THOROUGHBRED BEAT
SEPTEMBER 7, 2006
by James Scully
Spa specialist — For the third straight year, POMEROY (Boundary) has
recorded a major sprint victory at Saratoga. This time it was the Forego S.
(G1), which he led nearly wire-to-wire for a 2 1/4-length decision. Previously
trained by Patrick Biancone, Pomeroy emerged as a top sprint prospect in 2004
when easily capturing the King’s Bishop S. (G1), but the sophomore colt missed
the rest of that season due to an injury. He was rounding into peak form again
last year when he romped in the Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. (G2) at Saratoga by four
lengths, but his health was once again a problem as he made only one more
appearance, finishing eighth in the Vosburgh H. (G1) at Belmont Park. Pomeroy’s
racing days appeared over, but South Florida horseman Marty Wolfson took over
his conditioning and was able to get the five-year-old back to the races in
July. Overlooked at 11-1 in the Smile Sprint H. (G2), Pomeroy rallied from just
off the pace to be second at Calder, and he returned to the Spa with another
sterling performance last Saturday.
Upset Tap — Saturday’s Woodward S. (G1) didn’t flatter older
horses on the East Coast as longshots SECOND JUNE (Louis Quatorze) and PREMIUM
TAP (Pleasant Tap) raced around the track 1-2, respectively, before switching
positions in the stretch drive. Premium Tap, who wound up earning his first
graded stakes victory, was dismissed at 31-1. The improving four-year-old was
making only his third stakes attempt in the Woodward, but it was difficult to
get excited about his chances following a well-beaten fifth in the Whitney H.
(G1). Second of June ran gamely, but he hasn’t won since January, 2004, and has
dropped all five career starts past 8 1/2 furlongs. FLOWER ALLEY (Distorted
Humor) and SUAVE (A.P. Indy), the second and third choices in the wagering,
respectively, were just awful. Flower Alley, winner of last year’s Travers S.
(G1) and second in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), appears to have gone
completely off form, finishing seventh in the Woodward after filling the same
position in the Whitney. Suave, who set a new track mark when registering a
terrific score in the Washington Park H. (G2) in his previous outing, was a
Grade 2 winner at Saratoga last year and looked like a major presence entering
Saturday’s race with his speed, but he packed it in early and retreated to last.
Funky — Shooting straight to the lead, GET FUNKY (Straight Man)
dueled with the longest shot on the board during the early stages and was under
a ride from Jose Valdivia Jr. midway on the far turn in Sunday’s Del Mar Derby
(G2). He was caught between horses with an onslaught of challengers as he
approached the top of the stretch, but Get Funky simply accelerated away from
his rivals after straightening into the lane and went on to record an impressive
1 1/2-length decision. A close third in both the La Jolla H. (G2) and first
division of the Oceanside
S., the Florida-bred colt notched his first stakes win and
improved his overall mark to 6-3-0-2. After being claimed for $62,500 in his
second career start, Get Funky was immediately transferred to the grass by John
Sadler, and he’s developed into a very promising turf runner. Third-crop sire
Straight Man is also proving to be a good source of turf prowess.
Resilient — CINDAGO (Indian Charlie), another good-looking sophomore
in John Sadler’s shedrow, returned to the races with an outstanding effort at
Del Mar on Saturday, winning the one-mile El Cajon S. over a stout field.
Unraced since breaking his maiden in late December, Cindago faced a daunting
task against Grade 1 winners BROTHER DEREK (Benchmark) and BOB AND JOHN (Seeking
the Gold) as well as multiple stakes hero DA STOOPS (Distorted Humor), and he
was under pressure the entire way on the front end, first from Da Stoops, then
Brother Derek, and then both. Bob and John ran past him at the top of the
stretch and appeared ready to open up for the win, but Cindago courageously
fought back along the rail, re-rallying for a half-length triumph. Considering
that it was only his third career start, Cindago proved remarkably resilient.
It’s a shame he got hurt earlier in the year, but Cindago is going to win some
big races in 2007 if he stays healthy.
Spandex, cable coating — The Polytrack era is in full swing. Woodbine
and Turfway are presently running over synthetically based tracks, and Keeneland
is preparing to open its Fall Meet in October. As Turfway’s Polytrack showed
over the winter when it produced plenty of kickback, the unresearched surfaces
will need some tinkering from time to time. I knew about the rubber, carpet
fibers and wax-coated sand, but it turns out the new mix at Turfway also
includes tiny strands of Spandex and plastic cable coating. What’s the deal with
these ingredients? Will door stoppers, bottle corks and silly putty be in the
mix eventually? These materials are raising legitimate questions. Does anybody
know where this stuff is coming from? Is it safe to inhale? We don’t want to
learn about serious respiratory issues associated with chemically
engineered tracks in the future. Where’s the research? Jockeys are going to be
riding more than a thousand races a year over these tracks, and I would think
jockeys and horses are going to be inhaling components of the synthetically
based surfaces, especially when the mix isn’t perfect like at Turfway over the
winter. Does California have anything to worry about? We’re being led to believe
that the artificial mixtures
will always be perfect regardless of climate, along with no possibility of health risks.
There’s no time to address any questions. The West Coast tracks are
in a rush to install these radically new surfaces before they learn about any
shortcomings.