SARATOGA DAILY NOTEBOOK
SATURDAY, AUGUST 26, 2006
By Bernard T. Moore
BERNARDINI (A.P. Indy) is one favorite whose tombstone cannot be found in
“The Graveyard of Favorites.” Living up to all the hype and praise heaped upon
him during Travers week, the Darley Stable’s homebred runner delivered an
exceptional performance in the Travers S. (G1), easily defeating Bluegrass Cat
(Storm Cat) by 7 1/2 lengths.
Jockey Javier Castellano threw down the gauntlet early in the Travers,
sending the 1-5 favorite to an early lead. With Bluegrass Cat shadowing him down
the backstretch, Bernardini relaxed nicely on the front end under a snug hold by
Castellano. Each time jockey John Velazquez aboard Bluegrass Cat moved closer to
the frontrunner, Castellano simply let out a notch, as the heavy favorite
appeared extremely comfortable as he galloped along on the lead. With time
running out around the far turn, Velazquez had little choice but to make his
move. Now, Velazquez was asking Bluegrass Cat for everything he had, and
Castellano had still not asked Bernardini to run. Bernardini brushed aside the
bid of the eventual second-place finisher in upper stretch with alarming ease,
and, with just one left-handed crack of the whip, delivered the final knockout
punch as Bernardini cruised to the wire in hand. Dr. Pleasure (Thunder Gulch)
passed tired horses to complete the trifecta.
Words will simply not do justice to HENNY HUGHES’ (Hennessy) performance in
the King’s Bishop S. (G1). Henny Hughes was under a hand ride while contesting
the early pace between runners down the backstretch, and still had not been
asked to run leaving the far turn. Under modest encouragement, he began to
assert himself upon entering the stretch, and then was asked to pick up the pace
by jockey John Velazquez. Once the 3-5 odds-on favorite switched leads, his
response was immediate, and Henny Hughes kicked into overdrive. He proceeded to
leave an overmatched field in his wake, widening his lead with every stride.
Henny Hughes was merely hand ridden to the wire while barely breaking a sweat,
winning by 5 1/4 lengths in an ultra-impressive performance.
Star Dabbler (Saint Ballado) closed ground in the stretch to finish second,
but was never any kind of threat to the winner. Court Folly (Royal Academy), who
won the Amsterdam S. (G2) earlier in the meet, once again closed into an
extremely fast pace. However, his belated rally enabled him to do no better than
third. A major disappointment in the King’s Bishop was Songster (Songandaprayer),
the 5-2 second choice in the wagering. He raced in perfect striking distance
throughout, but came up empty in the stretch and wound up finishing fifth.
ASHKAL WAY (Ire) (Ashkalani) has been simply remarkable in 2006. He
demonstrated why yet again, overcoming modest fractions to win the Bernard
Baruch H. (G2) in a stirring stretch drive. In the Baruch, T. D. Vance (Rahy)
was hustled to the front from his outside post to set the early pace. Down the
backstretch, Etesaal (Danzig), coupled in the wagering with Ashkal Way, moved to
stalk the pacesetter, with Terrific Storm (Storm Cat) just to his outside.
Dreadnaught (Lac Ouimet) raced in the second flight of runners toward the
inside, with Quest Star (Broad Brush), who normally races closer to the lead,
alongside him. Ashkal Way remained unhurried at this point along the rail.
T. D. Vance, who had carved out a comfortable pace, continued on the lead
into the stretch, and at one juncture, had amassed a daylight advantage.
However, his lead would be short-lived as Dreadnaught and Ashkal Way had begun
to level off, and were setting their sights on the leader. T. D. Vance began to
weaken past midstretch, and was literally surrounded from all sides as
Interpatation (Langfuhr) was now making a bold move up the rail. Of the trio of
closers, Ashkal Way was finishing best of all, and simply would not be denied,
outgaming Dreadnaught by a neck to record his initial graded stakes victory.
Interpatation outran his 25-1 post-time odds to finish a close-up third, with T.
D. Vance hanging on for fourth.
In yesterday’s Saratoga Daily Notebook, I wrote about the consequences of
allowing a quality runner to dictate a pedestrian pace on the front end. Well,
history repeated itself once again as MY TYPHOON (Ire) (Giant’s Causeway) got
away with setting an uncontested and controlled pace. As a result, the Bill
Mott-trained four-year-old filly made the competition pay the price by scoring a
wire-to-wire victory in the Ballston Spa H. (G2).
Once Stella Blue (Fr) (Anabaa) was scratched, that left My Typhoon alone on
the lead. Under new jockey Garrett Gomez, My Typhoon took the lead that nobody
seemed to want heading into the first turn. Once the field turned into the
backstretch, Art Fan (Lear Fan) began to apply only modest pressure while
stalking My Typhoon, with Sweet Talker (Stormin Fever) racing just to her inside
and Karen’s Caper (War Chant) racing within shouting distance of the leaders as
well. Nothing changed as My Typhoon showed the way around the far turn, but that
wouldn’t last for long.
My Typhoon left the far turn running, and spurted away to a three-length lead
shortly after entering the stretch. Art Fan was now under an all-out drive and
going nowhere, as Sweet Talker and Karen’s Caper began their bids in earnest.
Asi Siempre (El Prado [Ire]), who had benefited from a ground saving trip
throughout, was maneuvered to the outside for her stretch bid. Under strong
urging from Gomez, My Typhoon remained clear and was able to maintain a safe
advantage until deep stretch when she started to get late. A last-ditch effort
by Karen’s Caper in the final yards to overhaul the winner fell three-quarters
of a length short, and she had to settle for second money. Asi Siempre failed to
accelerate when asked, and was one-paced to the wire, but did manage to
outfinish Sweet Talker for the show. The 6-5 favorite Sweet Talker sat a perfect
trip, but failed to respond to urging in the stretch in a disappointing effort.
The main track played uniformly once again. There was no apparent path bias.
Both turf courses played normally.
Horses to Watch
5TH – PARADE THE FLAG (Distorted Humor) ran “sneaky well” in his career
debut. Was bet down to 9-2 odds off an abbreviated worktab for trainer Bill
Mott. He was badly outrun early on before uncorking a huge middle move around
the far turn and into the stretch. However, he subsequently failed to sustain
that rally to the wire, but still finished with good energy to get the show in a
swiftly run race. He hails from a stakes winning family, and has a pedigree to
improve with distance.
6TH – SECRET AGENT (With Approval) has not responded to pace-pressing or
front-running tactics in either of his starts at Saratoga. Chased the pace to
the far turn, but came up empty in the stretch. Lone turf win came at Belmont
Park from off the pace, and probably would benefit from a cutback in distance in
the future.
Outlook for Sunday, August 27
The forecast for Sunday calls for rain, with a high of 68.
It is quite normal for a racetrack to endure a bit of a letdown after a big
day of racing. However, that is clearly not the case at Saratoga on Sunday as a
strong 10-race card is on offer, featuring the Ballerina Breeders’ Cup S. (G1)
for fillies and mares at seven furlongs.
DUBAI ESCAPADE (Awesome Again), the 122-pound co-highweight in the Ballerina,
failed miserably in her most recent effort, the Princess Rooney H. (G1) at
Calder on July 15. The Darley Stable’s colorbearer disputed an extremely hot
pace until midstretch, then gave way readily and finished a badly beaten sixth.
That was her only defeat in 2006, as she had run off four successive victories
which included the Madison S. (G2) at Keeneland and the Vagrancy H. (G2) at
Belmont Park. She attempts to get back on the winning track at the Spa, and has
been firing on all cylinders in the morning for trainer Eoin Harty, with a
sparkling five-furlong breeze in a bullet :59 seconds on August 22. A more
typical performance is expected today with jockey Edgar Prado aboard.
MALIBU MINT (Malibu Moon) is the other co-highweight in the field. She easily
defeated Dubai Escapade in the Princess Rooney H. at Calder, which was a
breakout performance for this four-year-old filly. She then ventured north to
Saratoga for the Honorable Miss H. (G2) on August 4, and finished second in a
race she should have won. Malibu Mint could have sat closer to the early pace
that day, but was allowed to drop farther back than necessary. She rallied
extremely wide around the turn, and then raced well out in the track while
sustaining her bid in the stretch. She continued to close steadily to the
finish, only to run out of ground. Malibu Mint gets a huge rider switch to
Garrett Gomez today, which is a definite plus. However, one has to wonder if she
might be a bit over the top after two career-best efforts in a relatively short
period of time.
Also in the mix is STORMY KISS (Arg) (Bernstein), the Honorable Miss heroine,
who got the best of Malibu Mint in that contest. The Barclay Tagg-trained runner
was able to dictate affairs on the front end that day, but it doesn’t look like
that will happen in the Ballerina stretching out to seven furlongs. Javier
Castellano was the mastermind behind her Honorable Miss victory, and he returns
once again.
NOTHING BUT FUN (Dixie Union) is unbeaten sprinting, having started off her
career with three straight victories around one turn, including the Victory Ride
S. over this track last year. This will be a tall order for the Kentucky-bred
runner turning back to a sprint, but she could certainly make her presence felt
late if things fall her way.
HIGH BUTTON SHOES (Carson City), GRECIAN LOVER (Friendly Lover) and INDIAN
FLARE (Cherokee Run) comprise the rest of the field.
Sunday’s Plays
2ND (TURF ONLY) – LITETHENIGHT (Lite The Fuse) turned in an improved
third-place finish back on turf over a distance of ground. Showed good speed to
stalk, then set the early pace, but gave ground grudgingly in the stretch in a
race that finished up well late. She has fine tactical speed drawing an inside
post cutting back to a mile.
5TH – SUN SHOWER (Thunder Gulch) showed dramatic improvement switching to
Saratoga in her most recent effort. Exhibited much improved speed to stalk a
fast pace and continued on well in the stretch to finish second. She can
continue her progression in her third career start with jockey Mike Luzzi back
on board.