Belmont Notebook

BELMONT NOTEBOOK

JULY 24, 2008

by Bernard T. Moore

The 2008 Belmont Park spring/summer meet came to a premature ending when

jockeys refused to ride the final card on Sunday due to intolerable heat in the

jockey's room. The problem arose from a transformer fire the previous day.

Temperatures hovered in the low 90s on Saturday, with jockeys competing without

the benefit of air conditioning in their headquarters throughout the day because

of the power outage. Apparently, they did not want to endure another day of

intense heat in their confines, and informed management of their unwillingness to

ride.

With the Belmont Park incident in our rear view mirror, it's off to Saratoga

for six weeks of glorious and contentious racing. The 2008 Saratoga meet began

Wednesday, and runs through Labor Day, September 1. Racing will be conducted six

days a week upstate, with Tuesdays serving as the lone dark day. Daily post time

remains at 1 p.m. (EDT), except for NYRA's Sunset Fridays, which will be held this

year on July 25 and August 29. There is a 2:45 p.m. start on both days. The only

other change in post time occurs on Travers Day, August 23, when all the action

kicks off at noon. The opening week highlight is Breeders' Cup Challenge Day on

Saturday. Stakes scheduled to be run include the

Whitney H. (G1), the Diana H. (G1), the Go for Wand H. (G1) and the Alfred G.

Vanderbilt H. (G2). It promises to be a great meet, particularly if the

weatherman cooperates.

One of the more formidable coupled entries to compete in a Grade 1 event in

recent memory contested the Coaching Club American Oaks (G1) on Saturday. The

entry, owned by the powerful Godolphin Stable and trained by Saeed bin Suroor,

were bet down to odds-on favoritism for this 1 1/4-mile test. And they did not

disappoint as MUSIC NOTE (A.P. Indy) bested her barnmate, Little Belle (A.P.

Indy), by 11-decisive lengths, completing the 100-furlong marathon route contest

in a very respectable 2:01 3/5 under jockey Javier Castellano.

Trailing the field early on while never that far back, Music Note made a

sweeping move to challenge for the lead around the far turn. At that point, the

result of the Coaching Club American Oaks was a forgone conclusion as Music Note

had not yet been asked for her best by Castellano. Upon turning into the

stretch, she began to draw away from the competition, widening her lead with

each and every stride to be well clear at the wire. Little Belle, raced close to

the leaders from the outset, but could not match strides with her entrymate in

the lane and was clearly second best. Flaming Slew (Slew City Slew) chased the

pace carved out by Never Retreat (Smart Strike) and then outlasted the others

for the show. Acoma (Empire Maker) enjoyed a ground-saving trip, but failed to

improve her position when called upon and was forced to settle for fourth. Never

Retreat tired badly to finish fifth once displaced on the front end.

The main track was definitely speed-oriented on Wednesday, but appeared to

play honestly on Thursday, and remained that way the rest of the week.

The Widener and Inner turf courses were speed friendly on Friday and

Saturday, but off-the-pace runners were not adversely affected. There did not

appear to be any path biases last week.

HORSES TO WATCH

Wednesday (7/16)

2ND -- CASANOVA MOVE (Langfuhr) turned in a good effort in her career debut. Raced

evenly throughout to finish third. She should have derived beneficial

conditioning/experience from this effort, and trainer James Jerkens does well

with runners making their second lifetime start.

3RD -- CITY SPIRIT (City Zip) offered a much-improved effort stretching out in

distance to finish second in a highly rated race while returning to the main

track. Appears best suited in a mid-level claimer.

Thursday (7/17)

8TH -- QUEENS FULL (Indian Charlie) was severely compromised by a pedestrian

pace. She rallied mildly in a race that quickened noticeably late. Needs only a

livelier pace scenario to move forward in her next start.

9TH -- BRIGHT ILLUSION (Silver Ghost) raced evenly to finish third while

chasing a loose wire-to-wire winner who set a slow pace. Has good tactical speed

and seems to be most effective in a sprint.

Friday (7/18)

1ST -- RUSSIAN SAGE (Silver Ghost) held well to finish third despite setting

a quick and pestered pace off a freshening. Will be much fitter in his next

start, and has won without the lead in the past.

7TH -- C STREET (Street Cry [Ire]) might have won with clear sailing while

shipping into Belmont Park. He was trapped behind traffic while attempting to

rally, and then leveled off nicely when finally in the clear to finish a strong

second.

Saturday (7/19)

4TH -- BAZZOOM (Holy Bull) obviously was a bit short off the layoff while

making his debut over a conventional dirt track. He closed steadily despite a

wide trip to finish a good second behind the odds-on winning favorite. Has every

right to move forward off this effort.

9TH -- FLAMING SLEW (Slew City Slew) was most definitely overmatched in a

Grade 1 contest at 10 furlongs. Held well for one mile while disputing the

pace, and then understandably tired in the stretch. She remains eligible for a

preliminary allowance contest and would benefit from a cutback in distance as

well.