Sam F. Davis StakesFor this race I predicted that the favorite, Z Humor, would not put in the performance everyone was expecting him to. And I was right, he came in a disappointing fifth. I also thought Smooth Air, most people's second choice, wouldn't take to the added distance, and I was...well...somewhat right. He came in third. Showed he could make the distance, though, and might be one to watch for possible improvement. My instincts about Honey Honey Honey were completely unfounded. Setting a fairly quick (though not blistering) pace early on, he faded to last after the second turn. Oh well.
But I was dead on with Fierce Wind.
The colt by Dixie Union out of the A. P. Indy mare Post Parade (curious how easy it is to find his dam info now that he's actually won a stakes race) stalked in 4th for most of the trip before taking the lead three wide on the far turn and holding off a late closing drive from relative unknown Big Truck. Remaining a perfect three-for three, Fierce Wind's 1/2 length lead over the second placed horse gives him combined winning margins of 15 and 3/4 lengths in his career, making for an average of slightly over 5 lengths. Not quite up to the numbers Curlin was posting this time last year, but darn close. This coming week, his name will be on everybody's lips. Yay me!
Photo: Tom Cooley
Halledale Beach
As I predicted, the outcome of this race was not all that surprising. The three top colts entered finished one-two-three. The only small surprise was that the order got a bit mixed up and Todd Pletcher won with the wrong horse. Cowboy Cal, who pretty much cemented the fact that he's not really a Derby quality horse, was completely outrun in the stretch by his stablemate Why Tonto. Cannonball weakened towards the end, but put in a good performance otherwise, finishing more than 4 lenghts in front of the 4th horse. The big story of the race? Indian Charlie, the sire of Why Tonto (out of the Northern Baby mare Why So Much).
Indian Charlie (In Excess- Soviet Sojourn by Leo Castelli) has just been having a breakout year at stud. His daughter Indian Blessing (out of Shameful by Flying Chevron) was just voted Juvenile Fillies champion of 2007 and is still unbeaten, having just won the Silverbulletday Stakes. Another daughter, Fleet Indian (out of Hustleeta by Alfleet), Champion Older Female of 2006 who suffered a career ending injury in the 2006 Breeder's Cup Distaff, just produced a Storm Cat colt. Indian Charlie also has 3 stakes placed runners so far this year, one of whom, Indian Sun, was second in the g. III San Rafael and (an admittedly dismal) 4th in the g.II Robert B. Lewis stakes; and, as such, is another valid Derby contender. Indian Charlie finished out 2007 as number 2 on the list of leading sires of 2-year olds and number 38 on the overall leading sires list. Not too shabby.
Endeavour Stakes
Turns out Dreaming of Anna didn't have any trouble coming off her layoff and, instead, managed to nose out Lear's Princess for the win. In my defense, it was a near thing. And who was in third? That's right, Meribel. That's gut handicapping for you. Mind you, Take the Ribbon looks to have been scratched, and her absence might have made things a tad easier for everyone else.
Regardless, that makes 4 stakes (if you count the Risen Star last weekend) and three trifecta calls for me. So do I deserve a blog of my very own? Who knows. I certainly don't feel as knowledgeable as all those folks whose blogs I check religiously, but I do feel more confident in myself after this weekend. Might as well keep going now.
In other news...
- Golden Dawn (Hennessy-Paved in Gold by Carson City) took the Barbara Fritchie handicap over defending winner Oprah Winney. Although I had always though the latter was little more than a clever name, I was sad to see her eased and walked off the track. Let's hope she recovers to amuse her namesake again.
- Surf Cat surprised the heck out of me, having not won a thing since May of 2006, by winning the San Carlos Handicap (g.II). By Sir Cat out of the Centrust mare, Trust Greta, he's anything but royally bred. However, he's apparently very consistent, holding a record of 8-5-1 in 16 starts.
Tomorrow marks the running of the Southwest Stakes (now with g.III!), which in recent years has proven to be a quality prep race for Derby starters (2007-Teuflesberg, 2006-Lawyer Ron, 2004-Smarty Jones) . However, I have absolutely none of the entrants in my fantasy stable. As such, I'm as impotent as...say... War Emblem. However, that doesn't mean I can't make some predictions. Turf War's (Dixie Union-Grass Skirt by Mr. Prospector) claim to fame is his dead heat against Z Humor in the recent Delta Jackpot. However, as we just saw above, Z Humor may not be "all that", and a dead heat win in Louisiana is really nothing to shout about. Denis of Cork is everybody's (well, except me) dark horse for the Derby. The undefeated Harlan's Holiday colt has proven himself at 2 turns and in the slop during a recent allowance race. There's still a question of whether he'll perform as well in stakes company. My instinct? He's too pretty to be good. Sacred Journey is also undefeated in allowance company...but at 6 furlongs. So let me get this straight...they're trying him for the first time at two turns...at stakes company...and giving him a completely new jockey for this test. Ummm...no. Silver Edition was less than impressive during his 4th place in the Swale Stakes, and did nothing to suggest he'd improve with added distance. Meanwhile, we've got both Liberty Bull and Isabull, who I think I'm going to start referring to as the Holy Bull Twins (like the Wonder Twins, but cooler), who finished first and second in the inaugural Smarty Jones Stakes. Yeah, I think I know who I'm pulling for:
1. Liberty Bull
2. Isabull
3. Denis of Cork
Okay, here's something amusing that I found while looking for a non-password protected website to link to detailing War Emblem's failed career at stud.
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