Gravesend J

AMERICAN GRADED STAKES

PREVIEWS

An octet of sprinters will go six panels in the $100,000 Gravesend H. (G3) at

Aqueduct on Saturday. Grade 1 star FABULOUS STRIKE (Smart Strike) will almost

surely go off favored in this event, off the strength of his recent Fall

Highweight H. romp, but we're concerned about the gelding and will look elsewhere in

here.

LUCKY ISLAND (Arg) (Lucky Roberto) was one of the top sprinters in the United

States

this summer, romping in the Tom Fool H. (G2) and Bold Ruler H. (G3) for

conditioner Kiaran McLaughlin, and we're looking for a form reversal from the

four-year-old after a pair of poor showings. The dark bay rolled home in his

debut in Argentina, and following a listless effort at Calder in his stateside

bow, the colt reeled off four in succession, capped by the Tom Fool. He had a

miserable start in his next outing in the Forego S. (G1) which cost him all chance, and never lifted his feet in the Vosburgh S. (G1) when last seen. We

think he wins if he's right. Alan Garcia will be back aboard.

CAVALLO PAZZO (Mt. Livermore) has the right running style to rally for a piece of this at a

big price for Tony Dutrow. The consistent gelding has put together a solid 2008

campaign after missing the latter 11 months of 2007, and we like the fact that

the chestnut has been rested in preparation for this test. The Kentucky-bred put

in arguably his finest effort to date when a game second behind the talented

Real Estate (High Yield) in the James B. Moseley Sprint H., and he's never been

worse than second from two outings over this strip. Channing Hill, who always

seems to be saving ground on his mounts, has the call.

SONGSTER (Songandaprayer) had an unsuccessful run in the breeding shed which

cost him most of this season, but the speedy five-year-old is back and

has a big chance in here for Tom Albertrani. The Grade 2 star has excellent

early gas and could lead this field into the turn, which is exactly where you

want to be on this inner surface. Third last out in a solid allowance field, the

Florida-bred has trained steadily since coming back and should be much fitter

than he was in his last. Rajiv Maragh has the assignment.

Fabulous Strike is probably the most talented runner in this group and would

not be a surprise if he's in the winner's circle following this, but this seems

like the right time to play against him in our opinion. We've never liked

animals exiting the Fall Highweight, and this one carried 136 pounds in that

event, so we're expecting him to be something less than his best on this

day. The inside draw is something we're not fond of, either -- if the

five-year-old gets outbroken by one or two he can endure a negative trip under

Ramon Dominguez. As we stated before, his winning would not shock because of his

raw talent, but we'll take a shot against at low odds.

Multiple stakes winner GRAND CHAMPION (Two Punch) was fourth in the Fall

Highweight most recently, and we expect regression on this day.

The gelded bay won the Fall Highweight in 2007 and it took him nearly a year to reach

the winner's circle again. We'll watch him in his first outing for Mike Hushion.

TRUE QUALITY (Elusive Quality) gives the impression of an all-or-nothing type

in this dash for John Campo Jr., and we're siding with the latter in this

particular spot. The blazing bay is twice stakes-placed and recently rolled to

an 8 3/4-length allowance tally over this oval, so it would be easy to make a

case for this one if you like him at all. If, and this is a big if, he can clear

early and lead, this track can carry a pacesetter a long way and he can be

dangerous.

GOOD CARD (Good and Tough) earned a career-best 103 BRIS Speed number for his

recent allowance win, but the Pat Kelly charge has never suggested that he's up

to this level, and we can't recommend his inclusion on this occasion. NIGHT STAND

(Diamond) simply looks overmatched.