The Travers canoe – a fixture since 1926 and painted with winning silks since 1961 – cool.
TRAVERS ANALYSIS
Pick 4’s galore, including a $1 million all-stakes pick 4, crack open those DRF’s and get studyin!
Here are my thoughts on the TRAVERS (BY POST POSITION)
BOWMAN’S CAUSEWAY
Canadian-bred from Adena Springs program is coming off a “paired top”, his 2 best career Beyer Figures of 92 in the Plate and then 93 in the ‘Wales. The 93 on dirt is the one you base him on – a bit short of these and still think he does not want 1 1/4 miles.
RATTLESNAKE BRIDGE
grey fellow from the Queen’splatekitten camp somehow won the photo in the Long Branch at Monmouth, I watched that race a bunch of times and was not overly impressed. He last 3 Beyers of 91, 901 and 91 suggest maybe a 92-93 could be his ceiling.
MOONSHINE MULLIN
Another Woodbine hopeful, trained by READE BAKER and ridden by Emma-Jayne Wilson. He ran big in the Jim Dandy and went from 84 to 99 with the move to dirt (on Beyer Figures); no reason he can’t duplicate that and only Stay Thirsty has a better recent Beyer; would guess the distance still may be tricky.
RULER ON ICE
He rarely runs a bad one and surely he was going to be a bit rusty in the Haskell off his short layoff and Belmont heroics. looks like he can come close to 100 again.
MALIBU GLOW
Gets a bit better in Beyers every race but the pattern goes from 84 to 90 to 93, he would have to go higher. Can be a superfecta horse though.
RAISON D’ETAT
(Reason of State)
White faced fellow is 94 and then 97 last time, a paired top. Had no pace to run at last time in Curlin Stakes.
COIL
Has run three 96’s in succession, so a 96 is the projection and that’s only a small piece.
J W BLUE
lots of 80 beyers until his latest 6 weeks ago when he hit a 95. Distance will be too tough.
STAY THIRSTY
Weird horse – he was icky through Florida Derby and Kentucky Derby and then sloppy Belmont Stakes woke him up and then a 106 in the Jim dandy? Likely factor again.
SHACKLEFORD
If you like form cycles and patterns, he is creeping up in Beyers again and that could mean a 100-104 effort; his race in the Haskell was simply unreal, watch it if you have time.
JEN’S PICKS – RULER ON ICE SHACKLEFORD STAY THIRSTY – MOONSHINE MULLIN
The RAGOZIN SHEETS offer an analysis too:
http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/racing-news/2011/08/26/ragozin-insider-travers-stakes.aspx
Who are the connections of Moony?
MOONSHINE MULLIN is owned by Dick Johnson, who co-bred the colt. Johnsonm of Omaha, Nebraska, races MoonshineMullin under his nom du course, Viking Farms. The owner of CoxJohnson Corporation, which produces boat, sports, and travel consumer shows in Nebraska and Iowa, he was in
charge of publicity and advertising at South Dakota’s Park Jefferson racetrack in the early ‘60s. Johnson went on to breed Lord Avie (Lord Gaylord), the champion 2-year-old colt of 1980. Co-Breeder is Dr. Beran is a physician in Omaha who has been in family medicine for more than four decades.
TRAVERS PREVIEW
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Coil aims to follow in sire’s footsteps at Travers Stakes
Saratoga Springs, N.Y.— The Associated Press
Bob Baffert is back on the East Coast, convinced his three-year-old colt Coil can beat the Preakness and Belmont Stakes winners again in the $1-million (U.S.) Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course on Saturday.
Last time the California-based trainer brought Coil cross country, the striking chestnut won the $1-million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park by a neck over Preakness winner Shackleford, with Belmont winner Ruler On Ice third.
“I think he’s going to get better as he gets older,” Baffert said.
The lightly raced Coil will attempt to become the first horse to win the Haskell and Travers since his sire, Point Given, did it in 2001. Point Given also won the Preakness and the Belmont in ‘01 and went on to be voted Horse of the Year. Coil missed the Triple Crown races, and will be making his seventh career start in the 1 1/4-mile (2-kilometre) “Mid-Summer Derby.”
“Point Given had more of a foundation where this horse really doesn’t have the foundation,” Baffert said following Coil’s final pre-race workout earlier in the week. “He’s doing things right now because of raw talent. He’s fast, he’s ratable and you can shut him off, which is good. So it’s not like he’s one dimensional. His daddy won it and I don’t know why he can’t.”
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/more-sports/coil-aims-to-follow-in-sires-footsteps-at-travers-stakes/article2144446/
WOODBINE WEEK WRAP
Congrats to SUE LESLIE, co-owner of her trainee ANDTHE SKIPPER TOO, who loped along on the lead udner Ryan Pacheco and won the 7th race on Thursday at 45 to 1 and became the first winner for leslie in 2011. Leslie, the president of the HBPA, Ontario, head of OHRIA and a litany of other things, owns the Ontario bred Skip away filly with C5 Stable, Wayne Abbott and D. Giesbrechts.
Interesting that leggy gal; has not been clear on the lead in a route race in 3 races this year (she went too fast in her latest when running for $11,500 for the first time) but Pacheco nursed her along and she won off easily and paid $94 rocks.
Thursday’s Woodbine card, on the heels of a late Wednesday night card that was curtailed after race 4 because of the big storm, started out with a 4 horse field of maiden 2yos and ended with a 3 horse field of maiden mares (off the turf race was decimated by scratches).
A virus has plagued the backstretch so there are quite a few scratches.
EMMA-JAYNE WILSON won 3 races as she continues to be steady, strong and one of the most reliable riders on the circuit.
She won on Guys and Doll Stable;s BELLAMY BLUES in race 2 for maidens, $25,000, older gals (Ontario bred from Denny Andrews breeding program, daughter of Bellamy Road).
Then in an off the turf dash for mares, she won on the lovely mare MADAM INSPECTOR (Deputy Commander) who won her 9th race in her 20th start and her first off the claim by owner/trainer STEVE ASMUSSEN.
in race 5, she guided CANADIENNE WHISKEY (E Dubai) to her maiden won off the April – August layoff for Nick Gonzalez and Martha Gonzalez and owner Mike Coll.
MISS LOLA won race 7 in her return to Polytrack. The gail Cox/JOhn Menary gal is 8-0-0-0 on the grass and had been doing a lot of turf lately but Poly is her game. She won the allowance under Luis Contreras for her 3rd win in 13 career races.
A tad startling was the performance of 1 to 5 shot ICE DANGER, who took a whole lot of cash down with him when he was 4th in race 3. The 3yo gelding had just won for $40,000 and was in for $20,000 and his Beyer last time was an 82, and he earned it honestly. he was one-paced and dull on Thursday and was not claimed.
YESTERDAY (FRIDAY) – It’s HARD NOT TO LIKE…Hard not to Like, a filly, who took on the boys on the SUMMER PREP, was without her rider from her winning debut as Jim McAleney rode a stablemate, but won handily and is 2 for 2 now for owner/breeder Garland Williamson.
This gal, a homebred by hot young sire Hard Spun out of Williamson’s grand mare LIKE A GEM, is very professional and now can be pointed to the Natalma Stakes and who knows? Maybe the Juvenile Turf Fillies at Churchill Downs.
Trainer GAIL COX won a pair on the day as CARBON FOOTPRINT, owned by Melodee Hicks, won the 8th, an allowance race. The 4yo by Forest Danger has won 3 races in succession dating back to last season.
SALTY STORY – What can you say about 10-year-old SALTY LANGFUHN? This gelding won his 16th race in his 56th start for Maggi Moss and trainer Steve Asmussen in race 7, a $40K claimer. The old-timer looked like he had little chance of catching up to 8yo SPIDER ROCK (a 12 time winner) turning for home behind the slow pace (24 1/5, 46 4/5 in a 7 furlong race) but he really motored along and got up under Eurico Da Silva.
Interestingly, ‘Salty’ was a $10,000 yearling purchase by James Michael from HIll ‘n’ Dale at the Keeneland September yearling sale. One of the co-breeders is Glenn Sikura and his brother John.
He is one of 15 foals for the mare Over Your Shoulder and he has a millionaire half-brother that raced in Japan (Shinko Splendor).
James Michael lost ‘Salty’ from his debut for $32,000 in Nov. 2003 as Kelynack Stable took him.
But Kelynack lost the gelding in the 2nd start for $40K when he won his maiden.
The new owner, Ron Udit and trainer Norm McKnight raced the gelding a few times early in 2004 until Kelynack and trainer Abraham Katryan claimed him for $50,000 in the summer of that year.
They raced him for a year but when he went off form, he was dropped in for $20,000. He won that day by 10 lengths with a 94 Beyer Figure (summer 2005) and was claimed by owner/trainer Audre Cappuccitti.
Cappuccitti won 3 races with the gelding until he was claimed by Moss for $32,00 in the spring of 2008.
SALTY LANGFUHN, what a story. Norm Files photo
More stuff…
Ben Hutzel celebrated a win with NIKKI’S BOLD GELATO, the 2yo filly who bore into the railing fro mthe rail post in her debut July 30 but made no such mistake yesterday and took off in the 5 furlong maiden allowance. The filly has a full sister in the upcoming September select yearling sale (Bold Executive – Gelato by Dance Brightly) offered by Paradox Farm for Hope Stock Farm.
Trainer and co-owner STEVEN CHIRCOP (Kara’s Orientation) celebrated another win when MEDIDOCIHOSPISURG won for $20K in race 5. The 6yo gelding is 5 for 29 in his career.
ROB THE CRADLE was a very predictable winner of race 6, a maidenallowance for 3yos and up at 6 furlongs turf. This son of Philanthropist – Divine Decadence was originally a $7,5000 yearling, but recently bought by Denny Andrews and Mike Colterjohn. He is 5-1-2-1 in his career and Emma-Jaybe Wilson rode for trainer Ian Black.
And the finale was yet another win by a nice beginner for the team of Eugene Melnyk and trainer Mark Casse. EXETOR ROAD, a homebred, foaled in Ontario, is by More than Ready out of Melnyk’s good turf stakes gal Black Rock Road. He broke poorly but won anyway with 7 furlongs on turf in 1:23.
WOODBINE MILE
‘C’ WHO’S COMING!
COURAGEOUS CAT and last year’s winner COURT VISTION are on schedule to invade Woodbine for the Sept. 18 Woodbine Mile.
Noms close Aug. 31 but the race is already in the plans of top horses.
from the Blood-Horse:
Multiple grade I winner Court Vision has been purchased privately by Spendthrift Farm and will be trained by Dale Romans through the remainder of the season before retiring to stud, Spendthrift’s general manager Ned Toffey confirmed Aug. 26.
The 6-year-old son of Gulch out of the Storm Bird mare Weekend Storm was transferred to Romans’ Saratoga barn from the care of Rick Dutrow Jr. Aug. 25 and will continue pointing toward the $1 million Woodbine Mile (Can-IT) Sept. 18; he won the event last year by 1 1/4 length
Read more: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/64735/court-vision-purchased-by-spendthrift-farm#ixzz1WDqLm3u6
STRONACH, ATTFIELD, CONTRERAS – California dreamin
Don Cavallo in the Pacific Classic, tomorrow
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/aug/26/twirling-candy-must-be-best-behavior-win-pacific-c/
