2010 Eclipse Award Winner: Tuscan Evening … I Hope

Tuscan Evening is gone. In a shocking and saddening Sunday morning at Del Mar, she collapsed after a workout on the turf course and passed away. Preliminary reports point to a heart attack as the likely cause of death for the five-year-old grade 1 winning mare. The sudden, heartbreaking news sent me into reflection on the marvelous career of a beautiful racehorse. ***The remainder of today's column can be found on Youbet.com*** Click Here

Tiptoeing Through the Turf

No disrespect to impressive Delaware Handicap winner, Life at Ten, or upset Swaps Stakes winner Skipshot, but yesterday, July 17, 2010, was a day for the turf. Turf runners in Chicago, Virginia, and Delaware took center stage and did not disappoint. Paddy O’Prado did not take it to a new level yesterday, but he did affirm his excellent recent form over the grass. Yesterday’s strong win in the Virginia Derby was similar to his win in the Colonial Turf Cup, and Palm Beach Stakes before that. He did however, flaunt a new winning style in which he relaxed and dropped much farther off the early lead, before uncoiling a decisive punch that quickly thrust him into the lead. Versatility is yet another quality in his corner, as Paddy O’Prado takes another step forward to becoming only the second American three-year-old to be named turf champion in the past twenty years. Just before the Paddy show in Virginia, the colt who was beaten by him in the Turf Cup, was an impressive winner at Arlington Park. Without the specter of the big horse, Workin For Hops appeared to be out for little more than a Saturday stroll. Stalking the pacesetter until ready to pounce, the son of City Zip left little doubt of his superiority as he opened up an easy five length advantage in mid-stretch before coasting home an easy winner of the American Derby. It was a win that stamped as one of the best three-year-old turf horses in the nation, and should set him up well for a shot at the prestigious Secretariat Stakes in five weeks time. A race in which he might very well have to deal with Paddy O’Prado once again. After the sophomore colts it was the older fillies who most impressed on the turfy Saturday. Tuscan Evening did it again. What more can you say? The five-year-old Irish import has now run six times in 2010 with six graded stakes scores. Barely more than halfway through the season, and she is dangerously close to clinching the Eclipse Award already. Yesterday was simple, too simple. Able to lope through an opening half mile in a pedestrian :51, Tuscan Evening was able to sprint home and hold off the challenge of Eclair de Lune in winning the Modesty Handicap. Things will get tougher for her in the future, but it is hard to fault her record no matter the early fractions the speedster is setting. Treat Gently is admittedly a horse I knew little about before last month, but the beautifully bred Juddmonte mare, trained by Bill Mott, has opened my eyes quickly. Following a romping win in last month’s Sheepshead Bay, Treat Gently was one of the choices in yesterday’s Robert G. Dick Memorial, and she rewarded that support with a stylish victory. Sweeping by the leaders on the far turn, she never looked like anything but a winner as she edged away from her competition. The win was further prove that the daughter of Cape Cross relishes the distance which will be a factor in her favor this year in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf. Can he get the distance? That was the only big question facing Rahystrada before yesterday’s Arlington Handicap. The answer was a resounding yes. The six-year-old son of Rahy continued his upward ascent and fine turf form with a solid half length victory over the rallying Just as Well, who was gunning for a repeat in the Arlington Million prep. For Rahystrada, trainer Byron Hughes, and rider Inez Karlsson, the win was among the biggest in their respective careers, but would be nothing compared to what they could accomplish at the same course and distance on August 21. The competition will be tougher, but you can no longer take this improving gelding for granted. Fans at Colonial Downs may have not only seen the best three-year-old turf horse in Paddy O’Prado, but they may have seen the best sophomore filly as well in Check the Label. The daughter of Stormin Fever, entered yesterday’s Virginia Oaks off an impressive win in the Sands Point Stakes. In winning for the fifth time on the grass, Check the Label was even more impressive yesterday. Stumbling at the start, she trailed early off a slow pace, and had her powerful rally stunted behind a wall of horses. She patiently waited, and when a hole opened the race was over, as she zoomed to an easy victory. It is hard to imagine any three-year-old filly that could have handled her yesterday.

Jimmy Durante says “Hot Cha Cha”

Couldn’t you just imagine Jimmy Durante being a huge fan of Hot Cha Cha? Granted I am taking some literary license here, as the famous line of the legendary entertainer was more like Ha Cha Cha Chaaaa, but hey, I don’t think the Schnozzola would mind if he was still with us. Hot Cha Cha is a four-year-old daughter of Cactus Ridge, owned and bred by Nelson McMakin, and she is the Midwestern representative of a tri-headed star war in Saturday’s Grade 3 Modesty Stakes at Arlington Park. And come Saturday, I have to believe that Durante will be watching from above. With California streaker Tuscan Evening getting the lion’s share of the attention, and the East Coast based, and well traveled Rainbow View, with Jonathan Sheppard and Julien Leparoux in her corner, also garnering major attention, Hot Cha Cha could be the forgotten star. But a star she is. She proved that last year with overpowering victories over this course and then at Keeneland. She ran right by a solid field in Arlington’s Grade 3 Pucker Up Stakes last September with regualar rider James Graham, before entering the most important race for three-year-old turf filliesin America, the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland in October. She crushed her competition by 4 ½ lengths on that day, icing the soggy field like Frosty the Snowman. Durante would have been proud … “Hot Cha Cha!” Making those consecutive wins even more impressive were the respective turf conditions. In the Pucker Up,  Hot Cha Cha caught a dry, firm grass course, while in Kentucky, for the QE II, soft, bog like conditions were the order of the day. Since those wins, troubled trips beat her a few times, but each time the sophomore filly has accounted herself well. She is coming off a professional score in the Locust Grove at Churchill Downs in June. Trainer Phil Sims believes his star filly has the stamina to love the extra distance of her next two races, the Modesty, and then the big prize, next month’s Beverly D, are both run at 1 3/16 miles. This is farther than Hot Cha Cha has ever been, but with the way she finishes her 9 furlong races, there is good reason to believe that Sims will be right. Tuscan Evening will be favored, and Rainbow View may be preferred as the second choice, but discount the Midwest filly at your own peril. As they cross the wire on Saturday afternoon, listen closely, and you just might hear Jimmy Durante saying, “Hot Cha Cha!” or maybe that will be me…I do a pretty bad imitation of Durante. Goodnight Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are!

What if Eclipse Awards Went Out Today?

Admittedly handing out awards barely more than 1/3 of the way through the year is a tad bit silly, but hey, I can be silly once in a while...Let's have some fun! Horse of the Year - Quality Road Older Male - Quality Road Older Female - Zenyatta 3-year-old Male - Super Saver 3-year-old Female - Blind Luck Turf Male - General Quarters Turf Female - Tuscan Evening Sprint Male - Kinsale King Sprint Female - Mona de Momma 2-year-old Male - Lou Brissie 2-year-old Female - Twelve Pack Shelly Let the debate begin!

And the California Turf Beat Goes On

Two more turf stakes were run this weekend at Santa Anita Park, and the results were anything but a surprise. The current queen and king of the California turf scene, Tuscan Evening and Bourban Bay continued their winning ways. Not quite considered among the top turf horses in America yet, both horses have made strong arguments to be considered as such soon. Tuscan Evening has won carrying her early speed from 6 ½ furlongs to a 1 ¼ miles in winning one race in each month of 2010. Meanwhile, Bourbon Bay has demonstrated an affinity for distance racing in also winning one race each month so far this year. While they have different ways of accomplishing their goals, both runners have proven to be superior than any competition currently seen on the lawns of Southern California. ***The remainder of today's column can be found on Youbet.com*** Click Here