Turf Diary

TURF DIARY

SEPTEMBER 25, 2007

by Kellie Reilly

After weeks of divisional disarray, confusion, upheaval and uncertainty,

SHAKESPEARE (Theatrical [Ire]) has come to the rescue. In a world-historical

sense, this is fitting, since The Bard himself emerged from the chaotic milieu

of the 16th century and was very much a part of its search for order.

The equine Shakespeare showed a flair for the dramatic when capturing the

September 16 Woodbine Mile S. (Can-G1). Roughly 7 1/2 lengths behind the

pacesetting REMARKABLE NEWS (Ven) (Chayim) with a quarter-mile to go,

Shakespeare gained ground at the top of the stretch to advance to fourth, but in

midstretch, he still didn't appear to be doing nearly enough to threaten.

Indeed, all of the action seemed to be unfolding in the center of the course,

where KIP DEVILLE (Kipling) was surging to the front, leaving GALANTAS

(Tale of the Cat) and Remarkable News to battle it out for runner-up honors.

But as the playwright Shakespeare taught us, surface appearances can be

deceiving, and one needs to delve more deeply to find the truth. In reality, the

four-legged Shakespeare was just gathering momentum as yet unseen, and when that

hidden, critical mass had been reached, he exploded along the inside. For a

moment, I didn't realize who that bay blur was, making such dazzling headway

inside the final sixteenth, and by the time the track announcer proclaimed

Shakespeare, he had already struck the front. With a final quarter in a blazing

:22, the Kiaran McLaughlin charge won going away by a length.

Another way to underscore the strength of this performance is to spare a

thought for runner-up Kip Deville, who could not have run any better in defeat.

The Richard Dutrow charge returned to his early-season best here, settling

kindly into a tracking position in third and delivering a potent late kick to

take command. Even as Shakespeare drove past him in the final yards, Kip Deville

was himself pulling away from Galantas and Remarkable News. Note also that Kip

Deville was shouldering 124 pounds, seven more than Shakespeare, and that impost

didn't exactly help his cause.

Galantas ran the race of his life to subdue Remarkable News by a neck for

third. Now with Graham Motion, Galantas had flashed ability as a juvenile in

Ireland, finishing runner-up to the ill-fated Group 1 hero Horatio Nelson in the

2005 Futurity S. (Ire-G2). It's great to see him at last living up to his early

promise.

Remarkable News hung on grimly for as long as he could after setting a

demanding pace of :23 4/5, :46 3/5 and 1:09 4/5, pressured throughout by

Galantas. He kept his head in front until well into the stretch before

succumbing, a performance broadly similar to his fifth-place effort in last

year's Woodbine Mile. I strongly believe that the Woodbine course configuration

really doesn't suit the speedy chestnut. On the other hand, the tighter contours

and shorter stretch of Monmouth Park would play to his strengths, and if the

Angel Penna Jr. trainee is actually supplemented to the October 27 Breeders' Cup Mile (G1), he

could finish a lot closer.

Shakespeare also promises to handle the Mile at Monmouth, judging by his

brilliant, up-in-time score going a mile over Saratoga's inner turf in his

return from a 21-month layoff. The six-year-old has made a remarkable comeback

from a tendon injury that sidelined him after his breakout 2005 campaign, when

he landed the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational S. (G1) over ENGLISH

CHANNEL (Smart Strike) and the Belmont Breeders' Cup H. (G2) in

course-record time. The lone blemish on his seven-for-eight lifetime mark is a

12th-place effort in the 2005 Breeders' Cup Turf (G1) on rain-softened ground.

Interestingly, McLaughlin has left the Breeders' Cup door

slightly ajar. While the Mile is the likeliest target, he has not totally ruled out a

bid in the Turf, pending the outcome of the preps for the 1

1/2-mile event.

Further evidence of Shakespeare's towering talent was provided indirectly by

his stablemate SHAKIS (Ire) (Machiavellian), who posted a sharp

three-quarters of a length victory in the August 25 Bernard Baruch H. (G2)

at Saratoga. Not nearly as well regarded as Shakespeare, the seven-year-old

Shakis burst through a seam along the hedge to take the spoils, in the process

setting a new course record of 1:45.33 for nine grassy furlongs. While it may be

a bit mischievous, it's just too easy to regard him as Shakespeare's understudy

in this spot, even though Shakis has risen to career-best form since joining

McLaughlin in the United States. He'll probably get a stiffer test in the

October 6 Shadwell Turf Mile S. (G1) at Keeneland.

Except for the bright light of Shakespeare, the rest of the division remains

opaque. The September 8 Man o' War S. (G1)

at Belmont Park is a fine example of the prevailing fog. After a protracted

stretch duel, French Group 3 winner DOCTOR DINO (Fr) (Muhtathir

[GB]) just managed to get the better of SUNRIVER (Saint Ballado) by a

head at the end of the 1 3/8-mile affair on firm turf. Last time out, the two were separated by a neck in the

1 1/4-mile Arlington Million

S. (G1) on ground still somewhat softened by rain, with Doctor Dino third and Sunriver dead-heating for fourth. Different courses, different turf conditions,

different distances -- and there's still little to choose between them.

There won't be a rematch in the Turf. Trainer Richard Gibson was quick to

point out that the good doctor is not Breeders' Cup nominated and would probably

skip Monmouth, preferring to point to the December 9 extravaganza in Hong Kong.

In the aftermath of the devastating injury to leading Arc contender Manduro,

Doctor Dino could even be rerouted to the Longchamp showpiece on October 7.

Sunriver's effort in defeat should not be overlooked. After vying for the

lead through the first six furlongs in a tepid 1:13.34, he quickened

through the next half-mile in :46.57. At the eighth-pole, he maintained a

half-length advantage over a rallying Doctor Dino while clocking 1:59.91 for 1

1/4 miles. Given the significant injection of pace just past the midway point,

it was no wonder that Sunriver couldn't quite keep up that rate of speed through

the 11th furlong, and he just cracked late. If the race dynamics would have

allowed Garrett Gomez to hold on to Sunriver for a little longer before

ratcheting up the tempo, the result could have been different.  

The fact that the top two finishers were exiting the Arlington Million could

have been regarded as a feather in the cap of the Million winner, JAMBALAYA (Langfuhr),

but he will miss the remainder of the season with an injury. Thankfully, THE

TIN MAN (Affirmed), the 2006 Million hero and a battling runner-up in this

year's edition, is still in fine fettle and on target to defend his title in the

October 6 Clement L. Hirsch Memorial Turf Championship S. (G1) at Oak Tree.

"I think he's aging much better than I am," trainer Richard Mandella, 56,

joked of the nine-year-old veteran.

The Clement Hirsch is on the short list of targets for AFTER MARKET (Storm Cat),

who (in)famously scratched out of the Arlington Million when the turf didn't dry

out sufficiently. Horseman John Shirreffs summoned up Plan B, the August 26

Del Mar H. (G2), and After Market duly won despite conceding significant

chunks of weight under his 124-pound impost. The dark bay handled the step-up in

trip to 1 3/8 miles, but he wasn't exactly scintillating while dispatching the

usual marathon suspects in California. Indeed, After Market crossed the wire

three-quarters of a length in front of the admirable, but not top-class,

RUNAWAY DANCER (Runaway Groom), who passed the winner on the gallop-out.

Perhaps the underwhelming manner of After Market's victory is prompting his

connections' discussion of which Breeders' Cup race to pursue, the Mile or the

Turf, and accordingly, which prep to get him there -- a cut-back in trip for

Saturday's Kelso H. (G2) going a mile at Belmont, or the 1 1/4-mile Clement

Hirsch, a natural stepping stone to the Turf. Curiously, the October 7 Oak Tree

Mile (G2) is reportedly not in the mix for After Market, but it is for LAVA

MAN (Slew City Slew).

If After Market's connections have any nagging doubts about his ability to

cope with 1 1/2 miles, it's worth reiterating that Monmouth's course doesn't put

a premium on stamina, and the trip there wouldn't be as demanding as, say,

Woodbine (as in the aforementioned case of Remarkable News). Of course, he is

apparently at the mercy of the weather, and we can only hope that there isn't a

deluge at Monmouth on October 26-27.

While the Kelso serves as Belmont's premier Mile prep, Sunday's Joe Hirsch

Turf Classic Invitational is Belmont's launching pad to the Turf. English

Channel scored arguably the most impressive victory of his career in the

2006 edition, rolling by 4 1/2 lengths, and at last report, was headed for a

title defense. Note, however, that English Channel did not record an official

work on Sunday, his typical workday, along with the rest of the Pletcher turf

brigade. Of course, perfectly innocent explanations come to mind, chief among

them that he could have just been missed by the clockers on a busy worktab, so

pending further word from Pletcher, I don't want to be foolishly alarmist. In

any event, Pletcher's classy mare HONEY RYDER (Lasting Approval) could

also wind up in the Joe Hirsch. Unfortunately, BETTER TALK NOW (Talkin Man)

has been battling physical issues, and Motion has said that the

eight-year-old gelding may end up having to skip the Joe Hirsch. 

The build-up to the Breeders' Cup is rightly the focus of attention at this

time of year, but we shouldn't ignore worthy performances from three-year-olds

who promise to be among the leading lights in 2008. Most notably of these,

NOBIZ LIKE SHOBIZ (Albert the Great) held on by a nose from a furiously

closing TWILIGHT METEOR (Smart Strike) in the September 1 Kent Breeders'

Cup S. (G3) at Delaware Park. The runner-up's effort was particularly

commendable, considering that he rallied from well off a dawdling pace and just

missed by a nostril while reeling off his final eighth in a shade more than 11

seconds. Yet another Pletcher pupil, Twilight Meteor is a vastly better animal

on turf than on Polytrack. Nobiz himself is now two-for-two on the grass, and

his forwardly placed style will continue to make him dangerous in these often

paceless affairs.

Our next issue will review the preps leading up to the Mile (Kelso, Shadwell

and Oak Tree) and the Turf (Joe Hirsch and Clement Hirsch).