ARLINGTON PARK NOTEBOOK
MAY 23, 2008
by Steve Collison
This past Saturday, with most of the racing world fixated on the Preakness
(G1) and Big Brown’s (Boundary) remarkably easy victory, 61-year-old
jockey Earlie Fires was inching closer to that magic number of career winners
that will move him to the sidelines and retirement. Fires continues riding like
a possessed bug boy and showed once again why he’s in Thoroughbred racing’s Hall of Fame
after adding to his all-time Arlington win total with a 1 1/4-length score
aboard FOREVER TOGETHER (Belong to Me) in the Reluctant Guest S.
The four-year-old filly, trained by another Hall of Famer in Jonathan Sheppard,
covered the mile over “yielding” turf in 1:39.05 and paid $18.20, $8.20 and $6.
Lemon Lime (Lemon Drop Kid), under Eddie Razo, set the pace through leisurely
fractions of :25.56, :50.06, 1:14.64 and 1:26.80, before fading in
the stretch just ahead of the fast-closing Lady Lionel (Lucky Lionel), the
longest shot on the board at 37-1. The runner-up paid $8.40 and $7 with the show
returning $12.40.
COMING UP
The 74th running of the Arlington Classic – one of Arlington’s most tradition-rich races
— will be contested once again this weekend as one of three stakes
races on Saturday’s racing card. The 1 1/16-mile grass test for three-year-olds offers a $150,000 purse
and serves as the first leg of Arlington’s Mid-America
Triple. It will be presented along with the inaugural edition of the $200,000
American One Thousand Guineas S. for three-year-old fillies on the turf. The Hanshin Cup
(G3), now in its 14th year as an exchange race with the Japan Racing Association, is Arlington’s first graded stakes of the 2008 season
and completes Saturday’s rich
stakes troika.
Chicago-based runners
loom large in the first leg of the Mid-America Triple, a series which continues with
the American Derby (G2) on July 12 and concludes with the Secretariat (G1) on
Arlington Million Day, August 9. Trainer Chris Block will send out his formidable
AMAZING RESULTS (Grand Slam), winner of Fair Grounds’ $60,000 Grindstone S. over the New Orleans lawn in his last trip to the post
on March 22. The Team Block
entrant will be joined by Frank Calabrese’s PRIME REALESTATE (Prime
Timber) who is trained by the astoundingly hot Wayne Catalano.
Calder Derby (G3) and Palm Beach (G3) victor SPORTING ART (Doneraile Court)
is the likely favorite.
JOCKEY NOTES
After winning the first two races of his racing career earlier at the
Arlington meet, apprentice jockey Brandon Meier has followed in the footsteps of
his father and hired longtime Illinois-based agent Tom Morgan to handle his
riding assignments. Morgan
books mounts for Randy Meier, the all-time leading rider at Sportsman’s Park
and Hawthorne Race Course.
At a time when the young Meier is looking to make a name for himself on this
Illinois circuit, veteran jockey Jose Velez Jr. is simply hoping people remember
his. Despite finishing third in the 1983 Arlington Million (G1) aboard
Nijinsky’s Secret, Velez may still need an introduction to a new
generation of Arlington players since he’s planning to stay throughout the entire 96-day Arlington Park season, which runs until September 21. Thus far he has
done well at winning their hearts by winning with six of 41 mounts to be fifth in
the current jockey standings. There’s no better way to win over horseplayers
then through their wallets.
“I’ve been looking forward to riding at Arlington again for some time,” said
Velez, a 45-year-old native of Santurce, Puerto Rico.
TRAINER NOTES
Veteran conditioner Frank Kirby, Arlington’s leading trainer in 1974 and
again in 2004, saddled three winners Friday, becoming the second trainer along
with the hot Catalano to accomplish that feat this season. Jockey Ramsey
Zimmerman, a Chicago native returning to Arlington after several seasons, was
aboard for all three of Kirby’s tallies. And speaking of Catalano, those waiting for him to cool down, even slightly, will have to wait a little
longer. That’s because he had another stellar week with a pair of winners from
just three runners.
TRAINER PROFILE
FRANK KIRBY was winning the Arlington trainer’s
title back when no one had even heard of a horse called Seattle Slew and the Colts were still in Baltimore. Over the years, Kirby has been
one of the most consistent performers here yet is frequently underrated and
overlooked, mostly because he prefers it that way. Yet this is a man so astute at
his craft of conditioning Thoroughbreds that he wins at more than a 25-percent
rate with
runners who are stepping up in class. It takes a shrewd operator to achieve such
a number on the rise and accurately illustrates Kirby’s grasp of the racing
game. This pattern is enhanced when he has a runner who’s moving up the ladder
while cutting back in distance with the addition of Lasix. And it happens more
then you may think. The fact that this stable does well with runners cutting
back in distance shouldn’t be a surprise as Frank has always done better with
sprinters. That’s a trend that has continued into the current 2008 season as
well as this Arlington meet. And since we are applauding Kirby’s penchant for
winning on the rise, we also must salute his ability to win with runners seeking
to repeat while moving down the class ladder. Think about that for a second. You
have a horse who has just won a race but instead of taking them up or leaving
them at the same level, you take them down a notch or so. That’s a tough sell to
any owner and is another indication of a man who has confidence in his own
judgment as to how much a horse has left in the tank.
RECENT CLAIMS TO WATCH
Thursday (5/15)
2ND — DOTTIE BOOTH (American Chance), an honest-running six-year-old mare, managed
to find the winner’s circle today while going for slumping trainer David Hinsley.
She got claimed by high percentage operator Roger Brueggemann, and that switch alone
should see this horse improving considerably while moving back up the claiming
ladder.
5TH — BRICKYARD GAL (Proud Citizen) turned in an
uneventful performance today but was claimed by top trainer Michael Maker. Maker
has the ability to shake this talented runner out of her doldrums, which can
result in a quick and dramatic positive turnaround for the lightly raced filly.
Friday (5/16)
6TH — SALT SYN (Salt Lake), a hard-hitting six-year-old mare, came off the shelf
with her running shoes laced up tight as she handily trounced this $35,000
claiming field. Despite the rather hefty price tag for a animal of this age, trainer Larry Rivelli took her for himself and wouldn’t have done so without
expecting a quick return on his investment.
Saturday (5/17)
3RD — BLACK JACK BREEZE (Shore Breeze) regressed today
after winning easily in latest and was claimed by Catalano’s blistering hot stable. Considering that Catalano hits over 40-percent with his first
off the claim runners, this is really a no-brainer.
Sunday (5/18)
9TH — DON’TPUTMEBACK (Put It Back), who won easily when making her
belated debut last out, was dropped into a claimer by
trainer Tom Proctor. She was quickly snapped up by astute trainer Michael Reavis,
who is likely to add blinkers to the four-year-old filly’s arsenal especially after she hung slightly
through the lane today.
HORSES TO WATCH
Thursday (5/15)
4TH — BOUDOIR (Mutakddim) came off an extended seven-month leave of
absence to win with stunning ease over a solid field of allowance runners. It’s
easy to imagine her holding her own against tougher, even if that happens
to be a small stakes field.
Friday (5/16)
2ND — APPROVEDBYTHEMINT (With Approval [Ire]), who despite trainer’s Hugh
Robertson’s low percentage with first-time starters, demolished his field today while making his career debut. Not only did
the three-year-old gelding win, he did so going long over the lawn which is incredibly difficult.
Looks to have a bright and productive future.
4TH — I’M WAITING FOR U (Service Station) was compromised when
attempting to overcome a plodding early pace scenario. Still managed to gain the
show with a solid late run and can do much better with some honest fractions up
front the next time around.
Saturday (5/17)
5TH — SOL A PINO (Dynaformer), a well-bred three-year-old colt, turned in an
encouraging performance when making second career start today despite suffering
through a poor trip. The Bill Mott runner will surely continue getting better for
his Hall of Fame connections.
10TH — SNOOSE GOOSE (Aptitude) came off a 10-month vacation today and turned in a huge effort despite getting into tons of
trouble. Still managed to finish in the place spot with the actual winner being
the odds on betting choice. Watch for this horse to stretch out in distance next
out for trainer McLean Robertson, who excels when taking his runners sprint to
route.
Sunday (5/18)
8TH — TACTICAL WEAPON (Tactical Cat) was forced to run
extremely wide today yet still managed to turn in a deceptively solid overall
performance. This was his second start since coming back from a lengthy vacation
and he could very easily find the winner’s circle next out while going unnoticed
by many.
BEWARE OF THESE
Thursday (5/15)
2ND — RAINBOW’S SECRET (Sea of Secrets) has been given every
opportunity to win over the past several trips and still has come up empty.
She’s been given lone leads setting ridiculously slow fractions only to come up
empty. Today, she had no other speed to contend with from the outset over a fair
racing surface yet came up short again. It’s hard to envision a scenario in
which she wins even on the plunge.
Friday (5/16)
2ND — BEAT THE FREEZE (Dixieland Heat) is a horse who frequently gets into
serious trouble, creating the illusion that if not for that difficulty there
would have been a better result. However, just as frequently, it’s the horse’s own
lack of athleticism that causes the problem and that appears to be the case with
this klutz. In his last two starts, the colt has made trouble when there wasn’t
any and we would be wary of expecting different results especially with an
inexperienced bug in the saddle.
Saturday (5/17)
4TH — ON A HIGH CLOUD (Cloud Hopping), a heartless four-year-old filly, received
an expertly timed ride from Rene Douglas today while going against a typically
weak conditioned claiming field. Despite all evidence to the contrary, she still
managed to lose once again and we would urge those still in doubt about her ability
to reach the winner’s circle to simply toss their money into Lake Michigan.
You’ll make a bigger splash!