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September 25, 2001
By ED GOLDEN
THAT CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON BEGINS AT OAK TREE World-class racing returns to Southern California on Wednesday when Oak Tree launches its 33rd season with a 32-day run at Santa Anita. Expected to display their extensive wares on the way to the Breeders� Cup at Belmont Park on Oct. 27 are 2000 Horse of the Year Tiznow in the Oct. 7 Goodwood Handicap; champion sprinter Kona Gold in the Oct. 6 Ancient Title Handicap; and undefeated 2-year-old colt Came Home in Saturday�s Norfolk Stakes. The Norfolk briefly had been hailed as a vehicle for a pre-Breeders� Cup Juvenile showdown between Came Home and the sensational and unbeaten Officer, winner of his four races by a combined 22 1/2 lengths. But trainer Bob Baffert changed course in mid-stream last Friday, saying the son of Bertrando would run in the Champagne Stakes at Belmont on Oct. 6 instead of the Norfolk, where, one day earlier, Baffert had said the colt would run. The Champagne was Officer�s original destination. Aside from quality racing, bettors will see a change in the status of the Yellow Ribbon Stakes. Racing secretary Mike Harlow, in his third season at Oak Tree, says the addition of the $2 million Filly and Mare Turf has had a major impact on the Grade I Yellow Ribbon. "The last five or six years at Oak Tree, the emphasis had been on the Yellow Ribbon, which was run late in the meet," Harlow said. "But with the addition of the Filly and Mare Turf to the Breeders� Cup, the emphasis now is on the first Saturday, with the Yellow Ribbon, the Norfolk Stakes and the Lady�s Secret, and then Sunday, because the first weekend is when we run all the Breeders� Cup preps. "The way it looks, we�ll have quite a few of the major contenders running, hopefully Came Home in the Norfolk and the following weekend Kona Gold and Tiznow. There could be some great racing the first couple of weekends." Eight stakes races, including six graded events, and $1.8 million in purses will be offered during the first five days. As far as full fields for overnight races, Harlow looked at Del Mar as a barometer. "Del Mar had a pretty good meet with numbers of horses per race," Harlow said. "Their average was up slightly from last year, so hopefully that will continue at Oak Tree. We don�t have many weather concerns, but what hurts is when some trainers take a string of eight or 12 horses back East along with their Breeders� Cup horses. Occasionally, when trying to fill an overnight race, losing a shipped horse that might have qualified for that race hurts. Hopefully, that won�t happen. But I understand why it does, because everyone wants to be at the Breeders� Cup, or at least run that day, even on the undercard. "The Yellow Ribbon used to be a marquee race, but now, with all the concerns about flying, it�s very difficult to get people to come here and run if they have Breeders� Cup aspirations, especially Europeans, because they have to ship from Europe, to New York, to L.A. and back to New York. That�s not practical. They�re probably going to choose another spot. That�s made it increasingly difficult for the Yellow Ribbon. "As to how we write our races, we pay very close attention to the last few weeks at Del Mar to see what�s working and what�s not, and kind of go from there. I look at Pomona (Fairplex), but not as much as I do Del Mar." Harlow expects both the main track surface and the turf course to play fair and safe. "I think there are several factors to consider about the condition of the dirt surface," he said. "The change in weather, the addition of material, and the increase in the volume of horses that work on the track after Del Mar closes. There are six or seven hundred more horses training over our track when Del Mar ends. All factors combined, it takes a little while for the track to tighten up, but we should be in good shape."
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THE HOMESTRETCH: John Amerman, owner of Lido Palace, says the Woodward winner will have a "slight rest and go straight to the Breeders� Cup, if we decide to supplement him." The cost would be $800,000. Amerman�s Hawthorne Handicap winner, Printemps, who missed Belmont�s Ruffian when it was cancelled due to the terrorist attacks, likely will start in the Oct. 7 Spinster at Keeneland, although the Oct. 6 Beldame is an option for the 4-year-old filly . . . Tip to Breeders� Cup future book bettors: Don�t waste your money on Touch of the Blues in the Mile or Beat Hollow in the Turf. The Neil Drysdale-trained Touch of the Blues popped a splint at Del Mar and is out for the year, according to Drysdale assistant John O�Donoghue, while word from the Bobby Frankel barn is the touted European invader Beat Hollow is out for several months. Drysdale is in New York with Fusaichi Zenon, Irish Prize and Kalypso Katy, among others, and will be there through the Breeders� Cup. Kalypso Katy is a candidate for Saturday�s Grade I Flower Bowl Invitational at 1 1/4 miles on turf and if she runs well, could be supplemented to the Filly and Mare Turf . . . Frankel, who won the Clement L. Hirsch Memorial Turf Championship the last two years with Mash One, could start as many as three horses in Sunday�s 1 1/4-mile turf event. They are Blue Steller, Harrisand and Mizzen Mist . . . Bob Hess Jr. had hoped to have D�wildcat ready for the Breeders� Cup Sprint, but now the Swale Stakes winner will be sidelined another five months. "His shoulder injury is healed, but he got a little colicky on me, so we just scratched all plans. He�s fine and we hope to have him ready to run in February." On what to expect from his stable for Oak Tree: "I think the quality will be there, but the quantity won�t be real, real strong. We hope to see Unbridled Dignity develop a bit more and Striking Song (fourth behind Officer in the Del Mar Futurity) will be a fun horse. He�ll be running a mile (in an overnight race) on Oct. 8." On how the track surface is playing: "It�s sandier, looser than normal, but it probably will tighten up by opening day." Bob�s advice to bettors: "Throw Del Mar form out and go back to Hollywood form." . . . Did you know that Officer�s original name was Pasquale�s Best? "He was named for some place in Del Mar," Baffert said. "I told the Prince (Ahmed Salman, who heads up The Thoroughbred Corp.) to change the name." |
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GOLDEN GLIMPSES #383
Ed
The Running Horse (https://www.isd1.com/)