Breeders' Cup International Horse Profile: Jasper Great

Breeders’ Cup Juvenile

Purchased by Mori for $200,000 as a Fasig-Tipton yearling, Jasper Great ranked as the 6-1 third choice in a newcomers’ race at Hanshin Oct. 9. The gray colt easily secured the lead from post 2, galloped with ears pricked, and lengthened stride under good handling to win by 10 lengths. His time for about 1 1/8 miles, 1:54.7, was slower than an earlier maiden on the card that went in 1:54.0. But to be fair, that maiden featured a different race shape with experienced two-year-olds, and Jasper Great was out on his own with no competition to push him.

Yet that race dynamic is precisely the caveat as Jasper Great tackles the American championship event. By touring the Hanshin circuit on an uncontested lead, did he even know he was “at the races,” so to speak? Jasper Great will encounter a far less leisurely experience at Del Mar. Will he find everything unfolding so fast as an insurmountable culture shock? Or will he be able to channel his sire’ s style, find his rhythm off the pace, and stay on relentlessly?

Jasper Great is a fascinating wildcard, and easy to root for as he bids to extend his sire line’s success in the Breeders’ Cup. If he can rise to the occasion, he would become a fourth-generation Breeders’ Cup winner. Grandsire Unbridled’s Song captured the 1995 Juvenile, while Arrogate (2016) emulated his ancestor Unbridled (1990) in the Classic (G1).

Here is a sample profile of Jasper Great from the Brisnet.com Breeders' Cup International Scouting Report, a total of 46 pages of analysis spanning Friday and Saturday. The International Scouting Report is available on its own or as part of the Breeders' Cup handicapping package. 

From the first crop of the late champion Arrogate, Jasper Great sports a superb pedigree as well as an imperious debut victory on the dirt at Hanshin. Thus he has more cachet than trainer Hideyuki Mori’s previous Juvenile runner, Full Flat, who was a creditable fifth in his dirt debut in the 2019 edition.

Jasper Great is a half-brother to Power Broker, the 2012 FrontRunner (now American Pharoah) (G1) romper and Juvenile fifth-placer, who went on to place in the 2013 Haskell (G1) and capture the Indiana Derby (G2). Another half-sibling, Busanda S. winner Fierce Boots, is responsible for Grade 3-placed Portos.

Jasper Great’s dam, the Wild Again mare Shop Again, is herself a stakes-winning half-sister to smart sprinter Trappe Shot and millionaire Miss Shop. This is also the family of multiple Grade 1-placed stakes scorer Shoplifted and classy turf sprinter Imprimis.

Purchased by Mori for $200,000 as a Fasig-Tipton yearling, Jasper Great ranked as the 6-1 third choice in a newcomers’ race at Hanshin Oct. 9. The gray colt easily secured the lead from post 2, galloped with ears pricked, and lengthened stride under good handling to win by 10 lengths.

His time for about 1 1/8 miles, 1:54.7, was slower than an earlier maiden on the card that went in 1:54.0. But to be fair, that maiden featured a different race shape with experienced two-year-olds, and Jasper Great was out on his own with no competition to push him.

Yet that race dynamic is precisely the caveat as Jasper Great tackles the American championship event. By touring the Hanshin circuit on an uncontested lead, did he even know he was “at the races,” so to speak? Jasper Great will encounter a far less leisurely experience at Del Mar. Will he find everything unfolding so fast as an insurmountable culture shock? Or will he be able to channel his sire’s style, find his rhythm off the pace, and stay on relentlessly?

Jasper Great is a fascinating wildcard, and easy to root for as he bids to extend his sire line’s success in the Breeders’ Cup. If he can rise to the occasion, he would become a fourth-generation Breeders’ Cup winner. Grandsire Unbridled’s Song captured the 1995 Juvenile, while Arrogate (2016) emulated his ancestor Unbridled (1990) in the Classic (G1).

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