Saturday, August 14, 2010

Live blog for Saturday, August 14

For live race results throughout the day, check out our Twitter stream.

It was Telling coasting to the repeat victory in the Sword Dancer - once again overlooked, he paid better than $22 to those who believed. Grand Couturier, the 2007-08 Sword Dancer winner, checked in sixth.


5 p.m.: Heisman and Brock both well back as Stay Thirsty - the half to Andromeda's Hero and Superfly - rolls in his debut.

Pletcher said after the race that he'll probably take a serious look at the Hopeful for this colt, since the Futurity is no longer on the calendar. Interesting. You'd think some of these trainers of impressive maiden winners might prefer to wait a bit longer to make their stakes debut - but the calendar is kind of forcing their hand.


3:08 p.m.: Looking ahead at the card a little....
We saw a Phipps homebred earlier in Bimini - whose dam is out of a full sister to Easy Goer - and now we see another in the Pulpit colt Ritual, who goes postward in the seventh, a maiden event. The colt was fourth - behind Buddy's Saint - and third in his first two starts, both sprints, and should appreciate this mile on the turf. His dam is the Grade I winning Easy Goer mare Furlough. Things didn't go so well for Bimini, as he checked in fourth in the third race. But always fun to check out horses from these deep Phipps families.
Three highly anticipated colts make their debuts in the eighth race. Brock goes out for Stonestreet Stables (Jess Jackson) and trainer Steve Asmussen, who have teamed up with the lines of Curlin and Rachel Alexandra. The colt is a son of Distorted Humor and out of the Grade I winner and Grade I producer Tomisue's Delight. Brock, the chestnut seen galloping in the photo below, was a $2.3 million purchase this spring.
The ambitiously-named Heisman is a homebred for WinStar Farm and goes out for trainer Todd Pletcher; who of course teamed up with the farm to take the Derby with Super Saver. Heisman is a full brother to Haskell winner Any Given Saturday.
Pletcher also sends out Mike Repole's Stay Thirsty, by freshman sire Bernardini and out of Marozia, dam of stakes competitors Andromeda's Hero and Superfly.

2:20 p.m.: Bob Baffert was in town to accept for Point Given at yesterday's Hall of Fame induction, and he's making good use out of his brief trip here. Just won the third with Bulldogger.

1:06 p.m.: Carson Hall outgames Stevil down the stretch for the win; Raging Wit a closing third.

12:57 p.m.: Coming up in the first race, an allowance/optional event, is the 5-year-old Stevil. Two years ago, Stevil finished fifth in the Louisiana Derby and fourth in the Blue Grass, then was fifth behind Big Brown in the Preakness Stakes. As of late, he's taken a serious class drop, and is coming off two straight wins in claimers. Also in the field for the first is the Bill Mott trainee Raging Wit, out of the graded winner Pleasant Temper, dam of the stakes-placed Nice Nelly. Raging Wit was on the Triple Crown trail himself this spring, finishing seventh in the San Vicinte. He was third in an allowance behind Arkansas Derby winner Line of David, and comes into this off a good allowance win at Belmont.

12:05 p.m.: Storylines abound in today's feature Sword Dancer here at the Spa. Can trainer Chad Brown, a Mechanicville native, claim his first Grade I victory with morning-line favorite Expansion? Can Telling make it back-to-back victories in this race? Or will Grand Couturier, who is appearing in the Sword Dancer for the fifth straight year, get his third victory in the event? Can Bearpath, who finished just behind Expansion last time out, turn the tables? Or can Interpatation spring another huge upset?
We've got awhile to wait. The intrigue-filled Sword Dancer goes off as the 10th of 11 races on a big Saturday card. Other features include an appearance by Triple Crown alum Stevil, and the debut of highly-anticipated 2-year-olds Brock and Heisman.
It all gets underway in just under an hour. For now, check out today's Pink Sheet Insider:


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