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DEL MAR DAILY NOTEBOOK WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2007 by Brian P. Turner As summer draws to a close, so comes to an end the 2007 Del Mar meet. Over the course of the last few weeks, we have been treated to some outstanding racing action but perhaps the biggest story of the meet was the addition of the new Polytrack surface. While some racing fans have not approved of the surface change, it is hard to argue with the results as the number of fatal breakdowns suffered by horses over the course of the meet was greatly diminished. As for how the track played, one of the biggest complaints about the surface is that it is unfair to speed but a look back at the statistics for the meet dispel this myth. At the true sprint distances of less than seven furlongs, horses on or near the pace more than held their own and actually had a decided advantage. At route distances, horses closing from off the pace did perform better but that can be said of many race tracks regardless of the surface. Overall, the Del Mar strip played very fair for the meet. What did prove to be absolutely imperative, though, for success at the betting windows was monitoring how well the horses themselves handled the strip and realizing that it was not important how the horses looked prior to arriving at Del Mar but how they looked afterward. Simply put, horses either handle the surface or they don't and those that do handle it are extremely formful when competing over it. A great example of this is Flip the Penny (Fusaichi Accele), who had hit the board in all of his eight career starts prior to arriving at Del Mar but had never once visited the winner's circle. After arriving at Del Mar, the gray reeled off three wins in a row and won each of them easily. With this in mind, handicappers will undoubtedly find more success with synthetic surfaces as time goes by and they become more acclimated to recognizing those runners who handle these surfaces and those who don't. As stated in the opening day preview for the meet, last year 24 runners who ran at Del Mar went on to compete in the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships. There is little doubt that once more the southern California track has been a stop for many horses on their way to competing for even greater glory at Monmouth Park at the end of October. The question now becomes how well these horses that have thrived on the Del Mar Polytrack will handle the return to the traditional dirt track of Monmouth. For example, Student Council (Kingmambo) was purchased from owner Will Farish and moved into the barn of trainer Vladimir Cerin for the intended purpose of competing in the Pacific Classic (G1) on the Polytrack. This gamble paid off well for the new connections as the bay put in a stellar performance to take home the victory by a half-length, and this from a runner who had been a solid but unspectacular competitor on the dirt. Should the connections decide to move on to the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) one has to wonder how effective he will be. The same can be asked of the Christophe Clement trained In Summation (Put It Back), who invaded Del Mar to claim the victory in the Bing Crosby H. (G1) by a nose. The dark bay had his greatest success prior to that start on the grass and since then has returned to dead-heat for the victory in the Arlington Sprint H., which was also contested over Polytrack. One has to wonder if Clement will indeed attempt to run his talented colt in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) or if he will elect to take another path. The connections of Greg's Gold (Lake George), who finished a very close second in the Bing Crosby before returning to claim the victory by 1 1/2 lengths in the Pat O'Brien H. (G2), don't have as much reason for concern. The gray has proven his ability to run well on dirt in the past, including an impressive score in the 2005 running of the Bing Crosby. Another runner who may create a bit of a conundrum for her connections is undefeated Nashoba's Key (Silver Hawk), who moved herself to the forefront of the Distaff division with three graded stakes victories in a row, two of which came over the synthetic strip at Hollywood and the third coming right here at Del Mar in the Clement L. Hirsch H. (G2). Given that her three wins prior to her graded stakes successes all came on the grass, she too becomes a bit of an unknown when it comes to the dirt track. Then there comes into question all of the talented two-year-olds we have seen compete thus far for the meet, such as Del Mar Debutante (G1) winner Set Play (Van Nistelrooy) and Sorrento S. (G3) victress Tasha's Miracle (Harlan's Holiday), who have never competed on any surface other than a synthetic one. On the other hand, one also has to look at the possibility that many of these horses will actually excel on the dirt track. Even those trainers who say they hate competing on the surface will in the same breath tell you that they love training over it. This is due to how much more sound the horse stays as well as how much more they seem to get out of the workout. One only has to look at Bob Baffert, who had a great deal of success with some of the two-year-olds in his barn by training them at Del Mar before shipping them east to run at Saratoga. Then there is also the case of Street Sense (Street Cry [Ire]), who had his final prep for both the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) and the Kentucky Derby (G1) on the Polytrack at Keeneland. As a matter of fact, each of the top three finishers in last year's Juvenile had their final prep at Keeneland. All in all, there is no easy answer when it comes to how well the synthetic track horses will perform come Breeders' Cup weekend. However, those horseplayers who have attempted to embrace the synthetic surfaces and adapt their handicapping methods to suit the surface are probably going to find themselves getting better odds on horses they like come Breeders' Cup day than what they might normally expect. As for the performers we have seen this meet on the turf, some of them may not end up competing on Breeders' Cup day. Crossing the Line (NZ) (Cape Cross [Ire]) was very impressive in winning the Del Mar Mile H. (G2), which is part of the Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" promotion. However, the dark bay isn't exactly "in," as he is still required to pay a 15 percent supplemental fee. This appears to be something the connections aren't too keen on doing and they are looking at other spots. After Market (Storm Cat) pulled off an easy victory in the Eddie Read H. (G1) early in the meet with his next stop planned for the Arlington Million (G1). Unfortunately, the ground came up a bit too soft for the connections and he was returned to southern California, where he captured the Del Mar H. (G2) by three parts of a length. If it happens to be a wet October in New Jersey, After Market may end up skipping this event as well. Medici Code (GB) (Medicean) was very impressive in winning both the La Jolla H. (G2) and the Del Mar Derby (G2) and would be a major threat in the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) but he would require a 9 percent supplemental fee to get in. Precious Kitten (Catienus) appears to be the most likely candidate to actually start in the Breeders' Cup after pulling off the victory in both the John C. Mabee H. (G1) and the Palomar H. (G2) over the course of the meet. Given that the dark bay has yet to finish worse than second in six starts this year, she has to be considered one of the North American-based favorites for the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1). Black Mamba (NZ) (Black Minnaloushe) finished a fast closing second in the Palomar and she would definitely stand a solid chance in the Filly & Mare Turf should the connections decide to pay the hefty supplemental fee. With the meet coming to an end, though, there was still one piece of unfinished business left to be decided with Breeders' Cup implications and that was which of the two-year-olds would make a case for being shipped east in October. This was decided today in the seven-furlong Del Mar Futurity (G1) with a field of 13 being sent to the post. Drill Down (El Corredor) was sent to the gate as the slight favorite off his performance last out in which he broke his maiden by stalking the pace early before taking command in the stretch drive on his way to an easy 2 1/4-length victory. The dark bay was extremely impressive in this performance as he posted the highest BRIS Speed rating of any member of this field. It appeared that a repeat of this performance would be enough to get him into the winner's circle. In the end, though, it was GEORGIE BOY (Tribal Rule), who was content to lay near the back of the pack early through opening fractions of :23 and :46 3/5 before making a nice move in the midst of a cavalry charge in the stretch drive and hitting the finish line a half-length in front. Georgie Boy was coming off a game second place effort in the Best Pal S. (G2), in which he attempted to lead the field wire-to-wire only to come up a length short. The dark bay has had more success with the off-the-pace running style that he displayed today, as that was the method he used to claim the Graduation S. here by three lengths on July 25. The gelding returned to those tactics here and he looked extremely impressive in picking up the victory. Salute the Sarge (Forest Wildcat), who defeated Georgie Boy last out in the Best Pal, overcame a troubled trip in which he was mugged at the top of the stretch to cross the finish line in second, a nose in front of Drill Down in third. Del Mar also offered a pair of listed stakes races for the closing day of the meet, the first of which came in the 3RD as a field of six contested the six-furlong Pirate's Bounty H. for three-year-olds and upward going six furlongs over the Polytrack. Relato Del Gato (Tale of the Cat) was sent to the gate as the favorite off his performance here last out when he vied for the lead early before taking command in the stretch drive and cruising home to an easy 2 1/2-length victory. The dark bay had gradually been moving up the class ladder and had been impressive while doing it as he had compiled a record of 5-1-0 over the course of his last six starts. Relato Del Gato appeared to be the speed of the field so it was no surprise at all to see him bound out onto the lead. What was a bit of a surprise was to see DOUBLE ACTION (Double Honour) accompanying him every step of the way. The pair kept each other company through opening fractions of :22 1/5 and :46 and continued on from there to duke it out all the way through the stretch drive. As they approached the wire, it all came down to a matter of a head bob as neither of the competitors refused to give an inch and they hit the finish line in tandem. The stewards were forced to refer to the photo before making a decision but came to the conclusion that Double Action had prevailed by a nose. Double Action was coming off a fourth-place finish in Green Flash H. on the grass in which he stalked the pace early only to come up 1 1/4 lengths short in the end. The dark bay had picked up a couple of stakes wins this year at Stockton and Golden Gate Fields, but this was far and away the most impressive performance of his career. Fly Dorcego (Brz) (Choctaw Ridge) made a nice closing move along the rail through the stretch drive but could not catch the pacesetters and finished a half length back in third. Also on Wednesday, a field of 13 contested the CERF H. for fillies and mare, three-years-old and up, going six furlongs. THEVERYTHOUGHTOF U (Unbridled's Song) was sent to the gate as the favorite due to the fact that she has never finished worse than third in six career starts, including a third-place effort in the A Gleam Invitational H. (G2) at Hollywood on July 6. When the gates sprang open, Theverythoughtof U was content to stalk the pace early through opening fractions of :23 1/5 and :47 3/5 but was forced to wait for room to find a way through. Once she hit the stretch, the seas parted for the bay and she finished with a nice turn of foot late to cross the finish line a length in front. Sindy With an S (Broken Vow), who was making her first start since finishing second in the Azalea Breeders' Cup S. (G3) at Calder back in early July, closed well late to cross the wire in second, 1 3/4 lengths clear of Sophie's Trophy (Valid Wager) in third. Michael Baze added two to his total today but already had the jockey title all sewn up as of Monday. He ended the meet with 50 winners. Joseph Talamo wasn't able to make the battle between he and Baze as close as it was at Hollywood but added two to his total as well today and finished second with 37. Victor Espinoza ended the meet in third with 35 winners. As for the trainers, Doug O'Neill was unable to add to his total today but finished on top in the trainer standings with 23 for the meet. Jeff Mullins went winless as well and ended the meet in second with 19. John Sadler saddled two winners on the day, which moved him into a tie for the third spot with Mike Mitchell. The pair ended the meet with 15 winners each. I would like to thank everyone who has followed the Del Mar Daily Notebook over the course of the meet and wish you nothing but winners until next summer when it is time to return once more to where "The Turf Meets the Surf." Horses to Watch 6TH - KALOOKAN EVENT (Event of the Year) had a very solid career debut for trainer Bruce Headley in this Cal-bred maiden special weight event. The three-year-old gelding stalked the pace early through opening fractions of :22 4/5 and :47 before wrestling away the lead during the stretch drive and digging in determinedly late to hit the finish line a half-length in front. This was a pretty nice field of state-breds and several in the field appear capable of making it into the winner's circle in their next start. 10TH - PATCH OF BLUE (Mr. Greeley) was extremely impressive last out as he was well off the pace early behind a group of horses who were crawling on the lead but made an impressive closing move in the stretch drive to break his maiden on the grass at first asking by 1 1/2 lengths. The chestnut caught a slow pace on the lead once again today but when he went to make his move in the stretch drive, his jockey lost his whip and he ended up crossing the finish line in seventh, beaten by five lengths, as the winner led from gate-to-wire. The three-year-old colt should rebound next out at what could be a square price.
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