Cin Cin takes Foolish Pleasure, but not without stiff challenge

MIAMI - Trainer Bill White cautioned against conceding the victory in Saturday's $100,000 Foolish Pleasure Stakes to his odds-on favorite, Cin Cin. He was almost right.

Cin Cin, sent postward the prohibitive 1-2 favorite despite White's warnings, had to be fully extended to fend off his uncoupled stablemate, D'court's Speed, before hanging on for a half-length victory in the mile-and-70-yard Foolish Pleasure. The win was the third in a row for Cin Cin ($3), who easily won the seven-furlong Affirmed division of the Florida Stallion Stakes in his previous start.

"I asked anybody who wanted to bet $2 on this race whether it made sense to wager on a heavy favorite who'd never been around two turns or on a horse like D'court's Speed, who was a bigger price and had already run a pretty good race in a $50,000 stakes going a mile," said White.

D'court's Speed was sent off at 6-1.

Cin Cin was rated three lengths off the early pace set by Hal's Image and Lucky Frolic, and gained a short lead after coming three wide into the stretch. After edging clear, Cin Cin was fully extended to withstand his stablemate.

D'court's Speed bumped with another uncoupled stablemate, Do Run Run, after the break, saved ground for six furlongs, angled out for the drive, and was gaining gradually on the winner at the end. Hal's Image finished two lengths farther back in third.

Cin Cin covered the mile and 70 yards in 1:46.30 under regular rider Abdiel Toribio. His time was nearly three seconds faster than Dansetta Light's time for the same distance when she won the Brave Raj Stakes earlier in the day. A son of Precocity owned by The Posse, Cin Cin will now be pointed for the $400,000 In Reality on Oct. 23, the final leg of the Florida Stallion Stakes.

"The question remains whether this taxing effort today sets him up to run even bigger going around two turns in the In Reality, or took enough energy from the tank to cause him to go backwards next time," White said. "Fortunately we won this race today. If he'd run second and drained the tank, then you'd really feel bad.

"I'll monitor him and make sure he's 100 percent before he goes in the In Reality," he said. "I don't feel any obligation to run him if he's not."

Brave Raj: Dansetta Light draws off

Dansetta Light ($9.80) continued to move toward the top of the local 2-year-old filly division and earned herself a starting berth in the $400,000 My Dear Girl on Oct. 23 with a convincing 4 1/4-length win in the Brave Raj.

Under jockey Jose Lopez, Dansetta Light easily ran down the pacesetting Leona's Knight, then readily drew away from 7-5 favorite Frosty Royalty through the stretch. The finish mirrored that of the Lindsay Frolic Stakes four weeks earlier.

"The bettors never give us any respect, but that's all right," said winning trainer David Brownlee. "And she'll love the extra sixteenth of the My Dear Girl."