Keep It Easy made easy work of his rivals as he rolled to a commanding five-and-a-quarter length victory in the Ed Brown Stakes at Churchill Downs on Saturday, 30 November.
It was the first Stakes win for the two-year-old Hard Spun colt, who now has won two of his four career starts.
Despite a poor break, which included bumping another rival, Keep It Easy soon found himself in third, just off the pacemakers Coming in Hot and El Dandi. Keep It Easy, who was racing four-wide down the backstretch, began closing on the leaders on the far turn. The Hard Spun colt moved to challenge Coming in Hot for the lead at the top of the stretch, quickly putting away that foe to take command and draw off through the lane for an easy victory. Tough Catch got up for second, with Glean third.
Keep It Easy was bred in Kentucky by Mr. and Mrs. William L. Pape and was purchased by CJ Thoroughbreds, West Point Thoroughbreds and St. Elias Stable for $435,000 at the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling sale. He is out of the Stakes-winning English Channel mare, Boxwood, and hails from the immediate family of Stakes winners Crowd Pleaser (G3 Saranac) and Ski Holiday.
In addition to Keep It Easy, Hard Spun is also the sire of 2024 Graded Stakes winners Sparkle Blue (G3 Hillsborough Stakes), Elysian Field (G3 Maple Leaf Stakes) and Highway Robber (G3 Sycamore Stakes, setting a new Stakes and course record at Keeneland). Hard Spun is also represented by Stakes additional winners Necker Island, Good Lord Lorrie, Informed Patriot, Kupuna, Give It a Whirl and Drum Roll Please.
Hard Spun will stand the 2025 breeding season at Jonabell Farm for $25,000, stands and nurses.
