Going Ballistic was switching to dirt after running third in
Arlington’s Secretariat stakes (grass) last month. It was a field of
nine and with jockey Cliff Berry aboard, Going Ballistic was last for
the most part in the Grade II $500,000 race over 1800 metres.
Grasshopper, always handy, led in the stretch. Going Ballistic,
responding to his rider’s call ran on to wear down Grasshopper in the
waning yards to the disbelief of the fans. The winning margin was one
length. The time was 1 50.32 and Going Ballistic returned $19.80.
Donnie Von Hemel was the winning trainer.
Going Ballistic is a son of Lite The Fuse. He has now won five races
in 16 starts for earnings of $671,242.
Any Given Saturday, one of the better fancied runners in the Breeders’
Cup Classic on October 27,, was victorious in the Grade II Brooklyn
Handicap at Belmont Park on Saturday. Five ran in the $150,000 event.
Any Given Saturday was 15 cents on the dollar.
This time, what was considered a formality turned out to be a
formality.
Tasteyville had a long lead and Any Given Saturday cut the margin down
as the pair raced past the eighth pole. In the end, it was a 2 ˝
length win in 1 48.31 for the 1800-metres race. A son of Distorted
Humor, Any Given Saturday has won six races in nine outings.
Trainer Todd Pletcher said, “Any time you are a big favourite, you
want everything to go well. Garrett (the jockey) said that when he
left the gate there was contact among horses and that got him up on
the bridle but Garrett got him back and settled him. We thought he was
one of the best three year-olds and he came back with a foot bruise
after the Derby. He has been perfect since and I can’t be more
pleased.”
Garrett Gomez, the winning rider, expressed relief. “I hit the side of
the gate and he broke outward. He showed maturity. He likes Monmouth
Park. He won the Haskell there and I expect the same kind of race in
the Breeders’ Cup.
At Philadelphia Park on Saturday, Bear Now made every post a winning
one in the Grade II Fitz Dixon Cotillon handicap.. Ridden by jockey
Jerry Baird, Bear Now, a daughter of Tiznow, ran the 1700 metres in 1
41.21. Octave, the 10 to 4 on favourite, was second. Seven ran.
At Belmont Park, Garrett Gomez won another big race, the Grade II
Gallant Bloom handicap. Jazzy, a filly by Mutakddim, went the 1300
metres in 1 16.35. It was a dirt race for fillies and mares. Five ran
and Jazzy rallied off the pace and paid $7.80.
Jambalaya, winner of the Arlington Million in August, will be out of
action for the rest of this year. He suffered a deep bone bruise at
the end of a cannonbone. He had gained an automatic berth in the
Breeders; Cup with his victory in the Million.
Meydan, Dubai’s multimillion dollar racecourse, will be completed by
November, 2009. A state of the art grandstand and a five-star hotel
will be the focus of the endeavour. The 2010 World Cup will be held at
Meydan.
Here’s news of special interest to racing fans in India. Niall
McCullagh broke a leg in a fall while exercising horses at the Curragh
on Thursday. It has been reported that Niall will be out for, at
least, two months. I will try to get more information. If and when I
do, I shall pass it on.
