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Hopping Into the Hall: I Love to Jump
Original article written by Kelly Haggerty posted 3 years 0 weeks agoI Love to Jump was bred in Kentucky by Kasie Gillespie and campaigned by his breeder throughout his 33-11-6-3 career. He quite literally showed promise right out of the gate, breaking on top in his Week 9 maiden debut at age 3, leading by a half length at the first call, a length-and-a-half at the second call, and three lengths at the third before Ten Secrets closed to finish just one length behind. Perhaps bouncing just a tad off of that early first effort, I Love to Jump would not capture his second victory until five starts later, winning an open allowance race in Week 7 of Y43. His stakes debut came in Week 16 of that same year, where he finished a respectable 4th in the Grade 3 The Pre-Revolutionary Cup. He would go on to win 5 stakes in his career, including four separate runnings of The Game Point Sired Stakes and, ultimately, the $1m Grade 1 Steward’s Cup Steeplechase, raising his career earning to just over $1m.
I Love To Jump was sired by Steward-import Dandino, by Dasili. This prolific game point sire left his mark on the SIM steeplechase ranks, siring not only I Love to Jump, but also $3.6m earner Flizans Danielle, $2.5m earner Final Nightmare, and three additional millionaires. All told his progeny have earned nearly $52m to date. I Love to Jump’s dam was the Pigeon Island mare Viciously. Thrice a winner in her 13 career starts, Viciously retired with earnings of just under $34k. Well I Love to Jump is by far her most accomplished offspring, her Y45 filly by Novelist, Let’s Just Jump, won more than $178k in her career. Let’s Just Jump is the dam of active stakes winner No Jump on Bed (Lalor), who is set to make his Y57 stakes debut in the Kitty Hawk Challenge stakes at Chaser Downs in Week 3.
Pensioned in Y53, I Love to Jump is the sire of over 600 runners with total progeny earnings approaching $30m. His highest earning offspring to date include active sire Kilcreggan, winner of the Steward’s Cup Steeplechase among his five total graded stakes victories. Kilcreggan’s first offspring are 3YO as of Y57, and he has sired four winners from 13 starters thus far. I Love to Jump’s second most accomplished son, Loves to Drive, won 9 of his 24 starts including three graded stakes. Loves to Drive’s first foals are 2YO this year, but look for them to burn the track up beginning in Y58.