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HANDICAPPING INSIGHTS DECEMBER 4, 2009 by Dick Powell As bad as I did last Saturday betting on Churchill's all-juvenile racecard, it was still a great day of racing and for scouting future opportunities. In the 2ND race, the speedy BROWN EYED BABY (Mineshaft) was let go at 7-2 odds and she was a convincing winner for Calvin Borel. Insanely fast, she broke her maiden going five furlongs back on May 25 on a sloppy track but then showed little when moved up in class in the Debutante S. (G3). Off a 154-day layoff and training bullets for Cecil Borel, she gunned to the front with little urging from Calvin and strode home beautifully. Being sired by Mineshaft (A.P. Indy), it will be interesting if she can relax early and go longer. She certainly has a world of running ability. Race 3 was for juvenile first-level allowance fillies going a mile and the public made Pick and Pray (Songandaprayer) the 11-10 favorite off a nine-length win here in her first dirt start. Unfortunately, she drew post 1 and was hard used to keep from getting shuffled back by the outside speed. She was under heavy pressure through a first half in :46.47 and began to weaken. Borel had KATY NOW (Tiznow) stalking on the outside in third place and took over in the stretch with ease. She drew off to a four-length win in the good time of 1:36.26 with a last furlong in :12.81. With Tiznow (Cee's Tizzy) becoming one of the best sources of main track stamina, Katy Now looks to have an unlimited future for trainer Ian Wilkes. Tom Amoss wins with 14 percent of his first-time starters and sent out one to win race 4 when CINCO EMAYO (Broken Vow) overcame traffic going into the far turn to get up in time and break his maiden. Runner-up Bialy (Distorted Humor) won't be a maiden for much longer. Race 5 was for first-level allowance juvenile males going six furlongs and Wesley Ward continued his great season with the babies when GREAT ATTACK (Greatness) went gate to wire to win by three lengths in 1:09.53. It was right on your BRIS Ultimate Past Performances that Ward and E.T. Baird were three-for-seven combined going into the race, and now they are four for eight. Race 6 was for juvenile males on the turf -- the Grand Canyon H. going 1 1/16 miles. LOST APTITUDE (Aptitude) had an allowance win over the course at the same distance in his last start and was made the 2-1 favorite. Breaking from the rail with Jon Court, he took over at the start and never looked back, winning by 5 1/4 lengths in the good time of 1:42.69. Thunder Perfect (Pleasantly Perfect) rallied from far back to finish an unthreatening second. Race 7 was for juvenile males going 1 1/16 miles on the main track. Nick Zito has had a lot of success with sons of Mineshaft going long and he sent out second-time-starter FLY DOWN (Mineshaft) to rally from far back and win going away as the tepid 23-10 favorite. His final time of 1:45.57 was more professional than inspirational, but it was only his second career start and first going two turns. Roman Ruler (Fusaichi Pegasus) has sired an amazing 28 winners in his first crop to race. MAXIMUS RULER (Roman Ruler) was dismissed at 52-1 odds in his career debut two weeks before at Churchill when he rallied furiously to miss by a head going seven furlongs. Stretching out to a mile here for Clark Hanna, he stalked a fast pace, split horses around the far turn and held on for a one-length victory in the good time of 1:35.94. He's done all his racing and training at Churchill, so it will be interesting to see how he handles the next part of his career, but he was very impressive Saturday. The Golden Rod S. (G2) will forever be remembered as the race that propelled Rachel Alexandra (Medaglia d'Oro) to stardom. Don't know if we saw anything comparable on Saturday, but SASSY IMAGE (Broken Vow) is a nice juvenile filly. Winner of the Pocahontas S. (G3) last out here going a mile, she had no trouble getting two turns here as the 6-5 favorite. Her final time of 1:44.51 does not compare favorably with Katy Now, so it's unlikely we saw another budding superstar. That was not the case in the Kentucky Jockey Club S. (G2), where we did see a budding superstar. SUPER SAVER (Maria's Mon) broke his maiden second time out at Belmont over a sloppy track going a mile by seven lengths. He held on gamely when moving up in class in the Champagne S. (G1), finishing fourth by two lengths after setting a very fast pace, and was trying two turns for the first time here. With Borel in the irons for the first time, he went to the front and covered the first quarter in :23.33. That might not seem slow, but it was much slower than any of his first three starts. A second quarter in :23.42 left him two lengths in front and Borel was sitting chilly. On the far turn, Activity Report (Bernstein) and Worldly (A.P. Indy) challenged briefly before being repulsed and Super Saver opened a clear lead in the homestretch. The only horse to make any kind of late move was William's Kitten (Kitten's Joy), who rallied from dead last to move into second, but he proved no threat as Super Saver romped to a five-length victory. The winner's final time of 1:42.83 was excellent as was his BRIS Speed Rating of 100. Even though he has been a front-runner in all of his starts this year, Super Saver has a pedigree that suggests longer distances should be no problem. By Maria's Mon (Wavering Monarch), who has already sired a Kentucky Derby (G1) winner, the juvenile is out of a A.P. Indy mare that is a full sister to three graded stakes winners going a mile or more and the dam of Bluegrass Cat (Storm Cat), who won the Haskell Invitational (G1) at three, the Remsen S. (G2) at two and was runner-up in the 2006 Derby. Speaking of the Remsen, it was run about two hours earlier at Aqueduct and despite the winner coming home almost five lengths in front, it did not look like it will be a vintage renewal. BUDDY'S SAINT (Saint Liam) won the Nashua S. (G3) by 12 lengths in fast time while earning a BRIS Speed Rating of 105 in his previous start. Sent off here as the 4-5 favorite, he relaxed off a modest pace of :24.01 and :48.18 and bided his time for Jose Lezcano. The lead was his anytime he wanted it and Lezcano pressed the button midway around the far turn. Buddy's Saint took over effortlessly and turned for home with a clear lead. Lezcano kept his mind on business throughout the lane and despite looking like he was losing interest, the colt won by 4 3/4 lengths. His final time of 1:52.95 was about average and his BRIS Speed Rating was only 91. It looked like he definitely bounced off his last big effort, but still proved good enough to beat a modest field. More impressive than Buddy's Saint was TIZAHIT (Tiznow), winner of the Demoiselle S. (G2) for juvenile fillies. A distant fourth in the Tempted S. (G3) last out going a mile, she came back as the third choice in the wagering while ridden for the first time by Edgar Prado. What I liked about her race was that she able to relax while sitting off a slow pace and then accelerate when asked. Her last furlong was :12.61, and she looks like she will have no trouble getting the distance of next year's classics.
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