Road to BC - 9/22

ROAD

TO THE BREEDERS' CUP

September

22

Run her

by James Scully

Trainer Bobby Frankel ruled SIGHTSEEK (Distant View) out of

the Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) in July but didn't sound so sure

following her 11 1/4-length romp in Sunday's Ruffian H. (G1). The

October 9 Beldame S. (G1) comes next for the six-time Grade 1

winner and her Breeders' Cup status will be evaluated following

that performance.

The five-year-old mare loves Belmont, but Frankel said she had

never been better prior to the Ruffian and Sightseek ran to that

description, earning a career-best 112 BRIS Speed rating. There

wasn't much competition, but Sightseek never drew a deep breath.

The main track at Lone Star Park has been compared to Santa

Anita's, and the Arcadia track is a four-letter word for

Sightseek. She doesn't run well at Santa Anita, recording two

unplaced finishes during the last year, including a clunker at 3-5

in the Breeders' Cup Distaff, to make her 0-for-5 in her career

there.

But Lone Star isn't going to be exactly the same as Santa

Anita. The surroundings and dimensions will be different, and

Sightseek has been able to carry her form to other tracks like

Gulfstream, Saratoga, Aqueduct and Churchill Downs in the past.

She may take to the Grand Prairie, Texas, strip with no problems.

The stakes couldn't be bigger. She's never been named champion

and would deserve the title with a Distaff victory. Sightseek

will also have the opportunity to dethrone the last two Distaff

winners, Azeri (Jade Hunter) and Adoration (Honor Grades), in

what promises to be a tremendous race. The chestnut is 1-for-2

against Azeri, finishing second to her rival in the Go for Wand H.

(G1) and easily defeating last year's champion in June's Ogden

Phipps H. (G1).

It's a great opportunity to enhance the classy mare's legacy.

SENSE OF STYLE (Thunder Gulch) established herself as one of

the shortest prices on Breeders' Cup Day with a one-length

triumph in the Matron S. (G1). Undefeated from three career

starts, the Patrick Biancone-trained juvenile filly was coming

off a 6 3/4-length score in the Spinaway S. (G2).

She broke slowly in the Matron and found herself trailing the

short field through slow fractions on the backstretch. Sense of

Style moved to the fore on the far turn, repulsed a brief

challenge from eventual third-place finisher Play with Fire (Boundary)

in midstretch, and finished very strongly. Her final time for the

one-mile event, 1:37 3/5, was more than a second faster than

males one race earlier in the Futurity S. (G2), and the young

misses turned the Matron half-mile in :48 compared to :46 4/5 for

the Futurity.

Sense of Style, who earned a commendable 98 Speed rating on

Sunday, is the best two-year-old filly on the dirt so far this

year. She's bred to run much longer, relaxes well in her races

and shouldn't have any problems with two turns or 1 1/16 miles in

the Juvenile Fillies (G1).

PARK AVENUE BALL (Citidancer) drew off to a nice three-length

score in the Futurity, but the front-runners basically collapsed

and the chestnut came home pretty slowly, earning a 92 Speed

rating. The New Jersey-bred now owns a 4-3-1-0 career mark,

including a win in the Tyro S. at Monmouth Park, but the Futurity

doesn't look like a very strong prep for the Breeders' Cup

Juvenile (G1).

Turfway Park hosted its 11th Kentucky Cup Day on Saturday, and

the five-race stakes program has featured some past Breeders' Cup

winners, including Cajun Beat (Grand Slam), who captured the

Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) after taking the Kentucky Cup Sprint (G3)

last year. Vindication, Cat Thief and Reraise are other Kentucky

Cup graduates.

There were too many short fields, but a top contender for the

Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) highlighted the afternoon. ROSES IN

MAY (Devil His Due) made short work of his overmatched foes in

the Kentucky Cup Classic (G2), surging to the lead leaving the

far turn and cruising to an easy four-length score under new

jockey John Velazquez. The Dale Romans-trained four-year-old got

a 105 Speed figure.

Roses in May, who shows a 7-2-0 mark from 10 races, won his

first two outings this year in Kentucky before stepping up to

face graded rivals in the Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Breeders'

Cup H. (G3) three starts back. He easily handled Perfect Drift (Dynaformer)

by 1 1/2 lengths there, and then repulsed a strong challenge from

that rival to win the Whitney H. (G1) by a nose in his next start.

What made his Whitney performance so remarkable was that the

dark bay chased wicked fractions that day and still had enough in

reserve to finish strongly, out-gaming the fast-finishing Perfect

Drift in deep stretch while earning a 110 Speed figure. He didn't

show any signs of regression at Turfway.

Roses in May hasn't faced a deep field this year and will be

tested for class in the Classic at Lone Star. He's also never

been 1 1/4 miles. However, there's plenty to like about the

improving colt. His pedigree is tailor-made for 10 furlongs and

the Kentucky-bred loves to win.

Roses in May is hitting his best stride at the right time of

the year and is one of the main threats for the Classic on

October 30.

Another race with serious Breeders' Cup implications over the

weekend was the Atto Mile (Can-G1), which was taken in front-running

fashion by SOARING FREE (Smart Strike). Last year's champion

sprinter in Canada, the five-year-old flashed right to the front

and had to spin the opening three-quarters in 1:09 while under

pressure. He battled determinedly through the stretch to win by

three parts of a length under Todd Kabel.

Woodbine is his home track and the competition will get much

more difficult at Lone Star, but Soaring Free finished a

respectable fifth, beaten only 3 1/4 lengths, in last year's

Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) and must be respected this year. The Mark

Frostad charge recorded his first victory at a mile on Sunday and

earned another triple-digit (102) Speed figure.

How much other speed is present will be a significant factor

for Soaring Free, but the front-runner will enter the Mile off a

very encouraging performance.

Saturday's Super Derby (G2) highlights a limited stakes

schedule on the weekend ahead.