The summer racing season officially began last week with the opening of Saratoga and Del Mar, and -- as a result -- the racing has been simply spectacular.
By far the highlight for this writer was Royal Delta's romping victory in the Delaware Handicap (gr. I) on Saturday. She was fully expected to win, being sent off at 2-5, but somehow managed to outrun her odds in winning by 10 3/4 lengths. It was the kind of dominance that you just don't see in grade I races. After taking the lead through a moderate opening quarter in :24.19, Royal Delta then blitzed the next half-mile in a spectacular :47.24 to open up a seven-length lead on the field. Really, after the opening three furlongs, the outcome was never in question. Without ever really being pushed by jockey Mike Smith, Royal Delta cruised home unchallenged to win in 2:02.04 seconds and establish herself as not only the leading older mare in the country, but also a leading contender for the Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I) against males should her connections choose to send her that route.
Royal Delta's main east-coast challenger for leadership of the division appears to be Todd Pletcher's fine mare Authenticity, who added another stakes victory to her record with a solid triumph in the Shuvee Handicap (gr. III) at Saratoga. Favored at 1-2, Authenticity showed a new dimension in rating just off the early pace before finishing up well to win by a length over Iowa Distaff Handicap winner Flashy American. Her next start is expected to come in Saratoga's Personal Ensign Handicap (gr. I), where she and Royal Delta will meet for the first time.
The big disappointment of the Shuvee was Eblouissante, a previously unbeaten half-sister to 2010 Horse of the Year Zenyatta. Unfortunately, Eblouissante was anxious at the start and scraped herself up a bit, after which she failed to seriously contend and was eased to a last-place finish. The one consolation is that her performance was too bad to be a true measure of her ability, and I won't be surprised if her next start yields much, much better results.
The Coaching Club American Oaks (gr. I) for three-year-old fillies finally yielded a clear-cut leader of the division, as Princess of Sylmar unleashed an impressive rally around the final turn to seize command and win by six widening lengths. And let's not forget that her final time was well over a second faster than Authenticity ran in winning the Shuvee! Having completed the "Oaks" double, Princess of Sylmar is now expected to try her luck at ten furlongs in the Alabama Stakes (gr. I), where another victory would virtually sew up the Eclipse award as champion three-year-old filly.
The week's two-year-old racing was also interesting, with Sprouts continuing her domination of the West-coast division with her victory in the California Thoroughbred Breeders' Association Stakes, Brazen Persuasion and Bahnah dead-heating for victory in the Schuylerville (gr. III), and Wired Bryan romping to an impressive win in the Sanford Stakes (gr. II). By default, they are the early leaders of the juvenile divisions, but it will be very interesting to see how they progress over the course of the year.
The highlight of the week at Del Mar was the grade I Eddie Read Stakes, in which Jeranimo -- somehow favored despite his recent sub-par performances -- unleashed a tremendous rally to win by 1 1/2 lengths in the spectacular time of 1:45 4/5! It's great to see him back in top form, and to be perfectly honest, that was the kind of performance that could make him a serious contender in the Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. I) this November.
The sprint division came into clearer focus on opening day at Saratoga when Sage Valley won the James Marvin Stakes in strong fashion. The victory made amends for his poor showing in the True North Handicap (gr. II) at Belmont last month and stamps him as the horse to beat in the Forego Stakes (gr. I) at the end of the meet. That said, to truly gain command of the sprint division, he's going to have to beat the likes of Fast Bullet, Gentleman's Code, and Delaunay at some point along the way.
Before we sign off, allow me to briefly mention the San Clemente Handicap (gr. II) at Del Mar. The one-mile turf race for fillies and mares was won by Wishing Gate, who rallied from fifth to win impressively in 1:33.58 seconds. It's unfortunate that there isn't a "Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Mile," because I think Wishing Gate would be a solid favorite to win. Even still, she'd probably have a shot in the Breeders' Cup Mile itself, because her victory was simply that impressive.
-Keelerman
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