AMERICAN
GRADED STAKES PREVIEWS
| DONN H.
(G1), 9TH-GP, $500,000, 4YO/UP, 1 1/8M, 5:13 P.M. (EST), 2-2 |
|
| 1 |
WOOD BE WILLING, 6, h, by PulpitWoodmiss, by Woodman O/B-Irving & Marjorie Cowan (Ky) |
| 2 |
SPRING AT LAST, 5, h, by Silver DeputyWinter’s Gone, by Dynaformer O-Reddam J Paul & Winstar Farm LLC; B-Winstar Farm LLC (Ky) |
| 3 |
DR GOOGLES BOOGLES, 4, c, by Richter ScaleMountain Dance, by Hagley O-Zayat Stables LLC; B-Rick & Nancy R. Kaster (Ky) |
| 4 |
DAAHER, 4, c, by Awesome AgainIrish Cherry, by Irish Open O-Shadwell Stable; B-Yvonne & Dagmar Schwabe (On) |
| 5 |
A. P. ARROW, 6, h, by A.P. IndyGarimpeiro, by Mr. Prospector O/B-Allen E. Paulson Living Trust (Ky) |
| 6 |
FAIRBANKS, 5, h, by Giant’s CausewayAlaska Queen, by Time for a Change O-Team Valor Stables LLC; B-Kidder, Grigg, Mamakos (Ky) |
| 7 |
KISS THE KID, 5, h, by Lemon Drop KidBlack Tie Kiss, by Danzig O-Amy Tarrant; B-Jayeff B Stables (Ky) |
| 8 |
BRASS HAT, 7, G, by PrizedBrassy, by Dixie Brass O/B-Fred F. Bradley (Ky) |
| 9 |
EINSTEIN (BRZ), 6, h, by Spend a BuckGay Charm, by Ghadeer O-Midnight Cry Stable; B-Fazenda Mondesir (Brz) |
The surging DAAHER (Awesome Again) is the marquee attraction in the $500,000
Donn H. (G1) at Gulfstream Park on Saturday, and we see little reason to look
elsewhere on this day. The Kiaran McLaughlin trainee showed some promise early
in his career but has blossomed into a superb animal since adding blinkers prior
to his 13 3/4-length drubbing of allowance foes at Saratoga last summer. The
four-year-old bay has since dominated the Jerome H. (G2) and Cigar Mile H. (G1),
posting monster BRIS Speed numbers of 109 and 115, respectively. The fleet Shadwell
colorbearer is arguably the speed and class of the race, so if he’s ready, he
wins. Mike Luzzi retains the mount.
SPRING AT LAST (Silver Deputy), winner of the 2007 Godolphin Mile S.
(UAE-G2), returned from a lengthy layoff to defeat a solid allowance field over
the lawn at Santa Anita in December. The Doug O’Neill charge is honest and
should navigate a decent trip from off the pace on the inside. If the top one
gets upended, this five-year-old will probably be the one doing so. Eibar
Coa will guide the dark bay.
FAIRBANKS (Giant’s Causeway) is an intriguing horse in this spot for Todd Pletcher,
and if he can employ a rating tactic in the early going, we could envision him
being in the mix late. The Grade 3 hero loves a route of ground and is blessed
with a great cruising speed, we’re just concerned about the trip he may
encounter beneath John Velazquez. If the five-year-old could avoid a
confrontation with Daaher early, he could complete the exacta at a square price.
A. P. ARROW (A.P. Indy) finally broke through with a signature win in the
Clark H. (G2) in his 2007 finale and has trained well in the interim for Pletcher. The late-running six-year-old has never finished worse than third in
three tries over this oval, including a third-place showing in this event last
year. We’ve never been high on this one-paced chestnut, but he makes sense to
fill out some exotics under Ramon Dominguez.
BRASS HAT (Prized) was victorious in this event in 2006 and enters off a game
runner-up effort in the Clark for conditioner William “Buff” Bradley. The gelded
seven-year-old posted a solid five-eighths over this oval last Saturday and should
get a good trip from off the pace, so his top-three chances are well within
reach under Willie Martinez.
Grade 1 turf star EINSTEIN (Brz) (Spend a Buck) captured a second-level
allowance race in the slop over this main track nearly one year ago and enters
this off a fine allowance prep for Helen Pitts. The dark bay’s 2007 season was
curtailed by injury, but he appears to have righted the ship in advance of this
test. However, the outside draw, complexion of the field and the amount of pace
on hand all could lead to an unfavorable result for the classy Brazilian. We’ll
include the six-year-old on the bottom of our exotics, but can’t envision him
crossing the wire first.
KISS THE KID (Lemon Drop Kid) is talented and has been consistent through all
of 2007 for Amy Tarrant, but this appears to be a tough test for the
five-year-old. WOOD BE WILLING (Pulpit) is ambitiously placed to say the least, finishing
14 lengths behind Commentator (Distorted Humor) in his initial start for Allen
Jerkens. We’re completely aware of the fact that Jerkens has pulled many an
upset in his day, but we can’t find anything in the six-year-old’s past that
would suggest his presence in the lane. DR GOOGLES BOOGLES (Richter Scale) is
not very fast and is a question mark at nine furlongs, so we’ll pass.