Thoroughbred Beat

THOROUGHBRED BEAT

AUGUST 30, 2007

by James Scully

Street Fighter -- The outcome was still in doubt at the quarter-pole,

but STREET SENSE (Street Cry [Ire]) eventually dispatched a stubborn GRASSHOPPER

(Dixie Union) to win going away by a half-length. His Travers S. (G1)

performance didn't meet pre-race expectations -- the Kentucky Derby (G1) winner

was expected to win easily at 1-5 -- but Street Sense was still impressive. The

late runner was taken out of his comfort zone by the moderate pace, registering

a 106 E2 Pace rating after closely tracking the pacesetter, and he finished

strongly to net a 111 BRIS Speed figure. Street Sense is capable of better, and

he remains a formidable candidate to wrap up his career with two more wins.

However, the Carl Nafzger-trained colt is still displaying signs of immaturity

-- turning his head to look at the crowd while switching leads back and forth in

deep stretch -- and we'd love to see him race at four. That's when Street Sense

would be probably hitting his best stride.

Hard Determination -- HARD SPUN (Danzig) dueled through an opening

quarter-mile in :21 4/5 and a half in :44 1/5 before facing a stiff challenge

from FIRST DEFENCE (Unbridled's Song), who looked like an absolute winner at the

eighth pole. With Mario Pino visibly asking for everything he had, Hard Spun

surged along the inside at the sixteenth pole to get up late, recording a 110

Speed rating for his superb effort. It was a terrific race between two

high-quality colts. As Tom Durkin put it, Hard Spun displayed "fierce

determination."

Promising sophomores -- Grasshopper ran a huge race while making his

stakes debut in the Travers, and the late-blooming colt will be a serious player

in the handicap division next year for Neil Howard if he keeps improving as

expected. DAAHER (Awesome Again) also made a strong impression at the Spa over

the weekend, winning a nine-furlong allowance/optional claiming event by 13 3/4

lengths on Sunday. The Kiaran McLaughlin pupil didn't break crisply and went

four wide into the first turn before putting his rivals out of their misery. He

quickly opened up midway around the clubhouse bend and extended his margin at

every call, earning a 110 Speed rating while providing jockey Mike Luzzi his

first winner of the meet following 30+ losses. The Canadian-bred colt didn't

beat much, but Daaher certainly did it the right way.

La Speedball -- LA TRAVIATA (Johannesburg) was brilliant in Saturday's

Victory Ride S. (G3). She quickly overcame a stumbling start to blow her rivals

off their feet, ripping through opening splits in :22 and :45 1/5 before

completing six furlongs in 1:09 3/5 under wraps, and the unbeaten three-year-old

filly earned a 109 Speed rating for her 9 1/4-length decision. A

California-bred, the $1.1 million purchase has received triple-digit Speed

rating in all three career starts. She wasn't flattered by the competition on

Saturday, but the Patrick Biancone charge is very exciting. The Breeders' Cup

Sprint (G1) is the one race on the program where fillies and mares have more

than held their own versus the opposite gender, and La Traviata and the

sophomore filly DREAM RUSH

(Wild Rush) would both be top contenders in this

year's event (name the top five male sprinters on dirt). Instead, we'll see a

watered-down version due to the needless addition of the Filly & Mare Sprint.

Dead-heat Pirate -- IN SUMMATION (Put It Back) won the six-furlong

Bing Crosby H. (G1) on the Polytrack at Del Mar, defeating next-out Pat O'Brien

H. (G2) winner Greg's Gold (Lake George), and conditioner Christophe Clement

doesn't have much interest running the four-year-old sprinter on dirt or turf

anymore. The search for Polytrack races landed In Summation in Saturday's

Arlington Breeders' Cup Sprint H., where the colt left the starting gate at 3-5 against

five

seemingly overmatched opponents. PIRATESONTHELAKE (Lake Austin) was exiting a

second in the Prairie Meadows Sprint S. and didn't own a stakes win in three

previous attempts at the listed level, but the sophomore gelding captured his

only previous start on Arlington's Polytrack, taking a July 15 allowance/optional claiming

event two starts earlier. As a result, savvy gamblers bet him down to 6-1 on

Saturday. He appeared headed to victory until In Summation got up in the final

strides to dead-heat for the victory, and it's no surprise to see a runner like Piratesonthelake holding his own at Arlington versus Grade 1-winning horses from

other jurisdictions.

Ms. Hysterical -- HYSTERICALADY (Distorted Humor) is my early pick for

the Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1). After recording an excellent four-length score

in the Humana Distaff S. (G1) on Kentucky Derby Day, the four-year-old filly

shipped back west and made her next two starts at Hollywood Park, but her speed

isn't as effective over the synthetic tracks. The Jerry Hollendorfer-trained

filly couldn't hold on after setting slow, uncontested fractions in the June 3

Milady Breeders' Cup H. (G2), and she was no factor in the July 7 Vanity

Invitational H. (G1) next out. She looked much more comfortable in Saturday's

Molly Pitcher Breeders' Cup H. (G2) at Monmouth Park, maintaining a narrow lead

until the far turn when she began to draw off from her rivals, and stormed home

to win by a widening 6 1/4 lengths, recording a 114 BRIS Late Pace number along

with a 107 Speed. Hystericalady is better on dirt, and she likes Monmouth.

Champion strikes -- It's no secret that Todd Pletcher's barn is cold

at Saratoga. Entering Wednesday's card, the three-time reigning Eclipse

Award-winning conditioner owns only one win in his last 43 starts at the Spa.

He's been the leading conditioner the last five years, but he sits third in the

current standings and needed a champion to snap a zero-for-30 run last Thursday.

WAIT A WHILE (Maria's Mon) did it in style, romping home an impressive 2

1/4-length winner in the Ballston Spa H. (G2), but her stablemates couldn't

carry the momentum forward over Travers weekend.