CASHING BIG CHECKS SCORES IN BLUE HEN

Cashing Big Checks
Cashing Big Checks and jockey Jaime Rodriguez won the Blue Hen Stakes. Photo Mike Valiante.
  • userThe Biz
  • dateAugust 25, 2021

Cashing Big Checks entered Wednesday’s $50,000 Blue Hen Stakes for Delaware-certified juvenile fillies a maiden. She left it a winner en route to cashing the first (pretty) big check of her career.

Under jockey Jaime Rodriguez, Cashing Big Checks showed early speed, ceded the lead to longshot Mama G’s Wish, and then came again to nail that runner by a nose. It was more than nine lengths back to the rest.

Off the 2-1 to second choice, Cashing Big Checks was away alertly from the outside stall in the four-horse field to vie for the lead with My Boss, the 7-10 post time favorite. Those two were heads apart after a quarter-mile in 22.41 seconds.

Rounding the turn, My Boss began to back out, but Mama G’s Wish, under Xavier Perez, mounted a bold wide move to contend and even take the lead.

But Cashing Big Checks was able to fight back, retake the lead, and go on to the narrow victory in 1:05.38 for 5 ½ furlongs on a fast main track.

“Once the other horse got close to her, I know she likes to fight,” Rodriguez said. “Every time I work her in the morning, she does the same thing.”

Her debut bore some similarities to this outing, too: showing good early speed, losing ground in the middle portion of the race, then showing renewed vigor in the final furlong.

Cashing Big Checks is trained by Jamie Ness for his own Jagger Inc. and Troy Johnson. She is a California-bred daughter of Mr. Big out of an Indian Charlie mare.

Cashing Big Checks paid $6.20 to win and topped an exacta, with 19-1 Mama G’s Wish in second, that returned $22.50 for one dollar. My Boss finished third.

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