Donn J

AMERICAN

GRADED STAKES PREVIEWS

The surging DAAHER (Awesome Again) is the marquee attraction in the $500,000

Donn H. (G1) at Gulfstream Park on Saturday, and we see little reason to look

elsewhere on this day. The Kiaran McLaughlin trainee showed some promise early

in his career but has blossomed into a superb animal since adding blinkers prior

to his 13 3/4-length drubbing of allowance foes at Saratoga last summer. The

four-year-old bay has since dominated the Jerome H. (G2) and Cigar Mile H. (G1),

posting monster BRIS Speed numbers of 109 and 115, respectively. The fleet Shadwell

colorbearer is arguably the speed and class of the race, so if he's ready, he

wins. Mike Luzzi retains the mount.

SPRING AT LAST (Silver Deputy), winner of the 2007 Godolphin Mile S.

(UAE-G2), returned from a lengthy layoff to defeat a solid allowance field over

the lawn at Santa Anita in December. The Doug O'Neill charge is honest and

should navigate a decent trip from off the pace on the inside. If the top one

gets upended, this five-year-old will probably be the one doing so. Eibar

Coa will guide the dark bay.

FAIRBANKS (Giant's Causeway) is an intriguing horse in this spot for Todd Pletcher,

and if he can employ a rating tactic in the early going, we could envision him

being in the mix late. The Grade 3 hero loves a route of ground and is blessed

with a great cruising speed, we're just concerned about the trip he may

encounter beneath John Velazquez. If the five-year-old could avoid a

confrontation with Daaher early, he could complete the exacta at a square price.

A. P. ARROW (A.P. Indy) finally broke through with a signature win in the

Clark H. (G2) in his 2007 finale and has trained well in the interim for Pletcher. The late-running six-year-old has never finished worse than third in

three tries over this oval, including a third-place showing in this event last

year. We've never been high on this one-paced chestnut, but he makes sense to

fill out some exotics under Ramon Dominguez.

BRASS HAT (Prized) was victorious in this event in 2006 and enters off a game

runner-up effort in the Clark for conditioner William "Buff" Bradley. The gelded

seven-year-old posted a solid five-eighths over this oval last Saturday and should

get a good trip from off the pace, so his top-three chances are well within

reach under Willie Martinez.

Grade 1 turf star EINSTEIN (Brz) (Spend a Buck) captured a second-level

allowance race in the slop over this main track nearly one year ago and enters

this off a fine allowance prep for Helen Pitts. The dark bay's 2007 season was

curtailed by injury, but he appears to have righted the ship in advance of this

test. However, the outside draw, complexion of the field and the amount of pace

on hand all could lead to an unfavorable result for the classy Brazilian. We'll

include the six-year-old on the bottom of our exotics, but can't envision him

crossing the wire first.

KISS THE KID (Lemon Drop Kid) is talented and has been consistent through all

of 2007 for Amy Tarrant, but this appears to be a tough test for the

five-year-old. WOOD BE WILLING (Pulpit) is ambitiously placed to say the least, finishing

14 lengths behind Commentator (Distorted Humor) in his initial start for Allen

Jerkens. We're completely aware of the fact that Jerkens has pulled many an

upset in his day, but we can't find anything in the six-year-old's past that

would suggest his presence in the lane. DR GOOGLES BOOGLES (Richter Scale) is

not very fast and is a question mark at nine furlongs, so we'll pass.