Arlington Park Notebook

ARLINGTON PARK NOTEBOOK

MAY 23, 2008

by Steve Collison

This past Saturday, with most of the racing world fixated on the Preakness

(G1) and Big Brown's (Boundary) remarkably easy victory, 61-year-old

jockey Earlie Fires was inching closer to that magic number of career winners

that will move him to the sidelines and retirement. Fires continues riding like

a possessed bug boy and showed once again why he's in Thoroughbred racing's Hall of Fame

after adding to his all-time Arlington win total with a 1 1/4-length score

aboard FOREVER TOGETHER (Belong to Me) in the Reluctant Guest S.

The four-year-old filly, trained by another Hall of Famer in Jonathan Sheppard,

covered the mile over "yielding" turf in 1:39.05 and paid $18.20, $8.20 and $6.

Lemon Lime (Lemon Drop Kid), under Eddie Razo, set the pace through leisurely

fractions of :25.56, :50.06, 1:14.64 and 1:26.80, before fading in

the stretch just ahead of the fast-closing Lady Lionel (Lucky Lionel), the

longest shot on the board at 37-1. The runner-up paid $8.40 and $7 with the show

returning $12.40.

COMING UP

The 74th running of the Arlington Classic - one of Arlington's most tradition-rich races

-- will be contested once again this weekend as one of three stakes

races on Saturday's racing card. The 1 1/16-mile grass test for three-year-olds offers a $150,000 purse

and serves as the first leg of Arlington's Mid-America

Triple. It will be presented along with the inaugural edition of the $200,000

American One Thousand Guineas S. for three-year-old fillies on the turf. The Hanshin Cup

(G3), now in its 14th year as an exchange race with the Japan Racing Association, is Arlington's first graded stakes of the 2008 season

and completes Saturday's rich

stakes troika.

Chicago-based runners

loom large in the first leg of the Mid-America Triple, a series which continues with

the American Derby (G2) on July 12 and concludes with the Secretariat (G1) on

Arlington Million Day, August 9. Trainer Chris Block will send out his formidable

AMAZING RESULTS (Grand Slam), winner of Fair Grounds' $60,000 Grindstone S. over the New Orleans lawn in his last trip to the post

on March 22. The Team Block

entrant will be joined by Frank Calabrese's PRIME REALESTATE (Prime

Timber) who is trained by the astoundingly hot Wayne Catalano.

Calder Derby (G3) and Palm Beach (G3) victor SPORTING ART (Doneraile Court)

is the likely favorite.

JOCKEY NOTES

After winning the first two races of his racing career earlier at the

Arlington meet, apprentice jockey Brandon Meier has followed in the footsteps of

his father and hired longtime Illinois-based agent Tom Morgan to handle his

riding assignments. Morgan

books mounts for Randy Meier, the all-time leading rider at Sportsman's Park

and Hawthorne Race Course.

At a time when the young Meier is looking to make a name for himself on this

Illinois circuit, veteran jockey Jose Velez Jr. is simply hoping people remember

his. Despite finishing third in the 1983 Arlington Million (G1) aboard

Nijinsky's Secret, Velez may still need an introduction to a new

generation of Arlington players since he's planning to stay throughout the entire 96-day Arlington Park season, which runs until September 21. Thus far he has

done well at winning their hearts by winning with six of 41 mounts to be fifth in

the current jockey standings. There's no better way to win over horseplayers

then through their wallets.

"I've been looking forward to riding at Arlington again for some time," said

Velez, a 45-year-old native of Santurce, Puerto Rico.

TRAINER NOTES

Veteran conditioner Frank Kirby, Arlington's leading trainer in 1974 and

again in 2004, saddled three winners Friday, becoming the second trainer along

with the hot Catalano to accomplish that feat this season. Jockey Ramsey

Zimmerman, a Chicago native returning to Arlington after several seasons, was

aboard for all three of Kirby's tallies. And speaking of Catalano, those waiting for him to cool down, even slightly, will have to wait a little

longer. That's because he had another stellar week with a pair of winners from

just three runners.

TRAINER PROFILE

FRANK KIRBY was winning the Arlington trainer's

title back when no one had even heard of a horse called Seattle Slew and the Colts were still in Baltimore. Over the years, Kirby has been

one of the most consistent performers here yet is frequently underrated and

overlooked, mostly because he prefers it that way. Yet this is a man so astute at

his craft of conditioning Thoroughbreds that he wins at more than a 25-percent

rate with

runners who are stepping up in class. It takes a shrewd operator to achieve such

a number on the rise and accurately illustrates Kirby's grasp of the racing

game. This pattern is enhanced when he has a runner who's moving up the ladder

while cutting back in distance with the addition of Lasix. And it happens more

then you may think. The fact that this stable does well with runners cutting

back in distance shouldn't be a surprise as Frank has always done better with

sprinters. That's a trend that has continued into the current 2008 season as

well as this Arlington meet. And since we are applauding Kirby's penchant for

winning on the rise, we also must salute his ability to win with runners seeking

to repeat while moving down the class ladder. Think about that for a second. You

have a horse who has just won a race but instead of taking them up or leaving

them at the same level, you take them down a notch or so. That's a tough sell to

any owner and is another indication of a man who has confidence in his own

judgment as to how much a horse has left in the tank.

RECENT CLAIMS TO WATCH

Thursday (5/15)

2ND -- DOTTIE BOOTH (American Chance), an honest-running six-year-old mare, managed

to find the winner's circle today while going for slumping trainer David Hinsley.

She got claimed by high percentage operator Roger Brueggemann, and that switch alone

should see this horse improving considerably while moving back up the claiming

ladder.

5TH -- BRICKYARD GAL (Proud Citizen) turned in an

uneventful performance today but was claimed by top trainer Michael Maker. Maker

has the ability to shake this talented runner out of her doldrums, which can

result in a quick and dramatic positive turnaround for the lightly raced filly.

Friday (5/16)

6TH -- SALT SYN (Salt Lake), a hard-hitting six-year-old mare, came off the shelf

with her running shoes laced up tight as she handily trounced this $35,000

claiming field. Despite the rather hefty price tag for a animal of this age, trainer Larry Rivelli took her for himself and wouldn't have done so without

expecting a quick return on his investment.

Saturday (5/17)

3RD -- BLACK JACK BREEZE (Shore Breeze) regressed today

after winning easily in latest and was claimed by Catalano's blistering hot stable. Considering that Catalano hits over 40-percent with his first

off the claim runners, this is really a no-brainer.

Sunday (5/18)

9TH -- DON'TPUTMEBACK (Put It Back), who won easily when making her

belated debut last out, was dropped into a claimer by

trainer Tom Proctor. She was quickly snapped up by astute trainer Michael Reavis,

who is likely to add blinkers to the four-year-old filly's arsenal especially after she hung slightly

through the lane today.

HORSES TO WATCH

Thursday (5/15)

4TH -- BOUDOIR (Mutakddim) came off an extended seven-month leave of

absence to win with stunning ease over a solid field of allowance runners. It's

easy to imagine her holding her own against tougher, even if that happens

to be a small stakes field.

Friday (5/16)

2ND -- APPROVEDBYTHEMINT (With Approval [Ire]), who despite trainer's Hugh

Robertson's low percentage with first-time starters, demolished his field today while making his career debut. Not only did

the three-year-old gelding win, he did so going long over the lawn which is incredibly difficult.

Looks to have a bright and productive future.

4TH -- I'M WAITING FOR U (Service Station) was compromised when

attempting to overcome a plodding early pace scenario. Still managed to gain the

show with a solid late run and can do much better with some honest fractions up

front the next time around.

Saturday (5/17)

5TH -- SOL A PINO (Dynaformer), a well-bred three-year-old colt, turned in an

encouraging performance when making second career start today despite suffering

through a poor trip. The Bill Mott runner will surely continue getting better for

his Hall of Fame connections.

10TH -- SNOOSE GOOSE (Aptitude) came off a 10-month vacation today and turned in a huge effort despite getting into tons of

trouble. Still managed to finish in the place spot with the actual winner being

the odds on betting choice. Watch for this horse to stretch out in distance next

out for trainer McLean Robertson, who excels when taking his runners sprint to

route.

Sunday (5/18)

8TH -- TACTICAL WEAPON (Tactical Cat) was forced to run

extremely wide today yet still managed to turn in a deceptively solid overall

performance. This was his second start since coming back from a lengthy vacation

and he could very easily find the winner's circle next out while going unnoticed

by many.

BEWARE OF THESE

Thursday (5/15)

2ND -- RAINBOW'S SECRET (Sea of Secrets) has been given every

opportunity to win over the past several trips and still has come up empty.

She's been given lone leads setting ridiculously slow fractions only to come up

empty. Today, she had no other speed to contend with from the outset over a fair

racing surface yet came up short again. It's hard to envision a scenario in

which she wins even on the plunge.

Friday (5/16)

2ND -- BEAT THE FREEZE (Dixieland Heat) is a horse who frequently gets into

serious trouble, creating the illusion that if not for that difficulty there

would have been a better result. However, just as frequently, it's the horse's own

lack of athleticism that causes the problem and that appears to be the case with

this klutz. In his last two starts, the colt has made trouble when there wasn't

any and we would be wary of expecting different results especially with an

inexperienced bug in the saddle.

Saturday (5/17)

4TH -- ON A HIGH CLOUD (Cloud Hopping), a heartless four-year-old filly, received

an expertly timed ride from Rene Douglas today while going against a typically

weak conditioned claiming field. Despite all evidence to the contrary, she still

managed to lose once again and we would urge those still in doubt about her ability

to reach the winner's circle to simply toss their money into Lake Michigan.

You'll make a bigger splash!