Thursday Maiden Double For Practical Joke
Jokemeister (3c Practical Joke x Poppy’s Baby Girl, by Yankee Victor) refused to give up the spotlight at Aqueduct on Thursday when he registered an 8 ¾ length maiden victory on the front end as the first half of a winning double for his sire.
The colt had a rough start when bumping into a rival out of the gate in the six furlong race but that didn’t keep him from going straight to the lead. Only one other horse was able to stick with him, keeping the pressure on as they raced three lengths in front of the field before Trevor McCarthy asked his mount to go to work.
Jokemeister was quickly on his way to a commanding victory down the stretch, showing some greenness but responding well to a hand ride in the final furlong.
It was the third start for the Michael Catalano Jr. trainee, who races for John Julia and Vincenzo Tucciarone.
Only a few hours later, it was Comedic's (3f Practical Joke x Goforitmrsmiller, by Speightstown) turn to shine in a Gulfstream Park Maiden Special Weight.
Raced by Michael Tabor and trained by Simon Callaghan, the filly sat in midpack for much of the running before Julien Leparoux angled her four wide in the stretch of the five furlong All Weather race.
Comedic had to work all the way down the stretch to catch the leader, still in sixth as they entered the final furlong. She did exactly that, getting a neck in front at the line to break her maiden after a string of second and third place finishes to start her career.
Bred by Amy Rabanal DVM, Constance Wickes, and HIghclere, Comedic was an $800,000 2-Year-Old purchase by Jamie McCalmont and Ben McElroy from SGV Thoroughbreds last Spring.
The filly is a half-sister to stakes-placed Bandwidth with her dam a half-sister to three stakes winners and one stakes performer. Goforitmrsmiller's half-sister Miss Isella is a multiple Grade II winner and Grade I-placed while their multiple graded stakes-placed half-sister Lady Linda is the dam of Group I winner Penelopa.
Out of the Yankee Victor mare Poppy’s Baby Girl, Jokemeister was bred in Kentucky by Murray Stroud and Endeavor Farm. The colt is a half-brother to Canadian champion Youcan’tcatchme and the stakes-placed duo of Gran Cherry and Winning Desire.
Their dam is a half-sister to Grade III winner Rhythm Band and two other stakes performers, including the dam of four-time Grade I winner Princess of Sylmar.
Poppy’s Baby Girl again visited the Ashford breeding shed the year Jokemeister was born, having a Mendelssohn colt named Carlin Clan the following year.