But they all come behind the German-bred Manduro (right); he was unbeaten last year at five and is now at Kildangan Stud. As impressive as his numbers are, the Belfast Telegraph notes that:

…although Manduro’s mark of 131 makes him an exceptional performer, and the best world champion since Hawk Wing earned 133 in 2004, it should be remembered that the very best of the bests – a Sea-Bird or Secretariat – have a four as their middle number.

and moreover:

But although the top quintet were way above average, those beneath came up short. “It’s rare to have as many as five that good,” said the senior Irish Flat handicapper, Garry O’Gorman. “but there was a bit of a soft underbelly.”

Aiming to make their mark on next year’s rankings are 3-year-olds El Gato Malo and Z Fortune, who both won races this previous weekend. El Gato Malo looked good, but I sill have yet to pick a bandwagon to jump on just yet.

Finally, it seems that a solution has possibly been found for Santa Anita’s Cushion Track nightmare — we’ll see if it pans out.

Any Given Saturday had a bit of work to do in the Brooklyn, but acquitted himself well. We already know he likes Monmouth, so he should be fun to watch come late October — although I’d prefer he had another race closer to the big day.

There don’t appear to be any real excuses for Grasshopper’s second in the Super Derby (although I don’t think anyone is attempting to argue that a second to Going Ballistic is the same thing as a second to Street Sense, but hey, you never know), so his next move is up in the air. Perhaps he simply didn’t like the track. It’s a nice story for Going Ballistic’s connections, though — he was a $4000 Keeneland purchase, and clearly a nice investment from that perspective.

But back to Brass Hat — he’s a perfect case study of what great connections, class and veterinary science can achieve. I’m looking forward to his next start and will be checking his web site to keep tabs on what he’s up to.

Why are these talented horses taking on such overmatched fields? Just ask Todd Pletcher:

“Obviously, the Jockey Club Gold Cup is a bigger purse and a Grade 1, but we’re trying to avoid that really hard race between now and the Breeders Cup,” Pletcher said. “Not to say that this is an easy race necessarily, but on paper it’s easier.”

Indeed. The Super Derby certainly looks like a walkover for Grasshopper, but Any Given Saturday (left) will have Sightseeing to contend with in the Brooklyn. They should at least make the race interesting to watch (if you are lucky enough to go in person or have TVG).

You are probably aware that Hard Spun is following a similar path to the Breeders’ Cup:

It didn’t matter to them that because Hard Spun is a Pennsylvania bred he’s eligible to receive only $200,000 from the potential $350,000 winner’s share. Or that the race is run over the same Polytrack surface Hard Spun used preparing for a game runner-up finish to Street Sense in last spring’s Kentucky Derby. Or that he could face Street Sense again in the Kentucky Cup.

Nope. Porter said getting to the Breeders’ Cup Classic was the object — not money or graded stakes status.

Porter wouldn’t totally rule out Hard Spun taking a shot in the new $1 million B.C. Mile on Oct. 26. But he realizes to be the best, you must beat the best. “Larry and I would love to prove we have the best horse. Only way that can happen is to win the Classic,” he said.

Hey, who needs graded stakes victories anyway?

Down Under, even though a ‘purple zone’ has been created in New South Wales that would allow the breeding season to get back on track, equine influenza continues to throw curveballs — Redoute’s Choice has come down with the illness, as have a number of other top Australian stallions. Coolmore has taken all their Danehills and fled back to Ireland, so they will not be making use of the relaxed restrictions either. While the plan is that Redoute’s Choice and his stablemates will be back in action in the near future, EI can (temporarily) affect fertility, so it will be interesting to see who wants to take a chance on them — and it seems each stallion in said zone will be covering nearly 200 mares. Busy boys.

Oh, and if you’ve been following our current TBA smackdown you might want to note that British bookmakers have sided with Patrick — Any Given Saturday is currently the second choice (behind Lawyer Ron) to win the Classic.

In other localish news, I’m a little sad to see Polish Miner is heading to the left coast — he’s leaving Northview for Allaire Farms in Washington. I hope I can still keep an eye on his progeny — he’s already got a nice smattering of winners.

Staying local, Hard Spun will definitely be in action on Travers day (no one else has stepped up to confirm their horses will appear yet) — but in the King’s Bishop. While that makes sense that he’s going for a G1 victory, I’d still love to see him on grass. After all, if Nobiz Like Shobiz can do it…

And now, some Spa catch-up, from Our Woman in Saratoga — first, her take on Johnny Velazquez’s recent inability to stay in the saddle:

Poor Johnny V: another day, another hard landing on the track. He was still getting settled on his horse when the gates opened; his mount took off and he was left hanging. Apparently the Saratoga gate crew is a little inexperienced, and Velazquez is letting his frustration show, as this is the third time this meet that he’s been tossed (full story, along with the not unexpected news that Rags will likely pass on the Alabama: DRF).

And from Sunday — a ring-side view of the ever-growing popularity of Rags to Riches:

Rags update! She worked out this morning; my brother and father saw her, but I got there in time only to see her gallop past the finish line, so no photos, unfortunately. Most of us weren’t even sure that she was out there—even Mary Ryan, the announcer, kept calling to Todd Pletcher, on the track on his pony, “Is that Rags? Todd, is that Rags?”, but either he didn’t hear her or he didn’t want to answer—and the buzz in the crowd was palpable. I was lucky enough to be standing next to Seth Benzel, Todd Pletcher’s main assistant, and I’m fairly certain that, in response to a spectator’s question about Rags, I heard him answer that she’d worked from the 3/8ths pole and galloped out in 58 and change. There was a huge crowd at the workouts this morning (it was a gorgeously cool morning, rumors about Rags abounded, it’s T-shirt giveaway day), and Mr. Benzel was incredibly gracious as he entertained questions, all with a stopwatch in his hand and his eyes on the track.

Finally, some notes on Teuflesberg’s race last week — I worry he’s been rather overlooked with the West Virginia Derby and the Haskell both taking up many column inches:

I caught Teuflesberg’s race on a replay and it looked like a very gutty performance—he ended up second, but dueled with the leader throughout the race and held on at the end. Given that it’s his first race on the grass, he performed well. This is the seventh track at which he’s raced since last November, and he’s finished off the board only three times—and two of them were the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and the Kentucky Derby. I read in several papers this morning that his trainer and partial owner Jamie Sanders hadn’t any intention of racing him now, pointing him towards the King’s Bishop at the end of this mouth, but Teuflesberg apparently had something to say about that; she was quoted in the Times-Union as saying, “We were trying to give him a break between the Carry Back [his last race, in early July at Calder; he finished second] and the King’s Bishop, but he won’t let us…He’s just too sharp. He’s never had that much time between races, and he doesn’t like it.” Guess she was right!

Wunderbar!

Across the pond, it’s Glorious Goodwood time — although so far much of the focus has been on the clothes, rather than the horses:

The Earl of March, heir to the estate which his family has run since 1697, feared Goodwood — one of the high spots of the summer social season — might go downmarket with patrons tempted to dress “as though they’re going to a nightclub.”

Regulars at Royal Ascot, where top hat and tails are compulsory in the hallowed Royal enclosure, complained that standards had slipped at this year’s meeting in June with much ostentatious champagne-guzzling by raucous racegoers.

I’m guessing your typical afternoon at Belmont wouldn’t be up to scratch either. Oh well. But back to the point of the whole exercise — racing. Asiatic Boy (pictured) is making his first European (and turf) start today in the Sussex Stakes. He’s been in the UK since April, but should still be considered something of a longshot, according to the Times in their article on his trainer, Mike De Kock:

De Kock is encouraged that Jack Junior, who chased Asiatic Boy home in Dubai, finished a deal closer to Excellent Art when seventh at Royal Ascot last month. But the learning curve is steep. Asiatic Boy is also six months younger than horses bred in the northern hemisphere, yet receives no weight allowance for the fact.

and the article goes on to say:

It makes no ecomomic sense to run Asiatic Boy in the Sussex Stakes, yet De Kock insists it is all in the name of sport. And where sport is concerned, “you can count me in every time”.

He also makes some pertinent statements about the number and quality of British races and how the industry has changed in South Africa — they are worth considering in light of the current state of (much of) US racing:

For instance, he was taken aback when the recently announced fixture list for 2008 saw an increase of 6 per cent, to more than 1,500 meetings. “Until this year I had no idea there were so many meeting, and so many racecourses,” he said.

“It reminds me of what happened at home six years ago, when the industry was struggling. Too many racecourses were under-utilized and there were too many fixtures. The business was consolidated, which proved the saving grace for us. I’ll be surprised if something similar does not happen here soon.”

De Kock hears the arguments about the unique structure of British racing, yet he remains unmoved. “I know that many of the tracks are individually owned but there is just too much cheap racing. Prize-money is also falling. For the industry to thrive or even survive, people are going to have to lift their heads from the sand. It makes no sense economically.”

Indeed.

Oh, and Funny Cide and Any Given Saturday were both victors today. Huzzah!

There’s holiday sprinting too — Commentator takes on Istan, High Finance and Saint Anddan in the Tom Fool, also at Belmont. And as mentioned yesterday, Funny Cide will be representing for the New York up at Finger Lakes; good luck to him!

Cowtown Cat looked good in the Illinois Derby, but I didn’t find myself getting particularly excited about him; Cobalt Blue’s disappointing finish seemed to suggest that perhaps something wasn’t quite right, but at no point has either one of them made my top ten (which I suppose I should actually put into writing at some point).

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the weekend was Tiago’s Santa Anita Derby victory; the half-brother to Giacomo finished very well indeed. I was also impressed by King of the Roxy; I’ve always had him pegged as purely a sprinter but he seemed to enjoy the distance. While I’ve never been a huge fan of Giacomo, I can admire that owner Jerry Moss sticks to his naming conventions; Giacomo is named after Sting’s son, while Tiago is named after the son of Sergio Mendes. Hey, whatever works…

Outside the Derby preps, Lawyer Ron returned to his winning form at Oaklawn; while he doesn’t seem to be quite as state-bound as Lava Man, he remains undefeated in Arkansas. Round Pond has an excuse for her disappointing finish in the Apple Blossom (won by Ermine) — she has a fracture in her knee and has been retired. While it’s disappointing, it’s nice they tried to bring her back this year and it’s good to hear the injury is very treatable.

Silver Wagon, Icy Atlantic and Magna Graduate all had wins over the weekend as well; while they aren’t exactly on Invasor’s level, they are all good horses who are well worth watching and can be easily overlooked among all the Derby preps taking place.