One week after the Triple Crown wrapped up at Belmont Park, the attention of American racing fans turned to Churchill Downs and Betfair Hollywood Park for the running of several prestigious stakes races, including the Stephen Foster Handicap (gr. I) and Fluer de Lis Handicap (gr. I) at Churchill Downs. The quality of the week's star runners was unquestionable, with the likes of two-time Eclipse champion Royal Delta, Breeders' Cup Classic winner Fort Larned, two-time grade I winner Ron the Greek, and many others scheduled to start their serious preparations for the Breeders' Cup in November.
Yet for many, the greatest triumph of the week came on Friday afternoon at Hollywood, in a lonely little seven-furlong allowance optional claiming race. The winner was Paynter, who less than a year ago was in an equine clinic fighting colitis and laminitis. The fact that he lived through the ordeal was a miracle in and of itself; that he was able to return to training was an added bonus. That he won Friday's race by 4 1/2 lengths, earning a huge Beyer speed figure of 114, was like . . . I don't know. Like hitting three holes-in-one in the same golf game. It just doesn't happen.
Unprecedented return to racing aside, perhaps the most impressive fact about Paynter's victory was that he achieved it off of a near eleven-month layoff, at something surely less than peak fitness, and in a race most likely too short for him! Not that he didn't have the credentials to win at that distance, but Paynter's best races last year came when winning the nine-furlong Haskell Invitational (gr. I) by daylight and being beaten a neck in the twelve-furlong Belmont Stakes (gr. I). Thus, the way he won on Friday suggests to me that he could be even better this year than last, a fact that -- if true -- should strike fear into the hearts of all other Horse of the Year contenders.
If Paynter was the biggest triumph of the week, than Royal Delta's loss in the Fleur de Lis was the most disappointing. Making her first start back from Dubai, the remarkable mare was expected to face little opposition from her four rivals, especially given how impressive she was in winning the race last year. Yet Royal Delta didn't seem to be moving as smoothly as usual going down the backstretch, and after making a run to challenge front-running Funny Proposition for the lead, she was repelled and forced to settle for a distant second behind the gate-to-wire winner. Some may view Royal Delta's loss as a sign that she may not be as good as she was last year, but as disappointing as she was, let's not forget that she has thrown in occasional clunkers in the past. Remember last year's Personal Ensign Handicap? Or the 2011 Coaching Club American Oaks? I have no doubt that, barring injury, Bill Mott will get Royal Delta back on track and gear her up for a defense of her Eclipse title.
A perfect example of a horse returning to peak form off of a sub-par effort came just two races after the Fleur de Lis, in the Stephen Foster Handicap (gr. I). Breeders' Cup Classic winner Fort Larned had started off his 2013 campaign in hugely disappointing fashion, dumping his rider at the start of the Gulfstream Park Handicap (gr. II) and then finishing a dull fourth in the Oaklawn Handicap (gr. II). Some surely questioned whether he would ever find his way back to peak form, but Fort Larned put those concerns to rest with his authoritative gate-to-wire score in the Stephen Foster. This wasn't just a good performance -- it was a great performance. After setting very honest fractions of :23.69, :46.96, and 1:10.48, Fort Larned had plenty left in the tank to rocket through a spectacular :24.05 fourth quarter, which put him 6 1/2 lengths clear of everyone else. At that point, it was simply a matter of how fast Fort Larned could finish up. The answer was nine furlongs in 1:47.45, which missed the track record by about a fifth of a second. The fact that good horses like Golden Ticket, Ron the Greek, and Successful Dan could make no impact on Fort Larned makes the latter a clear-cut leader of the eastern handicap division, at least for the time being. If he can hold his form through November, a challenging but certainly not impossible task, he should have a terrific chance at earning a repeat win in the Breeders' Cup Classic.
Out west, Byrama took a shaky hold of the female handicap division with her 3 1/2-length triumph in the Vanity Handicap (gr. I). Ridden by Gary Stevens, who can't seem to do any wrong as of late, Byrama settled comfortably behind longshot Royal Tiger's moderate pace, made a sweeping run to take command turning for home, and never looked back en route to a decisive triumph. More Chocolate, winner of the La Canada Stakes (gr. II) and runner-up in the Santa Margarita (gr. I), loomed a contender for the win at the top of the stretch before giving way to finish second. The final time of 1:51.40 was not impressive, nor was the :13 3/5 final eighth. But with no western-based filly or mare having put together a winning streak this year, Byrama has to be considered the leader of the division by merit of her grade I winner alone.
However, her leadership may not last long. One day after the Vanity, the talented Include Me Out -- who won four graded stakes in California last year and placed in three others -- returned to the races with a sharp triumph in the seven-furlong Desert Stormer Handicap at Hollywood. Given that the distance was likely too short for her, Include Me Out was sent off as only the third choice in a field of seven, yet closed strongly under a hand ride to defeat Shumoos and Teddy's Promise by three-quarters of a length. Her next start is expected to come in the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes (gr. I), where she will likely face Byrama for the first time.
The absence of Groupie Doll this year has left a gaping hole in the fillly and mare sprint division, and although the champ should be back later this year to try and defend her title, the fine filly Dance to Bristol is establishing impressive credentials of her own and could make things interesting come Breeders' Cup time. Having already won the Sugar Maple Stakes at Charles Town and the Skipat Stakes at Pimlico -- both in breathtaking fashion -- the daughter of Speightstown tried her talents in New York and was rewarded with an authoritative victory in the Bed o' Roses Handicap (gr. III). Sure, the field she beat wasn't spectacular, but her time of 1:20.81 for seven furlongs certainly was. And her final eighth in :12.03 was also exceptional. In my opinion, she looms as a deserving early favorite for the Ballerina Stakes (gr. I) at Saratoga.
No recap of this week would be complete with at least a brief mention of Friday's Criminal Type Stakes at Belmont Park, which marked the return of Breeders' Cup Classic runner-up Mucho Macho Man. Unraced since being eased in the Sunshine Millions Classic Stakes earlier this year, the five-year-old colt caught a "good" track that surely hampered his chances -- his other two starts over off tracks have been the worst of his career -- but despite the track and the layoff, he was on the lead following three-quarters of a mile in 1:10.08 and stayed on well enough to be third. The winner was San Pablo, a respectable colt of fine talent, but one that has never quite reached the upper echelon of stakes winners. Perhaps this is the year that he'll finally put it all together!
On the three-year-old front, Verrazano rebounded from his poor showing in the Derby to win Sunday's Pegasus Stakes (gr. III) at Monmouth by 9 1/4 lengths. His task was made substantially easier by the misfortune that befell Preakness runner-up Itsmyluckyday, who was pulled up after half a mile with an as-of-yet undetermined injury. Hopefully, it's nothing too severe. That said, take nothing away from Verrazano, who set a nice pace and finished strongly enough to suggest that he could be quite a force in the Haskell Invitational (gr. I) next month.
One last note -- Code West finally picked up a stakes victory in Churchill's Matt Winn Stakes (gr. III), gamely turning back a challenge from Uncaptured to win by a head. Time will tell where Code West fits in three-year-old division, but he has always struck me as a talented colt, and a ten-furlong race like the Travers (gr. I) could play well to his strong, grinding style.
-Keelerman
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