An Alabama Stakes For The Ages At Saratoga

by Steve Davidowitz | Aug 21 2008

The Travers and Pacific Classic in the spotlight this weekend

A Column by Steve Davidowitz
August 21, 2008

Sometimes a small field does nothing to diminish a huge performance. Sometimes a horse race boils down to two top-notch horses providing the kind of theater that perfectly expresses why horse racing has been a popular sport and wagering game for hundreds of years, and why it will adapt to new challenges despite periodic attacks from people who underestimate the thrill of watching beautifully prepared Thoroughbreds do what they are born and trained to do.

Such was the case in the Grade 1 $600,000 Alabama Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Saratoga on Saturday, August 16th. Only five horses and four betting interests were involved, but nobody really cared as Proud Spell and Music Note extended each other every step of the way to finish a mere head apart after a grueling 1 1/4-mile dance to the wire that included a final furlong which was among the best in the 128-year history of the race.

The heavily backed betting favorite Music Note was set up perfectly for her expected rally by her entry mate Little Belle, who set the pace for about a mile and made Music Note's chief rival, Proud Spell, fight to get clear in the upper stretch before she had to respond to the stiff challenge that was looming in the upper stretch.

And it did come. Just as Proud Spell took the lead from Little Belle entering the stretch, Music Note rallied wide to engage her with less than 3/16 miles to go. From there to the wire, it looked for an instant that Music Note was going to boldly blow right on by, but Proud Spell dug in along the rail and wouldn't let her pass. Both fillies raced nose-to-nose, shadow-to-shadow with no sign of weakness until the final few strides when Proud Spell finally took a short lead and held it to the wire and beyond.

Proud Spell had plenty of credentials to win this race, having already established herself as one of the top 3-year-old fillies in America, and the same was true for the streaking Music Note, who had won the Coaching Club American Oaks so impressively last month. But there was something wrong with the handicapping logic of those who played this race and made the Music Note - Little Belle entry a mere 45 cents on the dollar, while letting Proud Spell go to the post at a relatively generous $1.95-$1, a shade under 2-1. On paper the race looked like $1.20 -1 for each horse and on the historic, 145-year-old Saratoga racing surface the duel played out very close to those odds.

Here is my summary for the Alabama and its clockings, along with my summary of two other major stakes on Saturday - the $300,000 Del Mar Oaks on the turf at Del Mar that was dominated by extreme longshots; and the $500,000 Sword Dancer on the turf at Saratoga, which was won by last year's upset winner, Grand Couturier. I've also added a note about a promising 2-year-old who made a strong debut on the Alabama card.

Saratoga Racecourse, Saturday, August 16th

* The Gr. 1 $600,000 Alabama Stakes, 1 1/4 miles for 3-year-old fillies.

Fractional Splits: 24.97. .50.22. .1:14.70. .1:38.99. . .2:04.08 - An even but hard to measure pace on a very dead track, with deceptive fractions that didn't tell anything important about the class of the race or the quality of its principle performers.

Winning Beyer Speed Figure: 101 - Close to a pure guess given the absence of any other dirt race at a comparable distance on a very hard to read surface. Sometimes speed and pace numbers are reduced to educated guesswork.

Proud Spell out-gamed her tough rival Music Note, who as described earlier seemed ready to blow right on by in mid-stretch but couldn't do so, attesting to the class of the winner and the great training job once again by Larry Jones, one of the game's best, especially with fillies.

Music Note turned in a very fine race and may have set the stage for a future confrontation with Proud Spell, which apparently won't be in the Breeders' Cup Distaff. Jones has already stated his lack of interest in running his top horses on the Pro Ride synthetic racing surface that has yet to be fully installed.

Little Belle ran well and was still striding well when she was passed by Proud Spell and, while not a win threat thereafter, did run a good third, leaving the other two fillies in the race far back.

Mushka chased Little Belle for seven furlongs and couldn't keep pace as if this was much too tough for her at this point in her career. As a side note, with no clear reason to explain it, trainer Billy Mott has endured one of the worst Saratoga meets of his Hall of Fame career, this after he ran away with the Saratoga trainers' standings in 2007.

Sweet Vendetta ran in reverse most of the way and was eased, as a likely result of a pulmonary bleeding incident through her Lasix.

* The Gr. 1 $500,000 Sword Dancer, 1 1/2 miles on the turf for 3-year-olds and up.

Fractional Splits: 25.80. .50.44. .1:16.13. .1:41.73. .2:06.78 . . .2:32.21 - The course had plenty of moisture in it after heavy rains earlier in the week (and through the first three weeks of the meet). The pace was typically slow for a race at this dance in these conditions, but the key point is that every quarter-mile was clocked in about 25 and a few ticks, a difficult pace to maintain at this distance, the distance of the $3 million Breeders' Cup Turf. Another equally important point is that this year's Turf will be contested on a virtual billiard table turf course, not a rain-soaked course such as the one for this race.

Winning Beyer Speed Figure: 105 - A legit Grade 1 rating.

Grand Couturier won this race last year under jockey Calvin Borel after a modest sixth-place finish in a prep and did the same here with a fine ground-saving ride by the emerging top-notch stakes rider Alan Garcia, who was a mere apprentice less than two years ago. Grand Couturier was well-handled inside, steadied in the backstretch while saving ground and forced to steady again when he stumbled after being bumped by the tiring Presious Passion while moving forward in the upper stretch. Once in the clear, Grand Couturier out-finished the wide rallying Better Talk Now with room to spare. Obviously this horse loves this course and wet course conditions.

Better Talk Now, the winner of the 2004 Breeders' Cup Turf (yes, 2004!), certainly continues to hold his world-class form at the ripe age of nine and did his best here with a typically good rally.

Interpatation rallied from mid-pack for third in a positive effort; Presious Passion set the pace for 1 3/16 miles and weakened while forcing the winner to steady. Dancing Forever, the surprise wagering choice at $3-2 odds, was no real threat at any time, with no visible excuse other than perhaps the wet course. Equitable chased the front runner for 1 1/4 miles and faded to last in the final drive.

Del Mar Racetrack, Saturday, August 16th

* The Gr. 1 $300,000 Del Mar Oaks, 1 1/8 miles on the turf for 3-year-old fillies.

Fractional Splits: 22.71. .47.03. .1:11.21. .1:35.01. . .1:46.73 - A solid pace on a fast, firm course that contributed to the failure of all the horses on or near the pace with the notably exception of one - Lethal Heat - fading to the rear of the pack.

Winning Beyer Speed Figure: 93 - A sub Grade 3 figure for a Grade 1 race, and it will be shock to see any of these fillies do well in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf.

Magical Fantasy, at 42-1, and Bel Air Sizzle rallied from the rear of the 10-horse field to overpower the hard-used third-place finisher Lethal Heat to post box car payoffs in every pool. Christophe Clement's 8-5 betting favorite Satan's Circus finished fourth while also rallying from far back.

For her part, Magical Fantasy was always in front of her stretch running rival Bel Air Sizzle to prove clearly best.

Added notes: At Saratoga on Alabama Day, the 2-year-old Girolamo looked quite strong winning a 7-furlong maiden race in his debut. A son of A.P. Indy, Girolamo should improve as he matures while the distances lengthen.

A pair of $1 million, Grade 1 stakes will be run this weekend: The Travers Stakes for 3-year-olds will be run at Saratoga on Saturday and the Pacific Classic for 3-year-olds and up will be run at Del Mar on Sunday. Both stakes will be supported heavily by several other graded stakes.

Among the prospective starters for the 1 1/4-mile Travers are three of the first four who were in the Jim Dandy Stakes on July 27th: Macho Again, Pyro and Tale of Ekati. They will be joined by the Nick Zito-trained Belmont Stakes winner Da' Tara and Cool Coal Man, who was third to Big Brown in the Haskell at Monmouth on August 4th. Beyond all of these proven stakes horses, there will be several quality shippers, most notably Santa Anita Derby winner Colonel John, Prince of Wales winner Harlem Rocker and Swaps Stakes winner Tres Borrachos.

In the 1 1/4-mile Pacific Classic, last year's winner Student Council will face the horse he narrowly defeated, Awesome Gem, along with the front running Hollywood Gold Cup winner Mast Track; New York shipper Barcola; plus the top three finishers in the San Diego Handicap - Well Armed, Surf Cat and Mostacolli Mort ; Brooklyn Handicap winner Delosvientos; 2007 Sunshine Millions winner McCann's Mojave and 2008 Sunshine Millions Classic winner Go Between.

Check out the entries and wagering options for these two great cards on the horse racing page. While you're at it, look for the Travers-Pacific Classic Handicapping Face Off between Dave Tuley and myself on this webpage Thursday evening. . .Best of luck and good handicapping for these two great races and racing cards.

Steve Davidowitz has written two highly acclaimed books on Thoroughbred racing---Betting Thoroughbreds and The Best and Worst of Thoroughbred Racing. He also is a regular contributor to Daily Racing Form's Simulcast Weekly and DRF Plus and his columns appear in the Bodog Racebook each week.