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Any Given Saturday claims Brooklyn

Any Given Saturday is now well-placed for the Breeders' Cup Classic (Dianne Boothe/Horsephotos.com) WinStar Farm and Padua Stable's ANY GIVEN SATURDAY (Distorted Humor) ran his winning streak to three with a 2 1/2-length tally in Saturday's $154,200 Brooklyn H. (G2), confirming his status as a top contender for the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) in the process. A convincing winner of the Haskell Invitational S. (G1) and Dwyer S. (G2) in his two previous outings, Any Given Saturday overwhelmed four rivals in the 119th running of the prestigious Brooklyn, boosting his earnings past the $1 million mark ($1,083,533) while improving his record to 10-6-2-1. The Todd Pletcher-trained colt didn't get off to a clean start. Any Given Saturday hit the gate and was bumped prior to settling into a stalking second under regular rider Garrett Gomez. Tasteyville (With Approval) sprinted to the early lead and completed the opening quarter-mile in :23 3/5 with a 4 1/2-length cushion. He continued to show the way by six lengths through a half-mile in :46, and held a five-length edge after three-quarters in 1:10 1/5. Any Given Saturday took over in the next quarter-mile, turning a sizable deficit into a half-length advantage by the time he reached the mile mark in 1:35 1/5. The dark bay three-year-old drew clear in the final eighth of a mile, finishing 1 1/8 miles over the fast Belmont track in 1:48 1/5. "We all got tangled (at the start). I hit the side of the gate, and my colt broke outward," Gomez explained. "It took us about four jumps to get off each other. Once I got him settled back into a good rhythm, he ran a good race."

Favored at 1-5, Any Given Saturday paid $2.30, $2.10 and $2.10. Tasteyville, who entered the Brooklyn off a seventh in the Philip H. Iselin Breeders' Cup H. (G3), held second by three parts of a length at 18-1 and returned $5.50 and $4. Helsinki (Distorted Humor), the 25-1 longest shot on the board, rallied from last for third and yielded $3.90. Awesome Twist (Awesome Again) and Sightseeing (Pulpit) rounded out the order of finish. The exacta gave back $11.80, and the 2-3-4 trifecta was good for $64.

Bred in Kentucky by Racehorse Management, Any Given Saturday sold for $1.1 million at the 2005 Keeneland September sale. He won his first two career starts before wrapping up his juvenile campaign with a second in the Kentucky Jockey Club S. (G2), and opened his sophomore season with a victory in the Sam F. Davis S. Any Given Saturday finished second by a nose to Street Sense (Street Cry [Ire]) in the Tampa Bay Derby (G3) and two starts later finished eighth behind the same rival in the Kentucky Derby (G1).

"We thought earlier in the year that he was one of the best three-year-olds," Pletcher said. "He got a foot bruise in the Kentucky Derby, but everything else has been perfect since. All in all, we're very pleased."

Any Given Saturday returned from a two-month freshening with a four-length score in the Dwyer at Belmont and captured the Haskell by 4 1/2 lengths at Monmouth Park, site of the Breeders' Cup Classic on October 27.

"He's proved he likes it down there (at Monmouth Park), and hopefully he'll run the same kind of race (in the Breeders' Cup as he did in the Haskell)," Gomez commented.

Any Given Saturday is out of the winning A.P. Indy mare Weekend in Indy, making him a half-brother to Grade 3 heroine Bohemian Lady (Carson City), and he has an unnamed yearling full sister. Weekend in Indy is herself a half-sister to Grade 3 winner Second of June (Louis Quatorze), who was second in last year's Woodward S. (G1). This is the family of Phone Chatter (Phone Trick), champion two-year-old filly of 1993.

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