Rushing Fall Defends Jenny Wiley Title

LEXINGTON, KY – e Five Racing Thoroughbreds’ Rushing Fall successfully defended her title with a strong performance in Saturday’s $350,000 Coolmore Jenny Wiley Stakes (G1) at Keeneland.

Breaking cleanly from post 4 under Javier Castellano as the 4/5 favorite, Rushing Fall looked keen to fight for the early lead, but Castellano tapped on the brakes heading into the clubhouse turn, allowing Jolie Olimpica to take sole early command.

Closely tracking the pace from second, Rushing Fall was patiently handled through opening fractions of :23.42, :46.94, and 1:10.10 before making her move midway through the far turn.

Cutting the corner with a narrow advantage, Rushing Fall inched ahead in the stretch and dug in to defeat a stubborn Jolie Olimpica by 3/4 of a length. The Chad Brown trainee completed the 1 1/16-mile firm turf route in a track record time of 1:39.02.

Though she acted a mess in the paddock before entering the track to warm up, Jolie Olimpica showed no signs of distress in the race, refusing to give in during the stretch run and holding off Juliet Foxtrot for second by a 1/2-length.

Altea and Toinette finished fourth in a dead heat, while behind them came Secret Message, La Signare, and Mucho Unusual to complete the order of finish.

Rushing Fall’s victory was her second of the year, following an impressive effort in last month’s Beaugay Stakes (G3), and improved her overall record to 13-10-2-0. The 5-year-old More Than Ready mare has now earned $2.278 million in a career that includes graded stakes scores at four different tracks.

Rushing Fall returned $3.60 to win, $2.60 to place, and $2.10 to show. Jolie Olimpica brought back $5.20 to place and $3.60 to show, while Juliet Foxtrot paid $3.20 to show.