Another one we had been chasing for a while, the son of Kitten’s Joy finally joined Riverdee as a joint venture with Ten Strike Racing (Awakened, Rocket One) in late 2023.
Sent to Jack Fisher, the two-time flat winner learned to jump before freshening up for three months.
Jimmy Dan dominate in his hurdle debut at Tryon for jockey Graham Watters.
“Jimmy was great. Very professional. He was a bit confused going right-handed, but he handled the hills great and jumped amazing,” Watters said. “I just bounced him out and nobody went with me. We gained experience at Old Dominion, he’s not a front-running horse but I had gotten such a good spin off him the last day that I didn’t want to be behind while they’re jumping bad. The ground was beautiful, good, safe ground. I was delighted with him. He was great, outside the wings at the last. He’s better than that.”
A month later, Jimmy Dan made it 2-for-2 with a facile score at Willowdale under Teddy Davies.
Jimmy Dan finished third in a 115 ratings hurdle at Colonial before returning to the winner’s circle with a gallant effort at the same level at Colonial Aug. 12. He came back to win a tough 120 handicap at Foxfield to improve his record to 4-for-5.
