Where To Next For Street Sense And Hard Spun?

La Traviata Remains Unbeaten and Shakis Sets Course Record

A Column by Steve Davidowitz
August 29, 2007

Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense seemed destined to win the $1 million Travers Stakes (G1) at Saratoga on Saturday, August 25th. Not only was he facing a Travers field that included only one graded stakes winner - Sightseeing - but his two most formidable Triple Crown rivals - Curlin and Hard Spun - were not in the historic 1 1/4-mile race.

Nor was Haskell Stakes winner Any Given Saturday or the sensational filly Rags to Riches. Both were spending the extremely sultry Saratoga afternoon in the quiet shade of Todd Pletcher's barn on the Saratoga backstretch.

That lack of accomplishment was precisely why Street Sense was the prohibitive 2-5 betting favorite to land in the Travers' winner's circle.

At the same time, those who had observed Grasshopper's smooth, very fast victory over older allowance foes at Saratoga earlier in the meet had reason to wonder if the Travers might be tighter than expected. And tighter it was.

Setting the pace through much of the race, leaving the speedy but overmatched C.P. West in his wake, Grasshopper stiffened to the challenge posed by Street Sense from the top of the stretch to the shadow of the wire. The performance by the defeated Grasshopper left the distinct impression that this late developing colt trained by Neil Howard will be a major player in major stakes for the rest of his career - perhaps even in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic at Monmouth Park in New Jersey on October 27th.

Street Sense, trained to the minute as usual by Carl Nafzger, may have been slightly best in the Travers, but Grasshopper gained enormous experience in his first stakes race, losing a lengthy stretch battle to the Derby winner while being pinned to the inside rail.

Credit jockey Calvin Borel with a tactically smart ride that contributed to Street Sense's half-length victory. Borel, who has a shrewd affection for saving ground along the rail, put Street Sense closer than usual to Grasshopper's moderate pace at a slight loss of ground. When ready, Borel moved to challenge for the lead on the final turn, willingly remaining outside, effectively pinning the inexperienced Grasshopper to the fence. This was the slight tactical edge Street Sense needed to win the prolonged drive to the wire.

Where Street Sense will go next is uncertain, but if he meets Grasshopper again, it's possible that the Derby winner will be facing a tougher rival than he narrowly beat in the Travers.

Beyond the Travers, Street Sense and Grasshopper were only two of the top-notch Breeders' Cup contenders who performed brilliantly on the hot and excessively humid afternoon. Shakis, a hard-hitting 7-year-old contender for the $2 million Breeders' Cup Mile or the $3 million Breeders' Cup Turf, overpowered a full field in the $200,000 Bernard Baruch Handicap (G2) with a burst of late speed inside rivals to break the course record for nine furlongs that had stood for 34 years. Owned by Shadwell Stable and trained by Kieran McLaughlin, Shakis may go in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at 1 1/2 miles on September 30th at Belmont Park. Or he may go in the Shadwell Mile at Keeneland on October 6th in an attempt to win the race sponsored by his Arabian-based connections as much as to prep for the $2 million Breeders' Cup Mile.

Hard Spun, missing from the Travers, ran instead in the 7-furlong, $250,000 King's Bishop (G1) on the Travers' Day card. His gritty performance, along with a similar effort by lightly raced First Defence, demonstrated once again the rare depth and talent of this year's American-based 3-year-olds.

Second in the Kentucky Derby at 10 furlongs, third in the Preakness at 9 1/2 furlongs, fourth in the 12-furlong Belmont Stakes and second to the emerging Any Given Saturday in the 9-furlong Haskell at Monmouth last month, Hard Spun was in the King's Bishop for reasons much different than publicly stated.

Where trainer Larry Jones said he wanted to "sharpen Hard Spun's speed" by putting him in a sprint before stretching him back out for the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic, the real reason was connected to a substantial bonus designated to the current owners of Hard Spun for a Grade 1 victory. (Earlier this year, Hard Spun was sold by Fox Hill Farm to the Dubai ruling family, but the horse will not change hands officially until the conclusion of the 2007 campaign.)

Going into the King's Bishop, the Grade 1 bonus looked precarious, given the depth and strength of the field. In actual practice, however, the 7-furlong affair developed into a two-horse race - a gut-wrenching match up between Hard Spun and the Bobby Frankel-trained First Defence.

Where Hard Spun took over the lead after stalking a quick pace for half a mile, the battle was joined on the final turn when First Defence moved up smoothly to his outside and looked ready to take command approaching the final furlong. While First Defence certainly ran strongly - putting his head in front of Hard Spun for a few strides - he couldn't match Hard Spun's fierce determination when the race was being decided in the final 100 yards.

Shed no tears for First Defence. Just as Grasshopper would indicate half an hour later that he belonged in top company, First Defence made a case for his status as a genuine prospect for the $2 million Breeders' Cup Sprint.

But an hour later, in the $100,000 Victory Ride Stakes (G3) - the fourth and final graded stakes on the Travers Day card - unbeaten La Traviata showed that the male horses preparing for the Breeders' Cup Sprint might not have the race all to themselves.

After overcoming a stumble at the start, La Traviata quickly took command of the 6-furlong race and improved her position to wire, winning by more than nine lengths with speed in reserve to remain undefeated in three career starts.

Even though La Traviata will have the option of running in the newly created $1 million Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint on Friday, October 26th, she may have to face the exceptional filly sprinter, Dream Rush. Or the connections for these two very fast fillies may choose to avoid meeting each other for $1 million and opt instead to tackle males for twice the money on Saturday, October 27th.

The Breeders' Cup races are eight weeks away, which is close enough to know that the major contenders are likely to have only one more prep race for the $23 million extravaganza that has been expanded to two days and 11 official Breeders' Cup events.

Hard Spun, for instance, may be stretched out in distance in one of the late September races that is under consideration for Street Sense, Any Given Saturday and Curlin.

After failing to perform at his best when third in the Haskell, Curlin will have a lot to prove when he runs against older horses in the 1 1/4-mile, $750,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) at Belmont on September 30th. That race is among the 14 left on the calendar with 'win-and-you're-in' tickets to several Breeders' Cup events.

Any Given Saturday, so impressive winning the Haskell, is being pointed for a seemingly easier spot, the $150,000 Brooklyn Handicap (G2) at Belmont on September 22nd.

While trainer Carl Nafzger mentioned several possible options for Street Sense, it seems likely that the Derby-Travers winner will get his final Breeders' Cup Classic prep in the $500,000 Massachusetts Handicap at Suffolk Downs on September 22nd or the $350,000 Kentucky Cup Classic at Turfway Park on September 29th.

Should Street Sense go in the race at Turfway, he will be following a familiar prep race pattern - using a Polytrack race as a stepping stone to the Breeders' Cup Classic just as he used the synthetic track at Keeneland as a stepping stone to the Kentucky Derby.

There are, in fact, more than 40 different American-based stakes for Breeders' Cup contenders to choose from during September and early October (plus another dozen stakes in Europe). But here are the remaining 14 'win-and-you're-in' races on the schedule. The list is followed by the complete Breeders' Cup schedule.

Remaining 'win-and-you're-in' Breeders' Cup prep races:

Saturday, September 29th at Santa Anita

• - $500,000 Goodwood Stakes (G1), 1 1/8 miles, for 3-year-olds and up (BC Classic)

Sunday, September 30th at Belmont Park

• - $750,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1), 1 1/4 miles, for 3-year-olds and up (BC Classic)
• - $600,000 Beldame Stakes (G1), 1 1/8 miles, for fillies and mares 3 years old and up (BC Distaff)
• - $600,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic (G1), 1 1/2 miles (turf), for 3-year-olds and up (BC Turf)
• - $400,000 Vosburgh Stakes (G1), 6 furlongs, for 3-year-olds and up (BC Sprint)

Saturday, October 6th at Belmont Park

• - $400,000 Champagne Stakes (G1), 1 mile, for 2-year-olds (BC Juvenile)

Saturday, October 6th at Keeneland

• - $400,000 First Lady Stakes (G2), 1 mile (turf), for fillies and mares 3 years old and up (BC Filly & Mare Turf)
• - $600,000 Shadwell Turf Mile (G1), 1 mile (turf), for 3-year-olds and up (BC Mile)
• - $500,000 Lanes End Breeders Futurity (G1), 1 1/16 miles, for 2-year-olds (BC Juvenile)
• - $250,000 Phoenix Stakes (G3), 6 furlongs, for 3-year-olds and up (BC Sprint)

Sunday, October 7th at Santa Anita

• - $300,000 Ancient Title Stakes (G1), 6 furlongs, for 3-year-olds and up (BC Sprint)
• - $250,000 Ladys Secret Stakes (G1), 1 1/16 miles, for fillies and mares 3 years old and up (BC Distaff)
• - $250,000 Oak Tree Mile (G2), 1 mile (turf), for 3-year-olds and up (BC Mile)

Sunday, October 7th at Keeneland

• - $500,000 Juddmonte Spinster Stakes (G1), 1 1/8 miles, for fillies and mares 3 years old and up (BC Distaff)

Breeders' Cup schedule:

Friday, October 26th at Monmouth Park

The three new Breeders' Cup races haven't been given graded stakes status in this, their initial year.

• - $1 million BC Dirt Mile, 1 mile and 70 yards, for 3-year-olds and up
• - $1 million BC Filly & Mare Sprint, 6 furlongs, for fillies and mares 3 years old and up
• - $1 million BC Juvenile Turf, 1 mile (turf), for 2-year-old colts, geldings, and fillies

Saturday, October 27th at Monmouth Park

The eight traditional Breeders' Cup races are all Grade 1.

• - $2 million BC Juvenile Fillies, 1 1/16 miles, for 2-year-old fillies
• - $2 million BC Juvenile, 1 1/16 miles, for 2-year-old colts and geldings
• - $2 million BC Filly & Mare Turf, 1 3/8 miles (turf), for fillies and mares 3 years old and up
• - $2 million BC Sprint, 6 furlongs, for 3-year-olds and up
• - $2 million BC Mile, 1 mile (turf), for 3-year-olds and up
• - $2 million BC Distaff, 1 1/8 miles, for fillies and mares 3 years old and up
• - $3 million BC Turf, 1 1/2 miles (turf), for 3-year-olds and up
• - $5 million BC Classic, 1 1/4 miles, for 3-year-olds and up

Next week: Revised rankings for all the major racing divisions, including the first posting for 2-year-olds, many of whom will be seen in action in the Hopeful and Spinaway Stakes at Saratoga and the Del Mar Debutante and Del Mar Futurity.

Please Note: Steve Davidowitz will be at Del Mar on Sunday, September 2nd to sign copies of his popular new book, The Best and Worst of Thoroughbred Racing, published by Daily Racing Form Press.

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.