* It's hard to say just how long it will take Dullahan to rid himself of the title "Mine That Bird's half-brother." But he did take a good step toward escaping that image with an authoritative victory at 17-1 in the Dixiana Breeders' Futurity (gr. I). A poor trip, in which he steadied in traffic on the first turn, left him nearly twelve lengths off the pace in the early stages, but nevertheless he charged home while five wide to win by three-quarters of a length. However, it's hard to say whether his spectacular stretch run was due to his own furious rally or the fact that Majestic City, who held a 2 1/2 length lead passing the eighth pole, seemed to be tiring quickly. After all, Majestic City is bred to be a sprinter and was likely racing farther than he wants to go. But give credit to Dullahan, for he did have to overcome his troubles. Optimizer kicked home strongly to finish third, showing a pretty good turn of foot, and I wouldn't be surprised if he will have something to say about the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf next month.
* One thing you can say about Never Retreat is that she never retreats. It seems as though she is always closing in at the finish, and in her tenth start of the year recorded her first grade I victory in Keeneland's First Lady Stakes. Under the leading rider of the meet, Julien Leparoux, the mare sat fourth early on before finishing strongly on the outside to be up in time to win by 1 1/2 lengths. Her final time of 1:34.08 was actually .09 seconds faster than Gio Ponti ran in the Shadwell Turf Mile, although admittedly Never Retreat did not have to get out of a pocket in the stretch. Although her effort was exceptional, Never Retreat will not be heading to the Breeders' Cup, as there is not really a race there that would fit her. Together, one of two three-year-olds in the field, came on well to be second after a slow beginning, and looks like an improving filly who could have an impact on the division in the future. Surprisingly, Theysken's Theory, coming off of a strong second to Winter Memories in the Garden City Stakes, was far back throughout and simply never threatened.
* Holiday for Kitten is clearly a horse-for-the-course. Coming off of a sixth-place finish at Parx Racing, the three-year-old filly returned to the sight of her win in the Giant's Causeway Stakes earlier this year and held off a determined run from Musical Romance to win the Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes (gr. II) by a head. Owned by Ken and Sarah Ramsey, the filly tracked a quick pace set by Rapport through the early stages and pounced for the lead turning for home under jockey Kendrick Carmouche. However, she was never really able to kick clear from the field, and a challenge soon came from Musical Romance. The latter filly had gotten a perfect trip along the rail behind the early leaders and was able to turn in her best effort. She came home strongly and would have won had the race been another stride longer, but Holiday for Kitten just managed to get her head down first. The final time for the six-furlong event was 1:08.72, just .42 seconds off the track record. Switch, the odds-on favorite, was a bit of a disappointment. A wide trip compromised her chances to some degree, but while she closed 2 1/4 lengths inside the final eighth, she could manage no better than third. I got the impression that she didn't handle the Keeneland Polytrack as well as she does dirt, or even Hollywood Park's Cushion Track for that matter. For the winner, the five-furlong Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint might make more sense than the Filly & Mare Sprint at seven furlongs on dirt.
* Speaking of the Turf Sprint, Havelock stamped himself as one of the main contenders for that Breeders' Cup race with a tremendous late-running victory in the Woodford Stakes (gr. III) going 5-1/2 furlongs. Ninth early on, he looked impossibly far behind in the stretch under Robby Albarado but somehow managed to close into the strong final fractions to win by a length in 1:01.96, just .29 off the track record. However, his furious rally may have been a bit of a deception, for the early fractions of :21.15 and :43.88 fried any horse near the front end. Pacesetter Varsity, a 6-1 shot, faded to finish last of twelve. Great Mills, second early on, ended up tenth. Magoo, leader after three-eighths, tired late to sixth. The 1-2-3-4 finishers were racing 9-6-7-10 after a quarters\ of a mile. One could actually argue that Magoo ran the best race; after all, he was only beaten 3 3/4 lengths. If a more reasonable pace were to arise in the Breeders' Cup, I would expect Magoo to be right in contention.
* While Santa Anita's main track is still very fast, it is clear that it is not the same pavement-resembling surface that it was during the spring meet. This difference in racetrack speed was never clearer than on Saturday, when the spectacular sprinting sensation The Factor took on a field of five older runners in the Ancient Title Stakes (gr. I) going six furlongs. During the spring meet, The Factor dueled through a half-mile in :43.41 in the seven-furlong San Vicente Stakes (gr. II), kicked clear of the field, and held off the close of Sway Away in style. In the Ancient Title Stakes, The Factor dueled with huge longshot Sirocco Strike through a half-mile in :43.80. Then he folded. Entering the homestretch, it was clear that he was in deep trouble. He was drifting outward, not kicking away, and the top older sprinter Amazombie was breathing down his neck under Mike Smith. Give The Factor credit—he was in front passing the eighth pole in :55.95, but not even he could accomplish the impossible. Amazombie blew past him easily and went on to win by three-quarters of a length over Irrefutable, with Mensa Heat closing from last to finish third. The final time was 1:08.24. Interestingly, the same situation that occurred in the Woodford Stakes occurred here. The horses racing 1-2-3 in the early stages faded to finish 4-5-6. The horses that hit the finish line 1-2-3 were 5-4-6 early on. And so we must give credit to The Factor for finishing the best of the pacesetters, and if he can escape with a more reasonable pace in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (gr. I) he could most likely be a contender.
* Union Rags is clearly the favorite right now for not only the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, but for next year's Kentucky Derby. In the Champagne Stakes (gr. I), he broke poorly, got bumped around down the backstretch, found himself in a pocket turning for home, had to steady hard and dive to the outside to escape it, and still exploded to win by 5 1/4 lengths. His turn of foot when finally clear of traffic was simply breathtaking. Alpha, the second choice, came on well enough for second but was in no way a threat to the winner. However, he is bred to mature as he gets older and should relish additional distance as well a two turns, so he is definitely one to watch for the future. As for seventh-place finisher Power World, he entered the race as the most heavily raced youngster in the field with four starts under his belt, but had never shown any form of early speed until Saturday, when he sprinted away to lead through fractions of :22.74 and :45.84. Not surprisingly, he backed up to be beaten seventeen lengths.
* The fillies’ equivalent of the Champagne, the grade I Frizette Stakes at the same one-mile distance, may have also turned out a Breeders' Cup favorite. My Miss Aurelia stamped herself as a legitimate contender for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies by turning back the challenge of Stopshoppingmaria in the stretch to win the race in convincing fashion. After a slight bumping incident at the start, she recovered nicely to set a quick pace of :22.64, :46.02, and 1:10.38 under Corey Nakatani. She then drew away powerfully under a strong hand ride in the stretch to score by 5 1/2. Most impressive was her final quarter mile in :24.84, which gave her a final time of 1:35.22, .33 seconds faster than Union Rags ran in the Champagne. Bred to stay a distance, My Miss Aurelia should be more than capable of handling two turns in the Breeders' Cup, and nine furlongs next year in races like the Kentucky Oaks (gr. I). Stopshoppingmaria didn't get the best of trips, breaking poorly and getting a lot of dirt in her face, but when asked for run in the stretch she just couldn't offer a challenge to the winner. Miss Netta actually ran a tremendous race for third. After a poor break, she was rank and fought the rider down the backstretch and found herself 17 1/2 lengths off the pace with a half-mile to go, and seven lengths behind the next farthest back runner. Nevertheless, she displayed a good kick in the stretch to get up for third, 3 1/2 lengths behind Stopshoppingmaria. She could enter the Breeders' Cup as a legitimate longshot capable of hitting the board at a price.
* Corey Nakatani demonstrated perfectly the effects of a slow pace in the grade I Jacaica Handicap at nine furlongs on the turf, allowing his mount, Western Aristocrat, to lull his rivals to sleep with a bizarrely slow pace of :26.27 and :52.20. Heavily favorite Brilliant Speed tracked the leader throughout the race while never more than a half length behind, and -- when asked to pick up the pace -- responded with a furious final three-eighths in :34.23. The only problem was that Western Aristocrat accepted the challenge with a final three eighths in :34.13. This was more than enough to turn back Brilliant Speed's bid, who ended up finishing a length behind the upset winner. Wilkinson came on for third -- with a final eighth in :11.32. It's safe to say that no horse was tiring at the finish, for even last-place finisher Seal Cove charged home his final eighth in :11.17.
* Headache earned himself a trip to the Breeders' Cup Classic next month with a hard-fought victory in Hawthorne's ten-furlong Hawthorne Gold Cup (gr. I). Under a good ride from Pasco Lopez, Headache rated well off of the early lead before grinding down his opponents late for a half-length triumph. The final time was a slow 2:04.68, but the pace was not quick and it is possible that Headache could turn in a faster time with a faster pace in front of him. Favored Rule tracked the early pace, but couldn't off a response late and ended up finishing seventh. However, it might not have been a distance limitation that caused his poor showing, for he was already twelve lengths after running nine furlongs, a distance at which he has run very well in the past. The other favorite, Giant Oak, was caught wide throughout and was rank down the backstretch, hauling himself into contention long before he should have. Subsequently, he flattened out in midstretch and ended up fifth. Cease, who finished third beaten just a half-length, might have actually turned in the best performance, for he was the only horse anywhere near the early pace to hand around for the finish. Was the track perhaps more tiring than it appeared to be?
* Aruna will be heading to the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic after a strong, stretch-running victory in Keeneland's Spinster Stakes (gr. I). Reserved well off of the early pace, she had to wait for room on the far turn, but when angled to the far outside at the top of the stretch, she came on strongly to defeat Pachattack by three-quarters of a length. She had previously raced only on turf, so whether or not she will handle the Churchill dirt remains open to question, but she seems to relish nine furlongs and with Havre de Grace heading to the Classic, she's got as good a chance as anyone else. Pachattack ran well enough to be second, but at this point she just doesn't seem quite up to actually winning a grade I race.
* Don't you just love California Flag? The remarkable seven-year-old gelding won the Morvich Stakes (gr. III) in both 2008 and 2009, skipped the race in 2010, and came back this year to win it again for his third victory in the race. He showed a different dimension in this year's renewal, as the usually front-running gelding was content to sit second early as Excessive Passion set a quick pace of :21.41 and :43.42 before wearing him down to win by a half-length in 1:11.91. While it is clear that he does his best racing over Santa Anita’s unique downhill turf course, if he can keep his form until 2012, the Breeders’ Cup will be returning to his home track then.
-Keelerman
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