THOROUGHBRED BEAT
NOVEMBER 23, 2006
by James Scully
Holiday Weekend — The demise of the Turf Festival wiped out six
graded stakes from the Holiday Weekend, but Churchill Downs and Aqueduct still
have plenty to offer. Thursday’s Falls City H. (G2) will feature a large field
that includes Spinster S. (G1) queen PAMPERED PRINCESS (Indian Charlie) and
BENDING STRINGS (American Chance). On Friday, Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1)
runner-up SOCIETY SELECTION (Coronado’s Quest) will be the one to beat in the
Top Flight H. (G2) at the Big A, and the 131st running of the Clark H. (G2) will
have PERFECT DRIFT (Dynaformer), ALUMNI HALL (A.P. Indy), SUAVE (A.P. Indy) and
MAGNA GRADUATE (Honor Grades) under the Twin Spires. Saturday’s highlights
include the Kentucky Jockey Club S. (G2) and Golden Rod S. (G2) at Churchill and
the Remsen S. (G2) and Demoiselle S. (G2) at Aqueduct, all for two-year-olds,
but the $350,000 Cigar Mile H. (G1) is the main event. Defending champion LION
TAMER (Will’s Way), the dangerous Bobby Frankel-trained duo BADGE OF
SILVER (Silver Deputy) and MASS MEDIA (Touch Gold), Preakness S. (G1) runner-up
SCRAPPY T (Fit to Fight) and Met Mile (G1) runner-up SILVER WAGON (Wagon Limit)
are all top contenders for the prestigious one-mile affair, but I’ll make a case
for GYGISTAR (Prospector’s Music). The Grade 1-winning gelding didn’t fire when
ninth in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1), but he’s won three of his last four
starts at a mile, including a blistering performance in May’s Westchester H.
(G3) in which he earned a 112 BRIS Speed rating and stopped the clock 1:33 2/5.
Gygistar, who worked well last weekend for Mark Hennig (five furlongs in a
bullet :59 4/5), can earn the most important victory of his career.
Evening Sundrop — Back class rose to the top on Saturday as EVENING
ATTIRE (Black Tie Affair [Ire]) captured in the Stuyvesant H. (G3) and SUNDROP (Jpn)
(Lemon Drop Kid) earned an elusive U.S. victory the Cardinal H. (G3). Evening
Attire, winner of the 2002 Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) and an earner of more than
$2.3 million, hadn’t visited the winner’s circle since taking the 2004 Saratoga
Breeders’ Cup H. (G2), losing nine straight races for trainer Pat Kelly with
unplaced efforts in four of five starts this year. The gray seven-year-old
gelding recaptured some of his past glory by getting much more involved in the
early running on Saturday, closely stalking the pace under Jose Santos before
rallying strongly through the stretch for a narrow win. Sundrop owns a Group 3
win this year in England and was highly regarded at three, but the four-year-old
dropped her final two European starts and could fare no better than fifth in
three U.S. attempts prior to the Cardinal. All three came against Grade 1
rivals, but the Godolphin-owned filly was exiting the most dreadful performance
in her career, a last-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1)
in which she was practically eased and vanned off afterward. Many dismissed her
chances returning three weeks later and it was surprising to see Godolphin bring
her back so quickly, but Sundrop had worked well at Belmont six days earlier and
justified the confidence of her connections with an authoritative one-length
win. From the same female family of champion Northern Spur (Ire) and Irish
highweight Salsabil (Ire), Sundrop is now headed to the breeding shed.
Tiger speed — I’M THE TIGER (Siphon [Brz]) turned in a sharp
front-running performance in Saturday’s Frank J. DeFrancis Memorial Dash (G1),
drawing clear through the stretch (final quarter in :23 4/5) for a 3 1/4-length
decision and a 110 BRIS Speed figure. “He’s one of the best sprinters,
definitely in the top five this year,” Frankel said afterward, and the Hall of
Fame conditioner is probably right. Once you get past Lost in the Fog (Lost
Soldier), Silver Train (Old Trieste) and Taste of Paradise (Conquistador Cielo),
the sprint ranks were a mixed bag this year. I’m the Tiger didn’t make his 2005
bow until July and finished second in the A.G. Vanderbilt H. (G2) in his second
start this season. The improving four-year-old recorded a close fifth in the
Vosburgh S. (G1) next out and broke through with his first graded win in the
DeFrancis. He’s a very promising runner for 2006.
Wins continue to Trickle — After easily winning five straight sprints, TRICKLE OF GOLD (Formal Gold) stretched out to a mile and recorded a
1 1/2-length score in Saturday’s Anne Arundel S. at Laurel Park. The
three-year-old filly notched her third consecutive stakes victory, following
smart tallies in the Safely Kept Breeders’ Cup S. (G3) and Ghost S., but she
hasn’t drawn much notice. However, the dark bay is earning commendable BRIS
Speed ratings (102, 108, 103, 100 and 104 from last five starts), and she’ll
start making a name for herself nationally if she keeps winning. Based at
Delaware Park with Michael Gorham, Trickle of Gold will be dismissed by some
because of class issues, but she reminds me of a sophomore filly last fall who
was dominating lesser regarded opponents while building an impressive winning
skein at primarily shorter distances. Happy Ticket (Anet) went on to become a
Grade 1 winner this year, and we’ll see how good Trickle of Gold gets in 2006 at
four.
Exciting — Saturday’s Laurel Futurity (G3) was switched to the turf
and drew what appeared to a contentious field of 13 juveniles, but BARBARO (Dynaformer)
turned the 1 1/16-mile event into a laugher, unleashing a tremendous turn of
foot at the top of the stretch to storm home like a sports car. The unbeaten
colt covered his final five-sixteenths in :29 1/5 and turned 8 1/2 furlongs in
1:40, nearly two seconds faster than the good-looking J’RAY (Distant View)
needed to win the Selima S. two races earlier, and he’s now two-for-two with the
8 1/2-length win. Barbaro captured his career bow, a one-mile turf maiden
special weight at Delaware Park, by eight lengths, and trainer Michael Matz
believes his charge will carry his outstanding form to the dirt. “You will be
hearing a lot about this horse,” jockey Jose Caraballo stated, and he wasn’t the
only one blown away by Barbaro’s performance.
Japan — Two major events in the Far East have attracted
American-based runners this weekend. LAVA MAN (Slew City Slew) and TAP DAY
(Pleasant Tap) highlight the foreign contingent in Saturday’s Japan Cup Dirt
(Jpn-G1), but BETTER TALK NOW (Talkin Man) and KING’S DRAMA (Theatrical [Ire])
are only part of a classy group of invaders set for Sunday’s 25th edition of the
Japan Cup (Jpn-G1). The latter, which takes place at about 1 1/2 miles on the
turf, will also feature outstanding European-based runners OUIJA BOARD (GB)
(Cape Cross [Ire]), ALKAASED (Kingmambo), BAGO (Fr) (Nashwan) and WARRSAN (Caerleon). ZENNO
ROB ROY (Sunday Silence), TAP DANCE CITY (Pleasant Tap) and ADMIRE JAPAN (Sunday
Silence) will all represent the home team.