Rigney Racing’s Kentucky Derby (G1) hopeful Jonathan’s Way is settling into Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots for the winter, and trainer Phil Bauer has targeted the Feb. 15 Risen Star Stakes (G2) as the colt’s next start.
“He’s settled in well,” Bauer said. “Fingers crossed he can get a little faster numbers-wise and be part of the picture for the Derby.”
Following a runner-up effort in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs Nov. 30, the Vekoma colt bred in Ohio by Susan Anderson was given an easy December to freshen up. He returned to the work tab Jan. 6 with a three-furlong move in :36 1/5 and recorded four furlongs in :49 Jan. 12.
A frontrunning winner of the first prep race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby—the Sept. 14 Iroquois Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs—Jonathan’s Way sits fifth on the Kentucky Derby (G1) leaderboard with 15 points.
His lone off-the-board performance in four starts came in the Nov. 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) at Del Mar when he found himself surrounded in a pack of horses for the first time. He finished seventh in his two-turn debut.
Seeing a similar scenario when returning four weeks later in the Kentucky Jockey Club, Bauer was pleased to see an improvement in maturity as the colt kept to task and battled his way into second at the end of the 1 1/16-mile contest.
“Even though we didn’t win the Jockey Club, I was really pleased with how he matured mentally from the Breeders’ Cup,” Bauer said. “He just wasn’t a seasoned horse (in the Breeders’ Cup) and he learned from it.
“Seeing the way he rated and then finished in the Jockey Club, it was a much smoother race. Something I was glad to see and I think will benefit him moving forward. He’s a smart horse, he’s learning from (his races), and that’s what you like to see.”
The 1 1/8-mile Risen Star will kick off the first leg of the Derby trail’s Championship Series, offering qualifying points to the first five finishers on a scale of 50-25-15-10-5. A victory would likely clinch Jonathan’s Way’s spot in the Derby starting gate.
Claire’s Charm Retired After Training Injury
While Bauer and Rigney try to qualify for their first Kentucky Derby, their top hope for their first Kentucky Oaks (G1), Claire’s Charm , was retired with a knee injury following a Nov. 29 workout.
Claire’s Charm breaks her maiden at Churchill Downs
“That was a tough pill to swallow,” Bauer said. “She was maturing physically and mentally. Just one of those things, it was a maintenance half-mile and just came out of it bad.”
Bauer said the Rags to Riches Stakes runner-up cracked a knee while breezing four furlongs in :49 3/5 at Churchill Downs. The daughter of Violence has joined Rigney’s broodmare band at Denali Stud. Bauer said she will be bred to Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms’ stallion Good Magic this spring.
Bauer Updates on Other Top Runners
Entering the 2024 season, Xigera was expected to be the stable star following dominant victories in the Mother Goose Stakes (G2) and Falls City Stakes (G3) to close out her 3-year-old campaign. However, the sensational year she was expected to have never came to fruition. In four races, she hit the board once, in the Shawnee Stakes (G3), while encountering poor track conditions and rough trips in other starts.
The daughter of Nyquist was turned out for several months following a fifth in the Aug. 23 Personal Ensign Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course but recently joined Bauer’s Fair Grounds string.
“That was probably the biggest disappointment last year for us,” Bauer said of Xigera’s 4-year-old season. “We’re going to give her another run this year. If she doesn’t want to do it anymore, that’s fine. She did enough at 3. But we felt that she does still want to do it. There’s no hurry to put her in the breeding program, and we’ll give her the benefit of the doubt that maybe she just needed a little break.”
The torch of top filly in the barn for the season was passed to Two Sharp , an eye-catching, 11 1/4-length maiden winner at Saratoga in the summer and, most recently, winner of the one-mile Chilukki Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs Nov. 23 by 5 3/4 lengths.
Two Sharp wins the Chilukki Stakes at Churchill Downs
Bauer considered sending the Twirling Candy filly to Santa Anita Park for the seven-furlong La Brea Stakes (G1) Dec. 26, but instead opted to give her a freshening at Fair Grounds in preparation for her 4-year-old season. No plans have been made, but Bauer said he expects she will resurface during the Keeneland or Churchill Downs spring meets. In five career starts, she’s raced exclusively around one turn but could see the distances stretch out in 2025.
“The way she handled the mile, I wouldn’t hesitate to try her two turns,” Bauer said. “But I think it is going to be right timing type things. I think we’ll start her back one turn and see where things go from there.”
Also receiving a slight freshening and reset is Buchu , a two-time grade 2 winner over the Keeneland turf. Last seen finishing fifth in the Pago Hop Stakes at Fair Grounds, Bauer said the 4-year-old Justify filly’s next start will likely come in late spring or early summer.
Angkor , a 7-year-old Anchor Down gelding who finished third in the 2024 Forego Stakes (G1) at Saratoga is getting the winter off at the farm as he did ahead of his highest-earning season in 2024.
Overall, Bauer and Rigney Racing saw a slight downtick in numbers in 2024 while recording 27 wins in 130 starts and more than $3.2 million in purse money—six wins and about $700,000 short of their 2023 totals. Bauer, who trains exclusively for Richard Rigney, said they were trying to put in perspective that 2024 saw more participation at the top levels for the barn.
“We were mildly disappointed comparing it to the year before,” Bauer said. “But I think when you take a step back and realize you participated in a lot of good races—and won some of them—we’re fortunate enough to participate at the top level of the game. Just need to put things into perspective.
“The barn did such a good job keeping the horses going all year. Certainly proud of them and proud of the horses for getting us there. Hopefully, it is setting a standard of what Rigney Racing is all about: participating in the top level of races and being competitive.”
