Aegon Turf Sprint

AMERICAN
GRADED STAKES PREVIEWS

The $100,000 Aegon Turf Sprint S. (G3) shapes up as a mad scramble for five
furlongs over the Churchill Downs turf course. There’s no shortage of worthy
contenders, so we’ll take a stab at a price.

SGT. BERT (Confide), third in this race last year, is attractive at 15-1 in
the morning line. The Gary Montgomery charge is exiting a creditable fifth in
the 5 1/2-furlong Shakertown S. (G3) at Keeneland, beaten a total of 2 1/4
lengths after racing six or seven wide and running well enough to earn a career
best BRIS Speed rating of 104. His effort was especially solid considering that
it was his first race back off a three-month layoff, and the five-year-old
gelding figures to improve off that race. Last year, he came back from a break
to finish fourth in the Kentucky Cup Turf Dash S., then won Keeneland’s Woodford
S. in his very next outing. A similar pattern could be in the offing here, and
Sgt. Bert signaled his readiness with a sharp :33 1/5 blowout on Wednesday.
Robby Albarado picks up the mount.

The Patrick Biancone-trained MAN OF ILLUSION (Aus) (Encosta de Lago) had a
nightmare trip in his U.S. debut in the Shakertown, yet he still managed to get
up for third while posting a 104 Speed figure. In his native land, the bay
captured five of eight starts, all at sprint distances. With a better passage
here beneath hot jockey Julien Leparoux, Man of Illusion looms a big threat to
take the prize. If his odds were a little more generous than 5-2 in the morning
line, we’d put him on top.

Shakertown winner ATTICUS KRISTY (Atticus) is a perfect three-for-three at
Churchill and boasts a sterling 14-7-2-2 record at the distance. The Merrill
Scherer-conditioned chestnut racked up a 108 Speed rating for his Shakertown
score, and he also set a new five-furlong course record (:55) at Tampa Bay Downs
when winning an allowance/optional claiming event in February. Atticus Kristy
will tote 124 pounds, five more than last time, which could make his task a bit
tougher here. Garrett Gomez will reunite with the five-year-old.

Defending Aegon Turf Sprint hero MIGHTY BEAU (Rainbow Prospect) has been a
fixture in this race for the past four years. In addition to last year’s
triumph, his resume includes a runner-up effort in 2004 and two fourth-place
finishes from the 2002 and 2003 editions. The veteran recently switched to the
barn of Dale Romans and faded to ninth in the Shakertown, but he’s eligible to
show much more in this spot for Romans, who wins at a 23 percent clip in the
“2nd start with trainer” category. Although we’re a little concerned that he
hasn’t been himself since returning from a failed invasion of England last
summer, and he’s stuck out in post 12, Mighty Beau still merits consideration.
Alex Solis will be in the saddle.

THE NTH DEGREE (Distorted Humor) is coming off a narrow victory in the Yankee
Affair S. at Gulfstream Park, but his Speed ratings are a bit below those of the
top contenders. WESTERN KIND (West Acre), the Yankee Affair runner-up, could
well turn the tables with blinkers added here and Rafael Bejarano in the irons
for the first time. With two wins and two seconds from four outings at the
distance, he’s worth a second look, especially considering that he’ll be making
his first start for Joe Woodard, successful with 23 percent of his first
starters. Note that he was just caught by Atticus Kristy in that course
record-setting race at Tampa. He’s a live-looking 10-1.

GERONIMO (Chi) (Gold Tribute) has a respectable record at the trip
(10-3-3-1). The seven-year-old showed real class at Santa Anita last fall when
taking the 6 1/2-furlong Morvich H. (G3) and also when running a desperately
close second in the Blue Jay Way S. to Siren Lure (Joyeux Danseur), who was on a
tear at the time. There’s some uncertainty surrounding him, though, as he was
claimed out of his last race at Santa Anita and will be making his debut for
Eric Guillot, who’s 0-for-24 this year with horses first off the claim. Victor
Espinoza, who rode him to a fourth-place finish in a stakes at Hollywood Park
last summer, takes the call.

PARKER RUN (Glitterman) is exiting a seventh in the Shakertown, but he’s an
interesting longshot for the successful trainer/jockey team of Steve Flint and
Jesus Castanon, who have teamed up to win with 23 percent of their runners for
the past two months. SOCIAL PROBATION (Jules) showed little in his turf bow over
a mile at Gulfstream Park, and now he’s cutting back to the shortest trip of his
life. This is a tough spot for an experiment. ROCKHURST (Pembroke) and JUSTICE
FOR AUSTON (Lit de Justice) have been beaten by several others in this race, and
there’s little reason to envision a reversal of fortune. LION ANDTHE LAMB (Lion
Cavern) is taking a big step up in class.