JUVENILE TURF PREVIEW
The Juvenile Turf is one of the more recent Breeders’ Cup events, with just
five previous runnings, but a few patterns have already emerged. Europe has won
three, including both staged at Santa Anita, and the better American prospects
have tended to compete in the With Anticipation at Saratoga and the Summer at
Woodbine.
Europe threatens to maintain its advantage with a formidable squad,
highlighted by Dundonnell, Artigiano, Fantastic Moon, and the Aidan O’Brien duo
of George Vancouver and Lines of Battle.
Trainer Chad Brown spearheads the American team with Balance the Books and
Noble Tune, while Joha, I’m BoundtoScore, Know More and Gervinho also warrant
respect.
The English-based Dundonnell has shipped to Santa Anita in search of firm
turf. The Juddmonte Farms homebred is two-for-two in similar conditions, romping
by 12 lengths in course-record time for a juvenile at Lingfield and capturing a
strong renewal of the Acomb. Dundonnell has also run well with a bit of give in
the ground, but the firmer, the better for him. The well-bred colt, who is out
of a full sister to world-renowned sire Danehill, ranks as the horse to beat.
Godolphin’s Artigiano comes off an excellent second in the Royal Lodge, the
very race that produced last year’s Juvenile Turf winner, Wrote. Two starts
back, Artigiano nearly upset one of Europe’s leading two-year-olds, Olympic
Glory. Like Dundonnell, Artigiano has tactical speed and prefers firm turf.
Fantastic Moon also took part in the Royal Lodge, but encountered trouble,
got going too late, and wound up a well-beaten fifth. Leaving it very late is
becoming an issue for him, for in his prior outing, he just got up in the nick
of time in the Solario. Fantastic Moon will have a shorter stretch to work with
at Santa Anita, and must try to rally sooner. On the plus side, he is trained by
Jeremy Noseda, who knows how to ship to the United States and win.
O’Brien, who just missed in the first two runnings, broke through with his
first win in this race a year ago. He returns with two colts who are entitled to
improve on firm ground. George Vancouver, who has already placed in a pair of
prestigious events in Europe, is a royally bred son of champion
Henrythenavigator and millionaire Versailles Treaty. Lines of Battle has not
been as ambitiously placed as his stablemate, but he posted a good-looking
stakes win on the synthetic in Ireland last out.
America’s best chances rest with the Brown stable. Balance the Books, a deep
closer, has overcome troubled trips to prevail in both the With Anticipation
Stakes and the Bourbon Stakes. While the Bourbon was a Breeders’ Cup “Win &
You’re In” event, guaranteeing a spot in the starting gate, the With
Anticipation has also become a significant stepping stone to this race.
Moreover, Balance the Books’ scrappiness could come in handy in a bulky field.
His stablemate, the undefeated Noble Tune, is likely to get the jump on
Balance the Books. A great-grandson of Hall of Fame racemare Serena’s Song,
Noble Tune blew away the field in the Pilgrim, another “Win & You’re In” race.
The Pilgrim has yet to produce a Juvenile Turf winner, but that stat is bound to
fall sooner or later.
The other North American “Win & You’re In,” the Summer Stakes, has yielded a
Juvenile Turf winner and two runners-up in just five years. But it’s
questionable whether the latest running of the Summer had the same depth or
quality. The winner, I’m Boundtoscore, controlled the pace on yielding ground,
and his beaten rivals haven’t looked terribly strong.
A much better case can be made for Joha, a son of Johar, the dead-heat winner
of the Breeders’ Cup Turf over this course in 2003. Just caught by Balance the
Books in the With Anticipation, Joha came back to wire the Breeders’ Futurity
over Keeneland’s Polytrack. That flattered Balance the Books, and earned Joha an
automatic berth to the Juvenile on dirt, but trainer Mike Maker opted to keep
him on a surface that he’s known to like.
Interestingly, Joha fits the pattern of the two American-based winners of
this race. Both were produced by foreign-bred mares, and Joha is out of the
Irish-bred Mujado.
Know More, who would have been a logical candidate for the Juvenile, will try
to become the first horse to win this race in his turf debut. Trained by Doug
O’Neill, who conditioned this year’s Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner I’ll
Have Another, Know More is no stranger to making history in audacious places. He
made a winning career debut in the Best Pal, becoming the first horse ever to
win a Del Mar graded stakes in his first start. Know More turned in another
strong performance on Polytrack when runner-up in the Del Mar Futurity, and his
proficiency on synthetic, combined with his pedigree, suggest that he should
adapt to turf.
The unbeaten Gervinho has already made the transition from Del Mar’s
Polytrack to turf, rallying to take the Zuma Beach over this same course and
one-mile distance.