Thoroughbred Beat

THOROUGHBRED BEAT

FEBRUARY 22, 2007

by James Scully

Sentimental rooting interest -- There's a connection between the

three-year-old colt VITRUVIUS (E Dubai) and the late BARBARO, one that's

strictly sentimental. The human namesake of last year's Kentucky Derby (G1)

winner, Daniele Barbaro, was a distinguished Italian translator who wrote the

definitive commentaries on the highly respected Roman architect Vitruvius. The

equine version of Vitruvius, a half-brother to Corinthian (Pulpit), is a long

way from matching the feats of Barbaro on the track, but he did break his maiden

in impressive fashion at Gulfstream Park last Saturday.

Too bad to be true -- HARD SPUN (Danzig) became the second highly

touted Kentucky Derby (G1) prospect to have his reputation shattered this month,

finishing fourth at 1-2 in Monday's Southwest S. The weekend before, LAWRENCE

THE ROMAN (Point Given) tired to fifth in the Whirlaway S. at 1-2. Perhaps these

were true indications, but I wouldn't count on it. Too many good three-year-olds

have shrugged off terrible performances prior to winning the Run for the Roses.

War Emblem (2002 Derby winner) finished sixth in the Risen Star S. (G3) in

mid-February. Charismatic (1999) couldn't win a February claiming race. Sea Hero

(1993) was drilled in his first two starts at three, including a third-place effort

behind a filly. Thunder Gulch (1995) finished up the track in the Blue Grass S.

(G2), Go for Gin (1994) couldn't hit the board in the Florida Derby (G1), Real

Quiet (1998) wound up eighth in the Golden Gate Derby and Unbridled (1990) was a

bad fifth as the 6-5 favorite in the Tropical Park Derby (G2). I'm not touting

the chances of Hard Spun or Lawrence the Roman; I just know that sometimes you

can't believe what you see.

Cornering trouble -- Saturday's San Carlos H. (G2) was a thriller,

with LATENT HEAT (Maria's Mon) and PROUD TOWER TOO (Proud Irish) hooking up in a

heated battle from the far turn to the finish line. Latent Heat edged clear in

the final jumps for the neck decision, notching his second straight victory

after winning the Malibu S. (G1) convincingly, and might have been impossible to

get past regardless of the circumstances. But Proud Tower Too cost himself a

chance at the victory exiting the far turn. The multiple Grade/Group 1 winner

appeared full of momentum approaching the stretch, but he essentially blew the

turn into the lane under David Cohen, drifting out several paths as Edgar Prado

hugged the rail aboard Latent Heat. Proud Tower Too couldn't overcome the ground

loss at this critical stage in the race. One still has to give plenty of credit

to Latent Heat, who registered his second consecutive century-topping BRIS Speed

rating, and the Bobby Frankel trainee should relish the addition of the

Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile this year.

Improving Angel -- CONVEYOR'S ANGEL (Conveyor) received a 53 BRIS

Speed rating when finishing 10th, beaten 39 1/2 lengths at 37-1, in the Dahlia

H. (G2) three starts back, and prior to that event she hadn't won a stakes race

in more than two years. That's why her

past two starts have been so surprising. She closed strongly at 48-1 to hit the

wire 1 1/2 lengths clear in the one-mile Tuzla H. at Santa Anita before losing the win

via disqualification. Bettors overlooked her once again in

Monday's Buena Vista H. (G2), and the five-year-old mare rallied from last to

first under Saul Arias at 22-1. Conveyor's Angel has improved significantly over

the last couple of months for trainer Christopher Paasch, and she'll draw

respect next time out.

All-weather woes -- Talk about a misnomer. Inclement weather has

wreaked havoc upon the Polytrack at Turfway Park this winter, leading to seven

cancellations already at the Northern Kentucky oval. "Ice still coats every

visible surface and remains in the cushion of the track," Turfway President Bob

Elliston said after scrapping Friday's card. That doesn't sound like an

all-weather surface. Turfway appears to be scrambling to find the right mixture

in the Polytrack, with plenty of tweaking to deal with issues such as kickback

and the surface balling up in horses' hooves. And that doesn't make any sense. I

thought the Polytrack needed very little maintenance. You just put it down and

don't touch it. Perhaps harrow it every once in a while and remove the droppings,

but don't mess with the composition. But there's no consistency to the surface

at Turfway. Perhaps it will work better in different climates, but problems have

developed at Woodbine (Polytrack) and Hollywood Park (Cushion Track), which are

still in their infancy like Turfway. Nobody knows what the future holds for the

synthetic tracks being installed at Arlington and Del Mar, but officials have

stated that they want a Polytrack

like the one at Keeneland. However, there are only 16 days of racing in April and October

at Keeneland.