Weekend GamePlan: Picks for Paradise Creek, Cliff Hanger, Snow Chief
?q=100)
The best racing of Memorial Day weekend comes on Memorial Day itself, and North America has zero graded stakes Saturday. Most of Saturday’s better races come on turf, which is where we’re headed.
Paradise Creek
We can leave for another day trying to answer the question of why a turf sprint for 3-year-olds bears the name of a 1 1/4-mile grass horse.
Three Paradise Creek entrants cut back from route races considerably shorter than 1 1/4 miles to this six-furlong dash, and while Clock Tower is not for me, the other two merit mention.
Insubordination is by a sprint sire but out of a long-winded dam, and his turf-route performances suggest he favors dad more than mom. Insubordination did win going 7 1/2 furlongs around two turns but looked fairly gassed at the wire. I like him better than his stablemate Super Swift, though not as well as Assertiveness.
Assertiveness eked out a maiden route win at Gulfstream, beating a horse who might be all right, and he ran even better than that in his Keeneland defeat. The winner there came from far back in a race dominated by closers – save Assertiveness, who displayed a good turn of foot to take control in upper stretch before running out of steam.
Likely favorite Pivotal Moment, racing for the first time in blinkers, obviously caught the eye winning geared down at Gulfstream after an impressive swooping turn move. Six furlongs at Aqueduct, however, is a different game than he played last time, and Pivotal Moment beat a soft bunch.
I’m not sure how much speed these cut-back horses will show, and Super Swift has some steam, but no one’s beating Supersonic Blue to the lead and I see him wiring this field.
Supersonic Blue, trained by the eminent Neil Drysdale, might have won his debut with a better trip, though that five-furlong distance doesn’t suit him as well as six. And even while winning his next two, making the jump last time out to stakes competition, I thought Supersonic Blue still had more to give. He’s got that upper stretch burst you love to see in a turf speed horse, and after cruising to a maiden win two back, Supersonic Blue hit the line harder last time, as evidenced by his improved gallop-out. He’s a much bigger and stronger horse now than when he debuted, and workout video from his May 2 drill offers further encouragement.
Cliff Hanger
As far back as his 2-year-old campaign Signator looked like he could turn into a stakes horse. He has, but not on dirt, where Signator made his first dozen starts.
Trainer Shug McGaughey switched Signator to grass racing when the horse returned late this winter from an extended layoff. Not only has he gone 2 for 2, Signator has won in a way that suggests he can hit a higher level.
His Tampa performance was one of those races where you’re watching the replay knowing the outcome yet still wonder at the five-sixteenths pole, “How does he win from here?” Signator found more traffic than at a clogged Mumbai intersection but never hesitated, weaving his way to a victory better than the bare margin.
He found smoother passage winning the Henry Clark, but there was something more to like about that race, too. Signator just kind of sidled up to the leaders in midstretch, but with Fulmineo bearing down on his outside, he found another gear with about 50 yards remaining, doing his best work just before the finish. Neither Fulmineo nor anyone else in that race was catching him, and Signatore galloped out some 15 lengths in front. I think his Cliff Hanger will be even better.
:: Santa Anita Clocker Reports are available every race day. Access now.
Snow Chief
Got Soul is by a sprinter and out of a sprint mare who mainly has produced sprint horses. But why bother with pedigree when Got Soul already has shown he goes best in turf routes?
In Sabertooth he beat a pretty good horse while scoring a maiden win his first time going two turns, and after leading in that race, Got Soul settled comfortably well behind the pace stepping up to first-level allowance company. Sure, Got Soul got through on the rail, but that was only after being completely blocked from the five-sixteenths pole to the furlong grounds. He finished with aplomb and galloped out like this nine-furlong trip – in this stamina-limited race, at least – will not keep him from three in a row.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.