Spotlight on the Juveniles
October 3rd, 2009By Jude T. Feld
Jeff Siegel Loves Softly Singing TodayHRTV Photo
More Breeders’ Cup preps on Sunday make this one of the best racing weekends in quite a while. Pay special attention to the babies as they move forward in leaps and bounds during the fall.
BEL 4th) NYRA has had a hard time filling their weekend stakes despite the large purses. COURT VISION opens at 4/5 in a five-horse Kelso (G2) field, based on his three-year-old form. He hasn’t been much of a threat this year but might wake up for new trainer Richard Dutrow. He is tough to bet with dubious form and an odds-on price. READY’S ECHO has been running credibly in solid company but he isn’t really a win machine. This event is what my father would have called “a beer race,†where your money is better spent on a libation than a parimutuel ticket.
BEL 6th) If there is a better-bred two-year-old filly in the United States than HATHEER, I would like to know who she is. By Storm Cat out of Golden Apples, it is no surprise that she is a runner. Her figures are a little light but I think she holds a class edge over the Miss Grillo (G3) field and solid wagering value at 6-1 on the a.m. line. SMART SEATTLE beat HATHEER when the two debuted on August 13 at Saratoga and came back to run second in the PG Johnson at today’s mile and a sixteenth distance. She has good tactical speed and a nice turn of foot. It would not be a shocker to see the Graham Motion trainee posing for pictures.
BEL 9th) Bred top and bottom for turf, WESTERN FLYER looks like the likely winner of the Pilgrim (G3), even though he has never run two turns. Morning line favorite INTERACTIF just won a Grade 3 on the grass at Saratoga and is a formidable foe, but it seems that he will have to move forward off that race and/or find the top choice lacking fitness.
OSA 6th) HRTV’s Jeff Siegel is an old friend, my first client as a trainer and a magnificent handicapper. He has been singing the praises of SOFTLY SINGING, even making her his “Bet of the Week†in the Oak Leaf (G1). The daughter of Holy Bull should appreciate the route and she has hot-riding Joel Rosario to guide her. ALWAYS A PRINCESS has a distance and turf pedigree but she was visually impressive breaking her maiden at 5 1/2 furlongs on the Del Mar Polytrack in her debut. Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert will have her fit and ready.
OSA 8th) Undefeated LOOKIN AT LUCKY has improved in speed figures as he has stretched out from six to seven furlongs. There is no reason to believe that the son of Smart Strike won’t move forward again going a mile and a sixteenth. It could be a great day for Baffert and Garrett Gomez. PULSION is on a similar pattern to the favorite but he has already run a mile. He is hung out in the 12-hole but Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith can help him overcome the bad draw. He should be a good price and might make a nice exotics tool.
