Superfectablog v3.0 » Great Hunter

Big Weekend at Gulfstream

admin — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 14:54:00 +0000

This weekend’s highlight for me is Einstein’s 2009 debut in the Donn Handicap; trainer Helen Pitts-Blasi warns that Gulfstream’s track is not his favorite dirt surface, but I think it’s great they are giving him a challenge, rather than going for the three-peat in the Gulfstream Park Turf. (Obviously adding that G1 victory to his already-impressive resume would be no bad thing either, and the higher purse doesn’t hurt). He’ll have plenty of competition, though – Albertus Maximus and Arson Squad should both be worthy competitors and this race seems like it’s coming up way too tough for Anak Nakal and Great Hunter, but I would not be surprised to see either one improve with age – just not quite as much as Einstein (pictured) has.

While I cannot claim to be pleased about shortening the Turf to 1 1/8, it will have an interesting field; Red Rocks and Kip Deville may be the big names, but I am intrigued to see Court Vision here; he may have underwhelmed for much of his 3-year-old year, but he’s been training well lately and could be a late bloomer. I also have an eye on Uigur, who hails from South America (although, of course, the Uigur people he takes his name from are from Central Asia). The Brazilian-bred has a local G1 to his credit and it will be curious to see how that translates. Feel free to point out here that Tomcito has been back on the worktab in largely average fashion.

And, of course, there are the 3-year-olds. The Hutcheson and the Holy Bull will likely both be overlooked by the mainstream media for the maiden special weight in between the Holy Bull and the Donn – for a little value in that race, Andiron is of interest; he’s a half-brother to The Cliff’s Edge, and you can bet (as it were) that plenty of money will be riding on Nicanor – here’s hoping both well-bred horses make forward progress in their young careers, and a little excitement about a ‘normal’ race is no bad thing.

The Hutcheson is run this afternoon and features another ‘brother’ – Hello Broadway is a half to Nobiz Like Shobiz, but he’ll have plenty to handle in Break Water Edison and Capt. Candyman Can – both of whom seem promising. The Holy Bull is the 3-year-old feature Saturday and if you’re looking for a decent return on a Michael-Matz-trained horse, this might be your best shot. His Rockland is taking a step up in class here, but the son of Smarty Jones has two victories and hasn’t been out of the money yet. West Side Bernie and Beethoven are apparently keeping the weekend’s musical theme going for this race. I feel like I should work in a terrible Broadway pun at this point, but I will spare you this time around. For now.

Who Says They Don’t Have Christmas in Kentucky? *

admin — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 17:40:00 +0000

Given Our Flourishing Economy, it seems that every horse who has ever looked through a bridle is for sale. Need a budget stallion prospect? How about Great Hunter?

Or perhaps you are in the market for a good racemare who’s moved into the breeding game? Well, you’re in luck – there are loads!

Blushing Ogygian (in foal to Half Ours)
Honey Ryder (in foal to Giant’s Causeway)
Kathleen’s Reel
Kettleoneup(in foal to Bernardini)
Lady of Venice
Lear’s Princess
Madcap Escapade (in foal to A.P. Indy)
Memorette (possibly in foal to Empire Maker)
Oprah Winney (possibly in foal to Ghostzapper)
Panty Raid
Point Ashley (possibly in foal to Distorted Humor)
Sindy With An S
Zoftig (possibly in foal to Hard Spun)

While we know you really want to breed them, we’ll at least pretend the following might also be racing prospects:

Or why not just retire and breed the 2-year-old? After all, as her page notes, ‘…she’s got her G1!’ I would invite that special buyer to check out Stardom Bound.

And, of course, there’s Better Than Honour. I understand she’s produced a few nice foals in her time.

The abundance of top mares on the block makes me recall the classic line from Better Off Dead:

“Now that’s a real shame when folks be throwin’ away a perfectly good white boy like that.”

That’s not unlike how I feel about seeing Intangaroo, Pure Clan or Zaftig (not to mention Stardom Bound, although in her case I am giving everyone the benefit of the doubt and assuming she is a legitimate racing prospect) heading off to retirement – but hey, they’ll all go cheap, right? Someone has to make this ‘downturn’ work for them!

^* Phil Ochs, in case you didn’t know…

Dubai World Cup Day Wrap-Up

admin — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 17:39:00 +0000

Curlin was hardly only horse running in Dubai (although it certainly seemed like it by the time he took to the track); now you, lucky reader, can play the exciting new game called ‘Did Superfecta Mention the Winner?’

Godolphin Mile
Rick Dutrow’s Very Good Day began early; Diamond Stripes was certainly a worthy victor, but Elusive Warning had a terrible trip. I don’t think he would have beaten Diamond Stripes, but it was likely not what his connections were hoping for. Still a nice paycheck, though.
Winner mentioned? Yes.

UAE Derby
I was right that Honour Devil and Royal Vintage would be sequential; what is perhaps most interesting is that while many of Mike de Kock’s horses are off to Hong Kong and then the UK, Honour Devil will be heading to the US and aimed at the Breeders’ Cup — some sources say for the Classic, others for the Dirt Mile. Royal Vintage is to come along as well so that they can continue their back-and-forth victories. Cocoa Beach proved capable against the boys as well, a very creditable third.
Winner mentioned? Yes, should have bet a tri box.

Dubai Golden Shaheen
Dutrow and Edgar Prado strike again; assistant trainer Michelle Nevin must have been thrilled to be in Dubai with Benny the Bull (even if it meant missing out on the big event back in Florida). Idiot Proof ran a good race as well, but it seemed that Diabolical just didn’t show up. Cobalt Blue might shine in G2 company in the states, but was apparently very much outclassed.
Winner mentioned? Yes, albeit along with no-threat Calrissian.

Dubai Duty Free
Poor Jay Peg is saddled with one of the worst names I’ve ever heard for a horse, but despite his jockey nearly losing his saddle and a tough challenge from Darjina (who was apparently ‘at 85%‘ for this race), he goes down in history as a winner on Dubai World Cup day. Archipenko seemed boxed in and was probably the best horse in the race, but couldn’t quite prove it; I’ll be looking out for his next start. Vodka and Finsceal Beo didn’t quite have it on the day, and the distance might have been a little much for Seachange. I was still very pleased to see all of them in one race. American challenger Notional had nothing.
Winner mentioned? Ha! No, just had Darjina.

Dubai Sheema Classic
This was my second-favorite race on the card, obviously finishing a bit behind the feature race. The Australian-bred, South African-based mare Sun Classique schooled a talented field. She has an interesting pedigree; Sunday Silence nearby on the top half and her only significant inbreeding (still a ways back) is to blue hen mare Milan Mill. She will also have a busy schedule ahead of her — off to Sha Tin for the Queen Eizabeth II Cup, then off to the UK for Royal Ascot or Goodwood if she has time. Highly-regarded Viva Pataca simply couldn’t catch her; ditto for Doctor Dino. As predicted, Better Talk Now didn’t have a great day, but I was hoping for more from Youmzain. I’m always in the market for a top turf mare to support; I think I’ve found one.
Winner mentioned? Not remotely, but hey, I got Better Talk Now having an off day.

Dubai World Cup
Finally, the big one. I’ve already commented on Curlin’s outstanding performance, but what about his rivals? It would seem that ‘inexperience’ was at the heart of Jalil’s uninspiring effort:

Frankie Dettori, who rode Jalil, remarked: “The horse is too young – this race has come a year too early for him. We will have to wait for next year.”

So, mark your calendars – Jalil (like Curlin, born in 2004), should be all ready next year – or maybe he’ll hold out to compete at Meydan in 2010. That said, he does seem to be improving, but this level of competition was clearly too much for him. Asiatic Boy was second as predicted, and I was pleased to see Well Armed in the mix, but it was clear they were running for (a distant) second. A.P. Arrow surprised me by staying in for fifth, as did Great Hunter just behind him – given his recent form, I would not have placed him ahead of horses like Premium Tap, Kocab or Vermilion — but none of them ran much of a race. The fact that Curlin hardly seemed to be working should be a worry to the rest of the racing world.
Winner mentioned? Um, yeah, got this one.

All told, it was a great day of racing — top-class horses from all around the world got to shine in a way that one wishes they did at the Breeders’ Cup, which seems every year to be further eclipsed by the event in Dubai. If anyone wanted to spring for airline tickets and a hotel, I’d be happy to confirm that suspicion next year!

Returns, Defections and Journeys

admin — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:26:00 +0000

While I was very excited to see Rags to Riches (right, in a great photo by Fran) back on the worktab (and in a bullet, no less), I noted that Lava Man had re-appeared as well. I suspect that his best days are behind him, but if he’s really up for another shot at the Hollywood Gold Cup, more power to him. I do wonder what Doug O’Neill is up to, though, in pointing Great Hunter toward the Dubai World Cup — it’s clearly not based on his recent form. I’m not entirely sure how a horse who’s been off the board in his last five starts against California competition is going to rebound after a long flight and a spot against Curlin…even though he can pick up a nice check for finishing fourth, it hardly seems worth the travel.

But more on Rags to Riches and things Belmonty for a moment — this year’s Belmont logo honors her victory, and rather well too. The deadline for the Belmont ticket lottery is fast approaching if you feel like parting with actual money for an assigned seat rather than simply walking up on the day. You can never tell whether it’s going to be worth the investment in terms of having a guaranteed seat when there’s a Triple Crown on the line (and with Rags to Riches’ half-brother Casino Drive potentially in the Belmont picture, I’m a little more interested in seeing history made — again — that way this year), but having that seat is always nice (if only for a wander to the bar for a $7 cup of beer).

Of course, that’s getting a little ahead of things – there are still Derby preps to be run. Denis of Cork is now out of the Rebel and will likely head to the Wood Memorial instead. This should be good news for Z Fortune, and I am still curious to see if Anak Nakal comes back with anything. Face the Cat is out of the Rebel as well — he picked up that sore gluteal muscle that seems to be so prevalent in the Pletcher barn, but should be back for the Florida Derby. In any case, it should be more interesting to watch than War Pass in his walkover.

Finally, a note on Andrew Beyer’s column this week — he’s in Argentina and has some thoughts (as you might imagine) on the way betting is structured there (hint: you’re not going to win any money). I am filing this information away for my own potential South American jaunt at some point in the not-too-distant future (although Peru is more likely than Argentina; it seems more practical to chase a three-year-old around Machu Picchu than across Patagonia). I’m hoping he sends another report on South American breeding and training while he’s away — they seem to be doing those things well in the Southern Hemisphere.

Big Cap Weekend

admin — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 16:00:00 +0000

The Big Cap is truly big this year — it equals 2002′s 14-horse field as the largest in the past 25 years. In Lava Man’s absence, a number of legitimate contenders have stepped into the fray — Awesome Gem (right), Student Council and Go Between already have plenty of older-horse cred, while Tiago and Great Hunter are looking to earn some (and Monterey Jazz looking to add on to his Strub win). I am most intrigued by the presence of Champs Elysees — we know he and his entire family love the turf, so it’s a bit unusual to see him here, but I suppose Bobby Frankel decided to take a shot with the synthetic surface. In any event, it should be a good race.

There is a little three-year-old action as well with El Gato Malo taking on Colonel John in the Sham, but I’m not particularly excited by either one yet. I’ve been burned by the California-trained Derby contenders too many times in the past (obviously excepting Sunday Silence).

Finally, it seems that there is a documentary on female jockeys in the making, with Patricia Cooksey advising. As women’s history is what I do for a living, I will be watching their progress with great interest. I’d love to hear their take on Ladies’ Day…

Bon Voyage, Victory Gallop

admin — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 16:52:00 +0000

This weekend sees the rescheduled Santa Monica, featuring Hystericalady and Pussycat Doll and the Strub (with Air Commander, Great Hunter, Slew’s Tizzy and Tiago all back in action) but the headline event should be the Donn Handicap. Dahaar is making his first start for Kiaran McLaughlin since November, but I am most excited about it since my favorites Brass Hat (pictured winning the 2006 installment) and Einstein are in the picture (and with comparatively light weights, although they have crappy post positions). The received wisdom seems to be that the Donn has become the leading US prep for the Dubai World Cup — although I doubt we’d see Brass Hat making that trip again for obvious reasons.

Speaking of overseas trips, Victory Gallop has been sold to the Turkish Jockey Club — apparently his offspring are bred to race, not to sell well at auction:

‘He’s been very solid, but unfortunately he falls into that somewhat non-commercial group where it’s hard to get over $100,000 for a yearling,’ WinStar President Doug Cauthen said. ‘As the market continues to focus on commercial, he was limited to a degree to people who were breeding either to race or possibly to somebody breeding to get their horse off to a good start.’

He’ll be joining Sea Hero and Strike the Gold in Turkey; his current crop of 3-year-olds includes Derby hopeful Anak Nakal. I love that he’s by Cryptoclearance (who, let’s recall, had 12 wins from 44 starts and was otherwise usually in the money) — a real modern iron horse. It seems a shame that a stallion whose close relatives include Ride the Rails (and hence Candy Ride) and whose first crop earned nearly a million dollars, is not considered ‘commercial’ in North America. I can’t blame WinStar for responding to market conditions, but it does seem unfortunate. Here’s hoping Anak Nakal is a real threat this spring!

Many Returns

admin — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 14:14:00 +0000

You may recall Helen Pitts trainee Einstein’s frightening fall on Preakness Day, but the good news is that he’s finally coming back to the races today in an allowance (on paper, at least — it’s actually a pretty tough race) at Gulfstream. While I don’t like to see money winging its way into the hands of the Midnight Cry jailbirds responsible for the whole Curlin ownership mess, I am a big fan of Helen Pitts and Einstein (pictured) has always impressed me — good luck to him.

Tiago and Great Hunter are back in action this weekend as well; they are meeting up with Ravel in the San Fernando. Perhaps the biggest question there is what shape Santa Anita’s Cushion Track will be in after the many and various problems it has encountered of late.

There’s been a lot of movement lately on the breeding end of things — Sunriver has been retired to Empire Stud in New York and Albert the Great, Buddha and More Smoke are all headed to Pin Oak Lane in Pennsylvania — they must have been on quite a shopping expedition.

Fourty Niners Son (whose name, I confess, I have never understood) is off to Japan while Lahudood will be staying Stateside for a date with Kingmambo. Although I like the match with Kingmambo, I’d have liked to see her race a few more times.

In other breeding news, Rockport Harbor‘s first foal is a Canadian colt and the dam of Nobiz Like Shobiz had to be euthanized after breaking a leg in a paddock accident.

Finally, back to racing for a moment — Slew’s Tizzy is headed to the Louisiana Handicap on Saturday, and the new 3-year-olds, including Blackberry Road, are in action in the Lecomte (won last year by Hard Spun). Indian Blessing is making her first start of the year as well, and it is said that Curlin has been pre-entered in the Donn and the Strub…

Comebacks and Cartier Awards

admin — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 17:32:00 +0000

Great Hunter and Spring at Last (not to be confused with the 2-year-old sprinter Spring Awakening – one wonders how she has been affected by the Broadway stagehands’ strike) are both back in training with Doug O’Neill and working toward comebacks.

Buzzards Bay is another familiar name absent from the track for some time – he’s set for the All American stakes this weekend. He’ll be taking on McCann’s Mojave and Wanna Runner, among others.

Talented 4-year-old mare Criminologist (again, not to be confused with her pop culture namesake, this time from Rocky Horror) is back and aiming for a fourth straight win in the Cardinal Handicap; on paper, she’s the one to beat and seems to be coming into her own.

Back across the pond, the Cartier Awards (the European equivalent of the Eclipse Awards) were announced yesterday; and most were quite predictable:

Horse of the Year/Older Horse
Dylan Thomas Owners: Sue Magnier & Michael Tabor
Trainer: Aidan O’Brien

Three-Year-Old Colt
Authorized Owners: Saleh Al Homeizi & Imad Al Sagar
Trainer: Peter Chapple-Hyam

Three-Year-Old Filly
Peeping Fawn Owners: Michael Tabor & Sue Magnier
Trainer: Aidan O’Brien

Stayer
Yeats Owners: Sue Magnier & Diane Nagle
Trainer: Aidan O’Brien

Two Year Old Colt
New Approach Owners: Jackie Bolger & Sheikh Mohammed
Trainer: Jim Bolger

Two Year Old Filly
Natagora Owner: Stefan Friborg
Trainer: Pascal Bary

Sprinter
Red Clubs Owner: Ronnie Arculli
Trainer: Barry Hills

Award of Merit
The Niarchos Family

It was pointed out that Dylan Thomas ran in Group I races every month from April to October and of course may yet try for the Japan Cup. The Niarchos family was given the Award of Merit (essentially a lifetime achievement recognition) for breeding and racing such greats as Nureyev, Miesque, and Kingmambo among many others. All in all, a good list.

Derby 2007: On the Record

admin — Fri, 04 May 2007 19:17:00 +0000

Finally, I’ve made some actual decisions about the Derby (with full notes on the complete field here):

Total investment: $27
How: $21 in advance wagering, $6 in future wagers
Selections: A bunch of exacta boxes featuring various combinations of Nobiz Like Shobiz, Any Given Saturday, Street Sense, Circular Quay^*, Great Hunter and Hard Spun
Future wager picks: Great Hunter, Teuflesburg (and check out his feature article in the NY Times), All Others (and I think another one I’m forgetting)
And in the interest of nominative determinism for this blog, a single $1 superfecta: Nobiz Like Shobiz, Any Given Saturday, Street Sense, Circular Quay

So I’m officially picking Nobiz Like Shobiz to win, but of course I have a lot of respect for the others listed above and I would not be at all surprised to see any of that group switch places. You’ll note the absence of Curlin in my picks (although I did have to do one Chalky McChalk Chalk exacta box featuring Curlin and Street Sense for Mr. Superfecta); if he proves to be the freak some think he is, I’m perfectly happy to lose out — whereas if it rains, I don’t see him hitting the board at all.

On the Derby undercard, you have to like Ah Day in the Churchill Downs stakes, and I’m going for Magnificent Song in the Churchill Distaff Mile. The La Troienne looks like it’s all Appealing Zophie; it’s going to get very interesting in the Humana Distaff. Pussycat Doll, Bushfire and Wildcat Bettie B are all tough fillies; I may go for Wildcat Bettie B since she’s been training well with Hard Spun lately. Perhaps the race I am most looking forward to (apart from the obvious one) is the Woodford Reserve — Better Talk Now is back! (We’re friends on MySpace, you know). He and Shake the Bank will be facing off against a tough field, featuring Icy Atlantic, Milk It Mick, Go Between and Einstein, but I’d love to see him pull off a win here. Then there are some nice three-year-olds in the tenth race…

^*I’m ignoring my iPod’s bad track record in picking winners — it keeps playing Aussie pop today (mostly The Lucksmiths) so it’s clearly in a Circular Quay mood. I can go with that if Nobiz Like Shobiz has an off day.

Musical Trainers

admin — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 13:17:00 +0000

While it seems the Curlin is emerging as the favorite at this point (and there have been a number of articles documenting his ownership and trainer changes, there’s been little credit given to trainer Helen Pitts for getting him to the track in the first place. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, he was quite a loss to their barn (as you might imagine); frankly, I’d rather see Helen Pitts in the winner’s circle as I prefer her approach — but as has been much discussed, Curlin has a lot of history to overcome. He is obviously very talented, but it’s hard to evaluate how much better he might be with more seasoning. Here’s hoping any soundness issues that prevented him racing as a two-year-old have been overcome.

The Coolmore Lexington is shaping up to be Belgravia’s three-year-old debut; can anyone verify if he’s our only entirely drug-free potential Derby contender? I really like him and think we’ll see some interesting things later in the year — but he’s still my Derby longshot if he makes the field. Regardless of what else happens with the three-year-olds this weekend, at least we can all rest easy now that Great Hunter’s legal dispute is settled.

In the older horse world, it’s a shame to hear that Premium Tap will not be returning to the US — he may not even start again this year but is being pointed toward next year’s Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup in Saudi Arabia (which he won this year off quite a layoff). Perhaps he’ll meet Invasor again next year in Dubai – but that seems a rather unlikely prospect.

Horse of the Year/Older Horse Dylan Thomas	Owners: Sue Magnier & Michael Tabor Trainer: Aidan O’Brien
Three-Year-Old Colt Authorized	Owners: Saleh Al Homeizi & Imad Al Sagar Trainer: Peter Chapple-Hyam
Three-Year-Old Filly Peeping Fawn	Owners: Michael Tabor & Sue Magnier Trainer: Aidan O’Brien
Stayer Yeats	Owners: Sue Magnier & Diane Nagle Trainer: Aidan O’Brien
Two Year Old Colt New Approach	Owners: Jackie Bolger & Sheikh Mohammed Trainer: Jim Bolger
Two Year Old Filly Natagora	Owner: Stefan Friborg Trainer: Pascal Bary
Sprinter Red Clubs	Owner: Ronnie Arculli Trainer: Barry Hills
Award of Merit	The Niarchos Family