JUVENILE DIARY
AUGUST 16, 2008
by Tim Holland
Males
Thursday’s Saratoga Special S. (G2) drew, on paper, possibly the strongest field
of two-year-olds of any juvenile race this year and a visually impressive
victory with a BRIS rating of 96 moved the unbeaten RUN AWAY AND HIDE (City Zip)
to the top of his division. After breaking well and securing a good position on
the inside just off the pace, the Ronny Werner-trained colt, who had won the
Kentucky S. (G3) in his previous start, took the lead in
midstretch and edged away to win by more than a length. However, it must be noted
that Run Away And Hide enjoyed a perfect, trouble-free trip along a very
advantageous rail which cannot be said for several of his rivals.
Indeed, second-place finisher BREAK WATER EDISON (Lemon Drop Kid) lost ground
while being forced to race
three wide until the stretch. Favorite REYNALDOTHEWIZARD (Speightstown) was
steadied after breaking badly, swung five wide at the quarter pole before
switching to the inside in the deep stretch, and got up late to grab third place. Although Run
Away And Hide was conceding four pounds to the second and third home, it will be
no surprise if both of his rivals are able to turn the tables in future
meetings — especially at longer distances which will bring into bearing the
winner’s suspect stamina.
The biggest disappointment of the Special was the performance of LYIN’ HEART
(Lion Heart), who went to post as the second favorite having run a closing second
to SCREEN OUR FRIEND (Friend’s Lake) in the Bashford Manor S. (G3) at Churchill
Downs. After rating in hand behind the leaders, the Steve Asmussen trainee
appeared to be going well when he swung wide turning for home but immediately
came up empty dropping back to finish dead last. Unless there turns out to be
was a physical problem, the only explanation for this poor performance may have
been that he was racing on an extremely unfavorable part of the track.
Regardless, this effort did little to uphold the Bashford Manor form which had
already taken a major knock when Screen Your Friend ran very badly in the
Mountaineer Juvenile.
The first graded race for two-year-old colts at Saratoga was the Sanford S. (G2)
which, after several scratches, drew a field of just four who were all coming
off debut maiden wins. The winner was DESERT PARTY, a $2.1 million
two-year-old in training purchase by Darley who is by the immensely
successful young sire Street Cry (Ire). After seeing the mediocre final time of
1:12 1/5 for the six-furlong trip and the winner’s BRIS rating of 87, the value
of his performance was criticized by many. However, figures aside, one has to be
impressed with this performance since, after pulling his way up behind horses,
jockey Edgar Prado was forced to briefly check the colt after which he waited
patiently before accelerating professionally when a gap appeared.
One of the most exciting maiden winners of this meet where trainers like to
unveil many of their best juveniles is MUNNINGS (Speightstown), who Todd Pletcher sent out to
win early in the meet. The second-highest price to Desert Party when secured by Coolmore for
$1.7 million at the Calder two-year-old sale, Munnings
recovered from hitting the gate to break his maiden by more than four lengths,
earning a BRIS rating of 98.
Despite not finishing first past the post in last Sunday’s Best Pal S. (G2), the
Doug O’Neill-trained AZUL LEON (Lion Heart), winner of the Hollywood Juvenile Championship
(G3) last month, maintained his position as the leading two-year-old colt on the
West Coast while remaining unbeaten in three starts. After breaking slowly and
being allowed to settle early by Rafael Bejarano, mirroring the tactics employed
in his previous two wins, the colt by the red hot freshman sire Lion Heart made
a powerful, five wide move on the final turn to reach contention. At the top of
the stretch, KELLY LEAK (Runaway Groom), with Victor Espinoza aboard, drifted out
and when Bejarano made the split second decision to duck to the inside of his
rival, Espinoza used a strong right-handed whip action that caused his mount to then drift
in to the left. While there might not have been actual
physical contact between him and Azul Leon, Kelly Leak’s antics caused a chain reaction
that obliterated
the chances, albeit perhaps slim, of a top three placing for the fourth-place
finisher, CHARLIE’S MOMENT (Indian Charlie). While Espinoza may have been guilty of little more than
extreme race riding tactics, interference had been caused and Kelly Leak was
subsequently placed behind Charlie’s Moment, who had taken the worst of it all.
Having lost varying amounts of momentum twice, if not three times in the stretch, is a testament to Azul Leon, who is out of the stakes winning Cure
the Blues
mare Quick Blue. He was still able to accelerate sharply close to the wire
and came within a nose of catching Kelly Leak, whom he was giving four pounds. It must be said that if he was allowed a clean trip,
Azul Leon would have proved
much the best.
While Azul Leon appears to an exceptional promising individual, the overall value of the
California two-year-old form to-date must be questioned. Indeed, all of the
seven colts that he defeated in the Hollywood Juvenile have raced at least one
time each since and only one has won — and that was a maiden $40,000 claimer.
Meanwhile, of the nine runners in the Best Pal, just Azul Leon and TURBO CALL (Nineeleven),
who finished sixth, had done more than just break their maiden. Furthermore, the
final BRIS Speed rating of 89 for both Kelly Leak and Azul Leon is disappointing
when one considers that the pair had earned ratings of 91 in their winning
debuts.
Making just his second start in the Best Pal, Kelly Leak, who is a half-brother
to 2001 Will Rogers (G3) winner Dr. Park (Honor Grades) and who cost $110,000 when bought by his
trainer, Michael Machowsky, as a two-year-old in training, can be expected to
improve. He is scheduled to meet Azul Leon in what will be their next start,
the Norfolk S. (G1), on September 27 at Santa Anita. Their connections have
opted to
skip the more lucrative Del Mar Futurity (G1) in favor of gaining experience
over this year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) surface.
Of the remainder of the Best Pal field, the Darley Stable-owned, Eoin Harty-trained CORONET OF A BARON
(Pure Prize) holds the most promise after being the lone runner involved
in the early pace that also played a part in the finish. An expensive, $550,000
two-year-old purchase by the good young sire Pure Prize, Coronet Of A Baron
broke his maiden impressively at Arlington Park and earned a good BRIS Speed rating of 96 in a key
race from which the third- and fourth-place finishers each won their next start.
Like Saratoga, Del Mar is a favorite spot for trainers to introduce their most
promising youngsters and a most impressive debuting winner at the meet was
BELIEVE IN HOPE (Thunder Gulch) on August 2. A chestnut colt, Believe in Hope
is trained by Ron Ellis and earned a BRIS rating of 92 in his come-from-behind
score.
In the Midwest, some of the probable leading home defenders for the Arlington-Washington Futurity (G3) were seen in an allowance event
on Wednesday. Each of
the six runners had broken their maidens in their last start, four at Arlington
and two at Churchill Downs. The second favorite was the Wayne Catalano-trained,
Illinois-foaled JOSE ADAN (Crypto Star), who broke his maiden in a huge performance. After
being seemingly hopelessly trapped on the rail with less than a furlong to run,
the colt was switched out and passed the whole field in the last
half-furlong. While the value of performances like this sometimes look better
than they are, he was taking a large rise in class and Jose Adan proved that he
is legitimate with a workmanlike, but not flashy, effort. After breaking toward
the rear, he steadily advanced and caught the favored MALIBU MAVERICK (Posse) to
win under a well timed ride by apprentice Brandon Meier.
A another likely contender for Arlington’s Futurity is HIS GREATNESS (Honour And
Glory), who made is first start a winning one in the opening maiden on Arlington
Million Day. Trained by Marco Salazar, the bay colt was well meant, being bet down
to 2.90-1 after having been 20-1 on the morning line, and he broke from the unfavorable
rail post against a good-looking maiden field. His Greatness, who looks to have been
a bargain $11,000 yearling purchase, gave his connections some cause to worry
when he had to be switched twice in the stretch, but vindicated their faith when
he found running room and drew off to win impressively by two lengths.
Fillies
A strong field, including the first- and third-place finishers from both the
Astoria S. at Belmont and Churchill Down’s Debutante S. (G3), went postward for
the Adirondack S. (G2) on Wednesday at Saratoga. BOLD UNION (Dixie Union), who
had won the Astoria by nearly 10 lengths and looked to have the potential to be
the leader of the East Coast fillies, was dispatched as the lukewarm favorite but
showed little with no apparent excuse, finishing fourth. The runaway winner by
seven lengths was MANI BHAVAN (Storm Boot), a $30,000 yearling purchase from the
family of champion sprinter and a leading freshman sire of this year,
Speightstown. Trained by Steve Klesaris, Mani Bhavin broke fast from her outside
post, set uncontested fractions and coasted home unchallenged while earning a good BRIS
rating of 99. She threw the division into disarray.
Finishing second with a promising run after bobbling at the break was
DOREMIFASOLLATIDO (Bernstein), a New York-bred who had earned a BRIS rating of 108 in
a six-length maiden score at Belmont in her previous start. Trained by James Jerkins, Doremifasollatido is a half sister to
Grade 3 winner Fortunate Damsel (Runaway Groom) and has
plenty of potential. Also suffering a poor start was third-place finisher
PRETTY PROLIFIC (Lion Heart), who then found trouble in the stretch when she was
forced to alter course sharply but still barely missed the place in an extremely
promising effort. In her lone previous effort, the James Baker-trained filly, whose second dam is the champion older mare Waya, drew off to break her maiden
at Churchill, and she will be one to watch when asked to stretch out over longer
distances.
Of the other also-rans in the Adirondack S., GARDEN DISTRICT (Dixie Union) and
SIMPLIFY (Pulpit), first and third in the Debutante and
trained by Todd Pletcher and Steve Asmussen respectively, cast doubts on the
value of that race’s form when finishing finished fifth and sixth without
threatening. Meanwhile, GOLDEN ARTEMIS (Malibu Moon), who had finished third
behind Bold Union in the Astoria, fared even worse, running dead last of the
eight starters without an apparent excuse.
In the Schuylerville S. (G3), the first of three graded races at the Spa for two-year-old fillies, the Asmussen-trained OCEAN COLORS, a daughter of
Orientate out of Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Winning Colors, was the strong favorite
but, after dueling early, she gave way and was eased on the sloppy track. The
winner was her less fancied stablemate JARDIN (Montbrook). A $425,000 juvenile
sale purchase, Jardin is a full-sister to Flash S. (G3) winner Beacon Shine and
is from the family of Outofthebox, who won the Super Derby (G1) and is also
by Montbrook. Aided by a perfect stalking trip and a liking for the wet surface,
Jardin defeated yet another top two-year-old by Lion Heart, CAMERON CRAZIES, by
four lengths. The latter, trained by D. Wayne Lukas, dueled for the lead
throughout and was game to hold onto second.
Just as with the colts, there may be a sizeable hometown advantage come Breeders’
Cup day and the leader of the two-year-old filly division in California is EVITA
ARGENTINA (Candy Ride [Arg]), who won the Sorrento S. (G3) at Del Mar in the beginning of August
to remain perfect in two starts. A daughter of the very promising freshman sire
Candy Ride, Evita Argentina chased the leaders before rallying wide in the
stretch and running on strongly to defeat STARDOM BOUND (Tapit) by a length with a BRIS
rating of 85 for the 6 1/2-furlong trip. A $375,000 purchase this spring,
Stardom Bound is out of the Grade 3-placed mare My White Corvette (Tarr Road).
She broke dead last and made up ground up steadily on the backstretch before
being briefly caught behind a wall of horses turning for home and swinging wide. By this time, Evita Argentina had already kicked for home
and the best Stardom Bound could do was run on to gain the place. Fourth past
the post, EMMY DARLING (Graeme Hall) enjoyed an inside stalking trip into the stretch but was
checked when GLITTER CITY (City Place), who was running greenly on the wrong lead,
seized
command in the stretch and crossed in front of her. Emmy Darling, who had beaten
Glitter City in the Landaluce S. at Hollywood, rallied
but failed to catch that rival for third by a neck, but she was promoted a spot after the subsequent
stewards’ inquiry. While the finish was on the messy side
concerning the in-the-money finishers, it must be said that Evita Argentina was
certainly the best on this day.
Being by Candy Ride, who won the Pacific Classic (G1) as a four-year-old, one can
anticipate further improvement when she is asked to tackle longer distances and, the
same may be expected from Stardom Bound and Emmy Darling, especially the latter
who is out of a mare by Belmont S. (G1) winner Colonial Affair. This, however,
may not be said for Glitter City, who looks to have reached her distance
limitations based on her running style and her sire, the extremely fast City Place.
Of the maiden-winning juvenile fillies in California, one to watch for is TURTLE
CREEK BABE (Grand Slam). Trained by Ron McAnally, she made her second
start a winning one over 5 1/2 furlongs while earning a BRIS rating of 87 at
the expense of Sorrento runner-up Stardom Bound. Flattering the form further was MONTANA FIELDS
(Pulpit), who finished third and alluded to her own bright future when breaking
her maiden impressively on August 3.