Red Smith

TRACK BANDIT PREVIEWS

The $150,000 Red Smith H. (G2) drew nine entrants for 1 3/8 miles on the

turf, and KING'S DRAMA (Ire) (King's Theatre [Ire]) looks difficult to beat.

Winner of the Sword Dancer Invitational S. (G1) three starts back, the Bobby

Frankel-trained five-year-old will drop in class on Saturday.

The gelding earned a terrific 111 BRIS Speed rating for the Sword Dancer and

then recorded an excellent second in the Man o' War S. (G1), grudgingly

finishing second by a neck to Better Talk Now (Talkin Man). He squared off

against another top-class field in the Canadian International (Can-G1) last out,

but weakened after setting a contested pace over yielding conditions. Aqueduct's

turf should be much more to his liking on Saturday, and King's Drama figures to

enjoy a close stalking trip before seizing command in the Red Smith.

ROUSING VICTORY (Victory Gallop) made his seasonal bow with a third against

Shakespeare (Theatrical [Ire]) and captured the John's Call S. at Saratoga in

his next outing. Following an eighth in the Man o' War, the four-year-old turned

in a strong late showing in the Knickerbocker H. (G3) on Belmont's closing day,

rallying to be a close third and earning a 106 BRIS Late Pace number. The Philip

Serpe trainee turned in two solid runner-up efforts against graded rivals in New

York last fall and appears to be rounding back into top form. We'll use him on

the bottom of the exacta.

DREADNAUGHT (Lac Ouimet) is another late-running threat. Winner of last

year's Red Smith, the Tom Voss-conditioned gelding exits a second in the

Sycamore Breeders' Cup S. (G3) at Keeneland and placed in the Bowling Green H.

(G2) this summer at Belmont. He's notched superb Late Pace ratings this season

and adds blinkers.

ROCHESTER (Green Dancer) comes into this race off a nice win in the Sycamore and has faced good

competition all year. The veteran gelding must still be respected at age nine,

and he's recorded four runner-up finishes from eight attempts at 11 furlongs.

Rochester could grab part from off the pace under Jose Santos. CERTIFIABLY CRAZY

(Fit to Fight) figures to come out winging it on the front end and just missed

going wire to wire 13 days ago in the Knockerbocker, finishing second by a neck.

He probably won't get away to an easy early lead here and 1 3/8 miles isn't his

best distance, but Certifiably Crazy's speed remains dangerous given his present

form.

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION (Ire) (Rainbow Quest) has failed to win in four U.S.

attempts, but he's given an honest effort each time and earned some nice Late

Pace ratings in his recent starts. He faces a serious class check in this spot,

but we wouldn't be shocked to see the Christophe Clement runner grab a small

share at long odds. NAVESINK RIVER (Unbridled) returned from a layoff to be a

non-threatening second in a listed dirt race at Delaware Park last out and

returns to his preferred surface on Saturday. The Todd Pletcher charge showed

good form earlier this year when winning the Pan American H. (G2), but he tailed

off badly after that performance. Navesink River probably needed his last and is

a threat to show more, but he's winless in four starts at the distance and may

not be sharp enough to challenge.

REQUEST FOR PAROLE (Judge T C) owns some back class, but he hasn't been much

of a factor in his last three starts and is far too inconsistent for us to

recommend his chances here. POTRO TELL (Arg) (Potrillon [Arg]) was no factor in

his U.S. bow versus optional claiming/allowance rivals last time, and we'll just

watch to see how he fares against stakes company.

KENNEL UP (Joyeux Danseur) and EVENING ATTIRE (Black Tie Affair [Ire]) are

both entered for the main track only, and we like the chances of the former in

the unlikely event that the race is moved.