Colonel John Scores Razor Thin Travers Win

Go Between wins Pacific Classic to complete classy weekend of graded stakes

A Column by Steve Davidowitz
August 28, 2008

In many ways, the Travers Stakes card at Saratoga on August 23rd and the Pacific Classic card at Del Mar on August 24th played out as if it were a two-day Breeders' Cup extravaganza.

On each program were important $1 million races that provided their share of electrifying rallies and tight finishes, along with several supporting graded stakes including other Grade 1s, some of which produced their share of box car mutual payoffs.

Of course, some of the races at Saratoga and Del Mar last weekend are sure to have a direct impact on the two-day Breeders' Cup event that will be held at Santa Anita on Friday, October 24th and Saturday, October 25th.

Pacific Classic winner Go Between punched his ticket to the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic through the 'Win-and-You're-In' Breeders' Cup Challenge program.

Whatsthescript, winner of the Del Mar Mile, earned entry to the $1 million Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile.

Del Mar Handicap winner Spring House won his spot in the $3 million Breeders' Cup Turf.

Dearest Trickski, winner of the Rancho Bernardo, now has a spot in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint on Friday, October 24th, while Lewis Michael is in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Sprint, although his connections say they may go for the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile instead.

At Saratoga, where several Breeders' Cup berths had already been won in graded stakes throughout the meet, only Intangaroo qualified this past weekend by winning the Ballerina Stakes on Sunday, August 24th.

While the $1 million Travers didn't offer an automatic ticket to the Breeders' Cup Classic, it did produce the closest, most exciting finish of the weekend. After taking over from front runner Da' Tara in the upper stretch, California invader Colonel John resolutely fought off the strong late bid of Mambo in Seattle to win the 1 1/4-mile Travers by a razor thin margin that required significant magnification to see that it was not a dead heat.

Perhaps the horses in the field won't be favorably compared to the Hall of Fame horses that have won the Travers in the past, but the top two certainly put on a most memorable show.

Here are brief summaries of all the graded stakes races at Saratoga and Del Mar last weekend, plus a recap of the Molly Pitcher at Monmouth Park on August 24th.

Saratoga Racecourse, Friday, August 22nd

* The Gr. 1 $400,000 Personal Ensign Stakes, 1 1/4 miles for fillies and mares 3 years old and up.

Fractional Splits: 24.62. .49.85. .1:13.66. .1:37.87. . .2:03.37 - Deceptively slow fractions throughout on a very dead racing surface.

Winning Beyer Speed Figure: 104 - A good rating in a very tough, hard-fought race involving high-class mares.

Ginger Punch, the defending Eclipse Award winning mare of 2007, out-gamed Lemon Drop Mom by a very narrow margin in one of her typically gritty efforts (she narrowly defeated Hystericalady in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff last fall).

Saratoga Racecourse, Saturday, August 23rd

* The Gr. 1 $1 million Travers Stakes, 1 1/4 miles for 3-year-olds.

Fractional Splits: 23.91. .48.06. .1:12.12. .1:37.17. . .2:03.20 - A moderate, relatively even pace on a dull track.

Winning Beyer Speed Figure: 106 - A borderline G1 rating for borderline G1 horses, at least that is the impression the best of the 2008 crop has made on me, except for Big Brown at his best.

All the speed types faded, while stretch runners Colonel John and Mambo in Seattle battled it out in front of the other confirmed stretch runner, Pyro, who was late on the scene and finished a modest third, slightly ahead of wide rallying Harlem Rocker. The latter moved wide on the turn but flattened out badly in the stretch. Tale of Ekati was stuck inside while being rated in mid-pack and was unable to reach his best stride through the upper stretch while outrun by the winner and had no punch for the last furlong.

* The Gr. 3 $100,000 Victory Ride, 7 furlongs for 3-year-old fillies.

Fractional Splits: 22.13. .45.00. .56.89. . .1:09.51 - A fast, hard to sustain pace on a dead track that played a bit faster in one-turn sprints than it did in two-turn routes.

Winning Beyer Speed Figure: 100 - A below par rating due in part to the wicked early pace and the victory posted by a G3 filly running her race.

Indyanne, trained by Greg Gilchrist and shipping in from Northern California, was 45 cents on the dollar, had problems at the start, was last for awhile, then was rushed to get with the pace and was used up by the time she reached the final 60 yards. Porte Bonheur, the winner of a minor stakes over the track, had to overcome her own troubles on the backstretch before she put in the winning late move to take the money.

* The Gr. 1 $250,000 King's Bishop, 7 furlongs for 3-year-olds.

Fractional Splits: 22.39. .44.73. .1:09.30. . .1:21.94 - A very fast pace that took its toll on a large group of horses competing for the early lead. Also featured a steady, rallying finish on a track that played faster in one-turn sprints than for two-turn routes.

Winning Beyer Speed Figure: 103 - A G2 rating for a G1 race.

Visionaire, a deep closer with a sprint win over the track, benefited from a contentious pace duel to overpower tiring rivals to win going away.

* The Gr. 2 $200,000 Bernard Baruch, 1 1/8 miles on the turf for 3-year-olds and up.

Fractional Splits: 23.40. .48.17. .1:11.67. .1:35.26. . .1:46.78 - An uneven, sometimes fast pace that included bursts of speed between calls and a good finish by the stretch running winner.

Winning Beyer Speed Figure: 103 - A G2 rating for a horse that had failed to run his best since he won this race in 2007.

Shakis was back in the pack until the young, red-hot jockey Alan Garcia took him off the rail on the turn and began a strong steady rally to a clear-cut win over the Bill Mott-trained War Monger. The latter ran a strong race relatively close to the pace but failed to hold the lead when challenged late.

Operation Red Dawn closed behind the winner for third and Thorn Song, who finished a good fourth, set the pace until the final 1/16 miles.

Favored Proudinsky had some minor traffic issues and was unable to make a serious bid, finishing seventh.

Monmouth Park, Saturday, August 23rd

* The Gr. 2 $300,000 Molly Pitcher Handicap, 1 1/16 miles for fillies and mares 3 years old and up.

Fractional Splits: 24.22. .48.43. .1:12.30. .1:36.57. . .1:43.31 - An even, slightly above par pace from start to finish.

Winning Beyer Speed Figure: 104 - A good rating for the level and distance.

Hystericalady, who lost a photo to Ginger Punch in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff last fall, stalked front running Rolling Sea and blew her away to win by eight widening lengths. Rolling Sea did break awkwardly before taking over the lead and ran as well as she could.

Del Mar, Saturday, August 23rd

* The Gr. 2 $250,000 Del Mar Handicap, 1 3/8 miles on the turf for 3-year-olds and up.

Fractional Splits: 23.84. .47.04. .1:11.04. .1:35.51. .1:59.45. . .2:11.14 - A new course record with a slightly faster than usual pace for this distance and a final 3/8 miles clocked in a solid 35.63 seconds.

Winning Beyer Speed Figure: 103 - Right on par for a G2 turf race.

Spring House, the 9-10 favorite, rallied steadily to score by 1 1/2 lengths over Transduction Gold, who made a good bid for the lead in the upper stretch before succumbing late to the winner. Front running You Got Me Rocking tired to third.

Del Mar, Sunday, August 24th

* The Gr. 3 $200,000 Rancho Bernardo, 6 1/2 furlongs for fillies and mares 3 years old and up.

Fractional Splits 22.50. .44.68. .1:08.68. . .1:15.17 - A new track record with relatively fast splits on a very glib, extremely fast Polytrack surface.

Winning Beyer Speed Figure: 98 - A below par rating despite the track record.

Dearest Trickski set all the pace and was never seriously challenged until very late in the contest, when the talented but somewhat forgotten Tiz Elemental rallied sharply to just miss.

Longshot La Tee finished third after chasing the leader at the outset. Tried hard, but simply couldn't gain enough ground late to pose a serious challenge. Heavily favored Magnificence failed to fire in a dull performance at 3-2 odds.

* The Gr. 2 $300,000 Pat O'Brien Handicap, 7 furlongs for 3-year-olds and up.

Fractional Splits: 22.65. .45.07. .1:08.79. . .1:21.17 - Another new track record on this ultra-fast Polytrack that is radically different from the painfully slow track that was in use here last year.

Winning Beyer Speed Figure: 102 - A below par rating for a G2 sprint.

Chicago invader Lewis Michael, expertly trained by Wayne Catalano and ridden to perfection by Rene Douglas, rallied from mid-pack to score driving clear while drifting in late. Rebellion, not a win threat, rallied down the center of the track for the place. Barbecue Eddie set the splits until inside the final furlong when he was bothered a bit while weakening, but still held third in a good effort. In Summation was also close up throughout but weakened late for fourth. Hurry Up Austin was wide and in contention but couldn't muster a rally and was fifth, beaten less than a length for second.

Midnight Lute, the heavily bet 2007 Breeders' Cup Sprint winner and champion American sprinter, had trained well for this race but had trouble loading in the gate and came out with no running on his mind. Post race exams revealed a tear in the hind portion of his left front hoof, an injury that will take several weeks to heal and might even force early retirement.

* The Gr. 2 $400,000 Del Mar Mile, one mile on the turf for 3-year-olds and up.

Fractional Splits: 22.51. .46.06. .1:09.01. .1:20.71. . .1:32.40 - A fast race from start to finish, a few ticks above par for a G2 turf mile.

Winning Beyer Speed Figure: 106 - About two points faster than a G2 mile on the turf.

Whatsthescript, a 2-1 favorite with good recent form, rallied boldly from well back in the pack to score by 3/4 lengths. Bold Chieftain also ran well from a stalking position to be second best in an improved performance.

Global Hunter, underrated at 29-1, rallied well and almost caught Bold Chieftain while out-finishing a tired front runner Daytona. The latter, a star front running turf miler earlier in the season, did set a good pace but weakened in the final sixteenth. I still wonder if he wouldn't benefit if given the rest of the year off.

* The Gr. 1 $1 million Pacific Classic, 1 1/4 miles for 3-year-olds and up.

Fractional Splits: 23.40. .47.36. .1:12.20. .1:37.06. . .2:01.18 - Okay early pace, a slower middle pace and a very good final quarter.

Winning Beyer Speed Figure: 104 - Par for these horses, but about four lengths slower than a true G1 race.

Go Between has beaten this caliber before. Here he helped salvage trainer Billy Mott's terrible weekend (and probably his worst August in more than a decade). The winner was beautifully ridden by Garrett Gomez, who also won the Travers - 3,000 miles away - the day before. Rated with the tail-enders, Go Between commenced his rally entering the far turn and steadily wore down the field to be up in time.

Well Armed, near the pace through the first mile, moved to the lead and fought back as well as he could to just fail to last.

Mast Track, a fast winner of his latest and mostly a front runner by confirmed style, rated in fifth and moved forward for third in the final furlong without threatening the top two.

Zappa was an even fourth and Awesome Gem, who finished second to Student Council last year, rallied very wide on the final turn and flattened out.

Student Council looked good under restraint outside in mid-pack on the backstretch and briefly improved his position but couldn't launch a serious threat.

Added notes: I will be hosting a handicapping seminar at Del Mar on Saturday, August 30th on the west end of the grandstand. If you are in attendance, please stop by and say hello.

Steve Davidowitz has written two highly acclaimed books on Thoroughbred racing---Betting Thoroughbreds and The Best and Worst of Thoroughbred Racing. He also is a regular contributor to Daily Racing Form's Simulcast Weekly and DRF Plus and his columns appear in the Bodog Racebook each week.