A New Ghostzapper Emerges?

The race of the year is this Saturday, limited to three-year olds, and takes place at Belmont Park. And, it's not what you're thinking.

Belmont's 8th race on Saturday, the renamed Woody Stephens Breeder Cup's Stakes (formerly the Riva Ridge) contains just about every top three-year old sprinter in a year loaded with them (if only Lost in the Fog faced a class like this!). It's a remarkable race, and, for a handicapper who lives on the "throw out," it's a race without any real eliminations. Unlike most top races which contain filler or send out a five-horse field, every one of the nine horses entered has earned impressive Beyer figures, and has done so consistently.

Too Much Bling, the 19 1/2 length maiden clearing freak from Thistledown, leads the array of contenders. After some initial attempts to stretch him out, he found a nice home sprinting out in California (his San Miguel was simply awesome) and came back east on Wood Memorial day. There, he blew away Songster, a heavily-hyped horse that next out dominated a field on Preakness day. With that impressive race and its 107 Beyer under his belt, Songster returns to New York seeking revenge. The others are no less impressive:

• Likely earned a 110 beyer in dispensing with Laptop Computer and others in a Keeneland sprint -- less bias than the route -- and coming from slightly off the pace.
• Fabulous Strike came up from the minor leagues and won impressively in an ungraded stakes at Belmont, and his trainer wins 38% of the time -- simply remarkable. This is an additional big step, but he certainly can't be ignored.
• Keyed Entry, a classy horse who came on the scene by beating First Samurai and was the favorite in the Wood Memorial, returns to distance which better suits his pedigree.
• Noonmark, the favorite in the Derby Trial, returns to sprinting, where he lost a thriller to Florida Derby runner up, Sharp Humor, in the Swale.
• And, the remaining entrants, Saint Daimon (who may scratch as he's entered to run on Friday), Dontfearthereaper, and Doc Cheney, all have impressive performances on their resumes.

In a sport where the top contenders tend to be kept separate until the end of the year (except for the 3-year old classics), this is an early summer treat. Yes, I know that the top sprinters don't get the love that the classic routers do, but don't forget, Ghostzapper began his career sprinting.

___

In thinking about the big race, I'm curious what the bias will be at Belmont on Saturday. I've got my eye on the races there today, but I was flat out shocked by the win by Storm Boot Gold in the Ormsby stakes yesterday. Despite tiring fractions and a heated speed duel, this former sprinter held off a classy Gold and Roses in the stretch. It could be a bias, or perhaps just a Contessa horse improving and showing a bit of extra staying power in the stretch -- something that occurred with frequency during the early days of the inner track meet at the Big A.

As much as I'm trying, though, I'm having real trouble getting terribly excited for the Belmont. We're not seeing the best of the division here, and the race has the strange aura of a consolation game. Maybe it's that Bluegrass Cat, a royally-bred horse who doesn't seem to possess that added umph in winning, is the most accomplished of the runners. Or that a really strong case can be made for Sunriver, another "potential" champion with a great pedigree, that hadn't shown much -- I supported him throughout the winter at Gulfstream -- until his win over the track in the Peter Pan Stakes. Or that Steppenwolfer and Jazil are merely above-average closers, who've consistently found the right place at the right time. And, sure, Bob and John won the Wood Memorial, but it was over a horse, Keyed Entry, who shouldn't have been there in the first place due to the aforementioned pedigree limitations. And, while I normally love West Coast horses coming east (Borrego!), that angle is now a bit stale with him. Perhaps, someone new will emerge from this group (Oh So Awesome?) and become a second-half of the year star or one of the inconsistent players will establish himself. But, I'm not holding my breath. Hmm...I wonder how Lawyer Ron's recovery is coming?

And, now, the big announcement:

I will have a weekly column appearing on www.trackchampion.com. The first installment, "The Horseplayer's Axis of Evil," is already up on the site.

Read often and enjoy!

S.A.