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JUVENILE DIARY AUGUST 16, 2008 by Tim Holland Males Thursday's Saratoga Special S. (G2) drew, on paper, possibly the strongest field of two-year-olds of any juvenile race this year and a visually impressive victory with a BRIS rating of 96 moved the unbeaten RUN AWAY AND HIDE (City Zip) to the top of his division. After breaking well and securing a good position on the inside just off the pace, the Ronny Werner-trained colt, who had won the Kentucky S. (G3) in his previous start, took the lead in midstretch and edged away to win by more than a length. However, it must be noted that Run Away And Hide enjoyed a perfect, trouble-free trip along a very advantageous rail which cannot be said for several of his rivals. Indeed, second-place finisher BREAK WATER EDISON (Lemon Drop Kid) lost ground while being forced to race three wide until the stretch. Favorite REYNALDOTHEWIZARD (Speightstown) was steadied after breaking badly, swung five wide at the quarter pole before switching to the inside in the deep stretch, and got up late to grab third place. Although Run Away And Hide was conceding four pounds to the second and third home, it will be no surprise if both of his rivals are able to turn the tables in future meetings -- especially at longer distances which will bring into bearing the winner's suspect stamina. The biggest disappointment of the Special was the performance of LYIN' HEART (Lion Heart), who went to post as the second favorite having run a closing second to SCREEN OUR FRIEND (Friend's Lake) in the Bashford Manor S. (G3) at Churchill Downs. After rating in hand behind the leaders, the Steve Asmussen trainee appeared to be going well when he swung wide turning for home but immediately came up empty dropping back to finish dead last. Unless there turns out to be was a physical problem, the only explanation for this poor performance may have been that he was racing on an extremely unfavorable part of the track. Regardless, this effort did little to uphold the Bashford Manor form which had already taken a major knock when Screen Your Friend ran very badly in the Mountaineer Juvenile. The first graded race for two-year-old colts at Saratoga was the Sanford S. (G2) which, after several scratches, drew a field of just four who were all coming off debut maiden wins. The winner was DESERT PARTY, a $2.1 million two-year-old in training purchase by Darley who is by the immensely successful young sire Street Cry (Ire). After seeing the mediocre final time of 1:12 1/5 for the six-furlong trip and the winner's BRIS rating of 87, the value of his performance was criticized by many. However, figures aside, one has to be impressed with this performance since, after pulling his way up behind horses, jockey Edgar Prado was forced to briefly check the colt after which he waited patiently before accelerating professionally when a gap appeared. One of the most exciting maiden winners of this meet where trainers like to unveil many of their best juveniles is MUNNINGS (Speightstown), who Todd Pletcher sent out to win early in the meet. The second-highest price to Desert Party when secured by Coolmore for $1.7 million at the Calder two-year-old sale, Munnings recovered from hitting the gate to break his maiden by more than four lengths, earning a BRIS rating of 98. Despite not finishing first past the post in last Sunday's Best Pal S. (G2), the Doug O'Neill-trained AZUL LEON (Lion Heart), winner of the Hollywood Juvenile Championship (G3) last month, maintained his position as the leading two-year-old colt on the West Coast while remaining unbeaten in three starts. After breaking slowly and being allowed to settle early by Rafael Bejarano, mirroring the tactics employed in his previous two wins, the colt by the red hot freshman sire Lion Heart made a powerful, five wide move on the final turn to reach contention. At the top of the stretch, KELLY LEAK (Runaway Groom), with Victor Espinoza aboard, drifted out and when Bejarano made the split second decision to duck to the inside of his rival, Espinoza used a strong right-handed whip action that caused his mount to then drift in to the left. While there might not have been actual physical contact between him and Azul Leon, Kelly Leak's antics caused a chain reaction that obliterated the chances, albeit perhaps slim, of a top three placing for the fourth-place finisher, CHARLIE'S MOMENT (Indian Charlie). While Espinoza may have been guilty of little more than extreme race riding tactics, interference had been caused and Kelly Leak was subsequently placed behind Charlie's Moment, who had taken the worst of it all. Having lost varying amounts of momentum twice, if not three times in the stretch, is a testament to Azul Leon, who is out of the stakes winning Cure the Blues mare Quick Blue. He was still able to accelerate sharply close to the wire and came within a nose of catching Kelly Leak, whom he was giving four pounds. It must be said that if he was allowed a clean trip, Azul Leon would have proved much the best. While Azul Leon appears to an exceptional promising individual, the overall value of the California two-year-old form to-date must be questioned. Indeed, all of the seven colts that he defeated in the Hollywood Juvenile have raced at least one time each since and only one has won -- and that was a maiden $40,000 claimer. Meanwhile, of the nine runners in the Best Pal, just Azul Leon and TURBO CALL (Nineeleven), who finished sixth, had done more than just break their maiden. Furthermore, the final BRIS Speed rating of 89 for both Kelly Leak and Azul Leon is disappointing when one considers that the pair had earned ratings of 91 in their winning debuts. Making just his second start in the Best Pal, Kelly Leak, who is a half-brother to 2001 Will Rogers (G3) winner Dr. Park (Honor Grades) and who cost $110,000 when bought by his trainer, Michael Machowsky, as a two-year-old in training, can be expected to improve. He is scheduled to meet Azul Leon in what will be their next start, the Norfolk S. (G1), on September 27 at Santa Anita. Their connections have opted to skip the more lucrative Del Mar Futurity (G1) in favor of gaining experience over this year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) surface. Of the remainder of the Best Pal field, the Darley Stable-owned, Eoin Harty-trained CORONET OF A BARON (Pure Prize) holds the most promise after being the lone runner involved in the early pace that also played a part in the finish. An expensive, $550,000 two-year-old purchase by the good young sire Pure Prize, Coronet Of A Baron broke his maiden impressively at Arlington Park and earned a good BRIS Speed rating of 96 in a key race from which the third- and fourth-place finishers each won their next start. Like Saratoga, Del Mar is a favorite spot for trainers to introduce their most promising youngsters and a most impressive debuting winner at the meet was BELIEVE IN HOPE (Thunder Gulch) on August 2. A chestnut colt, Believe in Hope is trained by Ron Ellis and earned a BRIS rating of 92 in his come-from-behind score. In the Midwest, some of the probable leading home defenders for the Arlington-Washington Futurity (G3) were seen in an allowance event on Wednesday. Each of the six runners had broken their maidens in their last start, four at Arlington and two at Churchill Downs. The second favorite was the Wayne Catalano-trained, Illinois-foaled JOSE ADAN (Crypto Star), who broke his maiden in a huge performance. After being seemingly hopelessly trapped on the rail with less than a furlong to run, the colt was switched out and passed the whole field in the last half-furlong. While the value of performances like this sometimes look better than they are, he was taking a large rise in class and Jose Adan proved that he is legitimate with a workmanlike, but not flashy, effort. After breaking toward the rear, he steadily advanced and caught the favored MALIBU MAVERICK (Posse) to win under a well timed ride by apprentice Brandon Meier. A another likely contender for Arlington's Futurity is HIS GREATNESS (Honour And Glory), who made is first start a winning one in the opening maiden on Arlington Million Day. Trained by Marco Salazar, the bay colt was well meant, being bet down to 2.90-1 after having been 20-1 on the morning line, and he broke from the unfavorable rail post against a good-looking maiden field. His Greatness, who looks to have been a bargain $11,000 yearling purchase, gave his connections some cause to worry when he had to be switched twice in the stretch, but vindicated their faith when he found running room and drew off to win impressively by two lengths. Fillies A strong field, including the first- and third-place finishers from both the Astoria S. at Belmont and Churchill Down's Debutante S. (G3), went postward for the Adirondack S. (G2) on Wednesday at Saratoga. BOLD UNION (Dixie Union), who had won the Astoria by nearly 10 lengths and looked to have the potential to be the leader of the East Coast fillies, was dispatched as the lukewarm favorite but showed little with no apparent excuse, finishing fourth. The runaway winner by seven lengths was MANI BHAVAN (Storm Boot), a $30,000 yearling purchase from the family of champion sprinter and a leading freshman sire of this year, Speightstown. Trained by Steve Klesaris, Mani Bhavin broke fast from her outside post, set uncontested fractions and coasted home unchallenged while earning a good BRIS rating of 99. She threw the division into disarray. Finishing second with a promising run after bobbling at the break was DOREMIFASOLLATIDO (Bernstein), a New York-bred who had earned a BRIS rating of 108 in a six-length maiden score at Belmont in her previous start. Trained by James Jerkins, Doremifasollatido is a half sister to Grade 3 winner Fortunate Damsel (Runaway Groom) and has plenty of potential. Also suffering a poor start was third-place finisher PRETTY PROLIFIC (Lion Heart), who then found trouble in the stretch when she was forced to alter course sharply but still barely missed the place in an extremely promising effort. In her lone previous effort, the James Baker-trained filly, whose second dam is the champion older mare Waya, drew off to break her maiden at Churchill, and she will be one to watch when asked to stretch out over longer distances. Of the other also-rans in the Adirondack S., GARDEN DISTRICT (Dixie Union) and SIMPLIFY (Pulpit), first and third in the Debutante and trained by Todd Pletcher and Steve Asmussen respectively, cast doubts on the value of that race's form when finishing finished fifth and sixth without threatening. Meanwhile, GOLDEN ARTEMIS (Malibu Moon), who had finished third behind Bold Union in the Astoria, fared even worse, running dead last of the eight starters without an apparent excuse. In the Schuylerville S. (G3), the first of three graded races at the Spa for two-year-old fillies, the Asmussen-trained OCEAN COLORS, a daughter of Orientate out of Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Winning Colors, was the strong favorite but, after dueling early, she gave way and was eased on the sloppy track. The winner was her less fancied stablemate JARDIN (Montbrook). A $425,000 juvenile sale purchase, Jardin is a full-sister to Flash S. (G3) winner Beacon Shine and is from the family of Outofthebox, who won the Super Derby (G1) and is also by Montbrook. Aided by a perfect stalking trip and a liking for the wet surface, Jardin defeated yet another top two-year-old by Lion Heart, CAMERON CRAZIES, by four lengths. The latter, trained by D. Wayne Lukas, dueled for the lead throughout and was game to hold onto second. Just as with the colts, there may be a sizeable hometown advantage come Breeders' Cup day and the leader of the two-year-old filly division in California is EVITA ARGENTINA (Candy Ride [Arg]), who won the Sorrento S. (G3) at Del Mar in the beginning of August to remain perfect in two starts. A daughter of the very promising freshman sire Candy Ride, Evita Argentina chased the leaders before rallying wide in the stretch and running on strongly to defeat STARDOM BOUND (Tapit) by a length with a BRIS rating of 85 for the 6 1/2-furlong trip. A $375,000 purchase this spring, Stardom Bound is out of the Grade 3-placed mare My White Corvette (Tarr Road). She broke dead last and made up ground up steadily on the backstretch before being briefly caught behind a wall of horses turning for home and swinging wide. By this time, Evita Argentina had already kicked for home and the best Stardom Bound could do was run on to gain the place. Fourth past the post, EMMY DARLING (Graeme Hall) enjoyed an inside stalking trip into the stretch but was checked when GLITTER CITY (City Place), who was running greenly on the wrong lead, seized command in the stretch and crossed in front of her. Emmy Darling, who had beaten Glitter City in the Landaluce S. at Hollywood, rallied but failed to catch that rival for third by a neck, but she was promoted a spot after the subsequent stewards' inquiry. While the finish was on the messy side concerning the in-the-money finishers, it must be said that Evita Argentina was certainly the best on this day. Being by Candy Ride, who won the Pacific Classic (G1) as a four-year-old, one can anticipate further improvement when she is asked to tackle longer distances and, the same may be expected from Stardom Bound and Emmy Darling, especially the latter who is out of a mare by Belmont S. (G1) winner Colonial Affair. This, however, may not be said for Glitter City, who looks to have reached her distance limitations based on her running style and her sire, the extremely fast City Place. Of the maiden-winning juvenile fillies in California, one to watch for is TURTLE CREEK BABE (Grand Slam). Trained by Ron McAnally, she made her second start a winning one over 5 1/2 furlongs while earning a BRIS rating of 87 at the expense of Sorrento runner-up Stardom Bound. Flattering the form further was MONTANA FIELDS (Pulpit), who finished third and alluded to her own bright future when breaking her maiden impressively on August 3.
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