Breeders' Cup Countdown -- October 3rd, 2012

With so many grade I races being run last weekend, it's not surprising that the grade II and III events across the country got a bit overlooked. But given how these races may still have a serious impact on the Breeders' Cup, despite their lesser grades, I thought I ought to type up a quick recap of a few races that I didn't cover sufficiently at the time. Thus, the following post!

Eddie D Stakes (gr. III)

The three-year-old colt Unbridled's Note, coming off of a third-place effort on dirt in the King's Bishop Stakes (gr. I), was the mild favorite at 3-1 while facing eleven rivals. With Corey Nakatani aboard, the son of Unbridled's Song settled into the fourth position early on as Chosen Miracle led the way through fractions of :22.30 and :44.28. He then turned in a strong rally inside the final quarter mile to get up and win by 1 1/4 lengths, stopping the clock for 6-1/2 furlongs on the downhill turf in 1:12.45 seconds. Chosen Miracle stayed on well in the stretch to finish second, a neck in front of the late-running Mensa Heat. Comma to the Top finished fourth in an even effort, while the well-regarded pair of Red Sun and Calimonco failed to fired and finished ninth and eleventh, respectively.


Matron Stakes (gr. II)

Kauai Katie was favorite at 1-5, and the undefeated filly ran to her odds while bringing her record to 3-for-3. After tracking Baby J through a :22.88-second opening quarter mile, Kauai Katie moved up to take the lead prior to the quarter pole and finished up under a hand ride to win by 7 1/2 lengths in 1:11.26 seconds, slightly faster than Overanalyze would run two races later. Baby J held on well to finish second, while Seasoned Warrior raced evenly for third. Unabashed and Doubled trailed the field in that order for much of the race.


Futurity Stakes (gr. II)

Seven two-year-old colts went to post in this historic six-furlong test, with Weekend Hideaway the favorite at 1.85-1. But the winner turned out to be Overanalyze, an overlooked contender from the barn of Todd Pletcher. Ridden to victory by John Velazquez, Overanalyze was bumped at the start and soon found himself in last place as Handsome Jack and Carried Interest dueled through fractions of :22.80 and :46.43. Passing the eighth pole, those two were still in front, but Overanalyze was rallying powerfully down the center of the racetrack, and the colt cruised past the leaders at the sixteenth pole en route to a convincing 3 1/4-length triumph. The final time was 1:11.46. Carried Interest outfinished Weekend Hideaway by three-quarters of a length for second, while Handsome Jack finished another two lengths back in fourth. Gulfport, a maiden facing winners, got off to a poor start and raced wide throughout before tiring to finish fifth. Drum Roll and Special Jo never contended while completing the order of finish.

John Henry Turf Championship Stakes (gr. II)

Slim Shadey turned this ten-furlong turf race into a showcase of speed, dominating the race in a fashion reminiscent of the remarkable Presious Passion. With Garrett Gomez aboard, Slim Shadey went straight to the lead and set fractions of :24.02, :46.92, and 1:10.53, which garnered him an eight-length lead. Favored Turbo Compressor attempted to close the gap in the homestretch, but after drawing to within 2 1/2 lengths of the leader at the eighth pole, he was unable to really get any closer. Slim Shadey stayed on strongly to win by 2 1/4 lengths in the exceptional time of 1:59.17 seconds. Interaction finished up well to secure third in a very tight finish that saw six horses separated by just 1 1/4 lengths. Bourbon Bay, who finished eighth, actually ran quite well in his first start since April and figures to continue onward to the Breeders' Cup Turf (gr. I), where the fitness garnered from this race should greatly improve his chances.

Oklahoma Derby

Politicallycorrect stamped himself a ticket to Santa Anita for the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (gr. I) with an impressive victory in the $400,000 race. Sent off at 10-1 under Kent Desormeaux, the son of Kitten's Joy settled off the pace in fifth place, and actually dropped back to seventh with just three-eighths of a mile remaining, but finished up strongly on the far outside while drifting outward to get up for a three-quarter length victory, stopping the clock for nine furlongs in 1:50.23 seconds. Willy Beamin, coming off of a victory in the King's Bishop Stakes (gr. I), tracked a moderate pace for six furlongs before taking over the lead in the stretch and giving way late to finish second. He ran well in defeat, but nine furlongs is probably stretching his limits. Called to Serve and Suns Out Guns Out turned in decent efforts to complete the superfecta, but both seemed to flatten out a bit after making menacing moves at the top of the stretch.

-Keelerman

Matron Stakes Entries: Kauai Katie goes for 3rd straight win

Adirondack Stakes (gr. II) winner Kauai Katie, undefeated in two starts, is expected to be sent off as a heavy favorite in the $200,000 Matron Stakes (gr. II), to be run on Sunday at Belmont Park.

Trained by Todd Pletcher, the daughter of Malibu Moon broke her maiden by twelve lengths at Saratoga and backed that up with a solid victory in the Adirondack, in which she set a blazing pace before staying on strongly in the final furlong to win convincingly. She shouldn't have any issues with the seven-furlong distance of today's race.

Other prominent contenders include the debut winner Unabashed, Sorority Stakes winner Doubled, and Spinaway Stakes (gr. I) runner-up Sweet Shirley Mae.

PP	Horse	Weight	Jockey	Trainer
1	Unabashed	118	John Velazquez	Todd Pletcher
2	Doubled	118	Angel S. Arroyo	Cathal Lynch
3	Baby J	116	Ramon Dominguez	Richard E. Dutrow, Jr.
4	Sweet Shirley Mae	118	Kent Desormeaux	Wesley Ward
5	Seasoned Warrior	118	Joel Rosario	Bill Mott
6	Kauai Katie	118	Rosie Napravnik	Todd Pletcher

-Keelerman

SO MANY WAYS WINS THE SPINAWAY STAKES!

So Many Ways brought her undefeated record to a perfect 3-for-3 while at the same time establishing herself as one of the best fillies of her generation when she rallied in the Saratoga homestretch to win the $300,000 Spinaway Stakes (gr. I) by several lengths.

Ridden to victory by Javier Castellano, So Many Ways was off to a good start and soon settled into the third position early on a Corail and Teen Pauline dueled through fractions of :22.29 and :45.13. So Many Ways was only a length behind them in third, but there was a gap of about a dozen lengths back to Seasoned Warrior in fourth, and another four or five back to Sweet Shirley Mae, who was the early trailer.

Rounding the turn, So Many Ways made a bold three-wide bid to challenge for the lead, sweeping past a tiring Corail to put her head in front of Teen Pauline. The latter filly battled back gamely for about another furlong, but just didn't have enough left in the tank to hold off So Many Ways, who drew clear late to score a convincing victory in the good time of 1:23.74 seconds.

Sweet Shirley Mae put in an excellent run to secure second, while Teen Pauline, Seasoned Warrior, and Corail completed the order of finish. The winner is owned by Maggi Moss and trained by Anthony Dutrow.

-Keelerman

Spinaway Stakes Entries and Post Positions

Here are the entries and post positions for the $300,000 Spinaway Stakes (gr. I), to be run on Sunday at Saratoga. The prestigious seven-furlong race has drawn a strong field of seven two-year-old fillies, led by impressive debut winners Teen Pauline and Dreaming of Julia, as well as Schuylerville Stakes (gr. III) winner So Many Ways.

1 Teen Pauline
2 Corail
3 So Many Ways
4 Sweet Shirley Mae
5 Baby J
6 Dreaming of Julia
7 Seasoned Warrior

-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