I caught up with Saturday's Travers today after I got home from the family reunion and watched Bernardini (this year's Preakness winner) decimate a small field that included perennial bridesmaid Bluegrass Cat. So, if you're gearing up for the $5 million Breeders Cup Classic like I am (okay, maybe you're not), here's who you should watch:
Bernardini has been impressive all year. Although he's been facing small fields, he shows a nice stride and is relatively low key during saddling and the post parade. I have enjoyed watching him in this race and the Jim Dandy, and I'm curious to see if he can handle some of the other horses he may face in the BC Classic. He won this race by some seven lengths, the Jim Dandy by nine lengths and the Preakness by 5. So it's pretty clear he can be dominant.
Bluegrass Cat couldn't keep up with Bernardini in the Travers, even though he hung with him from the moment they left the gate. They found out this morning he's got a fracture in his right hind leg and has been retired, but the injury isn't life-threatening (although it may need surgery), and he'll get to do a lot of eating, sleeping and meeting girls. What a rotten life. ;-) But his absence from the BC Classic makes things a little more interesting.
Invasor has won three races in the States with real style, beating Sun King in the Whitney Handicap most recently after wins in the Suburban and Pimlico Special. (You should hear Kenny Mayne say this horse's name.) He's going to be overlooked by people who only watched the Triple Crown and the Travers, which is the biggest race of the fall for Classic distance horses until the Breeders Cup.
Lava Man has been consistantly ignored, which is odd, considering he's classy and has shown he can handle the tough races. He won the Pacific Classic a week or so ago, and in addition, he's racked up wins in the Hollywood Gold Cup, Santa Anita Handicap, and Sunshine Millions, among others. But he still doesn't get respect. I think he'll be overlooked at the betting window.
A horse you're not hearing much about is one called Discreet Cat. He's mostly been an enigma to US racing, but I'm hearing lots of good racing buzz about him. He won the UAE Derby (beating Invasor), skipped the KY Derby, and then got back into the action this weekend with an 11-length win at Saratoga. I haven't had a chance to look over his past performance index yet, but I'm going to be doing my homework on this one between now and November. (He'll race again in October too.)
A Note: Last year's BC Classic winner Saint Liam died this week after a freak injury at the farm where he stood at stud. There was nothing anyone could do to save him. He never got a chance to make the impact on the racing world that he should have.
On Another Note: Lost in the Fog is undergoing treatment, which is a change from when it sounded like he wouldn't get treated for his cancer. And Barbaro continues to do well. I'll keep you posted on both.
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