AMERICAN
GRADED STAKES PREVIEWS
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IROQUOIS S. (G3), 8TH-CD, $100,000, 2YO, 1M, 4:00 P.M. EST, 10-29 |
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| 1 |
WHAT A TALE, 2, c, by Tale of the CatMrs. Filio, by Eastern Echo O-Thomas F Van Meter II & Morris A Milner; B-Sugar Maple Farm (NY) |
| 2 |
TIZ WONDERFUL, 2, c, by TiznowEvil, by Hennessy O-Stonestreet Stable LLC; B-Dale Kalmar (Ky) |
| 3 |
SHORE, 2, c, by Sea of SecretsOcean’s Edge, by Coastal O-Buckingham Stable & Steve; B-Kathryn P. Cowan (Ky) |
| 4 |
INCRIMINATE, 2, c, by Unbridled’s SongRoll Over Baby, by Rollin On Over O-Darley Stable; B-Classicstar (Ky) |
| 5 |
OFFICER ROCKET (GB), 2, c, by OfficerOcean View, by Gone West O-Frank Fletcher Racing Operations Inc; B-J Chaplin (GB) |
| 6 |
PASSPORT, 2, c, by PulpitTrip, by Lord At War (Arg) O-Claiborne Farm; B-Claiborne Farm (Ky) |
| 7 |
STARBASE, 2, c, by Tale of the CatStarship Lillian, by Iam the Iceman O-Robert C Baker & William L Mack; B-Starship Stables (Fl) |
A talented field of seven will line up to contest the $100,000 Iroquois S.
(G3) on opening day at Churchill Downs on Sunday. TIZ WONDERFUL (Tiznow) was
so impressive in his maiden win at Saratoga that it would be hard to bet against him,
so we won’t. The Scott Blasi charge was much the best going 6 1/2 furlongs in
his debut, and his running style suggests that the one mile here shouldn’t
pose any problems. Four solid works from the bay signal his readiness, and we
love that Garrett Gomez will retain the mount.
INCRIMINATE (Unbridled’s Song) is the speed of the field and has plenty of
room for improvement for Eoin Harty. The well-bred gray was an excellent debut
winner on the Travers S. (G1) undercard and followed that up with a decent
fourth-place effort in the Futurity S. (G2) most recently. The speedy colt has
posted a pair of bullets in advance of this and might be tough to corral if
allowed to establish a sensible pace. Robby Albarado has the riding
assignment.
WHAT A TALE (Tale of the Cat) has put in a pair of solid efforts and seems
poised to compete in stakes company here. Conditioned by top trainer Patrick
Biancone, the expensive two-year-old purchase ran against the bias in his local
win and should be able to handle the added ground of today’s event. A pair of
big morning drills and the presence of Julien Leparoux make this horse quite
appealing.
SHORE (Sea of Secrets) is much better than his latest and is a good exotics
sleeper for trainer Stephen Margolis. The most experienced member of the field
put in two solid performances over this oval earlier in the year, and owns a win
at the distance over a strong field. Additionally, the blinkers added for this
race should keep the colt more interested early, and we suggest his use on all
rungs of the exotics at a big price. Willie Martinez will ride the colt.
OFFICER ROCKET (GB) (Officer) shouldn’t be picked this low with our selections,
but this is a tough group and sometimes you have to make a stand. The Grade 3-winning chestnut has reeled off three straight wins since a third in his debut,
but we question the talent of some of those groups. The Bob Holthus pupil uses
this oval as his home base and has trained well, but we feel he’ll come up short
in this spot. An obvious exotics contender, nonetheless.
PASSPORT (Pulpit) took the Cradle S. two prior before running an even fifth
in the Breeders’ Futurity S. (G1) at Keeneland last out. The well bred colt
would probably benefit the most from a strong pace, but we feel that the pace
will be slow in here and the bay will have too much to do late. Regular rider
Corey Lanerie will retain the mount.
STARBASE (Tale of the Cat) has improved in his last pair, both over the
Polytrack, and is headed in the right direction for D. Wayne Lukas. The Florida-bred colt has been better since the addition of Lasix as well, but this one will
need more improvement to challenge for the top spot. A top-three placing is
feasible, though unlikely.