Summer, Natalma potentially key Breeders' Cup preps

After Pluck (More Than Ready) paid $14.80 and More Than Real (More Than

Ready) $29.20 following their respective Breeders' Cup juvenile turf victories

at Churchill Downs last fall, one of the lessons gleaned was to respect Woodbine

form. The preps used by the pair, the $250,000

Summer S.

(Can-G3) and $200,000

Natalma S.

(Can-G3), will be renewed Saturday at the Toronto course and could provide

crucial insight into the upcoming Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) on November 5

and Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G2) on November 4.

Todd Pletcher, who trained Pluck last season, should have the favorite in the

one-mile Summer in FINALE (Scat Daddy). After earning minor checks in two

appearances on dirt, Finale elevated his game dramatically when switched to the

turf. After a 5 3 /4-length maiden tally going six furlongs at Belmont, Finale

secured black type with a 10 1/2-length domination of the Continental Mile at

Monmouth Park on August 20.

The only other previous stakes winner in the Summer is MAKING AMENDS

(Repent), who captured the restricted Clarendon S. in his career debut.

Subsequently third in the Vandal S., he finished a distant fourth in a

course-and-distance allowance prep on August 26 in his turf bow.

The one-mile Natalma, which More Than Real ran second in a year ago,

attracted a much larger group of 13 fillies. Pletcher will saddle recent

Saratoga graduate ST PANCRAS (Scat Daddy), a daughter of Matron S. (G1) heroine

Marylebone (Unbridled's Song), but quite a few of her rivals could just as

easily vie for favoritism. Among these is the undefeated HARD NOT TO LIKE (Hard

Spun), who defeated males, including Maritimer, in the aforementioned August 26

allowance.

In what should be a fantastic betting race, last-out maiden scorers SKY

DREAMER (Sky Mesa), WELCOME DANCE (Henny Hughes), SPIRITED MISS (Sky Mesa),

QUALITY LASS (Exclusive Quality), EVIL KITTEN (Kitten's Joy), STEPHANIE'S KITTEN

(Kitten's Joy) and DAYATTHESPA (City Zip) are all deserving of attention.

Spirited Miss, in particular, has a family link to the race as her dam, Little

Hussy (Horse Chestnut [SAf]), was third as the favorite in the 2004 edition of

the Natalma.