THOROUGHBRED BEAT
NOVEMBER 30, 2006
by James Scully
East Coast raiders — New York-based horses left their mark upon
Hollywood Park’s Turf Festival, winning two of the three Grade 1 events in
authoritative fashion. SHOWING UP (Strategic Mission) was much the best in
Sunday’s Hollywood Derby (G1), closing powerfully to win going away by 2 1/4
lengths. He earned a 112 BRIS Speed rating for his second win this year at 10
furlongs, and trainer Barclay Tagg will point him toward long-distance races
next season, with the ultimate goal being the Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1). ASHKAL
WAY (Ire) (Ashkalani), who will be back next year pointing toward an engagement
in the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1), overhauled the front runners in midstretch and
easily held the late runners at bay to win Friday’s Citation H. (G1) by one
length. The four-year-old gelding established a course mark at Monmouth Park
when turning a mile in 1:32 2/5 this summer, and he flew through 8 1/2 furlongs
in a gaudy 1:39 3/5 at Hollywood, improving to six for seven in America while
notching a 106 Speed rating. Showing Up and Ashkal Way each put on quite a show.
Derby hopefuls — TIZ WONDERFUL (Tiznow) and NOBIZ LIKE SHOBIZ (Albert
the Great) are two highly promising prospects for next year’s Kentucky Derby
(G1). Street Sense (Street Cry [Ire]) deserves top billing based upon his
smashing 10-length triumph in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) at Churchill
Downs, but Tiz Wonderful and Nobiz Like Shobiz round out my top three heading
into 2007. Tiz Wonderful won his first two starts in impressive fashion, but he
wasn’t beating anybody. In Saturday’s Kentucky Jockey Club S. (G2), Any Given
Saturday (Distorted Humor) severely tested him, passing the heavy favorite with
a strong move into the stretch. Tiz Wonderful displayed a lot of moxie battling
back, and he had to finish fast in order to beat his unbeaten rival, eventually
notching a 100 Late Pace and Speed rating for his gutsy half-length decision.
Nobiz Like Shobiz made short work of his overmatched rivals in Saturday’s Remsen
S. (G2), winning the 1 1/8-mile test by 6 1/2 lengths in a very professional
manner. He earned a commendable 97 Speed figure and improved to 3-2-1-0. Like
Street Sense, Tiz Wonderful and Nobiz Like Shobiz both have the breeding and
disposition to make a seamless transition to longer distances next spring, and
the 2007 three-year-old crop looks pretty good.
Obvious talent — DISCREET CAT (Forestry) must still answer distance
questions next season, but he left North American racing fans anxious to see him
perform in 2007 with an outstanding 3 1/4-length score in Saturday’s Cigar Mile H.
(G1). Under a hand ride through six furlongs in 1:07 3/5, the three-year-old
colt dismissed his rivals with a dazzling turn of foot, quickly opening up an
insurmountable lead while never feeling the sting of the whip. He earned another
gigantic BRIS Speed rating (111) while missing Easy Goer’s track record by .06
seconds, and he’s won for fun in all six career starts. The bay colt captured
the nine-furlong U.A.E. Derby (UAE-G1) in the friendly confines of Nad al Sheba
earlier this year, but Discreet Cat has never been past a mile in four U.S.
attempts. He might prove less effective when stretching out to 10 furlongs, but
I’m inclined to believe that Discreet Cat is a freak who’s capable of winning Grade
1 events at six furlongs or 1 1/4 miles.
Layoff blunder — A lengthy layoff wound up hurting DEEP IMPACT’s (Sunday Silence)
legacy. He’s the best Thoroughbred ever to race in Japan
and his victory in last Saturday’s Japan Cup (Jpn-G1) was nothing short of
brilliant, but Deep Impact couldn’t win outside of Japan, losing Europe’s
biggest race because he was too fresh. Don’t blame jockey Yutaka Take for the
colt’s setback in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Fr-G1). He’s not the one who
eschewed a needed prep that left Deep Impact too keen entering the 1 1/2-mile
Arc. No jockey was going to be able wrestle the late-running Deep Impact back
that day without costing him any chance at the victory. And Deep Impact was too
eager to run in front of a 100,000+ crowd at Longchamp because he hadn’t started
since June. The layoff cost him dearly.
Bad DQ — Stewards will make mistakes like the rest of us, but the
Aqueduct crew looked inept following Friday’s Top Flight H. (G2). RAHYS’ APPEAL
(Rahy) was a deserving winner, crossing the finish line with a widening
three-length advantage, but jockey Alan Garcia accidentally struck Malibu Mint
(Malibu Moon) in the face as his mount rolled past in the stretch. It wasn’t a
willful violation, and the head-on shows Malibu Mint to be drifting out slightly
toward her oncoming rival. If Malibu Mint maintains a straight course, the whip
never touches her. Malibu Mint still easily held second, and the incident had
nothing to do with the outcome. But the stewards decided to draw all the
attention to themselves by disqualifying Rahys’ Appeal. According to the rules
in New York, striking another horse with a whip isn’t cause for an automatic
disqualification. It has to be a willful violation. The stewards didn’t have to
change the order of finish, but they went ahead and made a huge mistake.