THOROUGHBRED BEAT
NOVEMBER 1, 2007
by James Scully
I’ll review 10 points of interests entering the Breeders’ Cup as well as some
other thoughts on the weekend.
1 — Pletcher Factor. ENGLISH CHANNEL (Smart Strike) made the day for
Todd Pletcher, dominating the Turf (G1) with a smashing seven-length decision.
OCTAVE (Unbridled’s Song), who trailed early in the Distaff (G1) before offering
a strong rally up the rail on the far turn, gave a fine account of herself in
finishing third by a half-length, and HONEY RYDER (Lasting Approval) recorded a
commendable second, beaten three parts of a length, following a wide trip in the
Filly & Mare Turf (G1). Those were the highlights as the three-time reigning
Eclipse Award winner compiled a 10-1-1-1 mark. Champion WAIT A WHILE (Maria’s
Mon) was withdrawn due to the soggy conditions. Classic (G1) runners ANY GIVEN
SATURDAY (Distorted Humor) and LAWYER RON (Langfuhr), who checked in sixth and
seventh, respectively, disappointed.
2 — Baffert, Frankel and Zito. Bob Baffert went two-for-three on
Saturday, saddling INDIAN BLESSING (Indian Charlie) to a wire-to-wire victory in
the Juvenile Fillies (G1) and MIDNIGHT LUTE (Real Quiet) to a come-from-behind
win in the Sprint (G1). Indian Blessing tired late, but it didn’t matter as her
rivals struggled home behind her. Midnight Lute turned in one of the most
impressive stretch moves in Breeders’ Cup history to win going away by 4 3/4
lengths. The connections of runner-up Idiot Proof (Benchmark), who looked like a
winner at the quarter-pole after collaring pacesetter Talent Search (Catienus),
had to be heartbroken. The winner came out of nowhere. Midnight Lute broke a
step slow and was far back early. He closed up the inside part of the track on
the far turn and swung out for the stretch drive with six horses in front of
him. He ran by them in a flash.
Frankel skipped the rain-soaked Breeders’ Cup festivities but was still
responsible for GINGER PUNCH (Awesome Again), who cemented her status as the
nation’s best filly or mare with a gutsy win in the Distaff (G1). She raced
along the rail (which was obviously good both days) the entire way, but needed
to get past a determined Hystericalady (Distorted Humor) in the final furlongs.
Her rival leaned in and bumped her a couple of times, nearly knocking her
completely into the rail and off-stride, but Ginger Punch would not be denied.
The flashy chestnut overcame tight quarters with a late surge to win by a neck,
and Frankel wound up going one-for-four in this year’s Breeders’ Cup. One of his
starters, PRECIOUS KITTEN (Catienus), was denied the chance to compete (along
with Arravale [Arch]) in the Filly & Mare Turf due to the bad antics of Simply
Perfect (GB) (Danehill), who was simply unprepared for the race.
The Nick Zito-trained WAR PASS (Cherokee Run) left an excellent impression in the
Juvenile (G1), winning in wire-to-wire fashion by 4 3/4 lengths, and he didn’t
coast home like counterpart Indian Blessing. Pyro (Pulpit) ran a big race from
off the pace, finishing 12 lengths clear of third, and the runner-up is going to
be a major player on the 2008 Triple Crown scene if he remains healthy. War Pass
was the star on Saturday, though, blazing his way through early splits in :22
3/5, :45 2/5 and 1:09 3/5 before finishing fast. His 114 BRIS Speed rating was
surpassed only by Curlin (Smart Strike) (121) and Corinthian (Pulpit) (118) on
the dirt. Zito went for one-for-three
in the Breeders’ Cup.
3 — Parisel. Francois Parisel temporarily replaced the suspended
Patrick Biancone and saddled six runners in the 11-race program, winning the
inaugural running of the Juvenile Turf with NOWNOWNOW (Whywhywhy), who trailed
his 11 rivals through the opening three-quarters of a mile over the yielding
turf at Monmouth. The bay colt closed with a rush to reach contention in
midstretch and gamely overhauled Achill Island (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells) in the
final yards to win by a half-length, providing young riding sensation Julien
Leparoux with his first Breeders’ Cup victory. Nownownow was the highest-priced
winner in the Breeders’ Cup at 12-1, paying $27.20. Parisel also saddled
COSMONAUT (Lemon Drop Kid) to a respectable third in the Mile (G1) at 14-1.
4 — Dylan Thomas. Winner of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Fr-G1),
DYLAN THOMAS (Ire) (Danehill) was the lone odds-on horse in the 2007 Breeders’
Cup, leaving the starting gate in the Turf at 4-5, but the Irish raider was
under a ride early and never a factor in the stretch, checking in fifth. Jockey
Johnny Murtagh slammed the course condition afterward, but Europeans railing
against rain-soaked turf seems a bit hollow.
5 — European influence. For the first time since 1998, the
international contingent was shut out. The few highlights consisted of ACHILL
ISLAND, who just missed when second in the Juvenile Turf; a non-threatening
second by 2-1 Mile favorite EXCELLENT ART (GB) (Pivotal), who was likely
compromised by post 12; and a third-place effort by PASSAGE OF TIME (GB) (Dansili
[GB]), who was beaten a length as the 5-2 favorite in the Filly & Mare
Turf.
The tragic breakdown of two-time European champion GEORGE WASHINGTON (Ire)
was the low point of the entire weekend. Besides being a terrible loss, it was
unfortunate to see Curlin’s connections celebrating so demonstratively on the
track afterward, right next to the accident scene. Go crazy in the seats
following the race or en route to the winner’s circle, but Curlin’s connections
probably wouldn’t have appreciated George Washington’s people acting like they
did on the track if roles were reversed.
6 — Weather. Rain, rain, rain. Wet weather drenched the New
Jersey track, but Monmouth’s main track remained safe despite the deluge.
Seventy-three horses competed in the Breeders’ Cup races over the sloppy track,
with 72 returning safely. We’ve witnessed a number of breakdowns over Polytrack,
Cushion Track and Tapeta in recent months, and a single accident could’ve
occurred over any surface last weekend given the inches of rainfall.
As unfortunate as it sounds, George Washington’s connections didn’t play to
his strength and paid the price. He was strictly a miler. His connections
bypassed the only logical spot for him because the $5 million Classic is much
more prestigious than the $2 million Mile. They got away with taking him out of
his element last year, but he wasn’t going to be a factor against this year’s
deep field at 1 1/4 miles on any type of track.
7 — Speed. Rainfall benefited front runners most of the afternoon on
Saturday, especially at two turns, as the first three route races on the main
track were won wire-to-wire. Midnight Lute closed from off the pace to win the
Sprint. Ginger Punch and Hystericalady both raced closed to the pace in the
Distaff. Curlin rallied from off the pace into contention approaching the far
turn and propelled himself into the lead shortly after straightening into the
stretch, utilizing a dynamic turn of foot to turn the Classic into a rout.
On the turf, Nownownow closed from last to first on Friday. LAHUDOOD (GB)
(Singspiel [Ire]) was always close before seizing command in upper stretch of
Saturday’s Filly & Mare Turf. English Channel and runner-up SHAMDINAN (Dr Fong)
were also prominent during the early stages of the Turf, alternating between
second and third before claiming the top two spots.
8 — Synthetic-to-dirt. Horse making the transition went winless, and
it wasn’t pretty for juveniles trying a traditional racing surface for the first
time. From the seven Breeders’ Cup dirt races, 28 contestants made their
previous start on synthetic track. HARD SPUN (Danzig), HYSTERICALADY and IDIOT
PROOF recorded runner-up finishes, and MISS MACY SUE (Trippi) and AWESOME GEM
(Awesome Again) claimed third-place honors. Nine juveniles made their dirt debut
on Saturday, with TASHA’S MIRACLE (Harlan’s Holiday) doing best of all with a
fourth in the Juvenile Fillies.
9 — Jockeys. Garrett Gomez won the William Shoemaker Award for
outstanding jockey during the Breeders’ Cup, registering two wins and two
thirds. This was his second Shoemaker Award after leading all jockeys at Belmont two years
ago with a pair of Breeders’
Cup victories. Cornelio Velasquez piloted home a pair of winners in KIP DEVILLE
(Kipling) and War Pass. Elvis Trujillo, who rode at Calder at Saturday, captured
his Breeders’ Cup debut when guiding MARYFIELD (Elusive Quality) to an
off-the-pace score in the Filly & Mare Sprint. Robby Albarado and Alan Garcia
also garnered their first Breeders’ Cup win.
10 — Chalk. I was wrong about my prognostication; it wasn’t a weekend
to expect the unexpected. Most of the winners were among the public’s top three
choices, with results making sense as horses ran to form. INDIAN BLESSING, WAR
PAR and MIDNIGHT LUTE were all favored on Saturday. GINGER PUNCH, who was 4.50-1
in the wagering along with Lear’s Princess (Lear Fan), was nearly favored.
English Channel was a clear second choice in the Turf. CORINTHIAN and
Curlin were no surprise at 7-2 and 4-1, respectively.
Flower Bowl Invitational (G1) queen Lahudood and Grade 1 hero Kip Deville,
both mid-priced horses in the wagering, were the closest thing to a longshot
winner on Saturday, and their prices drifted up from expected levels due to
pre-race comments by their trainers. Kiaran McLaughlin left no doubt that soft
ground was a problem for Lahudood, indicating that she could scratch during the
week. To further mislead the public, McLaughlin said Lear’s Princess would love
it wet, stating “Let it rain” in regard to her chances. As a result, Lear’s
Princess left the starting gate as the Distaff favorite, and she was never a
factor in finishing 10th. Lahudood was dismissed by many due to the footing,
which she appeared to relish at Monmouth. Steadied repeatedly while in tight
quarters most of the way, Lahudood drew off splendidly from her rivals upon
reaching the top of the stretch in the Filly & Mare Turf.
Kip Deville was the best American miler earlier in the season, capturing the
Frank E. Kilroe Mile H. (G1) at Santa Anita prior to his outstanding victory
over a top-class field in the Maker’s Mark Mile (G2) at Keeneland. He tailed off
following the latter, but the gray colt was rounding back into form in his
recent starts, finishing a very good second in the Woodbine Mile (Can-G1) prior
to the Breeders’ Cup. When trainer Richard Dutrow announced that Kip Deville had
filling in his pastern early in Breeders’ Cup week, forcing the four-year-old
colt to postpone a scheduled workout, bettors took notice. That announcement
drove up his price on race day, but Kip Deville left no doubt about his
superiority with a convincing one-length tally at Monmouth.
The Juvenile Turf, which featured 12-1 eighth choice Nownownow, was the only
upset I witnessed.
Other notes:
Asmussen, Mott and Violette. Steve Asmussen entered this year’s
Breeders’ Cup winless from six previous starts (zero-for-eight when counting two
unplaced efforts with Scott Blasi in charge last year), and his best previous
finish was a fourth. His three starters all ran well on Saturday. CURLIN, the
4-1 fourth choice against perhaps the deepest field in Classic history, rolled
to an authoritative win after flopping in his previous start at Monmouth. PYRO,
the 4-1 second choice in the Juvenile, gave an excellent account of himself, and
KODIAK KOWBOY (Posse) surprised with his third-place finish at nearly 12-1 in
the same event.
It was a tough two days for Bill Mott. After reclaiming the Saratoga training
title from Pletcher this year, the resurgent trainer saddled four unplaced
runners in the Breeders’ Cup, including a pair of last-place finishers. Richard
Violette was also winless with a pair of last-placed runners. The Violette-trained
DREAM RUSH (Wild Event) wasn’t one of them, and I’m sure it was a tough beat for
her connections. She dismissed all challengers through early splits of :21 1/5
and :44 in the Filly & Mare Sprint before weakening slightly to fifth, and Dream
Rush remains a very classy sophomore filly who will be tough to handle wherever
she appears next year.
Questionable rides. Hindsight is 20/20, but I couldn’t understand why
John Velazquez didn’t send Lawyer Ron from the rail in the Classic. Inside speed
was good all day, but he wanted to settle behind Hard Spun, who parlayed a
front-running trip into a runner-up finish. Hard Spun is as honest as the day is
long and deserves plenty of credit for his performance, but Lawyer Ron was in
position to seize the advantage following the break. Velazquez didn’t want it,
and Lawyer Ron didn’t fire.
Velazquez was all over the place with Honey Ryder during the early stages of
the Filly & Mare Turf and kept his mount wide for the last three-quarters of a
mile. She needed a better trip to challenge for the win.
Joe Talamo, the 17-year-old riding sensation from Louisiana, got stuck in a
tight spot aboard NASHOBA’S KEY (Silver Hawk) and couldn’t get out until it was
too late, finishing two lengths back in fourth in the Filly & Mare Turf. Talamo
will keep improving his skills, but Nashoba’s Key’s connections probably didn’t
want their previously unbeaten filly to serve as a learning experience in the
Breeders’ Cup.
Kenny McPeek and Kent Desormeaux must have decided that somebody needed to
challenge Indian Blessing early, but the decision to send the late-running A TO
THE CROFT (Menifee) after the speed completely compromised the chances of the
multiple Grade 1 runner-up as she retreated to ninth.
Horses for courses. IDIOT PROOF (near 6-1), HYSTERICALADY (9-1) and
GOTTCHA GOLD (Coronado’s Quest) (7-1) were all labeled horses for the course
entering the Breeders’ Cup, and the sloppy conditions and fall weather didn’t
dampen their affinity for the Jersey Shore oval, with all three running well for
second in their respective events. In contrast, six-time Monmouth winner Park
Avenue Ball (Citidancer), who appeared off form entering the Dirt Mile, was no
factor finishing seventh, and Haskell Invitational (G1) winner Any Given
Saturday never fired in the Classic.
Oak Tree. The two-day format will continue to gain momentum in years
to come, and I’m looking forward to the likelihood of sunny conditions (with
hopefully no forest fires) at Santa Anita next year.