AMERICAN
GRADED STAKES PREVIEWS
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WOODFORD S. (G3), 6TH-KEE, $100,000, 3YO/UP, 5.5FT, 3:40 P.M. EDT, 10-9 |
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| 1 |
YANKEE INJUNUITY, 6, h, by Yankee VictorHonestly Honey, by Irish Open O-Encore Racing Stable; B-Valerie B. Dailey & Kelli Charles (Fl) |
| 2 |
RAVALO, 6, G, by MutakddimMomentary Hope, by Southern Halo O-Lindy M. Redding; B-Heaven Trees (Ky) |
| 3 |
CENTRAL CITY, 4, c, by City PlaceApache Dancer, by Alphabet Soup O-Preston Stable LLC; B-Charlie Dobbs & Frank Berris (Fl) |
| 4 |
CALIFORNIA FLAG, 6, G, by Avenue of FlagsUltrafleet, by Afleet O-Hi Card Ranch; B-Hi Card Ranch (Ca) |
| 5 |
IN MY CORNER, 4, c, by Wekiva SpringsWhatisayisgold, by Wild Gold O-Joseph Cheeks; B-Kitty Cheeks (Fl) |
| 6 |
CHAMBERLAIN BRIDGE, 6, G, by War ChantShe’s Got Class, by Trempolino O-Carl R. Moore Management LLC; B-Eugene Melnyk (Ky) |
| 7 |
AWAKINO CAT, 5, G, by Stormy Atlantic—Ski Racer (Fr), by Ski Chief O-Everything’s Cricket Racing; B-Budget Stable (Ky) |
| 8 |
FIDDLERS PATRIOT, 4, c, by Proud CitizenThorette, by Affirmed O-R. A. Hill Stable; B-Fiddlers Green Stable LP (NY) |
| 9 |
SILVER TIMBER, 7, h, by Prime TimberRiver Princess, by Alwuhush O-Michael Dubb and High Grade Racing; B-Sez Who Thoroughbreds (NY) |
| 10 |
DUE DATE, 5, h, by El Prado (Ire)Hidden Assets, by Mt. Livermore O-Richard, Bertram and Elaine Klein; B-Bert, Elaine & Richard Klein (Ky) |
| 11 |
ATTA BOY ROY, 5, h, by TribunalIrish Toast, by Synastry O-Rev Racing; B-Patricia J. Murphy & Mr. & Mrs. Frederick L. Pabst (Wa) |
| 12 |
SUPER CHUNKY, 4, G, by Put It BackChunky Cheeks, by Friendly Lover O-Valter Ramos; B-Michael G. Marks & Robert Werneth (Fl) |
| 13 |
GREAT ATTACK, 3, c, by GreatnessCat Attack, by Storm Cat O-Houyhnhnm Stable; B-Edward Seltzer & Murray Durst (Fl) |
Defending Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G3) hero CALIFORNIA FLAG (Avenue of
Flags) leads a
superb field of 13 in Saturday’s $100,000 Woodford S. (G3) at Keeneland. The
Brian Koriner trainee is surely the one to beat, but with the depth in this
field, we’ll take a shot against the shipper. Defending champ SILVER TIMBER (Prime Timber) really grabbed our attention
with a superb win over this sod in the spring, and we’ll stick with the gray
despite his two losses as an odds-on choice entering this. The Chad Brown
trainee is perfect from two tries at Keeneland and should provide value in this
field under jockey Julien Leparoux.
California Flag is lightning-quick and should be fresh having raced just
twice in 2010. The gelded gray has proven to be a world-class turf dasher,
having run big in a pair of marquee international sprints, and if he wins this,
we would not be surprised. His price figures to be very short in here.
Stakes victor CENTRAL CITY (City Place) has run just twice on the lawn, but
the Ronny Werner charge has posted BRIS Speed figures of 100 and 105 in those
two events, so we can’t ignore him here. The former $10,000 maiden claiming
winner has won six of his last nine, has very good tactical speed and is at his best on the weeds.
The talented RAVALO (Mutakddim) exits a pair of sharp runner-up efforts over
the Saratoga lawn and can never be counted out. The gelded bay has a nose for
the finish line, and is proven over all surfaces, so we’ll tab the six-year-old
for a good finish in this turf dash.
Top-notch sprinter CHAMBERLAIN BRIDGE (War Chant) is a neck shy of four
consecutive stakes tallies for Bret Calhoun and appears to be at the top of his
game at this juncture. The six-year-old gelding is a stakes winner over this
oval and is adept at running over just about any kind of turf condition. The bay
is a must use in the exotics here. Smart turf sprinter AWAKINO CAT (Stormy Atlantic) has won three in a row for
conditioner Linda Rice, but he’s done most of his damage at Saratoga and we
won’t bite until he proves his worth at other venues.
Grade 2 hero ATTA BOY ROY (Tribunal) has nearly impeccable dirt
form, but the bay Washington-bred was unplaced in his lone turf start and finished poorly in a
synthetic effort last fall, so we’ll play against the talented Valorie Lund
pupil.
YANKEE INJUNUITY (Yankee Victor), who bagged the 2009 Arlington Sprint H., is
winless in his previous six outings and looks like a play against in this spot. IN MY CORNER (Wekiva Springs), FIDDLERS PATRIOT (Proud Citizen), DUE DATE
(El Prado [Ire]) and SUPER CHUNKY (Put it Back) appear overmatched. The speedy GREAT ATTACK (Greatness), who is on the also-eligible list, would
add pace to the fray but lacks the credentials to be backed in here.