Thoroughbred Beat

THOROUGHBRED BEAT

AUGUST 16, 2007

by James Scully

Cajun cooking -- The right place at the right time. After Market

(Storm Cat) scratched. Better Talk Now (Talkin Man) and English Channel (Smart

Strike) were conspicuously absent. Canada's best turf horse, Sky Conqueror (Sky

Classic), missed the party. It was even a viable spot for Cosmonaut (Lemon Drop

Kid), but he wasn't entered. JAMBALAYA (Langfuhr) took advantage, winning a

talent-depleted Arlington Million (G1) on Saturday. Defending

champion THE TIN MAN (Affirmed) appeared on his way to victory when exiting the

far turn with the lead, but soft ground compromised the classy veteran's chances

in deep stretch, leaving the 10-furlong event wide open. Jambalaya prevailed in

the tight finish, with the top six finishers separated by about two lengths.

Trainer Catherine Day-Phillips did a great job preparing the Woodbine-based

gelding.

Sham -- Secretariat S. (G1) hero SHAMDINAN (Fr) (Dr Fong) earned

better BRIS Speed (104) and Late Pace (100) numbers than Jambalaya while running

1 1/4 miles three-fifths of a second faster than his elder. Making his first

start for Doug O'Neill, the Group 1-placed colt owned only a maiden win prior to

his strong stateside debut. Virginia Derby (G2) winner RED GIANT (Giant's

Causeway) carried his form forward, running a big race for Todd Pletcher and

Garrett Gomez, but he couldn't withstand the late rush of Shamdinan while

finishing 5 1/2 lengths clear of third. The winner is very promising.

Royal performance -- The Beverly D. (G1) set the standard in the 2007

International Festival of Racing. An outstanding group of seven distaffers went

to the post, but the 1 3/16-mile event didn't shape up as expected with 2-1

favorite CITRONNADE (Lemon Drop Kid) rating off the pace in fourth, where she

remained for most of the trip. The California-based filly had dominated four

starts this year, a Grade 1 and a trio of Grade 2s, in front-running fashion, and

East Coast stalwart HONEY RYDER (Lasting Approval), the 2-1 second choice, never

offered her best rally from off the pace. The Beverly D. still delivered plenty

of drama, with ROYAL HIGHNESS (Ger) (Monsun) and IRRIDESCENCE (SAf) (Caesour)

hooking up in a thrilling battle over the final 100 yards. The latter got the

jump on her rival, grittily maintaining her edge until the final yards when

Royal Highness edged past for the head decision. A French Group 2 winner and

multiple Group 1 runner-up, Royal Highness notched her biggest career score

while improving her U.S. mark to 5-2-2-1, which includes a third versus males in

last year's Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational S. (G1). The Christophe

Clement-trained mare registered 108 Speed and 110 Late Pace ratings, and Royal

Highness will be a top U.S.-based contender in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare

Turf (G1) if she remains healthy.

Rags to Ruffian -- RAGS TO RICHES' (A.P. Indy) defection from

Saturday's Alabama S. (G1) leaves an intriguing match-up between a pair of her

stablemates, OCTAVE (Unbridled's Song) and PANTY RAID (Include). The Belmont S.

(G1) winner will instead point toward the Ruffian H. (G1) on September 8, and

that's pretty exciting since two talented older runners, GINGER PUNCH (Awesome

Again) and TAKE D' TOUR (Tour d'Or), are also expected in the 1 1/16-mile race

at Belmont Park. Ginger Punch is very much on the upswing for Bobby Frankel,

winning the nine-furlong Go for Wand H. (G1) by six convincing lengths last out,

and she's more comfortable around one turn. Take D' Tour runs her best races at

"Big Sandy," winning the last two editions of the Ogden Phipps H. (G1) going a

one-turn route at Belmont. Considering that Rags to Riches can be labeled a

classic two-turn type runner, the Ruffian figures to be quite a contest. Todd

Pletcher could still opt for the September 15 Gazelle S. (G1) against

three-year-old fillies, but we'd love to see Rags to Riches strut her stuff in

the Ruffian. She'll be the horse to beat regardless.

Horses for courses -- What impact Saturday's Philip H. Iselin

Breeders' Cup S. (G3) has upon the Classic (G1) remains to be seen, but I'll be

watching the 1 1/8-mile event from Monmouth Park. The Oceanport, New Jersey,

track is the site of this year's Breeders' Cup, and we've seen a couple of

horses who deserve billing as a "horse for the course," and a couple who have

disappointed while trying Monmouth. ANY GIVEN SATURDAY's (Distorted Humor)

stature grew when he devastated his opponents in the Haskell Invitational (G1),

winning by 4 1/2 lengths, and ENGLISH CHANNEL likes the turf course, winning the

United Nation S. (G1) for the second consecutive year last month. LAWYER RON (Langfuhr)

and CURLIN (Smart Strike) are another story. Lawyer Ron finished second at 1-9

in the Salvatore Mile H. (G3) while making his Monmouth debut, losing to an

outsider named Gottcha Gold (Coronado's Quest) before running the fastest 1 1/8

miles in the 100+-year history of Saratoga Racetrack last time out. Curlin

wasn't the same horse in the Haskell that we saw in the Preakness (G1) and

Belmont S., finishing third at 4-5. "With that in our bank, we can be at our

best (for the Breeders' Cup Classic)," trainer Steve Asmussen said regarding the

Haskell, but I can't imagine how that effort enhances Curlin's chances

in late October. Saturday's Iselin will likely feature PAPI CHULLO (Comeonmom),

MASTER COMMAND (A.P. Indy), BARCOLA (Old Trieste) and GOTTCHA GOLD.

Unbeaten Sarge -- SALUTE THE SARGE (Forest Wildcat) keeps on winning,

improving to three-for-three with a one-length score in Sunday's Best Pal S.

(G2), but it's difficult to gauge his quality. With a multitude of new,

synthetic surfaces diluting this new era of horse racing, one has to be a bit

skeptical of Speed ratings from time to time on these new tracks. Salute

the Sarge hasn't earned typical Speed figures for an unbeaten, multiple graded

stakes winner, netting an 80 for the Hollywood Juvenile Championship S. (G3)

over Cushion Track and

a 90 for the Best Pal over Polytrack. We'll see how those numbers stack up in the future. The

most disappointing facet of the Best Pal was the presence of only four runners.

Unfortunately, four of the nine graded events so far at Del Mar -- the Eddie

Read H. (G1), John C. Mabee H. (G1), Clement L. Hirsch H. (G2) and Best Pal --

have featured less than six starters.