THOROUGHBRED BEAT
JULY 13, 2005
by James Scully
Crazy speed — MADCAP ESCAPADE (Hennessy) is a top contender for this
year’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1). Many are quick to dismiss a filly against
males in any spot, but classy female sprinters hold their own at six furlongs,
having won the Breeders’ Cup Sprint three times and recording 10 top three finishes
in the world’s premiere event for fast horses. Madcap Escapade is very fast,
setting splits of :21 3/5 and :44 3/5 under a snug hold before drawing clear for
a 5 1/4-length triumph in Sunday’s Princess Rooney H. (G2) at Calder, and the
four-year-old filly finished six panels in 1:09 4/5, earning a 109 BRIS Speed
rating. She’s already posted Speed figures of 112 and 110 this season for
trainer Frank Brothers and has now won seven-of-nine starts, including a
three-for-three mark at six furlongs.
Lost in the Fog — Now unbeaten from eight attempts, the Greg
Gilchrist-trained three-year-old also turned in a sparkling performance on
Calder’s Summit of Speed program, taking the Carry Back S. (G2) by 7 1/4 lengths
and stopping the teletimer over the fast Calder track in 1:09 1/5. LOST IN THE
FOG (Lost Soldier) didn’t face much opposition, but he continued to shine from a
Speed figure perspective, earning a 114, and hasn’t received a figure lower than
106 from six starts in 2005. The Florida-bred colt would be the favorite if the
Breeders’ Cup Sprint were contested today. Lost in the Fog will face a much more
serious test next time out in the seven-furlong King’s Bishop S. (G1) on August
23 at Saratoga.
Gold Cup eruption — LAVA MAN (Slew City Slew) tracked pacesetter
Congrats (A.P. Indy) for almost a mile before seizing command and running away from
his rivals through the stretch of Saturday’s Hollywood Gold Cup (G1), winning by
8 3/4 lengths and earning a 113 BRIS Speed rating. It’s an understatement to say
that the four-year-old’s form has improved this summer — his meteoric rise has
surprised everybody, including his connections, who raced Lava Man for a
$100,000 claiming tag three starts back on May 14. The gelding appeared to
hardly break a sweat while winning $450,000 on Saturday. The Cal-bred has raced
for tags as low as $12,500 and was claimed for $50,000 last August at Del Mar.
Trainer Doug O’Neill has been able to awake a previously dormant Lava Man.
Avoid California — Saturday’s Swaps Breeders’ Cup (G2) featured an
impressive performance from SURF CAT (Sir Cat), who earned his first stakes win
in commanding fashion and improved his lifetime mark to 6-3-3-0. The Bruce
Headley charge has won three of his last four, the only setback being a close
second in the Affirmed H. (G3) two starts back. The Swaps also served as a
valuable lesson to the connections of 6-5 favorite DON’T GET MAD (Stephen Got
Even), who delivered the message loud and clear that he hates the West Coast
with a lackluster fifth. The three-year-old can’t run a lick in California. Get
him East of the Mississippi River.
3YO turf horses — WOODLANDER (Forestry) made his stakes debut a
winning one on Sunday, recording a wire-to-wire score in the 1 1/4-mile
Lexington S. (G3) at Belmont Park. The bay colt now owns a three-race win skein
and is the second promising three-year-old turf runner to emerge in recent
weeks, joining SEEKING SLEW (Seeking the Gold), who stepped up from a maiden
victory to capture the Kent Breeders’ Cup (G3). ENGLISH CHANNEL (Smart Strike), the
top dog among three-year-old turf horses presently, makes his graded bow for
Todd Pletcher in Saturday’s Virginia Derby (G3) at Colonial Downs. Bobby Frankel
has an European import in the 10-furlong event, English Two Thousand Guineas
(Eng-G1) runner-up REBEL REBEL (Ire) (Revoque), and REY DE CAFE (Kingmambo) and
RUSH BAY (Cozzene) are a couple of good-looking sophomores in the field.
Throwback — Trainer David Flood was frustrated by the fifth-place
performance from IM SPARTACUS (GB) (Namaqualand) in Sunday’s Lexington, blaming
the course and trip. The three-year-old traveled from England for the Lexington
and was sent off to 5-2 second choice in his 25th career start. That’s right, Im
Spartacus has already raced 25 times. He raced 16 times at two, compiling a
4-2-0 mark, and the bay colt earned his first stakes victory in his last
European appearance, defeating subsequent Irish Derby (Ire-G1) runner-up
Scorpion (Montjeu [Ire]) in a Group 3 event. Horses aren’t as durable, they
don’t race like Im Spartacus anymore. Maybe he did have a valid excuse and we
should watch out for him in his next start, which should be real soon.
Caller One — What’s going on with the $3.1 million earner? He made
his lone appearance last year in the two-furlong Rocket Man S., finishing third
by a half-length, and the eight-year-old gelding waited 12 months for his next
start in Sunday’s Rocket Man, finishing second by a length. CALLER ONE (Phone
Trick) serves as an interesting novelty for Calder’s Summit of Speed and has
been competitive both times.
Steward Interference — Saturday featured a $1 million Pick 6 at
Hollywood Park and the original top three order of finish in the second leg, the
6TH race, was Elisa’s Energy (Chester House), Pink Coral (Royal Academy) and
Great Opinions (Rahy). These three would’ve finished in this order whether they
had run in a straight line or not through the stretch. Elisa’s Energy, the 3-2
favorite, didn’t remain straight in upper stretch, bearing out momentarily under
her controversial jockey, Pat Valenzuela, but her actions had absolutely no
effect upon the finish. Then the stewards got involved and inflicted their will
upon the race’s outcome with an extremely questionable disqualification. Did she
come down because of her jockey? Why can’t the stewards use common sense in
these situations?