Jenna’s Wabbit, a two-year-old son of Old Forester-In The Buff, will try for his third-consecutive added-money score in Saturday’s $125,000 Kingarvie Stakes, at Woodbine.
In fact, but for a neck loss in the Clarendon Stakes on July 3, the wascally ‘Wabbit’ would be working on a five-race win streak. Still, Jenna’s Wabbit has been a key figure in trainer Ralph Biamonte’s tremendous 2011 campaign that has seen the conditioner winning at a 21 per cent clip, with 25 wins, eight of which have come in added-money events (as of November 23).
“We’ve been fortunate this year to have that many (stake wins),” said Biamonte. “I’ve got some good horses. Seven of those eight stakes wins are with two year-olds. We bought some nice yearlings and they developed.”
Jenna’s Wabbit is a particularly special juvenile for the conditioner as he bred the dark bay gelding, out of his mare In The Buff, a horse purchased as a yearling who went on to win four races.
The gelding’s name is traced to a special family connection.
“My granddaughter Jenna, she couldn’t say her R’s,” starts Biamonte. “We used to watch that Geico commercial with Elmer Fudd and he’d say, ‘This wabbit wubbs me the wrong way.’”
“Well, I’d ask Jenna to say ‘rabbit’ but she’d say, ‘wabbit’ and we’d laugh about that and I said I’m going to name a horse that. And now Jenna always comes to watch when this horse runs.”
Jenna’s Wabbit turned a corner following a freshening after the narrow loss in the Clarendon.
“He went out a boy and came back a man,” said Biamonte. “He’s probably bigger than any two-year-old on the grounds. He’s really a big horse.”
Jenna’s Wabbit romped in the Bull Page by seven and a quarter lengths in his return from a freshening, and in his last start won the seven-furlong Frost King by two and a half lengths, with jockey Patrick Husbands in the irons, over fellow Kingarvie contender Tru“The Frost King was a good race for him,” said Biamonte. “He was on the wrong lead down the lane and Patrick tried to get him to switch leads, but he didn’t seem to switch, and the horse than ran second (True
Executive) was doing the same thing.”
Jenna’s Wabbit will have a little more ‘wunning’ to do on Saturday as he tries two-turns for the first time in the mile and a sixteenth ‘Polytrack’ route.
“I’m hoping around two turns he’ll change leads properly,” said Biamonte. “He does it in the morning no problem.”
Biamonte also sends out Run in Aruba in the Kingarvie, an improving gelding who posted a head victory on October 27 in a one mile and seventy yard ‘Poly’ allowance.
“He’s matured so much in the last few months,” said Biamonte. “I really think this horse will be running quite well at the end. I wouldn’t put him in if I didn’t think he had a chance. He’s been working great and he’s been acting like the star of the barn the past few weeks.”
It’s been quite a turnaround for the gelded son on Philanthropist-Boone’s Breeze, who was defeated 16 ¾ lengths by stable mate Menlo Castle in the Simcoe Stakes.
“He was quite nervous at the beginning, especially in the first start with the blinkers on. We took them off and he started to relax a little bit more,’ said Biamonte. “That time he really got beat (the Simcoe) was a tough race where I ran first and second with Menlo Castle and Where’s Johnson. They put a pretty good beating on him, but I don’t think they’d be able to do that now.”
But if Run in Aruba is to take the spoils on Saturday, he’ll have to catch Jenna’s Wabbit.
“I think automatically he’ll be on the lead,” said Biamonte. “If somebody else wants to go ahead, I’ve trained him in the morning to sit behind another horse and that’s the benefit of having a rider like Patrick on him, he’ll know what to do.”
FIELD FOR THE KINGARVIE
Post / Horse / Jockey / Trainer
1 / Jenna’s Wabbit / Patrick Husbands / Ralph J Biamonte
2 / True Executive / Emma-Jayne Wilson / Paul M Buttigieg
3 / Thatboathassailed / Justin Stein / Ian Black
4 / Stage Best / David Clark / Roger Laurin
5 / Love to Battle / Slade Callaghan / Greg D Cox
6 / Ultimate Destiny / Steve Bahen / Mike Keogh
7 / Run in Aruba / Luis Contreras / Ralph J Biamonte
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