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THOROUGHBRED BEAT AUGUST 30, 2007 by James Scully Street Fighter -- The outcome was still in doubt at the quarter-pole, but STREET SENSE (Street Cry [Ire]) eventually dispatched a stubborn GRASSHOPPER (Dixie Union) to win going away by a half-length. His Travers S. (G1) performance didn't meet pre-race expectations -- the Kentucky Derby (G1) winner was expected to win easily at 1-5 -- but Street Sense was still impressive. The late runner was taken out of his comfort zone by the moderate pace, registering a 106 E2 Pace rating after closely tracking the pacesetter, and he finished strongly to net a 111 BRIS Speed figure. Street Sense is capable of better, and he remains a formidable candidate to wrap up his career with two more wins. However, the Carl Nafzger-trained colt is still displaying signs of immaturity -- turning his head to look at the crowd while switching leads back and forth in deep stretch -- and we'd love to see him race at four. That's when Street Sense would be probably hitting his best stride. Hard Determination -- HARD SPUN (Danzig) dueled through an opening quarter-mile in :21 4/5 and a half in :44 1/5 before facing a stiff challenge from FIRST DEFENCE (Unbridled's Song), who looked like an absolute winner at the eighth pole. With Mario Pino visibly asking for everything he had, Hard Spun surged along the inside at the sixteenth pole to get up late, recording a 110 Speed rating for his superb effort. It was a terrific race between two high-quality colts. As Tom Durkin put it, Hard Spun displayed "fierce determination." Promising sophomores -- Grasshopper ran a huge race while making his stakes debut in the Travers, and the late-blooming colt will be a serious player in the handicap division next year for Neil Howard if he keeps improving as expected. DAAHER (Awesome Again) also made a strong impression at the Spa over the weekend, winning a nine-furlong allowance/optional claiming event by 13 3/4 lengths on Sunday. The Kiaran McLaughlin pupil didn't break crisply and went four wide into the first turn before putting his rivals out of their misery. He quickly opened up midway around the clubhouse bend and extended his margin at every call, earning a 110 Speed rating while providing jockey Mike Luzzi his first winner of the meet following 30+ losses. The Canadian-bred colt didn't beat much, but Daaher certainly did it the right way. La Speedball -- LA TRAVIATA (Johannesburg) was brilliant in Saturday's Victory Ride S. (G3). She quickly overcame a stumbling start to blow her rivals off their feet, ripping through opening splits in :22 and :45 1/5 before completing six furlongs in 1:09 3/5 under wraps, and the unbeaten three-year-old filly earned a 109 Speed rating for her 9 1/4-length decision. A California-bred, the $1.1 million purchase has received triple-digit Speed rating in all three career starts. She wasn't flattered by the competition on Saturday, but the Patrick Biancone charge is very exciting. The Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) is the one race on the program where fillies and mares have more than held their own versus the opposite gender, and La Traviata and the sophomore filly DREAM RUSH (Wild Rush) would both be top contenders in this year's event (name the top five male sprinters on dirt). Instead, we'll see a watered-down version due to the needless addition of the Filly & Mare Sprint. Dead-heat Pirate -- IN SUMMATION (Put It Back) won the six-furlong Bing Crosby H. (G1) on the Polytrack at Del Mar, defeating next-out Pat O'Brien H. (G2) winner Greg's Gold (Lake George), and conditioner Christophe Clement doesn't have much interest running the four-year-old sprinter on dirt or turf anymore. The search for Polytrack races landed In Summation in Saturday's Arlington Breeders' Cup Sprint H., where the colt left the starting gate at 3-5 against five seemingly overmatched opponents. PIRATESONTHELAKE (Lake Austin) was exiting a second in the Prairie Meadows Sprint S. and didn't own a stakes win in three previous attempts at the listed level, but the sophomore gelding captured his only previous start on Arlington's Polytrack, taking a July 15 allowance/optional claiming event two starts earlier. As a result, savvy gamblers bet him down to 6-1 on Saturday. He appeared headed to victory until In Summation got up in the final strides to dead-heat for the victory, and it's no surprise to see a runner like Piratesonthelake holding his own at Arlington versus Grade 1-winning horses from other jurisdictions. Ms. Hysterical -- HYSTERICALADY (Distorted Humor) is my early pick for the Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1). After recording an excellent four-length score in the Humana Distaff S. (G1) on Kentucky Derby Day, the four-year-old filly shipped back west and made her next two starts at Hollywood Park, but her speed isn't as effective over the synthetic tracks. The Jerry Hollendorfer-trained filly couldn't hold on after setting slow, uncontested fractions in the June 3 Milady Breeders' Cup H. (G2), and she was no factor in the July 7 Vanity Invitational H. (G1) next out. She looked much more comfortable in Saturday's Molly Pitcher Breeders' Cup H. (G2) at Monmouth Park, maintaining a narrow lead until the far turn when she began to draw off from her rivals, and stormed home to win by a widening 6 1/4 lengths, recording a 114 BRIS Late Pace number along with a 107 Speed. Hystericalady is better on dirt, and she likes Monmouth. Champion strikes -- It's no secret that Todd Pletcher's barn is cold at Saratoga. Entering Wednesday's card, the three-time reigning Eclipse Award-winning conditioner owns only one win in his last 43 starts at the Spa. He's been the leading conditioner the last five years, but he sits third in the current standings and needed a champion to snap a zero-for-30 run last Thursday. WAIT A WHILE (Maria's Mon) did it in style, romping home an impressive 2 1/4-length winner in the Ballston Spa H. (G2), but her stablemates couldn't carry the momentum forward over Travers weekend.
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