Acorn J

AMERICAN

GRADED STAKES PREVIEWS

Champion INDIAN BLESSING (Indian Charlie) leads a compact field of five in

the $250,000 Acorn S. (G1) on Saturday. The multiple Grade 1-winning lass suffered her

first defeat last out in the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) behind subsequent Kentucky

Oaks (G1) queen Proud Spell (Proud Citizen), but that's not enough to get us off

the Bob Baffert trainee. The brilliantly fast filly has been freshened for

nearly three months for this engagement and has trained adequately in the

interim, so if the Kentucky-bred breaks on cue, we feel that she'll be too tough

to catch beneath Garrett Gomez.

We were high on ZAFTIG (Gone West) following her superb maiden score and the

gray comes in off an emphatic 5 1/4-length victory in the Nassau County S. (G3)

over this strip, so she rates as the prime upsetter for James Jerkens. The

well-bred filly has good tactical speed, owns the top last-out BRIS Speed figure

(107) and has trained consistently over this strip in advance of this race. John Velazquez

will guide the filly from the rail, and the pair will likely be off the early tempo

before putting in their late run.

GAME FACE (Menifee) took the La Troienne S. (G3) for Todd Pletcher in her

latest try and would be another whose chances increase if a fast pace were to

ensue. The chestnut miss turned the corner in her third lifetime outing,

crushing maidens by 7 1/4 lengths, then went on to dominate the Old Hat S. (G2) by seven

lengths and finished a decent second in the Davona Dale S. (G2) prior to the La Troienne.

The Kentucky-bred prefers to do her best running in the latter stages, and

although we don't think she is as talented as the top pair, her running style

should yield her a piece under Eibar Coa.

Grade 1 queen GOLDEN DOC A (Unusual Heat) somewhat answered the dirt question

with a good fourth in the Kentucky Oaks and will cut back to one turn in this

spot for Barry Abrams. The chestnut filly has an excellent late kick and could

actually benefit from the cut-back in distance in here, especially if our top

pick falters late. The California import had a maintenance work over this

surface earlier in the week and will be guided by Kent Desormeaux. 

DANCE GAL DANCE (Disco Rico) had her four-race unbeaten streak end in the

Bouwerie S. last out but could be the early leader in this contest. The multiple

stakes-winning New York-bred is a bit of a mystery against open company, as all

of her success has come against state-bred foes. The possibility of

her dueling early with Indian Blessing will surely not help her chances, so we

feel obligated to omit the speedy miss in here.