Abaan cruised to a 4 ½-length victory in the $100,000 H. Allen Jerkens S. on Christmas Eve at Gulfstream Park, marking the first black type win in what was the stakes debut for the 4-year-old son of Will Take Charge.
With his win at the rarely-run distance of two miles on the turf, Abaan has three wins and a pair of seconds in five tries on the grass. He has banked $229,550 for owners Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Alex Daigneault.
Abaan put himself on the lead from the outset and was going along comfortably as he held the rest of the field at bay by at least a length for the first 12 furlongs. Ajourneytofreedom mounted a charge between calls with three furlongs to go, but Abaan easily shook clear and widened down the stretch to win easily.
“Today, he controlled the pace and when I came into the stretch, I had a lot of horse,” jockey Luis Saez said. “It was a long distance, but every step he felt comfortable. He just did it pretty easy.”
Bred in Kentucky by Rosilyn Polan, Abaan is a half-brother to graded stakes-placed Chip Leader. Abaan was consigned and sold by his breeder for $280,000 at the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling sale.
Will Take Charge, currently fourth on the 2021 Fourth-Crop sire list with $5.6 million in progeny earnings, is the sire of 11 stakes horses this year. His fee for 2022 is $5,000 S&N.
