Gear Jockey Half Brother Excels on Dirt

This column highlights the performances of 2- and 3-year-old maidens who have made no more than five starts and who either sold for more than $500,000 at public auction, have siblings that are graded/group winners, or have dams that are graded/group winners. BloodHorse research shows maiden winners, in particular, who meet these criteria are more likely to go on to be graded stakes winners. Churchill Downs Although his late half sibling was an acclaimed sprinter on the turf, Gearing Up found the winner's circle for the first time in five starts with a gritty score going a mile on the dirt in a June 21 maiden special weight at Churchill Downs. Considering Gear Jockey's success on the lawn—$1.6 million in earnings, multiple graded stakes wins, and three trips to the Breeders' Cup—the switch in surface came as a slight shock to many. In fact, Gearing Up, like his half brother, a homebred for Calumet Farm, had never finished worse than fourth when racing on the grass. In his outing prior to his maiden victory, the colt had run a commendable third, beaten only 1 1/2 lengths in a Churchill mile turf maiden special weight May 11. However, clearly trainer George "Rusty" Arnold had a trick up his sleeve with Gearing Up. Unlike Gear Jockey, a son of the prolific turf stallion Twirling Candy, Gearing Up was sired by Calumet's Bravazo, best known on the track for his narrow runner-up finish to Triple Crown hero Justify in the 2018 Preakness Stakes (G1). Bee-lining for the front under jockey Luis Saez, Gearing Up clung to his advantage through early fractions of :23.39 and :47.32. As his rivals loomed closer around the turn for home, the colt refused to let a speck of dirt tarnish his bay face and dug in with all he had down the long Churchill Downs stretch. Putting away his competition, he strode across the wire two lengths in front in a final time of 1:35.15. Gearing Up became the sixth winner produced out of the Tapit mare Switching Gears, a bargain $20,000 purchase for Calumet at the 2017 Keeneland January Sale. In addition to Gear Jockey, she also produced the stakes-placed Optimizer gelding Double Clutch. Both horses were trained by Arnold. Earlier this year, Gear Jockey succumbed to pneumonia shortly after arriving in South Korea for stud duty. He was eight years old.