O’Connor Sunset and Girls House, perfect journey to Colonial Downs

The start of the Colonial Downs meeting in Virginia has been splendid for Michael Jones Jr, who ventured with Girls House (Into Mischief) and O’Connor Sunset (Curlin), both owned by the Arkofa Farm Stud. They achieved outstanding results with convincing victories, on the path of progress.

O’Connor Sunset, a three-year-old colt who was initially trained by Wesley Ward before moving between Kentucky and Florida. Now, under the guidance of Michael Jones Jr, his progress has been evident. He made his debut at Pimlico, finishing third in a $45,000 Maiden Claiming race.

He then won at Charles Town. They carefully planned his participation at Colonial Downs in an Allowance race with a purse of $70,000, and emerged with strength. Jockey Wesley Ho exerted powerful left-hand urging in the middle of the stretch, and the juvenile colt overtook the favorites Freestanding (American Freedom) and Free Soul (Shakin It Up) who were vying for the lead. The drive of this grandson of Into Mischief was superior, winning in 1’10″87 for the six furlongs.

A day earlier, Jones presented another horse in excellent form from the Into Mischief line. It was Girls House, a Kentucky-bred filly who, at four years old, crossed the finish line for the first time under his care. The filly was claimed at Churchill Downs for $10,000, an investment that multiplied many times over two months later for the Arkofa Farms connections. She reappeared in Virginia in a turf Maiden Claiming race with a purse of $42,000, of which $24, 000 went to the winner. And what a performance it was: she won by over eight lengths in 1’04″36 for the 5 1/2 furlongs.

«Big Mike» starts the week on a high note with a 100% success rate outside of his home base at Charles Town. He also hopes to visit the winner’s circle there on saturday night.

In the following days, he has notable entries: on Saturday in the Punch Line Stakes ($125,000) at Colonial Downs with Kenny Had a Notion (Great Notion) at odds of 9/2. Then, he will continue his journey at other racetracks. On Tuesday, with Showtime Cat at Prax Racing, and on Thursday with the gray Mystic O’Shaunesie at Delaware. Stay tuned.