Gravesend J

AMERICAN GRADED STAKES
PREVIEWS

An octet of sprinters will go six panels in the $100,000 Gravesend H. (G3) at
Aqueduct on Saturday. Grade 1 star FABULOUS STRIKE (Smart Strike) will almost
surely go off favored in this event, off the strength of his recent Fall
Highweight H. romp, but we’re concerned about the gelding and will look elsewhere in
here.

LUCKY ISLAND (Arg) (Lucky Roberto) was one of the top sprinters in the United
States
this summer, romping in the Tom Fool H. (G2) and Bold Ruler H. (G3) for
conditioner Kiaran McLaughlin, and we’re looking for a form reversal from the
four-year-old after a pair of poor showings. The dark bay rolled home in his
debut in Argentina, and following a listless effort at Calder in his stateside
bow, the colt reeled off four in succession, capped by the Tom Fool. He had a
miserable start in his next outing in the Forego S. (G1) which cost him all chance, and never lifted his feet in the Vosburgh S. (G1) when last seen. We
think he wins if he’s right. Alan Garcia will be back aboard.

CAVALLO PAZZO (Mt. Livermore) has the right running style to rally for a piece of this at a
big price for Tony Dutrow. The consistent gelding has put together a solid 2008
campaign after missing the latter 11 months of 2007, and we like the fact that
the chestnut has been rested in preparation for this test. The Kentucky-bred put
in arguably his finest effort to date when a game second behind the talented
Real Estate (High Yield) in the James B. Moseley Sprint H., and he’s never been
worse than second from two outings over this strip. Channing Hill, who always
seems to be saving ground on his mounts, has the call.

SONGSTER (Songandaprayer) had an unsuccessful run in the breeding shed which
cost him most of this season, but the speedy five-year-old is back and
has a big chance in here for Tom Albertrani. The Grade 2 star has excellent
early gas and could lead this field into the turn, which is exactly where you
want to be on this inner surface. Third last out in a solid allowance field, the
Florida-bred has trained steadily since coming back and should be much fitter
than he was in his last. Rajiv Maragh has the assignment.

Fabulous Strike is probably the most talented runner in this group and would
not be a surprise if he’s in the winner’s circle following this, but this seems
like the right time to play against him in our opinion. We’ve never liked
animals exiting the Fall Highweight, and this one carried 136 pounds in that
event, so we’re expecting him to be something less than his best on this
day. The inside draw is something we’re not fond of, either — if the
five-year-old gets outbroken by one or two he can endure a negative trip under
Ramon Dominguez. As we stated before, his winning would not shock because of his
raw talent, but we’ll take a shot against at low odds.

Multiple stakes winner GRAND CHAMPION (Two Punch) was fourth in the Fall
Highweight most recently, and we expect regression on this day.
The gelded bay won the Fall Highweight in 2007 and it took him nearly a year to reach
the winner’s circle again. We’ll watch him in his first outing for Mike Hushion.

TRUE QUALITY (Elusive Quality) gives the impression of an all-or-nothing type
in this dash for John Campo Jr., and we’re siding with the latter in this
particular spot. The blazing bay is twice stakes-placed and recently rolled to
an 8 3/4-length allowance tally over this oval, so it would be easy to make a
case for this one if you like him at all. If, and this is a big if, he can clear
early and lead, this track can carry a pacesetter a long way and he can be
dangerous.

GOOD CARD (Good and Tough) earned a career-best 103 BRIS Speed number for his
recent allowance win, but the Pat Kelly charge has never suggested that he’s up
to this level, and we can’t recommend his inclusion on this occasion. NIGHT STAND
(Diamond) simply looks overmatched.