Perryville J

AMERICAN

GRADED STAKES PREVIEWS

A full field of 12 will contest Saturday's $200,000 Perryville S. (G3) at

Keeneland, and there appears to be plenty of speed in the about seven-furlong

event. HATTA FORT (GB) (Cape Cross [Ire]) will be biding his time at the back of

the pack during the early stages, and we'll look for him to come running late

for the win.

The Godolphin-owned colt made his U.S. debut at Keeneland in April and just

missed winning the Lafayette S., closing with a rush to finish second by a nose.

He moved to turf after that and ran pretty well in New York, including a smart

allowance/optional claiming victory at Saratoga two starts back. The sophomore

was bet down to 5-2 in the Kentucky Cup Sprint (G3) but launched his rally too

late to challenge for the win in the six-furlong race and wound up fourth. We'll

look for improvement off that effort and tab Hatta Fort for the win.

I'M SO LUCKY (Langfuhr) reeled off three straight wins before finishing third

in the King's Bishop S. (G1) last out, and we have plenty of respect for his

current form. Conditioned by John Ward, the chestnut broke his maiden by seven

lengths at Keeneland and has registered 101 BRIS Speed ratings in his last two

starts. The stalker will keep the hot-riding Robby Albarado in the irons, and

I'm So Lucky looks like a very serious player in this spot.

WEST EXPRESS (Forestry) will enter in good form for Eddie Kenneally and will

get Miguel Mena in the saddle for his stakes debut. He's one for one at

Keeneland, breaking his maiden last April, and owns a commendable 4-1-2-0 mark

at seven furlongs. With a 101 Speed rating two starts back, he's got the numbers

to challenge, and West Express will offer value (15-1 morning line). We give him

a slight upset chance, but a top-three placing is probably more realistic.

The distance looks like a good fit for LIBERTY BULL (Holy Bull), and the Tom

Amoss runner exits a victory in his synthetic debut at Presque Isle Downs. A

multiple stakes winner, the gray colt has displayed a fine turn of foot in most

of his starts, and he's training well for this appearance. Liberty Bull could

make his presence felt at a nice price.

READY'S IMAGE (More Than Ready) looked like a very promising colt last season

and did open his 2008 campaign with a victory in the Adjudicating S., but

nothing's gone right in his last two outings. He won his first career start at

Keeneland, scoring in a 4 1/2-furlong maiden special weight in April 2007, and

perhaps the return to Polytrack will enable him to turn things around. Consider

for the exotics. MEAL PENALTY (Tale of the Cat) likes Polytrack and can't be

dismissed from contention with his two-for-two mark at Keeneland. However, the

Todd Pletcher-trained speedster must avoid getting caught up in a speed duel

that could soften him up for the stretch drive. He may keep going on the front

end, but it's a tall task.

FIDELIO (Awesome Again) has turned in a couple of strong showings at seven

furlongs in allowance/optional claiming events, but he got drilled last time

against stakes rivals and didn't run well over Keeneland's Polytrack last fall.

We'll let him beat us. AMAZING RESULTS (Grand Slam) is solid on all-weather

tracks, but we question whether the Illinois-bred can challenge at this level.

EATON'S GIFT (Johannesburg) couldn't sustain his speed in the Lafayette last

April, checking in third, and the front runner hasn't shown the ability to rate

effectively. We'll look for more from the Dale Romans runner when he returns to

dirt.

WISE ANSWER (Wised Up) exits a third at Calder and owns no experience on a

synthetic track. Given his dull turf form (3-0-0-0), we can't recommend his

chances. GODOLPHIN GRAY (Explicit) exits a maiden win at Turfway and will be

severely tested for class in this spot. NICKEL SHOOTER (Exchange Rate) will be

mixing it up early but will probably face too much pressure in his stakes debut.