THOROUGHBRED BEAT
MAY 26, 2006
by James Scully
Met, Shoemaker miles — Memorial Day is always a fantastic afternoon
of Thoroughbred racing. Seven graded stakes will be offered, including the 113th
running of the Metropolitan Mile H. (G1) at Belmont Park. Grade 1 hero BANDINI (Fusaichi
Pegasus), who will seek his third straight victory since returning from an
injury earlier this year, is the top draw, and recent Commonwealth Breeders’ Cup
S. (G2) winner SUN KING (Charismatic) and Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1) runner-up
(via disqualification) WILKO (Awesome Again) are in the mix. Trainer Richard Dutrow will send out
Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) victor SILVER TRAIN (Old Trieste), a five-length
winner of the Kelso H. (G2) at Belmont in his last attempt at a mile, and the
dangerous front runner LOVE OF MONEY (Not for Love). The Met Mile looks
exciting, but the Shoemaker Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) is the race I can’t wait to
see. There will be no slouches in this early preview of Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1)
contenders, and the Hollywood Park contest will feature SILENT NAME (Jpn)
(Sunday Silence), who has created quite a stir based on two stellar victories in
North America this season. The Japanese-bred French import will square off
against CHARMO (Fr) (Charnwood Forest [Ire]), who exits a smashing win in the
San Francisco Breeders’ Cup Mile (G2); Frank E. Kilroe Mile H. (G1) winner MILK
IT MICK (GB) (Millkom [GB]), who just missed following a troubled trip in the
Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (G1) last out; Oak Tree Derby (G2) winner ARAGORN
(Ire) (Giant’s Causeway), who has posted runner-up finishes in both the Kilroe
Mile and San Francisco Mile this year; three-time Group 1 runner-up DIAMOND
GREEN (Fr) (Green Desert); multiple Grade 2 conqueror WILLOW O WISP (Misnomer),
who exits a sharp score over the course in the Inglewood H. (G3); and the stout
miler TERROPLANE (Fr) (Verglas [Ire]). For a fan still down in the doldrums over
the loss of BARBARO (Dynaformer), Monday’s smorgasbord of big races provides
some comfort.
Belmont — Barbaro’s injury and BERNARDINI’s (A.P. Indy) defection
leave SUNRIVER (Saint Ballado) as the horse to beat in the June 10 Belmont S.
(G1). Third in the Florida Derby (G1), Sunriver needed to only finish fourth in
the Lexington S. (G2) to make the Kentucky Derby (G1) lineup, but Todd Pletcher
decided to bypass the race two weeks out and watched as Sunriver got left out of
the main event as the 21st horse on the graded earnings list. His connections
had to be bitterly disappointed, especially since Sunriver trained superbly at
Churchill Downs in preparation for the Kentucky Derby, but his exclusion might
turn out to be a blessing in the end. Sunriver earned his first stakes victory
in Saturday’s Peter Pan S. (G2), returning off an eight-week layoff to run down
a game LEWIS MICHAEL (Rahy) in deep stretch, and the improving colt will likely
have much more to offer in the Belmont.
Grand old warrior — BETTER TALK NOW (Talkin Man) showed he still has
plenty left in the tank with an outstanding win in Saturday’s Dixie S. (G2). An
earner of more than $2.7 million and winner of the 2004 Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1),
the Graham Motion-trained seven-year-old gelding captured the Man o’ War S. (G1)
and United Nations S. (G1) in 2005, but he concluded last season with a seventh
in the Breeders’ Cup Turf before finishing 12th in the Japan Cup (Jpn-G1)
overseas in late November. Better Talk Now has taken some time to round into top
form the last few years and prefers more ground than the 1 1/8-mile Dixie
distance, but he returned to the races with a vengeance at Pimlico. The dark bay
rated far off the moderate pace before launching a furious rally on the far
turn, but he found himself in tight quarters upon reaching upper stretch and had
to split a narrow seam between ARTIE SCHILLER (El Prado [Ire]) and DREADNAUGHT
(Lac Ouimet) to gut out a head win in the final strides. That was some kind of
effort, and the classy warrior earned a 108 BRIS Speed and 120 Late Pace
numbers.
Touring — Sunday’s Shuvee H. (G2) featured a promising match-up
between expected distaff heavyweights INDIAN VALE (A.P. Indy) and SMUGGLER
(Unbridled), but TAKE D’TOUR (Tour d’Or) stole the show, opening a clear lead
after the opening quarter-mile and extending her margin off the far turn en
route to a 5 1/2-length trouncing. The David Fawkes-trained mare is a fine
miler, improving to five-for-five over eight panels, and Take D’Tour earned her
first stakes win. The two favorites were nowhere to be found at the finish.
Indian Vale stumbled at the start and chucked it in early, retreating to fifth
and last at 4-5 odds. She ran a similar race in last year’s Cotillion H. (G2),
suffering her first career loss with a dreadful fifth-place showing, but came
right back to win both the Turnback the Alarm H. (G3) and Falls City H. (G2)
impressively, stamping herself as one of the leading distaffers for 2006.
Perhaps she can rebound in similar fashion. Smuggler needs to show much more in
her upcoming starts. Last year’s champion three-year-old filly, Smuggler
finished second when making her graded debut in the Acorn S. (G1) and then
captured the Mother Goose S. (G1) and Coaching Club American Oaks (G1), drawing
clear to a smart 3 1/2-length tally in the latter, which proved to be her final
appearance in 2005. She earned BRIS Speed ratings of 108-104-108 for those
efforts, but the bay filly has registered only 92 and 90 Speed figures in her
first two races this year. Those races were probably too short for her, but she
should have given a much better account of herself. I’m hoping to see Smuggler
return to form this summer.
Duping the stewards — Ramon Dominguez made the Pimlico stewards look
stupid on Friday. He sold the disqualification of SMART N PRETTY (Elusive
Quality) in the Black-Eyed Susan S. (G2), standing up dramatically aboard REGAL
ENGAGEMENT (Cat Thief) and checking his mount for absolutely no reason as Smart
N Pretty repulsed the bid of her challenger and began to draw off in the
stretch. Smarty N Pretty was much the best and didn’t deserve to lose due to the
theatrics of a clever jockey, and the decision left me wondering whether these
were the same stewards who worked last year’s Del Mar meet. It wasn’t a strong
field of three-year-old fillies, but credit Smart N Pretty with a sharp
performance. A confirmed closer throughout her career, the Dale Romans trainee
sprinted to the front when the gates opened and led the way through moderate
fractions before accelerating through the stretch, crossing the wire 3 1/2
lengths clear and earning a career best 100 BRIS Speed rating. An off-the-pace
allowance winner at Keeneland three starts back, Smart N Pretty closed well to
be a good third in the seven-furlong La Troienne S. (G3) in her previous outing
after stumbling at the start. She ran a big race in the 1 1/8-mile Black-Eyed
Susan.