Pretty N Cool began to impress trainer Bob Baffert in workouts before the stable left Santa Anita for Del Mar in mid-July. When the stable heads back to Santa Anita next month, Pretty N Cool may be an undefeated Grade 1 winner.
Grass racing is in the spotlight this Saturday, with five graded stakes on grass at Arlington, a Grade 1 in the Del Mar Oaks for 3-year-old fillies out West, and the Grade 2 Fourstardave for some of the nation’s best turf milers at Saratoga. Typical of turf racing, fields are deeper than in dirt stakes, creating the potential for more rewarding payoffs.
When Prize Exhibit swooped from fourth to first in the final furlong of the Grade 2 San Clemente Handicap at Del Mar on July 19, the performance ranked as the best of her career in the mind of trainer Jim Cassidy. The win makes Prize Exhibit the favorite for Saturday’s $300,000 Del Mar Oaks for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/8 miles on turf.
The $50,000 Frank Gall Memorial at Charles Town on Saturday will provide a snapshot of where the top contenders for the $500,000 West Virginia Breeders’ Classic stand eight weeks out, as Russell Road, Lucy’s Bob Boy, and Hidden Canyon have all been entered.
There are obviously some Beyer unknowns at Arlington Park with all those Europeans in the big races, but there are three knowns in the Arlington Million: Big Blue Kitten is going to fire, local hero The Pizza Man will have to run the race of his life to win, and Chad Brown is live with every kind of running style.
A quick scan of the American St. Leger field suggests that The Pizza Man is the horse to beat, but that’s almost certainly wrong. The defending champion and morning-line favorite, The Pizza Man will be scratched in favor of the Arlington Million, according to his connections, leaving a nearly indecipherable mix of 10 older horses to contest the Grade 3, $350,000 American St. Leger, the first of four straight International Festival of Racing events on a terrific Saturday card at Arlington Park.
Tonasah and Delicate Lady give trainer Todd Pletcher a formidable one-two punch in Saturday’s $200,000 Adirondack Stakes. The Grade 2 fixture drew a field of seven juvenile fillies going 6 1/2 furlongs.
A J Marie and Fast Puff will renew their rivalry Saturday in the $40,000 Spicy Stakes on the penultimate program of the Arapahoe Park meet. The card also includes the $100,000 Mile High Derby for Quarter Horses, in which Tac My Chances will attempt to win his fifth straight race in a streak that started in a $10,000 claiming race in March.
The $50,000 Sun Sprint Handicap is the most intriguing and competitive of three stakes races on the Canadian Derby undercard Saturday at Northlands Park. Also on the 13-race card are the $50,000 Westerner Handicap for 3-year-olds and up and the $50,000 Sonoma for 3-year-old fillies.
They may be more clearly defined in 11 weeks when the Breeders’ Cup is run at Keeneland, but for now, the filly-mare turf ranks in North America are a jumble. Perhaps Hard Not to Like is the pro-tem leader, but Euro Charline could soar to the top of the division with an unprecedented feat Saturday at Arlington Park in the $700,000 Beverly D. Stakes.
