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Ravel proves genuine in Sham

Ravel stamped himself as a major player on the West Coast three-year-old division (Benoit Photo) Derrick Smith and Michael Tabor's RAVEL (Fusaichi Pegasus) enhanced his credentials as a Triple Crown contender with a smart one-length victory in his stakes debut in Saturday's $101,500 Sham S. (G3). Trained by Todd Pletcher's assistant Michael McCarthy, the dark bay colt overhauled 2-1 favorite Liquidity (Tiznow) inside the final furlong of the 1 1/8-mile test at Santa Anita and stayed on strongly to clock a final time of 1:48 4/5 on the fast track. Making his first start on a conventional dirt surface, Ravel rated patiently beneath Garrett Gomez while skimming the rail in fourth. Meanwhile, unheralded Sunland Park invader Song of Navarone (Sultry Song) went straight to the front through fractions of :23 1/5 and :48, increasingly hounded by Liquidity. After six furlongs in 1:12 2/5, the public's choice had put his head in front of Song of Navarone. Not long after Liquidity dispatched that foe, Ravel was angling to the outside for the stretch drive with ominous intent. Liquidity held a slim margin at the eighth pole, posting 1:36 3/5 for the mile, but Ravel's momentum proved irresistible late. Sent off as the 5-2 second choice, the winner paid $7.20, $4 and $3.40. "From the first time I sat on him and rode him in his maiden win, I had high hopes for him," Gomez said. "He can get a little warm-blooded being by Fusaichi Pegasus, but today he was very professional."

"I was actually kind of pleased he was able to sit behind horses," McCarthy noted. "He got a good education today. I got a little worried that he might get a little headstrong. Up the backside he was great, tucked in behind horses, sitting very comfortable, always full of run."

Liquidity was a stubborn runner-up, giving back $3.20 and $2.40 while ending the $11 exacta ($1).

"He fought back," trainer Doug O'Neill said of Liquidity. "That's what (jockey) Corey (Nakatani) was just saying. We might open up the blinkers a little bit. He wasn't able to show his competitiveness with those blinkers on, but we're proud of him."

The 26-1 Song of Navarone performed creditably on the class rise, finishing an additional three lengths astern in third to yield $6.80 and round out the $137.40 trifecta (1-6-5) ($1). It was another 6 1/2 lengths back to Kolo (Dynaformer) in fourth, followed by Silent Soul (Afternoon Deelites), Pirates Deputy (Bertrando) and Time Squared (Fusaichi Pegasus).

Ravel now boasts two wins from three starts and earnings of $96,100. He was exiting an impressive, 3 1/2-length maiden score on the Cushion Track at Hollywood Park on December 3. In his debut over Keeneland's Polytrack, the promising colt finished second to the more experienced Teuflesberg (Johannesburg), who was already Grade 2-placed at the time and would go on to capture a stakes in December.

Bred in Kentucky by G. Watts Humphrey and Louise I. Humphrey, Ravel was purchased by his current connections for $950,000 at the 2005 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. His dam, Let (A.P. Indy), captured the 1999 Churchill Downs Distaff H. (G2) along with three other stakes, and she placed in four graded contests, notably the 1998 Ashland S. (G1). An earner of $604,020, Let is a half-sister to 2002 Japan Cup Dirt (Jpn-G1) hero Eagle Cafe (Gulch), a four-time Japanese stakes winner who bankrolled more than $4.2 million. This is the family of 1991 champion two-year-old male Arazi (Blushing Groom [Fr]) and 2001 English highweight Noverre (Rahy), among other notables. Let's youngest offspring are an unnamed two-year-old colt by Seeking the Gold and a dark bay yearling filly by Fusaichi Pegasus, a full sister to Ravel.

McCarthy indicated that the April 7 Santa Anita Derby (G1) would likely be a prime objective for the colt, implying that Ravel would stay on the California road to the May 5 Kentucky Derby (G1).

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