Executiveprivilege remains undefeated in Chandelier Stakes

Executiveprivilege stamped herself as a heavy favorite for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (gr. I) five weeks from now when she flew to a dominating victory in the $250,000 Chandelier Stakes (gr. I) Saturday afternoon at Santa Anita Park, winning by 6 1/4 lengths in a highly impressive performance.

Ridden to victory by Rafael Bejarano, Executiveprivilege bobbled slightly at the start, but quickly recovered to take command of the lead through an opening quarter mile in :23.91 seconds. Miss Empire, Majestic Minister, and Salamera were her closest pursuers, while Switch to the Lead, Wittgenstein, Scarlet Strike, and Butterfly Soul trailed the field.

Executiveprivilege continued to show the way through fractions of :48.41 and 1:13.45, and entering the homestretch she accelerated away from her rivals to open up a decisive advantage. Scarlet Strike attempted to rally into contention on the far outside, but Executiveprivilege was already long gone, crossing the finish line under no urging to stop the clock in 1:44.95 seconds.

Scarlet Strike outfinished Miss Empire for second, while the latter filly finished 6 1/4 lengths clear of Majetsic Minister, who rounded out the superfecta. Salamera, Switch to the Lead, Wittgenstein, and Butterfly Soul completed the order of finish.

The winner, a daughter of First Samurai out of the Unaccounted For mare Refugee, is trained by Bob Baffert and owned by Karl Watson, Mike Pegram, and Paul Weitman. She is now undefeated in five starts, which includes four stakes victories.

-Keelerman

Chandelier Stakes Entries: Executiveprivilege goes for 5th straight win

Undefeated three-time stakes winner Executiveprivilege, who won the Del Mar Debutante (gr. I) earlier this month, is expected to be a heavy favorite in the $250,000 Chandelier Stakes (gr. I), which will be run on Saturday at Santa Anita Park.

Her main opposition may come from Beholder, who was beaten just a nose in the Del Mar Debutante after leading into the homestretch. Salamera and Miss Empire also have strong credentials.

Post Positions

PP	Horse	Weight	Jockey	Trainer
1	Majestic Minister	122	Aaron Gryder	Mike Puype
2	Renee's Queen	122	Martin Garcie	Eric Guillot
3	Switch to the Lead	122	Victor Espinoza	Patrick Biancone
4	Wittgenstein	122	Mario Gutierrez	Doug O'Neill
5	Beholder	122	Garrett Gomez	Richard Mandella
6	Butterfly Soul	122	Jorge Carreno	Genaro Vallejo
7	Executiveprivilege	122	Rafael Bejarano	Bob Baffert
8	Scarlet Strike	122	Joe Talamo	Jerry Hollendorfer
9	Salamera	122	Angel Castillo	Rodolfo Garcia
10	Contessa's Moment	122	Ignacio Puglisi	Paul Aguirre
11	Miss Empire	122	Martin Pedroza	Peter Mille

-Keelerman

The Juveniles at Saratoga -- August 12-13th, 2012

Over the course of these two days, it seemed that promising two-year-olds were turning in great performances left and right. Kauai Katie and Spurious Precision back up their impressive debut victories with strong stakes triumphs, and names like Seasoned Warrior and Agilion turned in efforts that left me wondering if they might become stakes winners someday too.

August 12th

Race 6: Maiden Special Weight
6 furlongs for 2yo fillies

Seasoned Warrior was the odds-on favorite for trainer Bill Mott, and the filly ran like on odds-on favorite should. With Junior Alvarado aboard, Seasoned Warrior broke on top, tracked Distortion through an opening quarter mile in :22.36 seconds, took over the lead shortly thereafter, and finished up with powerfully under a hand ride to win by 3 3/4 lengths in the sharp time of 1:10.47 seconds. Bliss rallied from off-the-pace to finish second, while Toasting overcame some traffic issues to be third. Distortion tired to fifth after her early efforts.

Race 7: Maiden Special Weight
1 1/16th miles on turf for 2yo fillies

The stallion Kitten's Joy has been having an excellent Saratoga meet, especially with his two-year-olds going long on the turf. Kitten's Dumplings, trained by Mike Maker and owned by Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey, became the latest winner for her magnificent sire when she easily rallied from off-the-pace to win this race by a decisive two lengths. With Javier Castellano aboard, the filly was bumped around a bit at the start, but recovered to race in eighth place while the leaders set slow fractions of :49.59 and 1:15.97. Then, Kitten's Dumpling made an eye-catching five-wide bid to secure the lead in upper stretch and draw off from their to win by two lengths, stopping the clock in 1:46.19 over a yielding turf course. Gustavia rallied from last despite traffic to finish second, while Oscar Party finished third after spending a good portion of the race in that position. Minnie Bear and Neith finished ninth and tenth, respectively, after setting the pace.

Race 10: Adirondack Stakes (gr. II)
6-1/2 furlongs for 2yo fillies

Kauai Katie was the heavy favorite thanks to her super-impressive debut victory on the opening day of the Saratoga meet, and the filly lived up to expectations to win this race in terrific fashion. With Rosie Napravnik aboard, Kauai Katie went straight to the lead and set stiff fractions of :21.77 and :44.93, yet still had enough left in the tank to coast home under hand urging and score by 2 3/4 lengths. The final time of 1:16.81 was not phenomenal, but her performance most definitely was. Owned by Stonestreet Stables and trained by Todd Pletcher, Kauai Katie's next start will likely come in the Frizette Stakes (gr. I) at Belmont Park. Salamera put in a decent run to finish second, but was never a match for the winner. Fully Living turned in a similar effort to be third. Cayllano failed to mount a rally while trailing for much of the race, and Vitameta tired badly after tracking Kauai Katie's pace.

Race 11: Saratoga Special Stakes (gr. II)
6-1/2 furlongs for 2yos

Spurious Precision was the favorite at 3-4, and like Kauai Katie earlier on the card, was coming into his stakes engagement off of an impressive debut performance here at Saratoga. Ridden to victory by Alan Garcia, the Richard Violette Jr.-trainee got off to a good start and quickly seized command of the lead, but had to run the opening quarter mile in a practically unheard of :21.35 in order to do so. That alone could have fried his chances, and the half-mile fraction of :44.02 should have, but Spurious Precision just kept on running, opening up a two-length lead past the eighth pole before easing up at the finish to win by five. His final time of 1:16.53 seconds was even faster than Kauai Katie ran one race earlier! He's So Fine took advantage of the fast pace to rally for second, but never threatened the winner. In Harm's Way also closed well to be third. Drum Roll and Southern Honor finished fourth and fifth, respectively, after chasing the winner for a half-mile, while Dan the Tin Man stopped badly on the turn and finished a distant last.

August 13th

Race 2: Maiden Special Weight
6 furlongs for New York-bred 2yo fillies

The favorite was La Java, trained by Richard Violette Jr., but the filly spent most of the race in fourth-place and wound up there at the finish. In the meantime, Agilion turned in one of the most impressive performances I have seen at this meet, rallying from last under a strong hand ride to absolutely blow her six rivals away en route to a decisive 5 3/4-length victory. This despite trailing the field by 6 1/2 lengths passing the quarter pole. To me, this daughter of Lion Heart looks like a very promising prospect indeed, and I cannot wait to see where she runs next. Riptherubberoff dueled with Grand Lely Drive for the early lead and held on well to finish second while no match for the winner. Carameaway tracked the leaders in third but never really presented a rally while maintaining that position to the wire.

Race 7: Maiden Special Weight
5-1/2 furlongs on the turf for 2yo fillies

Trainer Todd Pletcher and owner Mike Repole have raced a lot of horses together, with their most famous being 2010 Eclipse champion 2yo male Uncle Mo. Thus, whenever they team up and send out an impressive debut winner, it is natural to think "Could this be the next Uncle Mo?" It is undoubtedly too early to be making comparisons, but I must admit that Coconut Shrimp looked like a filly with a future after winning this race. With Javier Castellano aboard, Coconut Shrimp got off to an excellent start and dueled through fractions of :22.91 and :46.55. She then kicked clear and opened up a 1 1/2-length lead passing the eighth pole before holding off a late challenge from Dancing for Glory to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:04.40. The latter filly raced in fourth for much of the race before finishing up with a strong late kick, giving the impression that she could be one to watch in the future. Sunset Time dueled with Coconut Shrimp for the early lead before tiring somewhat en route to finishing third.

-Keelerman

SARATOGA STAKES ANALYSIS -- August 12th, 2012

The highlights of an intriguing Sunday card are a pair of graded stakes races for two-year-olds -- the $200,000 Adirondack Stakes (gr. II) for fillies and the $200,000 Saratoga Special Stakes (gr. II) for either gender. We shall begin our analysis with the Saratoga Special, which is scheduled to have six starters following the scratch of likely favorite Shanghai Bobby.

So with Shanghai Bobby out, favoritism will likely fall on Spurious Precision, a promising son of High Cotton that broke his maiden impressively on the second day of this Saratoga meet. Trained by Richard Violette Jr., Spurious Precision tracked a quick pace in his debut and drew off powerfully in the stretch to win the 5-1/2 furlong race by 3 1/2 lengths, and while the colt was entered in today's race at the last minute -- replacing his stablemate Carried Interest, who was out with a sore shin -- he is obviously very talented and looms as the most likely winner of this race.

Southern Honor will probably emerge as the second choice based off of his 7 3/4-length maiden victory at Parx Racing on July 4th. Trained by Anthony Dutrow, the colt is now stretching out an additional two furlongs, and shipping to a tougher circuit, but the fact that Dutrow is trying it signals that he has a lot of confidence in his runner. The jockey switch to Ramon Dominguez, by far the leading rider of the meet, doesn't hurt either.

Facing open company for the first time is In Harm's Way, who disappointed in his debut against New York-bred maidens before coming back to win a similar race by 4 3/4 lengths. From a Beyer speed figure perspective, he looms as the second-best horse in the race behind Spurious Precision; however, it's difficult to say how the large step up in class will affect him. Drawing the rail may also prove to be a disadvantage.

Drum Roll, from the barn of Todd Pletcher, looms as an intriguing contender. Sold for $300,000 as a 2yo-in-training, he showed good speed in his debut at Monmouth and drew off to win by 2 3/4 lengths; breaking from the far outside today, he figures to get an excellent trip while either leading or stalking the field through the early stages of the race. Having John Velazquez aboard certainly helps his chances as well.

Dan the Tin Man enters off of a five-length victory in a maiden special weight at Woodbine, but will be making his dirt debut today for trainer Ricky Griffith. He really couldn't be training any better, and gets the service of top jockey Javier Castellano, but the question of the dirt still looms a serious question. If he can transfer his form to conventional dirt, he could be a legitimate contender for the win at a solid price.

The last horse to discuss is He's So Fine, who broke his maiden at Belmont against a field of $50,000 claimers with an impressive late run. Looking at the Beyer speed figures, he would appear to be overmatched here, but as the lone true closer in a field of speed horses, he could wind up as the beneficiary of a speed duel and put in a good rally. You have to respect his strong pedigree, and trainer Kenny McPeek certainly knows what he is doing.

You can make a case for any horse in this race -- which is exactly what I just did :) -- but I have decided to take a shot with Pletcher's Drum Roll and hope that he gets an ideal trip stalking a couple of front-runners before wearing them down in the homestretch. Spurious Precision should run well again, but the fact that he was a last-minute entrant does worry me to a certain extent.

Let us now take a briefer look at the Adirondack Stakes, where Pletcher once again has a major contender in Kauai Katie. Owned by Stonestreet Stable, the filly absolutely romped in her debut on the opening day of this Saratoga meet, drawing off to a powerful twelve-length victory that earned her a Beyer speed figure of 100. Anything close to a repeat of that performance would probably get her the victory today, and with only four horses set to face her, she figures to go off as an odds-on favorite and likely add a graded stakes victory to her record.

Her competitors are an interesting bunch. Cayllano broke her maiden at Indiana Downs and subsequently took Delaware Park's White Clay Creek Overnight Stakes in impressive fashion, but is now stepping way up in class for trainer Thomas Amoss. Vitameta won her debut race at Calder by seven lengths, but the front-running daughter of Street Sense must now face the unenviable task of trying to beat Kauai Katie to the early lead. Salamera broke her maiden at Calder by over four lengths and came back to win J J's Dream Stakes by a neck over the same track, but is going to have to improve to beat the favorite. Last of all, Fully Living broke her maiden at Belmont in good fashion, but came back to finish a disappointing fourth in the Schuylerville Stakes (gr. III) here at Saratoga. However, she will race on Lasix for the first time today, signaling that she may have bled in the Schuylerville, and her most recent workout was extremely impressive. If anyone can defeat Kauai Katie, it will probably be Fully Living.

Nevertheless, my selection is still Kauai Katie, as I do believe she could end up being one of the best two-year-old fillies of the year. Fully Living should also run well, but she would need to step up her game in order to take down the favorite.

-Keelerman

Adirondack Stakes Entries and Post Positions

Here are the entries and post positions for the $200,000 Adirondack Stakes (gr. II), to be run on Sunday at Saratoga. The 6-1/2 furlong race is a major prep for the prestigious Spinaway Stakes (gr. I) and has thus drawn a quality field of six, led by the ultra-impressive debut winner Kauai Katie.

1 Sweet Shirley Mae
2 Fully Living
3 Kauai Katie
4 Cayllano
5 Vitameta
6 Salamera

-Keelerman