CHURCHILL DOWNS NOTEBOOK
NOVEMBER 2, 2007
by Steve Collison
The 21-day Churchill Downs fall meet opened on Sunday with a strong 11-race
card featuring a pair of graded stakes for two-year-olds going one mile.
In the 26th running of the Iroquois S. (G3) for the boys, COURT VISION
(Gulch) came from well off the pace to snare Halo Najib (Halo’s Image) at the
wire to win by a half-length. And in its companion race, PURE CLAN (Pure Prize)
was able to capture the 39th Pocahontas S. (G3) for the fillies in
remarkably similar fashion.
In the Iroquois, Court Vision, trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, moved to
the inside after breaking well from post three. With his regular rider
Julien Leparoux in the irons, the two-year-old rated like a seasoned pro before
making a bold, sweeping move heading toward the top of the stretch. Once in
gear, he out-kicked the game Halo Najib to win in a driving finish while
returning $19.60 to his backers.
As if by design, the hot-riding Leparoux followed his performance in the
Iroquois by winning the Pocahontas with the same late-charging style that
proved successful earlier. Although in truth, Leparoux didn’t have much choice when his
filly nearly fell down coming out of the gate after getting cut off by rival
Cape Discovery (Cape Town). Trained by veteran conditioner Robert Holthus, the
undefeated Pure Clan had previously won over only turf, but she proved her
versatility by winning her first dirt outing in dramatic fashion. Although Holthus was fairly confident about her ability to handle the main surface, the
public wasn’t as convinced and thus sent her postward at odds of 10-1. The
subsequent payoff of $22.60 looks generous now in hindsight as the favorite
Anachini (Forest Camp) struggled home in sixth.
This coming weekend Churchill Downs has a pair of stakes planned for Saturday
and Sunday. Saturday features the $200,000 Ack Ack H. (G3) for
three-year-olds and up going one mile. That event is accompanied by the Chilukki
H. (G3) for fillies and mares, three-year-olds and up, at one mile also for
a purse of $200,000.
On Sunday the weekend festivities conclude with the running of the $100,000
Cherokee Run going five furlongs over the grass for three-year-olds and up. Rounding out
the day is the $100,000 Very Subtle for three-year olds and up fillies and mares
at six furlongs.
Although it’s too soon to start declaring any bias over the main Churchill
surface, no one was able to win on the front end Sunday. However that can easily
be attributed to the fact that most of the early leaders were extreme longshots
who shouldn’t have been winning anyway. In the 2ND race, BETATRON (Tale of
the Cat) was able to lay just a half-length off the leader while racing near the
rail setting solid fractions in the process and then go on for the win. Court
Vision also raced near the rail before swinging out for the drive making the
surface appear uniformed throughout the day. I would expect any runner with
merit to be able to win under any circumstances this week without the surface
being a consideration. That goes for the grass course as well which also played
fair on Sunday.
Despite the abundance of talented riders at this Churchill Downs meet, it’s
Julien Leparoux who continues to standout. He came out of the Turfway Park meet
on fire, finished second in the standings at Keeneland with a 25 percent win rate, and
has rocketed to the lead in just one day here. Besides riding with supreme
confidence, his agent obviously is making all the right moves so it pays to
watch where Leparoux lands when given a choice between mounts. For the most part,
jockey moves like this are overrated, but not when someone is as hot as Julien
as trainers with ready horses begin seeking your services.
RECENT CLAIMS TO WATCH
No claiming races were run Sunday.
HORSES TO WATCH
Sunday (10/28)
2ND — AQUARIAN (Fusaichi Pegasus), a well-bred two-year-old colt, shipped in from
Belmont for trainer Nick Zito but was given a rude welcome by rival Tizzy (Tiznow). Colt was slammed by that one when coming out of the gate which
automatically compromised his chances. Then when he began making a move through
the lane, Tizzy once again disrupted his stride while tiring through the lane.
4TH — CITIZEN JOHN (Proud Citizen) has been
washing out and rank during the post parades since adding blinkers, which may not be a coincidence. In
both of his subsequent efforts, the colt not surprisingly turned in erratic
performances. Expect trainer David Vance to remove the shades soon with
positive results.
7TH — GRAND SHOCK (Grand Slam), a two-year-old filly, may have been slightly over
her head going in this allowance event that featured six of nine runners who had
previously competed against stakes company. She still managed to turn in
a deceptively solid effort despite traffic trouble and would be dangerous if
dropped down to a high-end claiming race.
9TH — Halo Najib was making only his second
career start in the Iroquois. After winning his debut last out, the colt was being asked to stretch out to one mile against top notch company and he
handled the assignment with distinction despite being rank during the post
parade. This colt continued being a handful throughout the race forcing jockey
Mark Guidry to move prematurely inside the five-eighths pole. Still managed to hang on
for the place spot and has an obviously bright future.
BEWARE OF THESE
Sunday (10/28)
2ND — KING’S SILVER SON (Mizzen Mast), a two-year-old colt, has finished
second in all four career starts, including today’s event as the chalk.
Frequently horses have viable excuses when running well yet not winning, but this
colt had every opportunity to score here. Instead, he retreated once gaining a
slight lead through the stretch. Runners like this one lack the heart to succeed
and may not win until dropped well below his natural talent level. And even then
he’ll be questionable.