Trip Notes for November 17-18, 2018: Commonwealth Turf

Nov. 17

Churchill
River City Handicap (race 10)

COMMENT: A course listed as ‘yielding’ resulted in a few scratches, but it couldn’t deter heavy 7-10 favorite Mr. Misunderstood from taking care of business as the 4-year-old gelded son of Archarcharch bounced back after finishing sixth in the Grade 1 Shadwell Turf Mile at Keeneland on Oct. 6. With the drop, after finding Grade 1 waters a bit too deep, he had enough speed to stalk in third as Big Changes went out to a clear lead, setting a dawdling pace on the yielding turf. He remained third to the far turn, moved closer to cut into Big Changes’s lead, challenged into the lane, took a narrow lead by midstretch and prevailed after a long, hard duel. Trainer Brad Cox, of Monomoy Girl fame, said he’d likely be freshened, target a return at the Fair Grounds this winter and then target the Breeders’ Cup as his primary 2019 goal. Cox was rewarded further here as he also trained the runner-up Big Changes. That runner, coming off five straight wins, went right out to a clear lead, was able to remain clear while setting a slow pace, battled back when hooked by the eventual winner into the lane but couldn’t quite keep pace with his stablemate in the final furlong. Team Colors, game winner of a tough optional-claimer at Keeneland on Oct. 12, sat fourth just behind the eventual winner, tried to rally into the lane, proved no match but got third though he was no threat to the top two. Sir Dudley Digges, third in the Kentucky Turf Cup at Ellis Park on Aug. 5, sat second behind the pacesetter, bided his time there, pitched wide on the far turn as if poised to make a run but the run never came.

Del Mar
Bob Hope (race 8)

COMMENT: Field reduced to five with the scratch of Metropol (4-1 on morning line; ill) and outsider Sueno on Saturday morning (15-1 on morning line). Regardless, the song remained the same with regard to the 2-year-old male scene in SoCal as Mucho Gusto gives trainer Bob Baffert another highly regarded juvenile, as the $625,000 son of Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Mucho Macho Man won his second start. Coming off a big win in his sprint debut at Los Alamitos on Sept. 20, he got bumped hard at the start by Savagery to his right, recovered and still had the speed to make the early lead while on the rail but took immediate, heavy pressure from Savagery to his outside, endured that pressure into the lane, then Savagery and Sparky Ville came to him in midstretch but he managed to edge clear in the final half-furlong. Despite the quick turnaround, Baffert said the colt would target the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Futurity (Dec. 8). Baffert already has the highly promising Improbable pointing to that. This gives Baffert Improbable, unbeaten and almost-certain juvenile male champ Game Winner, Roadster (currently sidelined due to throat surgery), and the highly promising Coliseum (who won impressively earlier on this card in a faster time of 1:23.13 for 7 furlongs compared to Mucho Gusto’s 1:23.51) for the coming Triple Crown trail, so he’s loaded. Savagery, who dueled and ran second to Sparky Ville in the Sunny Slope at Santa Anita on Oct. 21, bumped hard with the winner to his inside, dogged that rival from the start, looked in trouble when between horses into the lane with the eventual winner to his inside and Sparky Ville who passed him briefly to his outside, but battled on to retake second in the final strides while unable to keep pace with the winner. Sparky Ville stalked the pace, loomed a big threat into the lane but couldn’t sustain his bid. Extra Hope, smashing route winner over maidens at Santa Anita on Oct. 21, bided his time while saving ground, moved off the inside into the lane and made some headway but was never really a danger to the winner. He was asked to cut back to a sprint here which may not have be to his liking as much as routing.