OAKLAWN NOTEBOOK
FEBRUARY 27, 2009
by Steve Collison
Coming Up
When Afleet Alex started his run on the Triple Crown trail in 2005, the
Mountain Valley S., for three-year-olds at six furlongs, was his jumping off
point. He took that race in smashing fashion before later adding an impressive
win in the Arkansas Derby (G2), followed by near-disaster in his Preakness (G1)
triumph, then a powerful performance in winning the Belmont S. (G1). With that
still a vivid memory for most people around these parts, they’ll be watching the
list of 20 nominees published over the weekend by the office of Racing Secretary
Pat Pope. Now, instead of thinking they’re watching a bunch of sprinters, that
list represents to many of what might be possible as they anticipate Oaklawn’s
Saturday feature.
Of these, the biggest decision of the week could prove to be that of trainer,
D. Wayne Lukas, as he plots the course for the recent acquisition, HAMAZING
DESTINY (Salt Lake). The young bay sparkled when recording his maiden win on
February 7 in 1:10.2, making that move the most remarkable maiden effort thus
far during the 2009 season at Oaklawn. His next race will be in the silks of
Barry and Joni Butzow, and the decision needs to be made whether to jump
directly into stakes competition or to work through allowance conditions. Lukas
has never been shy of competition previously and there are plenty who expect to
see this talented colt take his next step by being in the starting gate on
Saturday. Although his breeding doesn’t suggest distance, his talent is that
scary and he appears to be one of the most interesting prospects on the grounds,
with the possible exception of Old Fashioned (Unbridled’s Song).
Track Surface
Thursday: 1 wire
While this racing surface is playing completely fair when it comes to running
styles, those with the inside path certainly are benefiting noticeably. When
runners along the one-path look to be tiring and should be fading they aren’t.
They’re hanging on far longer then you’d expect, so consider this when
handicapping.
Friday: 1 wire
What a difference a day makes. Once again only one runner was able to win on
the front end and that was heavy favorite ZULU MAGIC (Johannesburg) in the 10TH.
But no one was able to win if they raced near the “dead zone,” or more commonly
called the rail. Overnight what had been the place to be became the place to
avoid, sort of like Atlantic City right now. And what’s more, this had evidently
become known during morning working hours because in the first race veteran
jockeys were immediately steering toward the outer paths. Even Zulu Magic’s
veteran rider Luis Quinonez moved directly to the three-path even while he was
enjoying a three length advantage.
Saturday: 5 wires
Speed seemed to rule the day today with five winners taking their fields
coast to coast. The other races were won by runners who were able to stay close
to the pacesetters with the exception of favorite PALANKA CITY (Carson City) in
the Spring Fever S. While the strip was certainly favoring speed today, I
wouldn’t call it a true bias as most of the winners made sense from a
handicapping standpoint and simply winning on the lead doesn’t constitute a bias
by any stretch. On the other hand, the inside still presented a problem as was
quickly evident in the 1ST race when jockey Quincy Hamilton, aboard EVERYDAY
HEROES (Awesome Again), took the lead and immediately steered toward the
three-path.
Sunday: 2 wires
Evidently we weren’t the only ones noticing the rail’s deficiencies because
today work had obviously been done to correct the situation. Everything seemed
back to normal as no advantage or for that matter, disadvantage was noticeable,
at least for me.
RECENT CLAIMS TO WATCH
Thursday (2/19)
2ND — DANCING DUDETE (Crafty Dude) lost her stride coming out of the gate
and took some time getting it back. Once doing so however, she blew past the
field to narrowly miss for everything. In the process, the five-year-old mare
was claimed back by trainer James Garroutte, who apparently knows she’s on the
upswing and will continue getting better in the weeks ahead.
Saturday (2/21)
5TH — MY LITTLE CONNOR (Petionville) suffered through a troubled trip today,
but the old timer still had enough juice to hit the board. Eight-year-old was
claimed by trainer David Vance, who despite not hitting a high percentage first
off the claim still does well when taking hard knockers like this gelding.
HORSES TO WATCH
Friday (2/20)
2ND — PRETTY BOY FOREST (Forest Camp) added blinkers today and then had
everything that could go wrong do just that. The three-year-old gelding had more
bad racing luck in one race than many see in a year. Looks to be finding his
best gear right about now and would do wonders if could get a better rider and
perhaps more ground.
6TH — TERESA’S SPARKLE (Super Code) illustrated perfectly why jockey Dana
Whitney is currently in a two-for-70 slump. As everyone else was moving out from
the rail, he had a clear lead and moved TOO it. Not surprisingly, the filly
faded after racing the entire way along the dull portion of this strip. To be
fair, Whitney is a better rider than this but obviously wasn’t paying attention
today.
Sunday (2/22)
1ST — WIN WILLY (Monarchos) came off the shelf today to win in explosive
fashion for trainer McLean Robertson. Despite an abundance of traffic trouble,
the three-year-old colt still won easily and will be hard pressed to stop from
repeating. Especially considering his connections.
5TH — SOL T DAWG (Salt Lake) was defeated today by a runner dropping down a
ton in class. The four-year-old gelding was making his second start after the
layoff for trainer Allen Milligan and looms large next time out.
BEWARE OF THESE
Thursday (2/19)
8TH — DREAM MOUNTAIN (Monashee Mountain), a three-year-old filly, turned in
a strong performance while making her career debut today, but with her past
performances next out comes this caveat. She broke well from the inside and then
enjoyed a dream trip along the beneficial rail. This “beware of” entry is
admittedly treading a very thin line, but we thought a little perspective about
her effort needed to be passed on. She was subsequently claimed by trainer James
Cook.
Friday (2/20)
10TH — ZULU MAGIC (Johannesburg) looked impressive today while winning for
trainer Steve Asmussen. Too impressive! He ran well last out when coming off the
bench and yet Asmussen still dropped him sharply in class to gain the score. Was
claimed by trainer Allen Milligan, but I would be very wary of backing him
coming back for new connections especially at what will be short odds.
YOUNG BLOODS
Saturday (2/21)
1ST — EVERYDAY HEROES (Awesome Again), an expensively bred colt, looked
visually impressive when winning his career debut today for trainer Tim Ritchey.
Trainer excels with young runners stretching out in distance, and we would love
to see this colt going two turns.
Sunday (2/22)
7TH — GABRIEL (Orientate), an expensively bred first time starter, didn’t
have much chance after being pushed extremely wide around the first turn.
However, still managed to strut enough stuff despite not being pushed by his
rider Jon Court. Is going to look very strong next out going even longer than
this one-mile test.