|
|
PEDIGREE HANDICAPPING SEPTEMBER 15, 2007 The Artificial Surface Influence of Relaunch by Tim Holland The hottest and most passionately debated topic this year, and perhaps for many years, has been the introduction of artificial surfaces. The issue has reached a new level over the past few months through a few occurrences, most notably the departure of many horses from a high profile stable at Del Mar seeking a traditional dirt track to compete over, and the more recent admissions by several notable buyers at the ongoing Keeneland September Sale that they have "tweaked" their buying criteria with the new surfaces in mind. Those against change undoubtedly do have valid causes for concern -- the change, which the complete switch of the California tracks has accelerated, has indeed been quick, but it is reality and should not be ignored by handicappers and horseman. The most successful horseplayers, as well as owners and breeders, are those that are ahead of the game, and the sudden move to artificial surfaces has created opportunities for forward thinking. The success of sons of Storm Cat, such as Giant's Causeway, Stormy Atlantic and Tale of the Cat, who all figure in the top 10 All Weather Sires by Earnings list for 2007, on artificial surfaces has been well documented, and the same holds true for sons of Seattle Slew, most notably A.P. Indy. However, to maximize success, one needs to seek angles that are not so obvious and one such avenue may be to examine the performance of some less famous sire lines on artificial surfaces. Relaunch (In Reality), who was foaled in 1976, was a consistent racehorse, winning five of 18 career starts and finishing in the money on nine more occasions with perhaps his most memorable moment coming via a second-place finish in the San Luis Rey S. (G1) as a four-year-old. His biggest victory came in the Del Mar Derby (G3) on the turf in 1979, but Relaunch is better known as a sire, producing nearly 100 stakes winners. His most famous offspring was Skywalker, who won his first Grade 1 via the Santa Anita Derby but is best remembered for his Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) win over Turkoman and Precisionist in 1986. At stud, Skywalker enjoyed a solid, if not spectacular, career. He was responsible for more than 40 stakes winners, the best of whom was the champion older male runner of 1993, Bertrando. A winner of nine races from 24 attempts and more than $3 million, Bertrando's championship year was highlighted by a victory in the Pacific Classic (G1), achieved in typical front-running fashion, followed by a 13 1/2-length romp over a sloppy Belmont track in the Woodward S. (G1). The dark bay then made an attempt at emulating his sire's win in the Classic only to have his bid foiled by the rank outsider Arcangues. Like his sire, Bertrando became a consistently good stallion and his son Bilo became his third Grade 1 winner when scoring in the Triple Bend H. over Hollywood Park's Cushion Track this July. This was the gelding's second win from three tries over that surface and both victories were achieved in wire-to-wire style. Bertrando also passed on his speed to another son, Officer, who was his sire's initial Grade 1 victor through his win in the 1 1/16-mile Champagne S. in 2001. Officer's stamina at the top level failed him when he faded to finish a disappointing fifth as the odds-on favorite in that year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) and while he was possibly cut out to be a top-class sprinter had injury not curtailed his racing career, it must be noted that the colt, unlike his own sire, did own the ability to rate successfully off the pace. In turn, Officer may have passed this talent on to his offspring as his daughter Officer Cherrie employed a closing running style to win from off the pace in the Ontario Debutante S. over Woodbine's Polytrack surface at odds of more than 13-1. Meanwhile, at the newly established Presque Isle Downs, Elite Squadron recently became Officer's first stakes winner over the Tapeta surface when winning the Tom Ridge Labor Day S., remaining close to the pace throughout. Maybe the most exciting of Relaunch's influence on artificial surfaces has been seen through his grandson, Tiznow. By Cee's Tizzy, who was third in the 1990 Super Derby (G1) and is himself the sire of two stakes winners over Hollywood's Cushion track, Tiznow's four Grade 1 victories include back-to-back Classics in which he utilized his tactical speed both times. After a quick start as a stallion -- his first crop included Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) winner and champion two-year-old filly Folklore -- Tiznow is proving to be a solid all-round sire and is currently fifth in the Leading All Weather Sires by Earnings list. His biggest, and most surprising, winner over an artificial surface occurred when Slew's Tizzy became one of the few wire-to-wire winners at the spring Keeneland meet in the Lexington S. (G2) in which he returned more than $80. Meanwhile, this year in Canada, Bear Now added two wire-to-wire Polytrack victories at Woodbine to her pair of 2006 scores, and she also proved her rating abilities when winning the Selene S. (Can-G3) at more than 12-1 after stalking the early pace. Tiznow's third artificial surface stakes winner of 2007 is Tough Tiz's Sis, who displayed her liking for the Cushion Track when winning the Hollywood Breeders' Cup Oaks (G2). Furthermore and also at Hollywood, Tiznow's son Liquidity earned an attempt at the 2007 Triple Crown series with a narrow runner-up finish to Stormello (Stormy Atlantic) in the Hollywood Futurity (G1). Several of Tiznow's offspring have overachieved when switched to artificial surfaces, and the same can be said for the progeny of another grandson of Relaunch, Put It Back, who is by Honour and Glory. A tough and game runner who owned enough speed to finish third in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) but was also able to win Keeneland's Breeders' Futurity S. (G2) over 1 1/16 miles and the prestigious one-mile Metropolitan H. (G1) the following year, Honour and Glory has also sired Battle Won, who was third in the Triple Bend, and the filly Glorified, who showed promise in a maiden and in an allowance victory prior to a second-place finish in the Honest Lady H., all over the Cushion Track at Hollywood. On the racetrack, Put It Back was exceptionally fast winning his last five career starts, including the Riva Ridge S. (G2) without being headed. Put It Back, who stands in Florida, has passed on his speed to the likes of the talented sprinter Smokey Stover. With just 10 runners to race over artificial surfaces, Put It Back has done well to reach the top 50 by earnings, and this is reflected by the sire's fourth-place by SPI (Sire Production Index, an index which indicates the average racing class of the stallion's foals) on the All Weather Tracks list. This position is in large part due to In Summation's wins in the Bing Crosby H. (G1) and Arlington Breeders' Cup Sprint H. in his only two starts over the Polytrack. In the former effort at Del Mar, he was sent off at odds of more than 8-1 and proved himself to be one of the best sprinters in the country, rallying from just off the pace to beat Greg's Gold (Lake George) and Bordonaro (Memo [Chi]), two of California's leading speedsters. In all, Put It Back's 10 starters over the new surfaces have made 33 starts between them and, impressively, 14 of these have resulted in victories. Similar to In Summation, many of these winners rated from just off the pace such as the colt Pirate Saint, who won the Shecky Greene S. at Arlington and returned $43.60. However, Put It Back is also responsible for Triple It, a recent wire-to-wire winner at Arlington, and Put Upon, who led all the way in three of her four Woodbine Polytrack victories, which proves that artificial tracks are not impossibly biased against front runners. Another son of Relaunch that has a representative to win a stakes race over an artificial surface is Bright Launch, who won the 1995 Saratoga Special S. (G2) and has proven to be a useful sire. One of his leading earners is Spotsgone, who secured his second stakes win and first graded victory when leading all the way in the Hanshin Cup H. (G3) on the Polytrack at Arlington Park this spring while being completely overlooked at 81.50-1. Spotsgone is typical of many runners from this sire line. With six wins from 27 starts and six more in-the-money finishes, he has proven to be consistent and sound. He owns tactical speed, is able to win from on the lead, but can also utilize his tactical speed effectively from just off the pace. Additionally, Spotsgone is typical in that he is often overlooked. Besides the $165 payoff generated from his Arlington Polytrack win, payoffs from his other scores include a mutuel of $35.80 on the turf and a dirt victory that paid $21.20. Finally, and as seen with other descendants of Relaunch, Spotsgone has shown his best form on artificial surfaces -- indeed his two highest lifetime BRIS Speed figures were earned on the Polytrack. 2007 Stakes Winners descended from Relaunch on artificial tracks shown in capitals, with the number of wins scored on the listed surface: Tiznow (by Cee's Tizzy): -- BEAR NOW (Polytrack; 5 wins) Cee's Tizzy (by Relaunch): -- TIZ ELEMENTAL (Cushion Track; 1) Put It Back (by Honour and Glory): -- IN SUMMATION (Polytrack; 2) Honour and Glory (by Relaunch): -- Glorified (stakes-placed) Officer (by Bertrando): -- OFFICER CHERRIE (Polytrack; 2) Bertrando (by Relaunch): -- BILO (Cushion Track; 2) Bright Launch (by Relaunch): -- SPOTSGONE (Polytrack; 1)
 Send this article to a friend
|
|
