Whyruawesome, Solitary Ranger look to step up in Arl-Wash
Futurity
Saturday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Arlington-Washington Futurity, the centerpiece
for juveniles at the Arlington International Racecourse 2013 meet, presents a
promising field of nine juveniles with the majority of their careers ahead of
them. One horse who hopes to make that future an awesome one is Windy Hill
Farm’s Whyruawesome, a flashy maiden victor in a seven-furlong event on August
16.
Trained by first-year trainer Anne P. Smith, Whyruawesome closed from 10
lengths behind a lukewarm pace of :23 and :47 4/5 before barreling down the
stretch greenly — nearly ducking into the inside rail and running up on the
heels of subsequent runner-up (and favorite) Category — to win by a deceptively
undemanding half-length.
“First time out, I was confident. I bet on him before the race, but you never
know with two-year-olds,” Smith explained. “But, then he ran well, so I’m
happy.”
The betting public was even more dubious, as they let the colt go off at odds
of 17-1. He will not be as overlooked on Saturday with a 4-1 morning line, but
his trainer is excited for the challenge.
“I’m looking forward to it, definitely. He’s training very well and getting
stronger every day. I’ve been working on his strength,” Smith reported.
The son of Grade I-winning juvenile Whywhywhy has not always seemed so
precocious for Smith. Such has been a recent development that happened to occur
at the opportune moment.
“We had plenty of works in him before he ran — lots of slow works. Then one
day in company he decided ‘I got it!’ and all of a sudden drew off. It was a
surprise because he wasn’t like that for a while — he wasn’t the dominant
(horse) at all,” explained a pleased Smith.
The conditioner also warned that his green race was not indicative of the
gelding being a nervous type. Apparently, the colt was simply looking around
while shifting paths.
“He’s not skittish, but he’ll walk looking to the side for the while and he
did that the other day (at the crowd). He just likes to look around. He’s not a
silly horse.”
Smith is also confident that the chestnut son of Awesome Again mare Awesome
Frances will have no problem negotiating the additional real estate.
“He feels like he can handle two turns,” she stated.
Such inclination is corroborated by the fact that despite being by a
sprinting stallion, his damside includes such stamina influences as Caro, Sky
Classic and the aforementioned Breeders’ Cup Classic-winning Awesome Again.
The trainer also mentioned that stable star Nates Mineshaft is back in good
health after a minor hind-end setback suffered in the Arlington Million.
“Nate is back to normal. I feel better about him, now,” Smith said.
“He’ll most likely stay here for the Illinois Owners’ Stakes. Hopefully it’ll
stay on the grass and not go to a one-turn mile (on the Polytrack),” Smith
elaborated.
In May, in the Grade 2 winner’s first race for Smith, he faired very poorly
in the one-turn mile of the Hanshin Cup.
“We also considered the Shadwell Mile, but I don’t think he’s proven himself
on the grass well enough to do that.”
In other Futurity news, two-time Arlington-Washington-winning trainer Wayne
Catalano brings an interesting prospect into the 2013 renewal in William D. Pate
and Marshall E. Dowell’s Solitary Ranger. A son of freshman U S Ranger, one of
the last sons to go to stud for super sire Danzig, Solitary Ranger will be
greatly supported because of his connections, but has never won in two starts,
has not started since April 26 and has yet to race beyond 4 1/2 furlongs.
Still, Catalano is very confident in the colt.
“He’s coming up great. We’ve won with a maiden in that race before, so we’re
going to try to do it again,” recollected the conditioner. “Major Gain broke his
maiden in that same race, so we’re going to try and do it once more.”
Unlike Gary and Mary West’s Major Gain, who had a race over the course four
weeks prior to his victory, Solitary Ranger will have to overcome a much longer
break — 19 weeks — and run on a track upon which he has never raced. What the
colt does have going for him is his back-class is superior to his predecessor.
In his last race, a Keeneland maiden, he chased home subsequent French Group
1 winner No Nay Never to only lose by two lengths. No Nay Never is currently one
of the highest rated juveniles for trainer Wesley Ward. In his debut, 19 days
prior, Solitary Ranger ran into another tough Ward charge in the highly regarded
Pablo Del Monte and was second to him as well.
Also to Solitary Ranger’s favor will be a series of impressive works over the
local surface, including two consecutive bullet works at five furlongs. The dark
bay colt also has the addition of one of the leading riders at the meet, Florent
Geroux, who currently strikes at a 28 percent clip when teamed with Catalano.
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