By Alan Carasso
Saturday's program at Churchill Downs is meant to showcase the 'Stars of Tomorrow' and Juddmonte's bred-in-the-purple Chasten (f, 2, Into Mischief–Lockdown, by First Defence) shaped as just that, as she did her best work through the line to score by a widening margin and earn the 'TDN Rising Star' badge.
The half-sister to champion Idiomatic (Curlin), MGISW, $3,944,190, appeared to get bounced around at the break of the seven-furlong contest and was clearly last early before making progress and improving a spot or two down the backstretch. Asked to come through between rivals bending into the turn 3 1/2 furlongs from home, Chasten was pulled out into the four or five path to emerge a threat passing the quarter pole. In the slipstream of favored Sycamore Shoals (Street Sense), who earned a 74 Beyer for her dead-heat second on her lone previous trip to the races at Keeneland Oct. 24, on the swing for home, the homebred wandered around a bit, but was angled off that one's heels, wrested command with about a sixteenth of a mile to travel and pulled clear while under mostly hand urging, then galloped out with good energy into the turn. The winner's stablemate Our Shenanigan (Practical Joke), beaten a head for a $150,000 tag in Lexington Oct. 25, took a short lead inside the final furlong and held for second ahead of Sycamore Shoals.
“She's as tall as her sister and to the races much earlier, even though we didn't start on her until late spring,” said Juddmonte USA General Manager Garrett O'Rourke. “She's got a long ways to go to be Idiomatic, but that's a pleasant start.”
Chasten becomes the second winner from Lockdown, who won her maiden at second asking and annexed the 2017 Busanda Stakes before finishing second in the GII Gazelle Stakes and a longshot third to Abel Tasman (Quality Road) in that year's GI Kentucky Oaks. Lockdown is the full-sister to Juddmonte's 2014 champion older mare Close Hatches, who has bred four winners from as many to race, including MGSW/MGISP 'TDN Rising Star' Scylla (Tapit), her MGSW/MGISP full-brother Tacitus and this year's GIII Ohio Derby hero Batten Down, also a son of Tapit. This is also the female family of dual Group 1 winner and now Japan-based Siskin (First Defence).
Chasten is the 46th 'TDN Rising Star' for Into Mischief, and the cross over Unbridled-line mares–particularly via Empire Maker–has been responsible for the likes of GI Kentucky Derby winner and current Juddmonte sire Mandaloun, his full-brother Mullion and the late MSW Taraz. Empire Maker's half-sister Honest Lady (Seattle Slew) is the dam of New York-based sire and 'Rising Star' Honest Mischief in addition to Chasten's broodmare sire First Defence.
Chasten is the last listed produce for Lockdown.
1st-Churchill Downs, $117,750, Msw, 11-30, 2yo, f, 7f, 1:23.26, ft, 1 1/2 lengths.
CHASTEN, f, 2, by Into Mischief
1st Dam: Lockdown (SW & MGISP, $445,900), by First Defence
2nd Dam: Rising Tormado, by Storm Cat
3rd Dam: Silver Star (GB), by Zafonic
Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $69,000. Click for the Equibase.com chart and VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
O/B-Juddmonte (KY); T-Brad H Cox.
1/2 sister to Idiomatic, Chasten and @flothejock catch them at the wire for @bradcoxracing and @JuddmonteFarms in her first start! 🏇 pic.twitter.com/AFTaYu88Mu
— Churchill Downs (@ChurchillDowns) November 30, 2024
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
