HANDICAP DIARY
MAY 19, 2006
by James Scully
SURF CAT (Sir Cat) opened the year with a pair of convincing Grade 2 wins
sprinting, but he really made a splash when stretching out to two turns for the
Mervyn LeRoy H. (G2) on May 13. Rating off the pace in fifth, he commenced a
ferocious rally on the far turn to swoop past his rivals and entered the stretch
with a clear advantage, galloping to the wire impressively. Winner of last
year’s 1 1/8-mile Swaps Breeders’ Cup S. (G2), Surf Cat went only 1 1/16 miles
in the Mervyn LeRoy and questions remain about his ability at longer distances,
but I wouldn’t dismiss his chances of stretching out effectively. He earned a
107 BRIS Speed and 110 Late Pace rating in the Mervyn LeRoy and has recorded
terrific numbers in all three starts this year. The Bruce Headley trainee was a
late-blooming three-year-old who raced only once following a sixth in the
Pacific Classic (G1), and Surf Cat looks much improved at four. He’s one of the
best older horses in training.
Keeneland’s biggest event for older horses, the April 27 Ben Ali S. (G3), was
captured in front-running fashion by WANDERIN BOY (Seeking the Gold). Winner of
the Mineshaft H. (G3) in only his fourth career start last year at Fair Grounds,
the Nick Zito runner raced only once more before heading to the sidelines for
the rest of the year. He returned at Gulfstream Park this season, dropping two
starts against allowance/optional claiming rivals, and then really exploded at
Keeneland, trouncing an allowance field by 10 lengths early in the meet. In the
Ben Ali, Wanderin Boy ran his rivals into the ground for a 5 1/4-length
decision, earning a whopping 113 Speed rating. There are two ways to look at
Wanderin Boy: he’s developing into a top handicap performer or he simply took
advantage of a speed-favoring Keeneland surface that enabled him to shine. We’ll
get a better gauge of Wanderin Boy in Friday’s Pimlico Special H. (G1).
GOULDINGS GREEN (Charismatic) earned his first stakes victory with a gutsy
head decision over WILD DESERT (Wild Rush) in the May 5 Alysheba S. on the
Kentucky Oaks (G1) undercard. Trained by Anthony Reinstedler, Gouldings Green
raced sparingly early in his career and started to come to hand last spring,
eventually turning in a solid fifth when making his stakes debut against Saint
Liam (Saint Ballado) in the Stephen Foster H. (G1) last June. Unfortunately, he
didn’t race again the rest of the year and returned at Oaklawn Park in late
February with an allowance/optional claiming score followed by a decent third in
the Oaklawn H. (G2). The five-year-old moved forward off that race with an
encouraging effort in the Alysheba S., and we probably still haven’t seen his
best yet. Gouldings Green is now headed to the June 17 Stephen Foster.
Wild Desert owns perhaps a bigger upside. Highly touted this spring by
trainer Richard Dutrow Jr., the four-year-old colt captured last year’s Queen’s
Plate and finished a close third in the Prince of Wales S. He wasn’t seen again the rest of 2005. Returning from a near
10-month layoff in the Alysheba, Wild Desert raced closer to the pace than he
had previously and took the lead into the stretch before yielding grudgingly
late to Gouldings Green. The Canadian-bred still earned a career-best 104 Speed
rating, and there’s reason to believe that he’ll keep getting better in his
upcoming starts.
In other developments, Santa Anita H. (G1) winner LAVA MAN (Slew City Slew)
tuned up for a title defense in the July 8 Hollywood Gold Cup (G1) with an easy
5 1/4-length win over fellow California-breds in the grassy Khaled S. on April
30. The Doug O’Neill charge has now reeled off three straight wins this year and
is facing a possible showdown with Surf Cat in the 1 1/4-mile Gold Cup.
Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) runner-up FLOWER ALLEY (Distorted Humor) continues to
train toward his seasonal bow, recording five works at Churchill Downs since
April 11.