Hootenanny's work in Europe stands out
ARCADIA, Calif. – European-based 2-year-olds have dominated the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf in the seven seasons since it was added to the Breeders’ Cup race roster in 2007. An overseas shipper has won five runnings of the Juvenile Turf, and Achill Island finished second to the U.S.-based Nownownow in 2007. Only in 2010 at Churchill Downs, when Pluck won, did a Euro fail to hit the exacta.
A 2-year-old with strong European form appears poised to make it six wins from eight races in Friday’s $1 million BC Juvenile Turf. The catch is that this horse, Hootenanny, is based in the United States with trainer Wesley Ward.
Ward, a wizard with 2-year-olds, several years ago sensed an opening. He thought his juvenile runners, many bred for turf, were more developed and advanced during the summer than youngsters racing overseas. Ward began sending 2-year-olds to the Royal Ascot meet in June, found immediate success, and has kept the pipeline open.
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Hootenanny, after winning his debut at Keeneland in April, then running below form when third in the Rollicking Stakes at Pimlico, went to Royal Ascot and absolutely crushed 23 rivals in the Windsor Castle Stakes on June 17. Ward brought him home, then sent him to France in August, when Hootenanny ran a game second in the Group 1 Prix Morny, one of the most important juvenile races in Europe.
Those two races are leaps and bounds better than anything the four actual European shippers have put up, and Hootenanny definitely deserves to be favored over 13 rivals over one mile in the Juvenile Turf.
The Juvenile Turf, race 6 on the program with a scheduled post time of 2:25 p.m. Pacific, is the first Breeders’ Cup race of the weekend. It starts a pick three and a pick four, and handicappers should lean heavily on Hootenanny while using War Envoy, trained by Aidan O’Brien, as a backup. O’Brien not only has won two of the seven editions of the Juvenile Turf, he has sent out the runner-up on three other occasions, including last year, when Giovanni Boldini finished second to another Euro, Outstrip.
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The other Europeans will need to step it up. Aktabantay finished less than one length behind War Envoy earlier this month in France in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere but is a lumbering type who doesn’t figure to suit the Santa Anita conditions. Commemorative, a Group 3 winner last out, also appears to lack the required athleticism, and Wet Sail hasn’t even started in a group stakes.
The top Americans come from the Grade 3 Pilgrim at Belmont. Imperia won the race, Offering Plan was third, and Startup Nation fourth. The Pilgrim runner-up, Vision Perfect, returned to win a turf stakes Sunday at Belmont.
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KEY CONTENDERS
Hootenanny (Last 3 Beyers: NA-NA-51)
◗ Hootenanny has better form than any of the previous European shippers who won or ran well in the Juvenile Turf. Most of those horses were second or third stringers who couldn’t compete with the elite overseas 2-year-olds, but Hootenanny, a son of Quality Road, has done that.
“We’re ready,” said Ward. “He’s coming into the race a very fresh horse.”
◗ The major question with Hootenanny is distance, since he has yet to race beyond six furlongs. Ward said not to worry.
“First of all, he’s a big, strapping dude, and I think 2-year-olds can go a mile in the fall even if they’re going to end up being sprinters,” he said. “When we scope him, he’s got a big, huge airway, and alongside that, he’s got a beautiful mind. If you can run three-quarters along the straightaway in France against Europe’s best, you can get a mile.”
◗ Frankie Dettori has picked up the ride on Hootenanny, who may sit right off another Ward horse, Luck of the Kitten, in the running.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 5 Hootenanny. Trainer Wesley Ward is 6-0-0-0 over the past five years with 2-year-olds going a route of ground for the first time in a graded stakes race. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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War Envoy (No previous U.S. starts)
◗ Trust trainer O’Brien to bring the right 2-year-old for the Juvenile Turf. He has had a starter in all seven years, with three seconds and two wins to show for his efforts.
◗ War Envoy’s stride and balance look better suited to the flashy style of turf racing at Santa Anita than his overseas counterparts, and he did not run a bad fifth when beaten 1 1/4 lengths in the Group 1 Jean-Luc Lagardere on Oct. 5. Pounced, who won the Juvenile Turf here in 2009, also came out of the Lagardere.
Imperia (Last 2 Beyers: 82-69)
◗ Second by a neck in his career debut, Imperia delivered a scorching finish off a moderate pace to win the Pilgrim going away. Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said he thinks a likely faster pace Friday will only help.
“I think the pace suits him better,” McLaughlin said. “He has a good turn of foot. The bigger concern is how he’ll like the firmer course.”
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 11 Imperia. Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin is 8-2-3-1 with a $4.05 ROI over the past five years with 2-year-olds in turf route graded stakes. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 2 Daddy D T. Trainer John Sadler is 47-10-5-4 with a $3.62 ROI (4-1-0-1, $4.90 with 2-year-olds) over the past five years going dirt to turf in routes. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan