Home Forums Sports Picks Central Trackside Picks 9/28 Stake Races

NORFOLK S. (G1), 8TH-OSA, $250,000, 2YO, 1 1/16M, 4:00 P.M. PDT, 9-28

PP HORSE TRAINER JOCKEY WT
1 REGAL RANSOM MCLAUGHLIN KIARAN P GARCIA A 122
2 AZUL LEON O'NEILL DOUG BEJARANO R 122
3 DEL CONTE BAFFERT BOB ESPINOZA V 122
4 STREET HERO CHO MYUNG KWON SOLIS A 122
5 LITURGICAL O'NEILL DOUG GRYDER A T 122
6 MIDSHIPMAN BAFFERT BOB BAZE T C 122
7 BELIEVE IN HOPE ELLIS RONALD W VALDIVIA J JR 122
8 TIGER BLITZ CERIN VLADIMIR GARCIA MARTIN 122
9 SILENT VALOR PLETCHER TODD A GOMEZ G K 122
10 BRUSHBURN ABRAMS BARRY TALAMO JOSEPH 122

A smart field of 10 juveniles will attempt two turns in the $250,000 Norfolk S. (G1) at Santa Anita on Sunday. Much of the hype surrounding this field lies with the Bob Baffert-trained MIDSHIPMAN (Unbridled's Song), but we have to try to beat the chestnut at expected low odds in a field like this.

Darley Stable's REGAL RANSOM (Distorted Humor) cost $675,000 at the Fasig-Tipton February sale, and showed a glimpse of why his connections purchased him with a well-meant win at Saratoga in his debut for Kiaran McLaughlin. The dark bay colt showed excellent speed that day and drove home at the tricky seven-furlong distance under Alan Garcia, and we're impressed that Garcia made the trek out west to retain the mount on the Kentucky-bred. Regal Ransom was flattered when both the second and third-place finishers in his race came back to win convincingly, and this one has trained brilliantly over a synthetic oval leading up to his two-turn debut.

Midshipman has been brilliant for Baffert in his two outings, including a fine score in the Del Mar Futurity (G1) in his latest test. The long-striding chestnut has done little wrong in two lifetime tries and has drawn rave reviews from his trainer, so it's apparent that this one could be any type. Tyler Baze will guide the likely short-priced favorite.

SILENT VALOR (Lion Heart), the recent winner of the Sapling S. (G3), ships in from the east for conditioner Todd Pletcher. The solid dark bay has never run a bad one in a trio of lifetime efforts and is a prime contender in this spot while making his two-turn debut. We have confidence in the colt's ability and running style, and we love the fact that Garrett Gomez will take the call.

STREET HERO (Street Cry [Ire]), arguably the top maiden on the West Coast, earned a whopping 105 BRIS Late Pace number in his third-place finish in the recent Del Mar Futurity, putting in a visually impressive late rush for Myung Kwon Cho. The talented bay is certainly bred to handle the added ground in here, and the addition of blinkers could help him focus more, so we consider the winless colt a big threat on this day.

BELIEVE IN HOPE (Thunder Gulch) looked fabulous in his debut score and finished a creditable fifth in the Del Mar Futurity, closing from well back to finish less than four lengths behind the winner. We don't feel like the chestnut can make up that ground on the winner in here, but it is a new surface they're running upon and this one could rally for a minor award for Ron Ellis. AZUL LEON (Lion Heart) was awarded first in the recent Best Pal S. (G2) and brings a perfect mark into this for Doug O'Neill. The bay colt has displayed a potent late run in his three lifetime tries, all at one turn against mediocre company, but we have some trepidation as to how the youngster will handle his first two-turn test against a field of this quality. The Kentucky-bred is an obvious exotics threat, but we'll let him beat us in here.

LITURGICAL (Songandaprayer) is a bit of a mystery in his U.S. debut for O'Neill and would have to be quite good to challenge this bunch. We might include the bay is some of our gimmicks but can't back him for the win in this one. TIGER BLITZ (Tiger Ridge) defeated a questionable bunch in his latest and would need vast improvement for Vladimir Cerin to threaten this cast.

BRUSHBURN (Unusual Heat) might need an easier spot based on his numbers. DEL CONTE (Point Given) needed turf to earn his diploma for Baffert, and the chestnut doesn't boast the BRIS Speed figures to be competitive with this bunch at this stage of his career.

1st-REGAL RANSOM
2nd-MIDSHIPMAN
3rd-SILENT VALOR

OAK TREE MILE S. (G2), 7TH-OSA, $200,000, 3YO/UP, 1MT, 3:30 P.M. PDT, 9-28

PP HORSE TRAINER JOCKEY WT
1 AWESOME GEM DOLLASE CRAIG BAZE T C 119
2 GLOBAL HUNTER (ARG) AVILA A C VALDIVIA J JR 119
3 HURRY UP AUSTIN STUTE MELVIN F COURT J K 119
4 TYBALT FRANKEL ROBERT J BEJARANO R 119
5 DILEMMA GALLAGHER PATRICK SOLIS A 119
6 FERNELEY (IRE) CECIL B D A ESPINOZA V 123
7 HYPERBARIC CANANI JULIO C GOMEZ G K 119
8 TROPIC STORM DOLLASE CRAIG GRYDER A T 119
9 GOLDEN BALLS (IRE) CASSIDY JAMES FLORES D R 119

A well-matched field of turf milers will go postward in the $200,000 Oak Tree Mile S. (G2) on Sunday. We could go a number of ways in here, but we'll give GOLDEN BALLS (Ire) (Danehill Dancer) one more chance to prove to us that he is a first-class animal. Conditioned by James Cassidy, the four-year-old made a smart U.S. debut last spring with a win in the La Puente S. and followed that with a fine second-place finish in the Cinema S. (G3). Third in his seasonal debut in the Arcadia H. (G2), the chestnut took a lot of money but never fired in the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic S. (G1) on a course listed as good at Churchill, and he's been freshened since to point for this engagement. The colt has a potent turn of foot when he's right, and he's run well in both of his efforts over this lawn. David Flores stays aboard.

HYPERBARIC (Sky Classic), the likely favorite in the field, has been extremely consistent for Julio Canani and comes in off a pair of wins at Del Mar. The gelded bay, who just missed in the Arcadia earlier in this campaign over this same course, ranks first in Prime Power (168.9) and has never been off the board in eight lifetime turf efforts. Garrett Gomez will be back in the saddle.

TYBALT (Storm Cat) was a visually impressive winner in his North American debut for Bobby Frankel, but the bay disappointed at short odds next time out, and we're not sure what to make of that. The well-bred four-year-old was rank and wide in his latest, and he won't get away with those antics against this field beneath Rafael Bejarano. With that said, the Kentucky-bred looked so good in his first outing for Frankel that we're willing to give him the show slot on talent alone.

GLOBAL HUNTER (Arg) (Jade Hunter) finally lived up to our expectations with a fine third in the Del Mar Mile H. (G2) most recently for conditioner A.C. Avila. The bay five-year-old has faced nothing but top fields since arriving in the States and seems to be in peak form leading up to this one. Jose Valdivia Jr. has the call.

AWESOME GEM (Awesome Again) is expected to run in Saturday's All American S. (G3) at Golden Gate Fields instead. He has yet to win on the grass and comes in off a poor showing at Del Mar last out for Craig Dollase. Third in the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) last year, the gelded five-year-old has not won a race since the summer of 2007 and seems destined for a midpack placing, if he shows up in this heat.

The Dollase-trained TROPIC STORM (Stormy Atlantic) has run well on dirt and synthetic surfaces, and he was a good second versus lesser in his only prior turf try. The four-year-old colt has finished third in his last two, the Triple Bend Invitational H. (G1) and Longacres Mile H. (G3), and while we don't fancy him to win this, he could get a share under Aaron Gryder.

FERNELEY (Ire) (Ishiguru) was a useful fifth in the Eddie Read H. (G1) in his most recent try and will look to improve in his second U.S. start, and his first for Ben Cecil. The bay colt captured a Group 3 event at Leopardstown earlier this year in comfortable fashion. Victor Espinoza has the mount on the exotics threat.

We've always liked DILEMMA (Grand Slam), but we're not sure that the Paddy Gallagher trainee is ready to tackle this kind of field on the lawn at this point in his career. The chestnut four-year-old shows a first and second from two lifetime turf tries, but he'd do well to reach the top four on this occasion. HURRY UP AUSTIN (Lake Austin) has three wins from 26 career starts, and is winless in four career turf efforts for Melvin Stute. The bay is in useful form and is as consistent as they come, but his best is simply not good enough against this field.

1st-GOLDEN BALLS (Ire)
2nd-HYPERBARIC
3rd-TYBALT

KELSO H. (G2), 9TH-BEL, $250,000, 3YO/UP, 1MT, 5:15 P.M. EDT, 9-28

PP HORSE TRAINER JOCKEY WT
1 MEDIA PLAY NIXON JUSTIN VELAZQUEZ J R 114
2 FOREFATHERS MOTT WILLIAM I DESORMEAUX K J 114
3 TAM LIN (GB) *SUROOR SAEED BIN CASTELLANO J J 116
4 GIANT WRECKER DUTROW ANTHONY W VELASQUEZ CORNE 115
5 OPERATION RED DAWN CLEMENT CHRISTOPHE DOMINGUEZ R A 114
6 STALINGRAD HUSHION MICHAEL E HILL C 114

A compact field of six is entered to contest Sunday's Kelso H. (G2) at Belmont Park. This grassy test did not attract the elite of the turf mile division but looks to be an ultra-competitive contest, nonetheless. TAM LIN (GB) (Selkirk) finished a clear second over this oval in the Poker H. (G3) behind Kip Deville (Kipling), and a similar effort should yield him the top prize in this one. Conditioned by Saeed bin Suroor, the multiple stakes hero beat the smart Cosmonaut (Lemon Drop Kid) in the Scottish Monk S. three back, and if you look past his latest showing, the gelding appears to be the class of this field. Javier Castellano will be aboard.

The hard-trying OPERATION RED DAWN (Miswaki) earned a superb 116 BRIS Late Pace number in his third-place finish in the Bernard Baruch H. (G2) last out and rates a big chance in here for Christophe Clement. The dark bay gelding is pretty much void of early speed, and in this small field, we fear that he can be left with a bit much to do in the latter stages. If the Kentucky-bred is in range early, he'll be tough to hold off with his best.

STALINGRAD (Glitterman) just missed in the Fourstardave H. (G2) last out and is surely the one to catch in here for Michael Hushion. The gelded bay has compiled a sharp 7-3-3-0 mark over the green in his career, and he's never been better, so this one would be wise to include in all of your wagers.

GIANT WRECKER (Giant's Causeway) was a close second in the Oceanport S. (G3) two back and finished a closing third in the Red Bank S. (G3) for Tony Dutrow. The Kentucky-bred chestnut hasn't won in some time, but the six-year-old could be in the mix late for a piece of the pie under Cornelio Velasquez.

MEDIA PLAY (Alphabet Soup) scored in the Labor Day S. at Mountaineer Park last out and has won four of his last six for trainer Justin Nixon, but the chestnut will need to improve more to impact this group in the final stages. FOREFATHERS (Gone West) has dominated allowance groups as of late, but can't seem to crack through the graded ranks for Bill Mott. The bay has raced only once on the lawn and we will need to see more before backing him against this bunch.

1st-TAM LIN (GB)
2nd-OPERATION RED DAWN
3rd-STALINGRAD