Smash ships in for Tom Fool

Grade 2-placed Smash has traveled from Hall of Famer Bob Baffert's Hollywood

Park barn to New York, where he will contest Saturday's Grade 3 Tom Fool on the

Gotham undercard.

The lightly-raced son of Smart Strike turned in a brisk half-mile breeze in

:48.69 over Belmont Park's fast training track Saturday, a day after arriving at

trainer John Terranova's barn. Ranked as the seventh-fastest of 45 at the

distance, the move was accomplished in company with Terranova's Grade 3 Gotham

candidate West Hills Giant, who recorded the exact same time.

The five-year-old Smash carries a record of 3-2-0 from seven starts into the

Tom Fool. With a pair of allowance wins and a second in the Grade 2 Carry Back

at Calder as a three-year-old, Smash returned to the races in December after

nearly a year off and finished a close-up fifth in the Grade 3 Vernon O.

Underwood at Hollywood Park.

Other sprinters likely for the six-furlong Tom Fool are Grade 3 Toboggan

winner Head Heart Hoof and runner-up Johannesburg Smile, along with Sunshine

Millions Sprint winner Off the Jak, Consortium, Saturday's Charm and St. Liams

Halo. Sinai, third in the Toboggan, is questionable.

Head Heart Hoof, a seven-year-old gelding, picked up his first graded stakes

victory in his 50th start when he won the Toboggan on February 2.

"I'm hoping he draws a good post (in the Tom Fool)," said Rudy Rodriguez, who

trains Head Heart Hoof for a partnership headed by Michael Dubb. "The (outside)

post helped him last time. He likes the inner track, which is why he's running

his best races now. We're lucky to have him around."

Johannesburg Smile, claimed for $100,000 out of a one-mile, 70-yard race on

January 4, finished second in the Toboggan in his first start for trainer Todd

Pletcher and owner Mike Repole. The effort was impressive enough to keep the

six-year-old New York-bred running short.

"He came out of that race in super order; thumbs up," reported Pletcher

assistant Michael McCarthy, who said Johnnesburg Smile will have his final

breeze for the Tom Fool on Monday morning. "Turning him back to sprints seemed

to work well last time and he certainly ran well enough. Hopefully the Tom Fool

sets us up for something a little longer, distance-wise, in his next start after

that."

The multiple stakes-winning son of Johannesburg will be making his

31st career start in the Tom Fool, having compiled a record of 8-6-9 with

earnings of $464,370.

Godolphin Racing's Consortium is 2-2-1 in six career starts and will enter

the race off a 2 1/4-length victory in an entry-level optional claimer on

January 19 over the Tom Fool's six-furlong distance.

"He's a two-other-than allowance horse, but it's a short field and he ran

well enough last time for us to take a shot," said Art Magnuson, assistant to

trainer Kiaran McLaughlin.

"The numbers people loved his last race. This will be a different ballgame,

but it looks like we could fit in, even if we just get a piece of it and go on

from there. It's nice to see him running. Last year we ran two, three times and

then gave him time off. He's doing great. Sound. And then we can map out our

summer."

Also on the card, New York-bred sensation Sunny Desert looks to extend her

winning streak to seven in a row in Saturday's Grade 2 Top Flight Handicap.

Since John Parisella claimed Sunny Desert for $35,000, the filly has gone

from a sulking maiden to a four-time stakes winner. So, what does the trainer

credit for the turnaround?

"When I claimed her she was in the back of her stall," Parisella said. "With

fillies, outside of maintenance, it's mental, to get them in the game. I ordered

a case of peppermints. It changed her around. She hears my voice. If I'm

walking, she'll stop and wait. I don't know, but I'm not going to stop giving

peppermints!"

Owned by Saul and Max Kupferberg, Sunny Desert is riding a six-race winning

streak that goes back to her 15 1/4-length maiden win on Aqueduct's main track

in March. Her streak also includes a pair of New York Stallion Stakes series

victories, Belmont's Judy Soda overnight stakes for New York-breds and

Aqueduct's Cat Cay open overnight stakes on January 6 in her most recent start.

"You hope you can improve her enough where she can compete in New York-bred

stakes, but I never thought -- and I'm pretty conservative -- that I'd be

running in a Grade 2 and really thought I had a legitimate chance," Parisella

said. "The only thing going against her is that she has won six in a row; I hate

streaks!"

The Cat Cay at one mile, 70 yards was her first start around two turns and

beyond one mile.

"I always felt she could go long," Parisella said. "A couple of races back

she was totally relaxed. When I put her in the race going long, the open stakes,

she didn't break sharply because she was so relaxed. The geniuses trainers are,

I thought with her speed she'd go wire-to-wire, but she didn't break and came

from off the pace. She really made me feel confident in her, to be

two-dimensional."

Her Top Flight rivals are likely to include Lady Gracenote, a 5 1/4-length

winner of an optional claimer on January 31; Sisterly Love and Summer Applause,

third and sixth, respectively, in the Houston Ladies Classic at Sam Houston on

January 26; Affectionately winner Twice the Lady and runner-up Withgreatpleasure,

subsequently third in the Grade 2 Barbara Fritchie. Natalie Victoria is

questionable.

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