ROAD
TO THE BREEDERS’ CUP
September
22
Run her
by James Scully
Trainer Bobby Frankel ruled SIGHTSEEK (Distant View) out of
the Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) in July but didn’t sound so sure
following her 11 1/4-length romp in Sunday’s Ruffian H. (G1). The
October 9 Beldame S. (G1) comes next for the six-time Grade 1
winner and her Breeders’ Cup status will be evaluated following
that performance.
The five-year-old mare loves Belmont, but Frankel said she had
never been better prior to the Ruffian and Sightseek ran to that
description, earning a career-best 112 BRIS Speed rating. There
wasn’t much competition, but Sightseek never drew a deep breath.
The main track at Lone Star Park has been compared to Santa
Anita’s, and the Arcadia track is a four-letter word for
Sightseek. She doesn’t run well at Santa Anita, recording two
unplaced finishes during the last year, including a clunker at 3-5
in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, to make her 0-for-5 in her career
there.
But Lone Star isn’t going to be exactly the same as Santa
Anita. The surroundings and dimensions will be different, and
Sightseek has been able to carry her form to other tracks like
Gulfstream, Saratoga, Aqueduct and Churchill Downs in the past.
She may take to the Grand Prairie, Texas, strip with no problems.
The stakes couldn’t be bigger. She’s never been named champion
and would deserve the title with a Distaff victory. Sightseek
will also have the opportunity to dethrone the last two Distaff
winners, Azeri (Jade Hunter) and Adoration (Honor Grades), in
what promises to be a tremendous race. The chestnut is 1-for-2
against Azeri, finishing second to her rival in the Go for Wand H.
(G1) and easily defeating last year’s champion in June’s Ogden
Phipps H. (G1).
It’s a great opportunity to enhance the classy mare’s legacy.
SENSE OF STYLE (Thunder Gulch) established herself as one of
the shortest prices on Breeders’ Cup Day with a one-length
triumph in the Matron S. (G1). Undefeated from three career
starts, the Patrick Biancone-trained juvenile filly was coming
off a 6 3/4-length score in the Spinaway S. (G2).
She broke slowly in the Matron and found herself trailing the
short field through slow fractions on the backstretch. Sense of
Style moved to the fore on the far turn, repulsed a brief
challenge from eventual third-place finisher Play with Fire (Boundary)
in midstretch, and finished very strongly. Her final time for the
one-mile event, 1:37 3/5, was more than a second faster than
males one race earlier in the Futurity S. (G2), and the young
misses turned the Matron half-mile in :48 compared to :46 4/5 for
the Futurity.
Sense of Style, who earned a commendable 98 Speed rating on
Sunday, is the best two-year-old filly on the dirt so far this
year. She’s bred to run much longer, relaxes well in her races
and shouldn’t have any problems with two turns or 1 1/16 miles in
the Juvenile Fillies (G1).
PARK AVENUE BALL (Citidancer) drew off to a nice three-length
score in the Futurity, but the front-runners basically collapsed
and the chestnut came home pretty slowly, earning a 92 Speed
rating. The New Jersey-bred now owns a 4-3-1-0 career mark,
including a win in the Tyro S. at Monmouth Park, but the Futurity
doesn’t look like a very strong prep for the Breeders’ Cup
Juvenile (G1).
Turfway Park hosted its 11th Kentucky Cup Day on Saturday, and
the five-race stakes program has featured some past Breeders’ Cup
winners, including Cajun Beat (Grand Slam), who captured the
Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) after taking the Kentucky Cup Sprint (G3)
last year. Vindication, Cat Thief and Reraise are other Kentucky
Cup graduates.
There were too many short fields, but a top contender for the
Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) highlighted the afternoon. ROSES IN
MAY (Devil His Due) made short work of his overmatched foes in
the Kentucky Cup Classic (G2), surging to the lead leaving the
far turn and cruising to an easy four-length score under new
jockey John Velazquez. The Dale Romans-trained four-year-old got
a 105 Speed figure.
Roses in May, who shows a 7-2-0 mark from 10 races, won his
first two outings this year in Kentucky before stepping up to
face graded rivals in the Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Breeders’
Cup H. (G3) three starts back. He easily handled Perfect Drift (Dynaformer)
by 1 1/2 lengths there, and then repulsed a strong challenge from
that rival to win the Whitney H. (G1) by a nose in his next start.
What made his Whitney performance so remarkable was that the
dark bay chased wicked fractions that day and still had enough in
reserve to finish strongly, out-gaming the fast-finishing Perfect
Drift in deep stretch while earning a 110 Speed figure. He didn’t
show any signs of regression at Turfway.
Roses in May hasn’t faced a deep field this year and will be
tested for class in the Classic at Lone Star. He’s also never
been 1 1/4 miles. However, there’s plenty to like about the
improving colt. His pedigree is tailor-made for 10 furlongs and
the Kentucky-bred loves to win.
Roses in May is hitting his best stride at the right time of
the year and is one of the main threats for the Classic on
October 30.
Another race with serious Breeders’ Cup implications over the
weekend was the Atto Mile (Can-G1), which was taken in front-running
fashion by SOARING FREE (Smart Strike). Last year’s champion
sprinter in Canada, the five-year-old flashed right to the front
and had to spin the opening three-quarters in 1:09 while under
pressure. He battled determinedly through the stretch to win by
three parts of a length under Todd Kabel.
Woodbine is his home track and the competition will get much
more difficult at Lone Star, but Soaring Free finished a
respectable fifth, beaten only 3 1/4 lengths, in last year’s
Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) and must be respected this year. The Mark
Frostad charge recorded his first victory at a mile on Sunday and
earned another triple-digit (102) Speed figure.
How much other speed is present will be a significant factor
for Soaring Free, but the front-runner will enter the Mile off a
very encouraging performance.
Saturday’s Super Derby (G2) highlights a limited stakes
schedule on the weekend ahead.