Thoroughbred Beat

THOROUGHBRED BEAT

SEPTEMBER 21, 2005

by James Scully

Kentucky Cup - Turfway showed off its Polytrack

Saturday and the synthetic, all-weather track continues to receive good

reviews. In fact, nobody seems to have anything bad to say about the

Polytrack. The new surface appeared bias free during the Kentucky Cup Day

races, the perfect example coming in back-to-back route races. In the

Juvenile Fillies, BEAU DARE (Military) sped to the lead through a fast

opening quarter-mile and proceeded to crush her rivals on the front end,

cruising under the wire 6 1/4 lengths the best. One race later in the

Juvenile (G3), STREAM CAT (Black Minnaloushe) trailed the field in last into

the far turn and closed determinedly to overhaul his rivals in deep stretch,

drawing clear by nearly two lengths at the wire.

Maiden claimer to BC Sprint in 2 1/2 months - The

Kentucky Cup Sprint (G3) has produced two previous winners of the Breeders'

Cup Sprint (G1) who weren't widely known before September in Reraise and

Cajun Beat, and ESTATE COLLECTION (Souvenir Copy) could be cut from the same

cloth. The three-year-old didn't made his career bow until August 12 in a

$40,000 maiden claimer at Del Mar, winning by a half-length, and was claimed

by Suarez Racing and trainer Doug O'Neill. He captured a starter allowance

by five lengths in his next start (turning six panels at Del Mar in 1:08

4/5) and shipped to Turfway for his third career appearance. Estate

Collection dueled early before assuming control on the far turn and went on

to win by three parts of a length, finishing six furlongs on the Polytrack

in an excellent 1:09 3/5 and earning a 105 BRIS Speed rating. The rapidly

improving gelding is a very intriguing prospect for the Breeders' Cup.

Leroy - Euro-based horses have captured two of the

last three runnings of the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) and have fared very well

in previous Breeders' Cups at Belmont Park, but European shippers will face

a dominant U.S.-based miler this year in LEROIDESANIMAUX (Brz) (Candy

Stripes), who will be supplemented to the Breeders' Cup on October 29.

Trained by Bobby Frankel, the five-year-old is unbeaten in 2005 and has

reeled off eight consecutive wins over the past two seasons, including

victories in the Citation H. (G1), Frank E. Kilroe Mile H. (G1) and

Fourstardave H. (G2). Leroidesanimaux rolled to another impressive triumph

in Sunday's Atto Mile (Can-G1), winning by 7 3/4 lengths and earning a 110

BRIS Speed figure over the yielding turf at Woodbine. He's by the Group

1-placed Candy Stripes (Cryptoclearance), who counts North American graded

winners Different (Arg), Sweetest Thing, Victory Stripes (Arg) and Lundy's

Liability (Brz) among his offspring and is also the dam sire of the

undefeated Candy Ride (Arg), a Grade/Group 1 winner on both dirt and turf.

First President - GEORGE WASHINGTON (Danehill)

stumbled at the start of Sunday's National S. (Ire-G1) but recovered to win

going away by two lengths, recording his second straight Group 1 victory and

third stakes win. Out of the stakes-placed Alysheba mare Bordighera, the

highly touted two-year-old colt is a half-brother to champion Grandera

(Grand Lodge) and could be Breeders' Cup bound for trainer Aidan O'Brien.

Other Juvenile (G1) candidates over the weekend included PRIVATE VOW (Broken

Vow), who earned his first stakes win and improved to 4-3-1-0 overall with a

nine-length score in the Futurity (G2); SORCERER'S STONE (Gulch), who

remained unbeaten with a 8 1/2-length romp in the Arlington-Washington

Futurity (G3) and defeated Private Vow in his career bow; and Stream Cat,

who earned his second straight stakes win when taking the Kentucky Cup

Juvenile.

Tall tales - FOLKLORE (Tiznow) stamped herself as a

top contender for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) with a stellar

14-length victory in the Matron S. (G1). She avoided main rival ADIEU (El

Corredor), but any juvenile filly would have had a difficult time beating

her Saturday. The D. Wayne Lukas charge earned a 101 BRIS Speed rating and

completed seven furlongs in nearly two-fifths of a second faster than

Private Vow one race later in the Futurity. ORIGINAL SPIN (Distorted Humor)

remained unbeaten with an easy 4 1/4-length score in the Arlington

Washington-Lassie (G3), defeating heavily favored runner-up EX CAELIS

(Fusaichi Pegasus), and Beau Dare also threw her hat into the ring for the

Breeders' Cup with her sharp win in the Kentucky Cup Juvenile Fillies, which

followed a 2 3/4-length maiden turf win in her second career outing at

Arlington.

More Breeders' Cup losses - Grade 1 winner

COMMENTATOR (Distorted Humor) is the latest horse to be sidelined for the

remainder of the year, the second major defection from the shedrow of Nick

Zito, who announced last week that BELLAMY ROAD (Concerto) was out of

commission for the rest of 2005 due to a splint injury. Both are expected

back next year, but the laundry list of Breeders' Cup casualties this year

is ridiculous. Most are out due to injury, but impressive maiden winner

DISCREET CAT (Forestry) will apparently miss Thoroughbred racing's biggest

day because he's been sold to Godolphin. In 2003, Godolphin elected to skip

the Breeders' Cup Juvenile with Ruler's Court (Doneraile Court), a 14-length

winner of the Norfolk S. (G2), because the race didn't fit into their

program of preparing the colt for his three-year-old campaign. That cost

Ruler's Court a very realistic chance for championship honors because the

Breeders' Cup was contested at Santa Anita (site of the Norfolk) and

longshot Action This Day wound up winning the race. Ruler's Court didn't

race at three due to an injury.