in an astonishing :59.80.
Not only did the time represent a new course record, but it was also hailed as a North American record by a little more than (an estimated) two lengths.
Owned by Clark Brewster and William and Corinne Heiligbrodt and bred by Bellary Bay Bloodstock in Kentucky, Cogburn posted his first grade 1 win in a manner that earned his effort acclaim among the year's best performances.
Quotable
Frank Angst, BloodHorse editorial director: "What I remember about this race is the way any of the horses who tried to stay with Cogburn as he posted those blazing fractions early just completely faded in the stretch. On this day those early fractions were in Cogburn's wheelhouse. Looking at the chart after the race, he went :43.07 for a half-mile and still closed in less than 11 seconds. It was something to see."
Impact
Cogburn won the Ainsworth Turf Sprint Stakes (G2T) at Kentucky Downs in his next start and was sent off as a 4-5 favorite in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T). He set the pace and led by 2 1/2 lengths at the eighth pole but weakened in the final furlong and finished fifth. A win could have painted him as a favorite for the champion turf male award but with just one grade 1 win, he seems a long shot for that honor. Given how it was a weak year for dirt sprinters, he might garner more support in the champion male sprinter voting.
Notable
With Belmont Park under construction, the Jaipur was run at Saratoga for the first time ... It had been contested at six furlongs at Belmont Park ... The previous North American record was 1:00.21 set by Carotari at Saratoga in 2019.
The Top 10 countdown started Dec. 20 with No. 10, the Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T), followed by No. 9, the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T), No. 8, the Ogden Phipps Stakes (G1), and races tied for sixth, the Preakness Stakes (G1) and the Kentucky Oaks (G1).
