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THOROUGHBRED BEAT OCTOBER 9, 2008 by James Scully Pro-Ride -- The new Pro-Ride track at Santa Anita has received mostly favorable reviews after two weeks of racing. It's played fairly to all running styles, without an abundance of longshot winners as form has held reasonably well, but it's still not a dirt track. The importance of synthetic experience remains the key question heading into the Breeders' Cup. With the exception of the Classic (G1), I think the general consensus is that California-based horses will have a huge advantage in the Breeders' Cup races on Pro-Ride. That was the trend last year at Monmouth Park as none of the Breeders' Cup winners made their previous start on a synthetic track. New York role reversal? -- As it turned out, a horse needed to prep in New York to win in the slop at Monmouth Park last year. All seven races on the main track Friday and Saturday went to horses making their previous start at either Belmont Park or Saratoga. The most pronounced bias was in the two-year-old races as the top five finishers in the Juvenile (G1) and the trifecta in the Juvenile Fillies (G1) went to horses exiting races at Belmont. So what does that mean on the Pro-Ride at Santa Anita? It's a natural assumption that New York-based horses will struggle. On Oak Tree's opening weekend, all five Grade 1 races on the Pro-Ride were won by horses making their last start on the Polytrack at Del Mar. That's not too surprising given that the overwhelming majority of horses had raced there last, but the Norfolk S. (G1) did provide a grand example to ponder. REGAL RANSOM (Distorted Humor), a superb debut winner of a key maiden special weight race at Saratoga for Kiaran McLaughlin, shipped west for the 1 1/16-mile test and was warmly received by the betting public, who made him the strong 7-5 favorite over eight rivals. He struggled home eighth in his synthetic debut. Wait and see -- My first thought is to throw out all horses who have never raced over a synthetic track, at least in terms of win consideration. That eliminates a lot of top contenders, with Horse of the Year CURLIN (Smart Strike) being first and foremost on the list. But that line of thinking could prove seriously short-sighted because some of the dirt shippers figure to take to a synthetic track. I can think of at least one example in Student Council (Kingmambo), who shipped west to win the 2007 Pacific Classic (G1) in his first synthetic start, but then again, he was 23-1 that day. A wait-and-see approach seems very logical in this year's Breeders' Cup. Friday's program will provide three litmus tests -- the Ladies Classic (G1), Filly & Mare Sprint and Juvenile Fillies -- on the Pro-Ride. It will be a foreboding sign if the East Coast runners perform poorly. Beware Mitchell, Sadler -- Mike Mitchell and John Sadler are savvy conditioners who know how to win big races in California. Both are very adept with former claimers, and both will have the Breeders' Cup in their backyard this year. At this early date, I don't even care what horses they'll be running in the 14 Breeders' Cup races -- I just know they're dangerous. I'll be following these trainers with a keen interest. Upset alert -- One can really question the depth of the Sprint (G1) division following the final round of preps. COST OF FREEDOM (Cee's Tizzy), a $50,000 claimer two starts earlier, captured the Ancient Title S. (G1) at Santa Anita, knocking off Sprint heavyweight STREET BOSS (Street Cry [Ire) in the process. In the Phoenix S. (G3) over Keeneland's Polytrack, SING BABY SING (Unbridled's Song), a 26-1 outsider exiting a loss at Zia Park, rallied from just off the pace to surprise onlookers. And the Vosburgh S. (G1) at Belmont Park went to the longest shot on the board, BLACK SEVENTEEN (Is It True), who earned his first victory in nearly 15 months. Street Boss remains the horse to beat on October 25 -- the late runner will get more pace than he did in the Ancient Title -- but he's far from an overwhelming favorite with BRIS Speed ratings much lower than the typical Sprint winner. If he gets beat, the six-furlong dash is completely up for grabs. Spinster darling -- CURLIN and ZENYATTA (Street Cry [Ire]) gave a fine account of themselves in their final prep, and I think the top two finishers in the Goodwood (G1) -- WELL ARMED (Tiznow) and TIAGO (Pleasant Tap) -- will both enter the Classic in top form. WAIT A WHILE (Maria's Mon), who garnered her third turf stakes victory at Santa Anita in the Yellow Ribbon (G1), stamped herself as the top U.S. threat in the Filly & Mare Turf (G1), and I like the Juvenile chances of STREET HERO (Street Cry [Ire]), who finally got off to a good start and earned his first career win in the Norfolk. But CARRIAGE TRAIL (Giant's Causeway) was the most impressive winner I've seen over the last two weeks. Making her first start over a synthetic track since capturing the Doubledogdare S. (G3) at Keeneland in April, the Shug McGaughey-trained mare entered the 1 1/8-mile Spinster S. (G1) in good form, finishing second by a length to Wait a While in the grassy Ballston Spa H. (G2) in her previous outing. She looked a winner in the midst of her rally on the far turn, and the only question was how far when she hit the top of the stretch with the lead. Despite drifting toward the grandstand rail in the stretch, the five-year-old crossed the wire 7 3/4 lengths in front, and there was no doubt about her dominance. McGaughey has won the Distaff three times, most recently with Pleasant Home, who registered her first Grade 1 victory with a 9 1/4-length romp at Belmont in 2005. Inside Information's 13 1/2-length tally in the 1995 Distaff is one of the most spectacular performances in Breeders' Cup history. Carriage Trail will face an extremely tall order against Zenyatta, but she is proven over synthetic tracks. And perhaps most importantly, Carriage Trail has McGaughey in her corner. Dirt salvation -- ARSON SQUAD (Brahms) was stuck in synthetic purgatory for more than a year. A multiple Grade 2 winner, the five-year-old gelding just can't run on carpet fibers. After capturing the 2007 Strub S. (G2) over dirt at Santa Anita, Arson Squad spent 13 months racing on synthetic tracks. Thirteen wasted months. He couldn't manage to hit the board in seven starts, finishing seventh or worse the majority of the time, and his Speed ratings dropped off significantly. Despite plenty of opportunities to ship -- there are still about 90 dirt tracks and hundreds of stakes for older horses -- Arson Squad kept falling flat in Southern California. Trainer Bruce Headley is based on the West Coast and likes to runs his horses at Santa Anita, Hollywood and Del Mar, but he could have put Arson Squad on a plane for a weekend trip to Oaklawn or some other dirt track. What would have been the harm? Arson Squad has the potential to earn millions -- he was recently turned over to Richard Dutrow and immediately collected $210,000 for winning Friday's Meadowlands Cup H. (G2) on dirt -- but earned less than $75,000 for his time in synthetic purgatory. It wasn't in the best interest of the horse or owners to keep Arson Squad running on synthetic tracks. It sounds so simple, but Headley is facing the same situation again with the talented filly sprinter MAGNIFICIENCE (Stormy Atlantic). She's exiting subpar efforts at Santa Anita and Del Mar, and Headley himself said she loves training on dirt and isn't handling synthetic tracks. There are Grade 1 dirt races like the Humana Distaff, Princess Rooney and Ballerina for Magnificiene in 2009 that will enhance her broodmare value and provide immediate monetary returns for her connections. It's just a matter of running her in the right spots.
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