Four High-Class Fillies Could Challenge Indian Blessing in 2008

Plus Santa Anita Fighting Against Time to Repair its Cushion Track

A Column by Steve Davidowitz
December 19, 2007

Even though the maiden Country Star won the Alcibiades Stakes (G1) at Keeneland on October 5th, it was not surprising to see Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel keep her out of the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Monmouth Park on October 27th.

Frankel understood that running this lightly raced, late-developing daughter of 2003 Belmont Stakes winner Empire Maker in the Breeders' Cup would push her way too hard, way too soon. He knew that the $400,000 Hollywood Starlet (G1) on December 15th would be a better spot to point her towards, even though it offered one-fifth the purse of the Breeders' Cup. Frankel also understood that skipping the Breeders' Cup would cost Country Star her chance to be named the champion 2-year-old filly of 2007.

That notwithstanding, Frankel's slow-percolating plan was validated by Country Star's powerful performance in the Starlet, which might not have been possible without the natural maturation she gained during the nine weeks since the Alcibiades.

A nine-week period may not seem long enough to boost the performance level of any horse. But when we are dealing with 2-year-olds - and in a few months from now when we are dealing with maturing 3-year-olds - a mere two months can produce an emphatic growth in body strength. The changeover can, in fact, resemble the dramatic improvement human athletes regularly exhibit from their teenage years to young adulthood.

Country Star, a mere juvenile filly with strong bones, a generous body and a regal, classy head, circled the leaders in the Starlet with minimum urging from jockey Rafael Bejarano, lengthened her stride through the final two furlongs to easily defeat Grace and Power and seven others in the track record time of 1:40.54 for the 1 1/16 miles.

"She took off nicely when he (Bejarano) asked her for a little move in the stretch," Frankel said. "I knew when she first came to me that she would be right at home at longer distances."

The performance was so impressive, so effortless, that it is virtually certain that Country Star will be a formidable rival for Indian Blessing, who won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and has never been seriously challenged in three career starts. It is also true that other good-looking juvenile fillies have displayed significant improvement late in the year and are likely to be worth watching as 3-year-olds in 2008.

One such promising young miss is Zenyatta, who coincidentally won an entry level allowance race on the Hollywood Starlet under card last Saturday almost as impressively as Country Star won the Grade 1 stakes.

Zenyatta, a daughter of Street Cry, was clocked in 1:40.97 for the same 1 1/16-mile distance and was never asked for her best by jockey David Flores. Trained by John Shirreffs (who developed 2005 Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo), there is a good chance we will see her in Grade 1 competition during the winter at Santa Anita.

Speaking of Street Cry, who made a big splash in 2007 with Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense, there is at least one other young daughter of that sire to keep in mind for high-class stakes in 2008: Cry and Catch Me.

A very game winner of the $250,000 Oak Leaf Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita on September 29th, Cry and Catch Me suffered a mild injury in training for the Breeders' Cup and has been on the sidelines gaining strength for her return to competition sometime in February at Santa Anita. Trained by future Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, Cry and Catch Me is stablemate to the Baffert-trained probable juvenile filly champion Indian Blessing.

Another high-class filly to watch in 2008 is Mushka, who was sired by the promising new sire Empire Maker, who also sired Country Star. Earlier this month, Mushka won the nine-furlong Demoiselle (G2) at Aqueduct with an eye-catching last-to-first move that impressed her Hall of Fame trainer Billy Mott.

"Like most of the late-developing horses we're seeing now," Mott said, "she's a natural distance horse getting better as she grows into herself." "Right now," he added, "we're looking mostly at the Fair Grounds Oaks in March for her main winter target."

All four of these late-developing young fillies - Country Star, Zenyatta, Cry and Catch Me and Mushka - have earned competitive Beyer Speed figures in their races at one mile and longer and all are in the hands of expert horsemen who know how to get them to reach full bloom next spring. They join undefeated Indian Blessing and once beaten Proud Spell (second in the 2007 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies) to form a strong core of exciting 3-year-old fillies to watch in 2008.

Santa Anita fighting against time to repair its Cushion Track

After a heavy, unexpected rainstorm in October, Santa Anita track officials noticed that the new synthetic track wasn't draining properly, causing an uneven racing surface that would deteriorate into a dangerous mess if the problem couldn't be resolved.

Guess what?

We are barely a week away from Santa Anita's traditional December 26th opening and the synthetic racing surface is still a major concern.

To their credit, track officials have been honest about the issue and are working diligently towards reconfiguring the Cushion Track's asphalt base to improve the drainage. But this is a complicated race against time with no guarantees.

The first step requires complete removal of the synthetic top layer of sand, dirt, wax and wires that comprise the Cushion Track. This will be followed by tricky work on the base where an excessive accumulation of sand has been disrupting proper drainage.

According to Santa Anita president Ron Charles, "it will take seven full days of work to accomplish this." That makes for a very tight timetable, especially as Santa Anita was forced to postpone the project until Monday, December 17th after heavy rains fell on the surface the preceding Friday.

While the work continues at a feverish pace, no horses will be permitted to train over Santa Anita's main track. Of equal import, no one really knows what kind of synthetic surface we will see when the 2007-2008 Santa Anita meet begins - if it begins - on schedule.

Without intending to be pessimistic, it is a simple fact that no one connected to Santa Anita, no one involved with Cushion Track and no horseplayer, trainer or jockey can predict how this reconfigured synthetic track surface will respond when the seasonal rains roll in from the Pacific Ocean in late January and February. Fans of racing in California are quite familiar with the havoc these winter rains have caused to traditional dirt tracks in Northern and Southern California for the past 50 years. Hopefully the work being done on the Cushion Track surface - which was advertised as rainproof when it was sold to Santa Anita - will hold up a whole lot better than traditional dirt and a whole lot better than it did after one good dousing in November.

Added notes: Hollywood Park also had a minor problem with its Cushion Track on Sunday morning. A section near the six-furlong pole developed some uneven spots after eight-tenths of an inch of rain fell on the track during the same rainfall that affected Santa Anita so much on Friday, December 14th. The repair followed the seemingly unrelated death of Coastal Eddy, who was a maiden claiming winner at the Oak Tree at Santa Anita meeting in October. Hollywood officials said that Coastal Eddy had to be put down after suffering an irreparable knee injury during the Sunday morning training session.

Next week: A review of the $750,000 CashCall Futurity to be run on Saturday, December 22nd at Hollywood Park, plus a list of the best and worst performances in 2007.

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.