Filly and Mare Turf Diary

FILLY & MARE TURF DIARY

SEPTEMBER 11, 2007

by Kellie Reilly

In my last edition previewing the August 11 Beverly D. S. (G1), I had touted

that Arlington prize as a midseason stepping stone to an Eclipse Award, a

definitive showdown establishing the divisional leader en route to the Breeders'

Cup. Circumstances have unfortunately conspired against such an interpretation,

despite a world-class performance from ROYAL HIGHNESS (Ger) (Monsun) to

collar IRRIDESCENCE (SAf) (Caesour) in the shadow of the post. Two

developments will probably undermine the Beverly D.'s significance for year-end

honors -- the news that Royal Highness is unlikely to be supplemented to the

Breeders' Cup, and the explosive resurgence of champion WAIT A WHILE

(Maria's Mon) at Saratoga.

It's a rotten shame that Royal Highness won't be at Monmouth after her

championship-caliber effort to take the Beverly D., which as part of the new

Breeders' Cup Challenge program, was supposed to reserve her spot in the

starting gate in the Filly & Mare Turf (G1). As with a few other winners of

these so-called "Win and You're In" events, Royal Highness is not nominated to

the Breeders' Cup, so her owners, Monceaux Stable, would still have to pay the

exorbitant supplemental fees for her to actually start, notwithstanding her

"automatic berth."

Not only is the Challenge program failing to smooth the path for

high-profile, non-nominated horses like Royal Highness to participate in the

Breeders' Cup, but it is also failing in its avowed purpose -- to build fan

interest in advance of the Breeders' Cup, chiefly by highlighting the relevance

of the televised preps. Instead, it's a morass of confusion for the casual fan.

To make the Challenge truly meaningful, it should guarantee not only a spot in

the starting gate, but a waiving of supplemental fees. Wouldn't that heighten

the intrigue for the designated preps, if a non-nominated horse can buy his

ticket? Wouldn't that recruit the best possible fields for the Breeders' Cup,

which boasts the grandiose title of World Championships?

Indeed, the Filly & Mare Turf will be the poorer without Royal Highness, who

was a decisive, if narrow, winner of the 1 3/16-mile Beverly D. By

lagging well off a dawdling early pace, the Christophe Clement mare appeared to

concede a massive tactical advantage to the classy Irridescence, who enjoyed a

perfect stalking trip in second. Irridescence seized command at the top of the

stretch, but Royal Highness had only just begun to unleash her irresistible,

sustained challenge on the outside.

It's no mean feat to reel in Irridescence when she's on her game, as Ouija

Board (GB) discovered to her cost when she just missed in the 2006 Queen

Elizabeth II Cup (HK-G1). Yet Royal Highness succeeded where even the mighty

Ouija Board had failed (albeit with excuses). Although she was racing over a

trip a bit shorter than ideal, Royal Highness managed to catch an in-flight

Irridescence, thrusting her head in front at the wire. Royal Highness' spirited

charge begs the question of what she could have done in the Arlington Million S.

(G1) on the same day, considering that most of the males finished in a bit of a

heap.

With her abundant back class from Europe (as outlined in my last diary), her

ability to handle all kinds of ground, and her withering late lick, Royal

Highness is an outstanding performer who is well qualified to challenge for

divisional honors, but that's hard to do without a Breeders' Cup tilt. The

five-year-old bay is expected to line up next in the September 29 Flower Bowl

Invitational S. (G1), which will probably serve as her prep for the October 21

E.P. Taylor S. (Can-G1) at Woodbine.

Further clouding the issue of the long-term ramifications of the Beverly D.

is the softish state of the Arlington turf. I suspect that Royal Highness would

have won the Beverly D. whether it was staged on firm turf, molten lava, an ice

floe, Roman mosaics or the La Brea tar pits, but a couple of her rivals probably

would have turned in more representative efforts on better ground. LADY OF

VENICE (Fr) (Loup Solitaire) closed for third, 2 1/2 lengths astern of

Irridescence, but she didn't deliver her electric turn of foot. It can't be

known with any degree of certainty whether that's because the top two just made

her look one-paced, she found the distance a bit far for her, or she was just

spinning her wheels on the ground, or some malevolent combination thereof.

Fourth-place finisher CITRONNADE (Lemon Drop Kid) was definitely

compromised by the ground, as well as by hitting the gate and losing vital early

positioning, which took the usually forwardly placed filly out of her game from

the start. The Beverly D. is a throw-out for her, as it is for HONEY RYDER

(Lasting Approval), who was well below her best and never landed a blow in

sixth.

Had Wait a While contested the Beverly D., she wouldn't have put her

best foot forward on that sort of ground either, but that's a moot point since

she had missed too much training time to consider it. The Todd Pletcher filly

got the asphalt-grade turf she loves in the August 23 Ballston Spa H. (G2)

at Saratoga, however, and was almost palpably eager to re-assert herself on the

divisional scene. In a stunning display, Wait a While rocketed into contention

on the far turn and singed her opponents with a blazing burst of speed through

the stretch to score by 2 1/4 commanding lengths. Her time of 1:40 for 1 1/16

miles on the inner turf was a negligible .08 seconds off the course mark set by

champion Leroidesanimaux (Brz) in 2005.

Runner-up VACARE (Lear Fan) deserves credit for not losing heart when

suffering through traffic problems, finally extricating herself to finish 3 1/2

lengths clear. There was a scary, heart-in-the-throat moment for MY TYPHOON

(Ire) (Giant's Causeway), who took a bad step just when launching her bid, and

she quickly dropped back. My lurid imagination made me fear the worst, but

thankfully, she has returned to the worktab. It would be no surprise if My

Typhoon shows up at Keeneland for the October 6 First Lady S. (G2), where she

would meet PRICE TAG (GB) (Dansili [GB]).

In the 2006 First Lady, My Typhoon finished third to Gorella (Fr) and

KAREN'S CAPER (War Chant). Sadly, this will be the last reference to Karen's

Caper in my diary, as the Stonerside Stable homebred has now been retired. I was

always partial to her because she is a daughter of Miss Caerleona (Fr) (Caerleon),

who was a most impressive winner of the 1996 Sixty Sails H. at the Fair Grounds

in my native New Orleans. Karen's Caper was desperately unfortunate not to have

won at the Grade/Group 1 level, missing by inches in the 2005 Coronation S.

(Eng-G1) and Queen Elizabeth II Invitational Challenge Cup S. (Eng-G1), and she

kicked off her 2007 campaign in style by taking the Eatontown S. (G3) in

course-record time at Monmouth. Maybe in the year 2012, I'll be writing about a

promising sophomore out of Karen's Caper.

To return to the Ballston Spa, this was a welcome sight from Wait a While,

who had endured a series of travails -- a lackluster fifth on Polytrack in the

Jenny Wiley S. (G2), a tactically questionable ride when a well-beaten second to

My Typhoon in the Just a Game S. (G2) and a fever that forced her out of the

CashCall Mile Invitational S. (G2). The real Wait a While is back, and just in

time for the build-up to the Breeders' Cup. She will head to Oak Tree at Santa

Anita to defend her title in the September 29 Yellow Ribbon S. (G1).

Also pointing to the Yellow Ribbon are PRECIOUS KITTEN (Catienus), who

continued to lord it over her California opponents when posting a wire-to-wire

score in the September 1 Palomar H. (G2) at Del Mar, and the undefeated

NASHOBA'S KEY (Silver Hawk), who has been capturing Grade 1 events on

synthetic surfaces and will face by far her sternest turf test to date. BLACK

MAMBA (NZ) (Black Minnaloushe) would also be an intriguing player in the

Yellow Ribbon, considering that she was flying late in the1 1/16-mile Palomar to

narrow Precious Kitten's margin to three-quarters of a length.

The other noteworthy performance at Del Mar came courtesy of RUTHERIENNE

(Pulpit). I was more than a little surprised that she ventured out West for the

August 18 Del Mar Oaks (G1), since Clement had been implying that she may

get a bit of a break. In her most visually impressive victory to date,

Rutherienne uncorked an eye-catching move from far back on the turn and simply

engulfed the field to score by two lengths, extending her winning skein to five.

Unfortunately, Rutherienne's streak was snapped in Saturday's Garden City

S. (G1) at Belmont Park. Perhaps it was a case of a bridge too far after her

busy summer, but she wound up last of 10, beaten by a few fillies that she had

previously handled. Rutherienne exited the race with a cut on her right hind

foot, for whatever it's worth, and it remains to be seen if this talented

three-year-old will make her presence felt in the major fall events.

Garden City winner ALEXANDER TANGO (Ire) (Danehill Dancer) made a most

encouraging American debut, rallying from far off the early crawl to win going

away by three-quarters of a length. Based in Ireland with Tommy Stack, the

chestnut had solid form across the pond. She captured the One Thousand Guineas

Trial S. (Ire-G3) in her third outing of the season, checked in fourth to

FINSCEAL BEO (Mr. Greeley) in the Irish One Thousand Guineas (Ire-G1), came back

to land the Kilboy Estate S., and most recently finished an excellent second to

Epsom Derby (Eng-G1) runner-up EAGLE MOUNTAIN (Rock of Gibraltar [Ire]) in the

Royal Whip S. (Ire-G2), defeating older males. Alexander Tango will now tackle

older distaffers in the Flower Bowl.

That upcoming Belmont highlight will also feature a rematch between Royal

Highness and ROSINKA (Ire) (Soviet Star), who had withstood the Royal

Highness onslaught in the Robert G. Dick Memorial Breeders' Cup S. two starts

ago. In my July 17 diary, I lobbied for graded status for the Dick Memorial, and

the subsequent exploits of this year's top two finishers could not have

bolstered my case more.

In her next start, Rosinka racked up her fourth win in a row in the Glens

Falls H. (G3) at the Spa on Labor Day, surging to the front turning for

home, storming to a six-length lead, and overcoming a strange-looking hop in the

stretch to hang on by a neck from MAURALAKANA (Fr) (Muhtathir [GB]).

Garrett Gomez later reported that she bounced off the rail, and he echoed Graham

Motion's comments that Rosinka is a head case. As eccentric as she is, there is

no doubting her real talent.

The biggest disappointment of the Glens Falls was MAKDERAH (Ire) (Danehill),

who was in a good stalking spot early, but advanced into traffic on the far turn

and had to check sharply. She never recovered and wound up seventh. The Kiaran

McLaughlin filly has yet to follow up on her scintillating victory in the New

York Breeders' Cup S. (G2), and she will enter the Flower Bowl on a mission to

restore her reputation.

One who has done a brilliant job of redeeming herself is champion DREAMING

OF ANNA (Rahy). After three losses to start her year, the Wayne Catalano

pupil has righted the ship in no uncertain terms and is now riding a

three-stakes winning streak. In Saturday's Pucker Up S. (G3) at

Arlington, Dreaming of Anna turned in a tour de force, front-running

performance, visibly quickening in midstretch to put the race away by 4 1/4

lengths. Unlike Alexander Tango, Dreaming of Anna will stick with sophomores for

her next engagement, the October 13 Queen Elizabeth II Invitational Challenge

Cup at Keeneland.

Our next installment will recap the Flower Bowl, Yellow Ribbon and First Lady

and look ahead to the QEII.