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THOROUGHBRED BEAT FEBRUARY 29, 2008 by James Scully Puzzling moves -- When officials speculated last fall about running the Breeders' Cup in Hong Kong or another foreign site, I thought they had to be joking. But recent moves by the organization are unfortunately no joke. First, they added a 1 1/2-mile Dirt Marathon that figures to resemble a Grade 3 event at Calder. They then went against the spirit of founder John Gaines, who envisioned the event rotating from site to site on a yearly basis, and awarded consecutive runnings to Santa Anita. At the time, the Breeders' Cup acted completely oblivious to Santa Anita's track problems, and Santa Anita will replace its troubled Cushion Track with a yet-to-be-determined surface when the current meet ends. We can only hope they'll avoid consulting with Breeders' Cup officials and get the surface right. The latest puzzler involves the renaming of the Distaff (G1) and moving it from Saturday's marquee program to Friday. In their push to diminish the race, I wouldn't be surprised if they considered renaming it the "Chicks Classic." Zito -- WAR PASS (Cherokee Run) romped by 7 1/2 lengths when making his return in a Sunday allowance. COOL COAL MAN (Mineshaft) captured the Fountain of Youth S. (G2), and FIERCE WIND (Dixie Union) recorded an upset in the Sam F. Davis S. The Nick Zito stable has been flexing its muscles in recent weeks, and the Hall of Famer is set to make a serious assault upon the Kentucky Derby (G1) over the next two months. The two-time Derby winner isn't a fan of synthetic tracks. "I like natural surfaces, grass and dirt, not the rubber from your attic," Zito told Daily Racing Form. I bet he's excited about the next two Breeders' Cups at Santa Anita. Gomez -- Jockey Garrett Gomez secured the mount aboard Z FORTUNE (Siphon [Brz]) over GEORGIE BOY (Tribal Rule). Both three-year-olds are scheduled to run on March 15 -- Z Fortune in the Rebel S. (G2) and Georgie Boy in the San Felipe S. (G2) -- and Gomez has ridden both horses in the past. An easy winner of the Lecomte S. (G3) in his season opener, Z Fortune was no match for stablemate PYRO (Pulpit) in the Risen Star S. (G3) in his first attempt under Gomez, but that effort didn't discourage his rider. Pyro, who recorded an impressive six-furlong breeze at Fair Grounds on Monday, is one of the big early favorites for the Kentucky Derby, but as Real Quiet showed in 1998, less-heralded stablemates can sometimes hit pay dirt. Splits -- Blame it on the outrider. The fractional times of the Fountain of Youth were posted wrong during the race and then changed repeatedly afterward. Whether they eventually got it right or not, it makes you wonder how many times this happens nationwide. As a Gulfstream official noted, sometimes the timer is inadvertently tripped by a bird. Big 'Cap -- Saturday's 71st running of the $1 million Santa Anita H. (G1) is wide open, with more than half of the 14 entrants owning a legitimate chance at the win, and the track will play a role in the final outcome. As Monterey Jazz (Thunderello) displayed when dominating the Strub S. (G2), turf horses can make a seamless transition to the artificial surfaces. In fact, the all-weather tracks can play more like turf than dirt. I'll look for class to show and take a stab at CHAMPS ELYSEES (GB) (Danehill), who is listed at 10-1 on the Big 'Cap morning line. A French Group 3 winner, the five-year-old horse has raced exclusively on grass during his 13-race career. Second when making his U.S. bow two starts back in the Hollywood Turf Cup (G1), the Bobby Frankel runner improved off that effort with a convincing score in the San Marcos S. (G2) last time out. Champs Elysees appears to be in top form and should be able to save ground from his rail post.
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