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Street Sense gets the job done in Jim Dandy

Jockey Calvin Borel took a look behind as Street Sense outgamed his rivals in the Jim Dandy (Joseph DiOrio/Horsephotos.com) James B. Tafel's homebred champion STREET SENSE (Street Cry [Ire]) moved to the fore inside the final furlong and pulled away from a game C P West (Came Home) late to post a 1 1/2-length win in the $500,000 Jim Dandy S. (G2) at Saratoga on Sunday. The Kentucky Derby (G1) winner, who was unraced since a tantalizingly close second in the Preakness S. (G1), angled inside soon after the start and saved ground into the backstretch under Calvin Borel, biding his time until the final turn. The Carl Nafzger charge angled four wide leaving the quarter pole and dug in from there, eventually completing the nine-furlong, fast track feature in 1:48 4/5. The prohibitive 1-5 favorite paid $2.70, $2.30 and $2.10. "We learned a lot from this trip," Nafzger explained. "We laid a little bit closer today. That was our plan. They got him in a trap and kept him there, but he got out and he responded. I was concerned; you're always concerned until you get out. You don't know how much that can take out of your horse. Once he got out, he came on with his run. It was a good, solid prep to get him ready for the (August 25) Travers (G1). "I know C P West will probably be back and probably a couple of others and (Preakness winner) Curlin (Smart Strike), too. It's going to be a tough race. You should see a horse with more timing, more rhythm and more fitness than he had today. He has a race over the track now; that should be an advantage."

C P West broke best and tracked Flashstorm (Storm Cat) through splits of :23 2/5 and :47 for the opening half-mile, took the lead in reaching six furlongs in 1:11 3/5, and fought on bravely throughout to finish a strong second in here. The 10-1 shot paid $5 and $3.40 while completing the $10.60 exacta. Sightseeing (Pulpit) gave the field a sizeable head start early but closed with excellent energy, missing the place by just three-quarters of a length. The 8-1 third choice paid $3 and capped the $28.80 trifecta (3-6-1). Cowtown Cat (Distorted Humor) was a decent fourth while 1 1/2 lengths back and was followed by Flashstorm and 9-2 second choice Tiz Wonderful (Tiznow).

Street Sense improved his incredibly consistent mark to 10-5-3-2, while boosting his bankroll to $3,458,200. In addition to his Derby score, the three-year-old captured the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1), which catapulted him to champion status at two, and the Tampa Bay Derby (G3) in a track record time of 1:43 for 8 1/2 furlongs. The colt was also a nose shy in second in the Blue Grass S. (G1) and third in both the Breeders' Futurity (G1) and Arlington-Washington Breeders' Cup Futurity (G3).

"It's great to have him back," Borel said. "He needed this race. It's really going to move him forward. He leveled off beautifully. He got beat last time in a great horse race. I can't take anything away from Curlin, but my colt is coming back better and stronger than he was in the spring. The time off did him great. Horses like him come once in a lifetime."

The Kentucky-bred Street Sense is the first registered foal out of the winning Bedazzle (Dixieland Band), who has since produced an unraced juvenile filly named Elusive Sparkle (Elusive Quality), a yearling filly named Broadway Ticket (Distorted Humor) and an unnamed 2007 filly Speightstown. This is the family of multiple Grade 3 victor, 1995 Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) runner-up and successful sire Mr. Greeley.

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