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THOROUGHBRED BEAT AUGUST 21, 2008 by James Scully Last laugh -- Jess Jackson fired a salvo at Big Brown's (Boundary) connections last week, challenging them to a race with Curlin (Smart Strike) in either the Woodward S. (G1) or Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1), but the once-beaten Big Brown won't be contesting those races. He's being pointed toward the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Santa Anita, and that's the most important race of the year in American horse racing. That gives IEAH Stables more leverage in the verbal war of superiority: if Jackson believes Curlin is better than Big Brown, meet him at Santa Anita on October 25. That's the place to settle the issue, and Big Brown's connections will be able to gloat in victory while denigrating Curlin if Big Brown wins at Santa Anita. Of course, Big Brown is no lock to win the 1 1/4-mile Classic without Curlin in the field. He's going to have to deal with "Pro-Ride" that nobody knows how he'll handle and may not be versatile enough to excel on three different surfaces -- dirt, turf and synthetic. That's the hang-up with Curlin. Jackson and trainer Steve Asmussen don't want to risk a sub-par showing over a synthetic track. Jones -- HONEST MAN (Unbridled's Song) rallied from just off the pace to win Saturday's Philip H. Iselin S. (G3) going away by 2 3/4 lengths, and the four-year-old colt is an up-and-coming player in a thin older horse division. Trained by Larry "Cowboy" Jones, the Kentucky-bred has won six-of-10 lifetime starts and earned triple-digit BRIS Speed ratings in five-of-six starts this season, including a 104 in the 1 1/8-mile Iselin. This was a coming out race for Ghostzapper, who made his first start at a route when recording a 10 3/4-length victory in the 2004 Iselin and went on to capture the Breeders' Cup Classic and the Horse of the Year title that season, and Honest Man's connections probably have similar aspirations. Jones now wants to test Honest Man over a synthetic track in advance of the Breeders' Cup and plans to use the Polytrack at Turfway Park in the Kentucky Cup Classic (G2) on September 27. But will that give them an accurate gauge of Honest Man's ability over Pro-Ride? There's too many synthetic tracks -- Polytrack, Tapeta, Cushion Track and Pro-Ride -- and none are the same. Myth -- With rain and scratches plaguing the current Saratoga meet, it's easy to understand the calls for a synthetic track in upstate New York. If officials want to create a myriad of new problems, I'd say go for it. If they buy the myth that the positives of synthetic tracks outweigh the negatives, call in the bulldozers. Synthetic tracks continue to divide the sport, and the Breeders' Cup will do a wonderful job pushing that agenda in October when too many of Thoroughbred racing's biggest stars skip the championship event due to the brand-new Pro-Ride surface at Santa Anita. In my opinion, two things seem certain over the three synthetic tracks in Southern California: they require more maintenance than dirt tracks, and any difference in breakdowns, either way, is negligible. Dirt tracks are even proving to be a safe alternative as the synthetic tracks in Southern California continue to develop the reputation for soft-tissue injuries and bruised feet. Synthetic tracks have failed to hold up properly at Santa Anita and Hollywood, with trainers attributing the smaller field sizes at Del Mar to the Cushion Track at Hollywood "chewing up" too many of their horses. Small fields come in waves at Del Mar. Ten races were scheduled for Saturday's program, but officials were forced to offer only nine due to a shortage of entries. Dirt and synthetic tracks both have their problems. What's most troubling is that the synthetic tracks are not performing as promised in their relatively infant stage. Azul -- AZUL LEON (Lion Heart) remained perfect with a victory in the August 10 Best Pal S. (G2) via disqualification, confirming his position atop the California-based juvenile division presently. After being carried extremely wide in upper stretch by Kelly Leak (Runaway Groom), Azul Leon was guided to the inside by Rafael Bejarano but found himself compromised once again as Kelly Leak started drifting in. Once given the opportunity to run unimpeded, the Doug O'Neill-trained colt rallied boldly in deep stretch to just miss by a nose on the wire. However, Azul Leon didn't silence his critics with a BRIS Speed rating of only 89 in the Best Pal. He caught plenty of flak for his four-length victory in the Hollywood Juvenile Championship (G3) when he netted only a 87 Speed rating, and his Speed numbers are far lower than some of his East Coast counterparts. But I would urge caution in putting too much stock in juvenile Speed numbers at this early date. Three years ago, Stevie Wonderboy registered only a 93 for his five-length victory in the Del Mar Futurity (G2), and his main East Coast rivals, Henny Hughes and Fusaichi Samurai, looked much faster based upon their century-topping figures. Steve Wonderboy ran past both of them in the stretch of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) at Belmont Park, registering a 110 Speed rating in the process. Street Sense and Point Given are a couple of other examples of talented juvenile runners who were earning numbers in the high 80s-low 90s range at the same point in their careers. Their Speed ratings eventually skyrocketed upward, and Azul Leon could do the same.
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