BELMONT
NOTEBOOK
October 27
by John Mucciolo
Saturday was the showcase for top New York-breds in training
with seven races, headlined by the $250,000 Empire Classic.
Before we fast forward to the Classic, we will take brief look
back at the other six events.
Sleepy Hollow S.: GALLOPING GROCER (A. P. Jet) waltzed home to
an uncontested win again for trainer Dominic Schettino, this time
proving he could get a mile. The gelding looks so natural in his
stride and it appears that he will stretch out longer with
seasoning, he’s drawing comparisons to the Kentucky Derby (G1)
winning Funny Cide. The final time was 1:37 1/5 under John
Velazquez.
Maid of the Mist S.: PELHAM BAY (Smart Strike) took a short
lead turning for home and cruised home an impressive 4 1/2 length
winner for conditioner Pat Kelly. The two-year-old lass stopped
the clock in 1:39 2/5 for the mile beneath Shaun Bridgmohan.
Iroquois H.: The Richard Dutrow-trained Sugar Punch (K. O.
Punch) lived up to her 3-5 backing in easily taking this one,
recording her sixth consecutive victory. The three-year-old filly
finished off seven furlongs in 1:23 under Edgar Prado and will
likely face open competition next out.
Mohawk H.: This nine-furlong turf event appeared to be a
difficult one to decipher, but in the end it was 9-5 choice IRISH
COLONIAL (Colonial Affair) taking home the top prize for trainer
Randy Schulhofer. Piloted by John Velazquez, the five-year-old
stopped the teletimer in 1:48 4/5 over a good turf course.
Hudson H.: FRIENDLY ISLAND (Crafty Friend) took the lead early
and never looked back in a facile 3 1/4-length tally for Todd
Pletcher. The super quick colt got six furlongs in 1:09 2/5 in
winning for the fifth time out of six outings, including four
straight, and is also likely headed to open company.
Ticondergoa H.: ON THE BUS (Ghazi) finally broke through with
a stakes score after coming quite close in her last two efforts
for Dale Romans. The four-year-old filly was two clear at the
wire under a nice ride from Pablo Fragoso.
Empire Classic H: SPITE THE DEVIL (Devil His Due) came from
last to first to win the feature of the day for conditioner Allen
Jerkens, nipping the favored West Virginia (Tomorrow’s Cat) late.
Javier Castellano steered the gelding home in 1:50 1/5 for the
nine-furlong main track fray.
Sunday featured two-year-olds on the sod, with the Miss Grillo
S. for the fillies and the Pilgrim S. for the boys. In the
former, former Horse to Watch MELHOR AINDA (Pulpit) exploded on
the turn for home and pulled away to a superb eight-length win
for Bobby Frankel. The juvenile lass stopped the timer in 1:51
1/5 under a hand ride, including a final eighth-of-a-mile in a
sparkling :10 4/5 beneath Jose Santos. The lass has shown
professionalism and a devastating turn of foot from two career
starts, and could turn out to be any type.
The impeccably bred My Typhoon (Ire) (Giant’s Causeway), the
3-5 selection in here, had a lead after six furlongs but faded
terribly to be fourth.
In the Pilgrim, CROWN POINT (Honor Grades) proved his big
maiden win no fluke when holding off all challengers to earn his
first black-type win. The colt got his nine furlongs in 1:50 1/5
over the good turf for trainer David Donk and jockey Jose
Espinoza.
MEET WINNERS
Pletcher added another title to his growing resume as he
saddled 23 winners at the meet to earn the trainers’ title. Bruce
Levine (17), Dutrow (16), Frankel (13) and Shug McGaughey (10)
rounded out the top five.
On the jockeys’ front, Velazquez booted home 58 winners to win
by a big margin. Cornelio Velasquez (33), Castellano (32), Prado
(31) and Richard Migliore (28) were his closest pursuers.
“CHALK WATCH”
Favorites ended the meet right where they began it, winning at
a high percentage. Over the past week there were 47 races
contested, 20 of those won by the race-time choice (43 percent).
Combine that with 13 second choices crossing the line first, and
you have 70 percent of all races won by the top two betting
interests (33 of 47).
HORSES TO WATCH
Wednesday (10/20)
7TH — BLAZING PURRSUIT (Tale of the Cat) gave a good account
of himself when third in here, falling by just one length. The
sophomore is a half-brother to Blazing Fury (Dynaformer), a Grade
3-winning turf performer, and should be one to watch on the
green.
CLEAR THE BASES (Grand Slam) has really turned the corner and
has now posted strong consecutive wins for Christophe Clement.
The colt was hemmed in for much of this one, but once clear, the
bay flew home with fine acceleration.
Thursday (10/21)
1ST — ONE TOUGH DUDE (Rubiyat) is just that when allowed to
be alone on the lead, stopping the clock in a solid 1:36 2/5 for
a mile. This may turn out to be a nice claim by Dominic
Schettino.
Friday (10/22)
4TH — BALL GIRL (Awesome Again) certainly appreciated the
added distance in this one, opening up late to win going away for
Frankel. The final time of 1:45 was average, but the way the
juvenile filly did it was impressive.
Saturday (10/23)
4TH — The aforementioned Galloping Grocer clearly has no
match versus New York-breds, and should step up in open company
soon. The gelding is ridden effortlessly and it’s hard to tell
how good he really is. We’ll likely be hearing his name a lot in
2005.
9TH — SABELLINA (Langfuhr) has returned to good form,
evidenced by her fine stretch run in here. The three-year-old
packs a big late punch and should continue to earn nice
paychecks.
10TH — BOARD ELLIGIBLE (Goldminers Gold) ran very well late
to get fifth in here, just a pair of necks shy of third. The
late-running filly should be ultra-tough against her own sex.
Sunday (10/24)
8TH — MAGICAL ILLUSION (Pulpit) is surely a graded stakes
caliber filly and made short work of a decent group here. The
chestnut, trained by James Bond, should appear in a stakes race
next out. The lass went 1:09 3/5 for her first six furlongs yet
showed no sign of slowing.
LA MINUTA (Chi) (Winged Victory) was closest to the winner and
should find her next group much lighter. The filly has posted
consecutive good races and is very tactical, leading us to
believe she will find the winner’s circle soon.
PLERASANT HOME (Seeking the Gold) has a ton of upside, and the
lightly raced three-year-old could turn out to be as good or
better than the top two next year. The Phipps’ colorbearer did
well to be a clear third in this affair.
A LOOK AHEAD
Racing shifts to Jamaica, New York with the start of the
Aqueduct meet on Wednesday. The $100,000 Discovery H. (G3) for
three-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles is the opening day feature. A
well-matched field of eight will go postward, and it should be a
superb betting event.
The signature race of this meet is the $350,000 Cigar Mile H.
(G1) for three-year-olds and up on November 27. Leading sprinter
Pico Central (Brz) (Spend A Buck) is likely for the always
thrilling contest.