Hollywood Derby J

AMERICAN

GRADED STAKES PREVIEWS

A strong field of nine will contest Sunday's $500,000 Hollywood Derby (G1),

the concluding event of the 17th Turf Festival at Hollywood Park. The nation's

two best turf sophomores, GIO PONTI (Tale of the Cat) and COURT VISION (Gulch),

will spice things up by renewing their archrivalry here, and it's difficult to

look beyond them. We'll give a slight edge to Gio Ponti in this 1 1/4-mile

affair.

Trained by Christophe Clement, Gio Ponti has been a model of high-class

consistency throughout his career. The bay colt has a lethal late kick, as

exemplified by his impressive scores in the Bourbon S. as a juvenile and the

Hill Prince S. (G3) in his 2008 debut. Gio Ponti is dead-game as well, for he

had to outduel Court Vision to win the Virginia Derby (G2), and he never stopped

trying when closing to within a half-length of MADEO (Mizzen Mast) in the Del

Mar Derby (G2). We suspect that Gio Ponti, who was hung out wide on the turn,

did not bring his best game that day, so we give him high marks for effort. Last

time out, he was disadvantaged by rain-softened ground in the Jamaica H. (G2),

conditions which helped Court Vision to exact revenge by three-quarters of a

length. By Sunday, the Hollywood turf should have dried out completely from the

early-week rains, and Gio Ponti will probably get the firm turf he craves. We'll

look for him to come flying in the stretch beneath Garrett Gomez.

Court Vision soared onto the Kentucky Derby (G1) trail with scores in the

Remsen S. (G2) and Iroquois S. (G3) last fall, but the Bill Mott pupil did not

continue his progression on the dirt at three. After checking in 13th in the Run

for the Roses, he was switched to the turf and found his true home. Court Vision

had some trouble when just missing to Gio Ponti in the Virginia Derby, but he

had clear sailing in the Jamaica. Although we won't be surprised if he wins the

rubber match, we still think that Gio Ponti is fractionally better, and will get

first run on him. Moreover, unlike Gio Ponti, Court Vision has been on the go

for a long time. Ramon Dominguez will be back aboard.

It took a while for Madeo to put it all together, but the John Shirreffs colt

has been better than ever of late and rates the best chance of crashing the Gio

Ponti-Court Vision show. He exploited an inside trip to thwart the

wide-traveling Gio Ponti in the Del Mar Derby, and he would probably have won

the Oak Tree Derby (G2) if he hadn't been short of room at a crucial stage in

the stretch. Even so, the bay failed to catch the front-running MUNY (Najran) by

a mere neck. Madeo is a top contender with regular rider Mike Smith.

SAILOR'S CAP (Distant View) is more than capable of upsetting the apple cart

for Jimmy Toner, but the evidence so far suggests that he moves up on soft

ground. A 6 3/4-length romper in the Colonial Turf Cup (G3) in swampy

conditions, he did not reproduce that effort when third to our top two in the

Virginia Derby. The Team Valor International colorbearer was freshened

afterward, returning with a sharp third to subsequent Discovery H. (G3) winner

Wishful Tomcat (Tactical Cat) in the John's Gold S. at Belmont. While we're

hesitant about his ability to knock off the big guns on firm turf, Sailor's Cap

is still worth a play at healthy odds.

COWBOY CAL (Giant's Causeway) was a star on the rise last fall and winter,

but he failed to deliver on that promise this spring. Given a long break after

his ninth in the Kentucky Derby, he was just outgamed by Seaspeak (Mizzen Mast)

in his reappearance in the Bryan Station S. (G3). The Todd Pletcher trainee was

subsequently awarded the victory in the stewards' room. The dark bay should move

forward off that effort, but it's questionable whether he'll improve enough to

trouble the leading lights in here in his second start back. DIXIE CHATTER

(Dixie Union), a Grade 1 winner at two, has tried to rejuvenate his career on

the turf with some success. Still, capturing one division of the Oceanside S.

and finishing third in the Oak Tree Derby doesn't look like a formidable resume

among these.

Muny dictated throughout to upset the Oak Tree Derby in his stakes debut.

This represents a marked step up in class, however, and with early pressure from

Cowboy Cal, Muny is unlikely to repeat going an extra furlong here. Recent

import ALBAHRI (Fr) (Bahri) is coming off a narrow victory in a listed race in

the French provinces, while MIDSHIPS (Mizzen Mast) was just a fair handicapper

versus lesser in England. Both have class concerns, so we'll watch how they fare

in their U.S. debut.