Trainer Eoin Harty, born in Ireland and based in Southern California, is
rarely seen without his New York Yankees baseball cap. But the fact that
Saturday night is Game 3 of the World Series between the Yankees and the
Philadelphia Phillies is not the real reason he has shipped PAST THE POINT
(Indian Charlie) to
Aqueduct for the 34th running of the $150,000
Bold Ruler
(G3).
“It’s the only reason,” dead-panned Harty, who developed his rooting interest
in the Yankees through his grandmother, who was a big fan of Joe DiMaggio.
“Seriously, it’s time to change things up and make it a little easier on
him,” said Harty of Past the Point, who won a seven-furlong allowance/optional claimer at
Saratoga this summer before finishing sixth to Rachel Alexandra (Medaglia d’Oro) in the Woodward
(G1) and ninth to Fatal Bullet (Red Bullet) in the Phoenix (G3) over the
Polytrack at Keeneland. “I think he went too fast early on against Rachel, and his
form has never been particularly good on synthetic.
“I’m running him here because I think he has a good chance to win here.”
The Grade 1 runner-up will be making his first appearance on the Big A’s
main track in the seven-furlong Bold Ruler, which shares top billing with the
$100,000
Turnback the Alarm
(G3) on Saturday’s card. Past the Point is the 5-2 morning-line favorite
over five rivals, including defending champion LUCKY ISLAND (Arg) (Lucky
Roberto), hero of the 2008 Bold Ruler at Belmont Park, and LE GRAND CRU
(Dynaformer), recent winner of the
Kelso H. (G3).
Lucky Island is still trying to regain
the form he showed last year when he reeled off four straight victories, including
scores in the Bold Ruler and Tom Fool (G2). In his only two starts
this year, Lucky Island was fourth in the Toboggan (G3) in March, in which he
suffered a puncture wound, and then returned a well-beaten favorite in the
Spooky Mulder S., finishing sixth after stumbling at the start.
“We feel like he might have needed his last race,” trainer Kiaran
McLaughlin said. “He
had been off since March, but he’s training very well since then and we’ll give
him a
chance. He’s a very nice horse.”
Le Grand Cru will be making his fourth stakes start in Saturday’s Bold Ruler,
having
finished fourth in both the Jaipur (G3) at Belmont Park and the Albert the
Great at
Saratoga before his breakthrough in the off-the-turf Kelso. The four-year-old made but one start at age
three — breaking his
maiden in
March 2008 at Gulfstream Park — before resuming his career in February of this
year, and he’s compiled an overall record of 2-3-1 from 11 starts.
“He had a funny-looking leg, so they put him away for a while,” Hall of
Fame
trainer H. Allen Jerkens explained. “He came back to us when we got to Florida. He eats
well, he
does good…he’s bred to go long on both sides of his pedigree, but I think
he’ll go any
distance.”
In the 1 1/8-mile Turnback the Alarm, Grade 1-winning millionaire UNBRIDLED’S
BELLE (Broken Vow) will make her next-to-last career start and final New York
appearance when she squares seven fillies and mares. The classy six-year-old has competed in some of New York’s premier
stakes races, winning the 2007 Beldame S. (G1) at Belmont, and will enter
Saturday’s race off a runner-up in the 2009 edition of the Beldame. She’s been
installed as the overwhelming 3-5 choice on the morning line.
“She’ll run here, and then in the Falls City (G2) (on November 26
at
Churchill Downs),” trainer Todd Pletcher said of Unbridled Belle, who has been a workmate for
Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1)-bound Quality Road (Elusive Quality). “She’s had what I would describe as an
excellent career. Obviously, she’s had some big wins. She’s held her form over a
long
period of time. I would think the highlights of her career were the Beldame and
the (2007) Delaware Handicap (G2).”
The five-time stakes winner has been installed as the overwhelming 3-5 choice
on the morning line, and jockey Ramon Dominguez will return to the saddle.
Grade 3 queen WEATHERED (Key Contender) is her top rival.