Thoroughbred Beat

THOROUGHBRED BEAT

NOVEMBER 23, 2006

by James Scully

Holiday Weekend -- The demise of the Turf Festival wiped out six

graded stakes from the Holiday Weekend, but Churchill Downs and Aqueduct still

have plenty to offer. Thursday's Falls City H. (G2) will feature a large field

that includes Spinster S. (G1) queen PAMPERED PRINCESS (Indian Charlie) and

BENDING STRINGS (American Chance). On Friday, Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1)

runner-up SOCIETY SELECTION (Coronado's Quest) will be the one to beat in the

Top Flight H. (G2) at the Big A, and the 131st running of the Clark H. (G2) will

have PERFECT DRIFT (Dynaformer), ALUMNI HALL (A.P. Indy), SUAVE (A.P. Indy) and

MAGNA GRADUATE (Honor Grades) under the Twin Spires. Saturday's highlights

include the Kentucky Jockey Club S. (G2) and Golden Rod S. (G2) at Churchill and

the Remsen S. (G2) and Demoiselle S. (G2) at Aqueduct, all for two-year-olds,

but the $350,000 Cigar Mile H. (G1) is the main event. Defending champion LION

TAMER (Will's Way), the dangerous Bobby Frankel-trained duo BADGE OF

SILVER (Silver Deputy) and MASS MEDIA (Touch Gold), Preakness S. (G1) runner-up

SCRAPPY T (Fit to Fight) and Met Mile (G1) runner-up SILVER WAGON (Wagon Limit)

are all top contenders for the prestigious one-mile affair, but I'll make a case

for GYGISTAR (Prospector's Music). The Grade 1-winning gelding didn't fire when

ninth in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1), but he's won three of his last four

starts at a mile, including a blistering performance in May's Westchester H.

(G3) in which he earned a 112 BRIS Speed rating and stopped the clock 1:33 2/5.

Gygistar, who worked well last weekend for Mark Hennig (five furlongs in a

bullet :59 4/5), can earn the most important victory of his career.

Evening Sundrop -- Back class rose to the top on Saturday as EVENING

ATTIRE (Black Tie Affair [Ire]) captured in the Stuyvesant H. (G3) and SUNDROP (Jpn)

(Lemon Drop Kid) earned an elusive U.S. victory the Cardinal H. (G3). Evening

Attire, winner of the 2002 Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) and an earner of more than

$2.3 million, hadn't visited the winner's circle since taking the 2004 Saratoga

Breeders' Cup H. (G2), losing nine straight races for trainer Pat Kelly with

unplaced efforts in four of five starts this year. The gray seven-year-old

gelding recaptured some of his past glory by getting much more involved in the

early running on Saturday, closely stalking the pace under Jose Santos before

rallying strongly through the stretch for a narrow win. Sundrop owns a Group 3

win this year in England and was highly regarded at three, but the four-year-old

dropped her final two European starts and could fare no better than fifth in

three U.S. attempts prior to the Cardinal. All three came against Grade 1

rivals, but the Godolphin-owned filly was exiting the most dreadful performance

in her career, a last-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1)

in which she was practically eased and vanned off afterward. Many dismissed her

chances returning three weeks later and it was surprising to see Godolphin bring

her back so quickly, but Sundrop had worked well at Belmont six days earlier and

justified the confidence of her connections with an authoritative one-length

win. From the same female family of champion Northern Spur (Ire) and Irish

highweight Salsabil (Ire), Sundrop is now headed to the breeding shed.

Tiger speed -- I'M THE TIGER (Siphon [Brz]) turned in a sharp

front-running performance in Saturday's Frank J. DeFrancis Memorial Dash (G1),

drawing clear through the stretch (final quarter in :23 4/5) for a 3 1/4-length

decision and a 110 BRIS Speed figure. "He's one of the best sprinters,

definitely in the top five this year," Frankel said afterward, and the Hall of

Fame conditioner is probably right. Once you get past Lost in the Fog (Lost

Soldier), Silver Train (Old Trieste) and Taste of Paradise (Conquistador Cielo),

the sprint ranks were a mixed bag this year. I'm the Tiger didn't make his 2005

bow until July and finished second in the A.G. Vanderbilt H. (G2) in his second

start this season. The improving four-year-old recorded a close fifth in the

Vosburgh S. (G1) next out and broke through with his first graded win in the

DeFrancis. He's a very promising runner for 2006.

Wins continue to Trickle -- After easily winning five straight sprints, TRICKLE OF GOLD (Formal Gold) stretched out to a mile and recorded a

1 1/2-length score in Saturday's Anne Arundel S. at Laurel Park. The

three-year-old filly notched her third consecutive stakes victory, following

smart tallies in the Safely Kept Breeders' Cup S. (G3) and Ghost S., but she

hasn't drawn much notice. However, the dark bay is earning commendable BRIS

Speed ratings (102, 108, 103, 100 and 104 from last five starts), and she'll

start making a name for herself nationally if she keeps winning. Based at

Delaware Park with Michael Gorham, Trickle of Gold will be dismissed by some

because of class issues, but she reminds me of a sophomore filly last fall who

was dominating lesser regarded opponents while building an impressive winning

skein at primarily shorter distances. Happy Ticket (Anet) went on to become a

Grade 1 winner this year, and we'll see how good Trickle of Gold gets in 2006 at

four.

Exciting -- Saturday's Laurel Futurity (G3) was switched to the turf

and drew what appeared to a contentious field of 13 juveniles, but BARBARO (Dynaformer)

turned the 1 1/16-mile event into a laugher, unleashing a tremendous turn of

foot at the top of the stretch to storm home like a sports car. The unbeaten

colt covered his final five-sixteenths in :29 1/5 and turned 8 1/2 furlongs in

1:40, nearly two seconds faster than the good-looking J'RAY (Distant View)

needed to win the Selima S. two races earlier, and he's now two-for-two with the

8 1/2-length win. Barbaro captured his career bow, a one-mile turf maiden

special weight at Delaware Park, by eight lengths, and trainer Michael Matz

believes his charge will carry his outstanding form to the dirt. "You will be

hearing a lot about this horse," jockey Jose Caraballo stated, and he wasn't the

only one blown away by Barbaro's performance.

Japan -- Two major events in the Far East have attracted

American-based runners this weekend. LAVA MAN (Slew City Slew) and TAP DAY

(Pleasant Tap) highlight the foreign contingent in Saturday's Japan Cup Dirt

(Jpn-G1), but BETTER TALK NOW (Talkin Man) and KING'S DRAMA (Theatrical [Ire])

are only part of a classy group of invaders set for Sunday's 25th edition of the

Japan Cup (Jpn-G1). The latter, which takes place at about 1 1/2 miles on the

turf, will also feature outstanding European-based runners OUIJA BOARD (GB)

(Cape Cross [Ire]), ALKAASED (Kingmambo), BAGO (Fr) (Nashwan) and WARRSAN (Caerleon). ZENNO

ROB ROY (Sunday Silence), TAP DANCE CITY (Pleasant Tap) and ADMIRE JAPAN (Sunday

Silence) will all represent the home team.