Connections contemplate next move after Arlington’s
Futurity and Lassie
After overcoming a 19-week layoff, considerable increase in distance and
being a maiden to win Saturday’s Grade 3 Arlington-Washington Futurity, Susan
Moulton’s Solitary Ranger is ready for more challenges. The son of
freshman stallion U S Ranger is now under consideration for the Breeders’ Cup,
according to trainer Wayne Catalano.
“He looks pretty good today,” Catalano said. “We’ll probably look at the
Breeders’ Futurity after this. We liked him all along. He’s been
breezing very well.”
While which Breeders’ Cup race — the Juvenile or Juvenile Turf — to which he
will be aimed is still undecided, Catalano did seem to lean toward the latter.
“I think we’ll be eventually trying the turf with him. But, right now, our
main goal is to get him to the Breeders’ Cup.” The win was Catalano’s
third in the event since 2009.
Windy Hill Farm’s runner-up Whyruawesome exited his 5 1/2-length loss well,
according to trainer Anne P. Smith. The colt will also look at a possible
race at Keeneland. Both the Breeders’ Futurity on the Polytrack and Bourbon Stakes on grass will be considered.
“He came out of it in pretty good shape. Not too bad at all,” Smith
reported. “The owners would like to try him on the turf next. There’s a good chance we’ll take him to Keeneland.”
Though overjoyed at her first stakes-placing as a trainer, the first-year
conditioner Smith also expressed a little disappointment with how things
unfolded. At the top of the stretch, Whyruawesome seemed poised to
overtake eventual winner Solitary Ranger, but failed to switch leads and
maintain momentum.
“It’s a little aggravating,” Smith explained. “In the mornings he swaps easily
— it’s almost
robotic. But, he’s a young horse and ran well,”
Curtis Green’s High Roll, the fifth-place finisher who went off as the slight
3-1 favorite over Whyruawesome and Solitary Ranger, exited his disheartening
race well.
“That horse was disappointing to me,” trainer Jimmy DiVito
reported. “He might just be a sprinter.
“I left it up to (jockey) Francisco (Torres) on deciding to go for the lead
or not,” DiVito continued. “Perhaps that was a mistake — we probably
should have gone to the front. Sprinting is probably better for that horse. His half-brother (2012 Futurity runner-up Muppet Man) was a sprinter and I
should keep him in sprints for now.”
Team Valor International’s Irish import Captain’s Affair exited his fourth-place
finish in good order. According to Team Valor International’s Bradley Weisbord, the new acquisition will head to new trainer Rick Mettee’s barn in
Maryland and look to return in grass races after not handling the Arlington
Polytrack well.
The Listed $100,000
Arlington-Washington Lassie produced a thrilling finish a lot of mixed emotions
on Saturday. While Holmark Stables II’s She’s Offlee Good brought her
ownership team an exciting win by two lengths, Eclipse Thoroughbred Parterns’
Battlefield Angel’s difficult trip produced a great deal of frustration for her
connections.
“She had a rough trip, but was only
beaten three lengths. Go back and look at the race — nothing went right
for her,” trainer Wayne Catalano said. “She stumbled a bit and had traffic
the whole way. We don’t know where she’ll go now, but most likely it will
be Keeneland.”
Both She’s Offlee Good and sixth-place Battlefield Angel
will be considered for the Alcibiades Stakes on October 4 at the Lexington,
Kentucky oval.
Another who did not have the best
racing luck was Curtis Green’s race favorite Maria Maria, who weaved her way
between fillies to finish third at 5-2.
“There was just too much traffic
in that race,” trainer Jimmy DiVito reported. “It was a terrible trip.”
The daughter of Curlin was coming off an auspicious win in maiden special weight
company in late July and boasts a stamina-rich pedigree being out of a With
Approval mare.
“I think she’ll run much better next time around two turns and she’ll be
better as she runs farther,” DiVito explained. “She’s much better
than that race. She never got clear sailing. We are going to Keeneland
with her after we see how she comes out of this.”
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