Pedigree Handicapping

PEDIGREE HANDICAPPING

SEPTEMBER 15, 2007

The Artificial Surface Influence of Relaunch

by Tim Holland

The hottest and most passionately debated topic this year, and perhaps for

many years, has been the introduction of artificial surfaces. The issue has

reached a new level over the past few months through a few occurrences, most

notably the departure of many horses from a high profile stable at Del Mar

seeking a traditional dirt track to compete over, and the more recent admissions

by several notable buyers at the ongoing Keeneland September Sale that they have

"tweaked" their buying criteria with the new surfaces in mind. Those against

change undoubtedly do have valid causes for concern -- the change, which the

complete switch of the California tracks has accelerated, has indeed been quick,

but it is reality and should not be ignored by handicappers and horseman.

The most successful horseplayers, as well as owners and breeders, are those

that are ahead of the game, and the sudden move to artificial surfaces has

created opportunities for forward thinking. The success of sons of Storm

Cat, such as Giant's Causeway, Stormy Atlantic and Tale of the Cat, who all

figure in the top 10 All Weather Sires by Earnings list for 2007, on artificial

surfaces has been well documented, and the same holds true for sons of Seattle

Slew, most notably A.P. Indy. However, to maximize success, one needs to seek

angles that are not so obvious and one such avenue may be to examine the

performance of some less famous sire lines on artificial surfaces.

Relaunch (In Reality), who was foaled in 1976, was a consistent racehorse,

winning five of 18 career starts and finishing in the money on nine more

occasions with perhaps his most memorable moment coming via a second-place

finish in the San Luis Rey S. (G1) as a four-year-old. His biggest victory came

in the Del Mar Derby (G3) on the turf in 1979, but Relaunch is better known as a

sire, producing nearly 100 stakes winners. His most famous offspring was

Skywalker, who won his first Grade 1 via the Santa Anita Derby but is best

remembered for his Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) win over Turkoman and Precisionist

in 1986.

At stud, Skywalker enjoyed a solid, if not spectacular, career. He was

responsible for more than 40 stakes winners, the best of whom was the champion

older male runner of 1993, Bertrando. A winner of nine races from 24 attempts

and more than $3 million, Bertrando's championship year was highlighted by a

victory in the Pacific Classic (G1), achieved in typical front-running fashion,

followed by a 13 1/2-length romp over a sloppy Belmont track in the Woodward S.

(G1). The dark bay then made an attempt at emulating his sire's win in the

Classic only to have his bid foiled by the rank outsider Arcangues.

Like his sire, Bertrando became a consistently good stallion and his son Bilo

became his third Grade 1 winner when scoring in the Triple Bend H. over

Hollywood Park's Cushion Track this July. This was the gelding's second win from

three tries over that surface and both victories were achieved in wire-to-wire

style. Bertrando also passed on his speed to another son, Officer, who was his

sire's initial Grade 1 victor through his win in the 1 1/16-mile Champagne S. in

2001.

Officer's stamina at the top level failed him when he faded to finish a

disappointing fifth as the odds-on favorite in that year's Breeders' Cup

Juvenile (G1) and while he was possibly cut out to be a top-class sprinter had

injury not curtailed his racing career, it must be noted that the colt, unlike

his own sire, did own the ability to rate successfully off the pace. In turn,

Officer may have passed this talent on to his offspring as his daughter Officer

Cherrie employed a closing running style to win from off the pace in the Ontario

Debutante S. over Woodbine's Polytrack surface at odds of more than 13-1.

Meanwhile, at the newly established Presque Isle Downs, Elite Squadron recently

became Officer's first stakes winner over the Tapeta surface when winning the

Tom Ridge Labor Day S., remaining close to the pace throughout.

Maybe the most exciting of Relaunch's influence on artificial surfaces has

been seen through his grandson, Tiznow. By Cee's Tizzy, who was third in the

1990 Super Derby (G1) and is himself the sire of two stakes winners over

Hollywood's Cushion track, Tiznow's four Grade 1 victories include back-to-back

Classics in which he utilized his tactical speed both times. After a quick start

as a stallion -- his first crop included Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1)

winner and champion two-year-old filly Folklore -- Tiznow is proving to be a

solid all-round sire and is currently fifth in the Leading All Weather Sires by

Earnings list.

His biggest, and most surprising, winner over an artificial surface occurred

when Slew's Tizzy became one of the few wire-to-wire winners at the spring Keeneland

meet in the Lexington S. (G2) in which he returned more than $80. Meanwhile,

this year in Canada, Bear Now added two wire-to-wire Polytrack victories at

Woodbine to her pair of 2006 scores, and she also proved her rating abilities

when winning the Selene S. (Can-G3) at more than 12-1 after stalking the early

pace. Tiznow's third artificial surface stakes winner of 2007 is Tough Tiz's

Sis, who displayed her liking for the Cushion Track when winning the Hollywood

Breeders' Cup Oaks (G2). Furthermore and also at Hollywood, Tiznow's son

Liquidity earned an attempt at the 2007 Triple Crown series with a narrow

runner-up finish to Stormello (Stormy Atlantic) in the Hollywood Futurity (G1).

Several of Tiznow's offspring have overachieved when switched to artificial

surfaces, and the same can be said for the progeny of another grandson of

Relaunch, Put It Back, who is by Honour and Glory. A tough and game runner who

owned enough speed to finish third in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) but was also

able to win Keeneland's Breeders' Futurity S. (G2) over 1 1/16 miles and the

prestigious one-mile Metropolitan H. (G1) the following year, Honour and Glory

has also sired Battle Won, who was third in the Triple Bend, and the filly

Glorified, who showed promise in a maiden and in an allowance victory prior to a

second-place finish in the Honest Lady H., all over the Cushion Track at

Hollywood.

On the racetrack, Put It Back was exceptionally fast winning his last five

career starts, including the Riva Ridge S. (G2) without being headed. Put It

Back, who stands in Florida, has passed on his speed to the likes of the

talented sprinter Smokey Stover. With just 10 runners to race over artificial

surfaces, Put It Back has done well to reach the top 50 by earnings, and this is

reflected by the sire's fourth-place by SPI (Sire Production Index, an index

which indicates the average racing class of the stallion's foals) on the All

Weather Tracks list. This position is in large part due to In Summation's wins

in the Bing Crosby H. (G1) and Arlington Breeders' Cup Sprint H. in his only two

starts over the Polytrack. In the former effort at Del Mar, he was sent off at

odds of more than 8-1 and proved himself to be one of the best sprinters in the

country, rallying from just off the pace to beat Greg's Gold (Lake George) and

Bordonaro (Memo [Chi]), two of California's leading speedsters.

In all, Put It Back's 10 starters over the new surfaces have made 33 starts

between them and, impressively, 14 of these have resulted in victories. Similar

to In Summation, many of these winners rated from just off the pace such as the

colt Pirate Saint, who won the Shecky Greene S. at Arlington and returned

$43.60. However, Put It Back is also responsible for Triple It, a recent

wire-to-wire winner at Arlington, and Put Upon, who led all the way in three of

her four Woodbine Polytrack victories, which proves that artificial tracks are

not impossibly biased against front runners.

Another son of Relaunch that has a representative to win a stakes race over

an artificial surface is Bright Launch, who won the 1995 Saratoga Special S.

(G2) and has proven to be a useful sire. One of his leading earners is Spotsgone,

who secured his second stakes win and first graded victory when leading all the

way in the Hanshin Cup H. (G3) on the Polytrack at Arlington Park this spring

while being completely overlooked at 81.50-1.

Spotsgone is typical of many runners from this sire line. With six wins from

27 starts and six more in-the-money finishes, he has proven to be consistent and

sound. He owns tactical speed, is able to win from on the lead, but can also

utilize his tactical speed effectively from just off the pace. Additionally, Spotsgone is typical in that he is often overlooked. Besides the $165 payoff

generated from his Arlington Polytrack win, payoffs from his other scores

include a mutuel of $35.80 on the turf and a dirt victory that paid $21.20.

Finally, and as seen with other descendants of Relaunch, Spotsgone has shown his

best form on artificial surfaces -- indeed his two highest lifetime BRIS Speed

figures were earned on the Polytrack.

2007 Stakes Winners descended from Relaunch on artificial tracks shown in

capitals, with the number of wins scored on the listed surface:

Tiznow (by Cee's Tizzy):

-- BEAR NOW (Polytrack; 5 wins)

-- TOUGH TIZ'S SIS (Cushion Track; 1)

-- SLEW'S TIZZY (Polytrack; 2)

----Liquidity

Cee's Tizzy (by Relaunch):

-- TIZ ELEMENTAL (Cushion Track; 1)

-- SILVER Z (Cushion Track; 2)

Put It Back (by Honour and Glory):

-- IN SUMMATION (Polytrack; 2)

-- PIRATE SAINT (Polytrack; 1)

Honour and Glory (by Relaunch):

-- Glorified (stakes-placed)

-- Battle Won (stakes-placed)

Officer (by Bertrando):

-- OFFICER CHERRIE (Polytrack; 2)

-- ELITE SQUADRON (Tapeta; 1)

Bertrando (by Relaunch):

-- BILO (Cushion Track; 2)

-- LEESIDER (Cushion Track; 1)

Bright Launch (by Relaunch):

-- SPOTSGONE (Polytrack; 1)