Who can resist a whole card full of two year old races? It’s a tradition at this time of year, at the end of the Churchill fall meet. While it’s not for everyone, I love it. Not only can you catch some longshots you might see some future stars. There were several eye catching performances on Saturday that are definitely worth watching for the future.
One of the colts I was anxious to see Saturday was Brethren, the half to the Derby winner, Super Saver. A big, good looking colt by Distorted Humor, he has a lot more size to him than his brother did at this time last year. Coming off his maiden score at Belmont he stretched out nicely to the mile distance, while being wide most of the way. Looks like there’s some definite talent there.
In the Grade II Kentucky Jockey Club, three colts dueled to the wire. The winner, Santiva, (Giant’s Causeway) prevailed while being in tight, sandwiched between the other two, and showed a dimension of gameness that you don’t see too often. Already stakes placed on synthetic and now a stakes winner on dirt, this could be a very versatile and useful colt.
Tapizar broke his maiden in the last race of the day in his 4th career start. The son of Tapit romped by 10. Not sure what was behind him, but he got the job done and looked good doing it. His time for the mile and 1/16th was faster than the Ky. Jockey Club, a half hour earlier. He was the second Tapit to win on the card, the other was Winchill.
Kathmanblue, the (Bluegrass Cat) filly that won the Grade II Golden Rod, proved she can run on anything. Having just finished 3rd in the Breeder’s Cup Juvenile Fillies on turf with a troubled trip, she was wheeled back on 3 weeks rest. Switched back to dirt, she ran away and hid from the rest of the field and in a time faster than the colt’s race. How would you like to have her in the barn?
Another horse that bears watching for next time is First and Ten ( Forestry), another WinStar horse trained by farm trainer Richard Budge. The colt did nothing wrong, and just looked like he needed the race. Look for him to graduate soon.
You never know when you will find A Saturday Afternoon Horse, but there were definitely a few on display at Churchill over the weekend.
Kathmanblu was so impressive, she looks like she's developing into something extra special. Her connections have already targeted the Kentucky Oaks as their short-term goal for next year.
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