Weekend Review

I didn't get a chance to catch much racing action live this weekend as the great summer weather in Seattle required that I perform manual labor around the house.  Mowing the lawn, trimming the hedges, and cleaning out the garage were the prime objectives over the past two days.  Thankfully, due to the magic of the home DVR, I was able to catch-up on all the action last night.

-The most surprising result of the weekend, in my mind, was Goldikova's loss in Deauville to 2,000 Guineas winner Makfi.  I'll say it's a "surprising" result as opposed to a "shocking" result due to the condition of the course, which was labeled as "Very Soft" for the race - a condition that isn't Goldikova's best and was one that Makfi had performed well on in the past. 

No word on Goldikova's next start, but trainer Freddie Head confirmed to the Racing Post (UK) that the Breeders' Cup Mile remains the mare's ultimate goal.  It's possible that her last prep race prior to the Mile will be the Prix du Moulin at Longchamp on Arc weekend.

-Sticking with racing going on across the pond, the Group 1 Juddmonte International Stakes will take place at the York Ebor Festival on Tuesday morning. 

If you get HRTV, you can watch live coverage from York from Tuesday through Saturday.

-Trainer John Sadler will apparently by-pass the Del Mar Derby with Sidney's Candy and point to a race later on in the summer/fall. 

-Wasted Tears set moderate fractions in the Grade 2 John C. Mabee on her way to a wire-to-wire win.

-A formful running of the Grade 2 Adirondack ensures the Position Limit and Alienation move to the top of the juvenile filly standings.  Position Limit ran a very professional race after sitting pretty behind the speed dueling Alienation and Miss Sarah Brown through the opening half mile splits (21.72 and 45.07). 

While Position Limit was clear the best filly in the Adirondack, I think that Alienation deserves some extra credit for her runner-up performance.    Although she was easily beaten by Position Limit, Alienation was second by five lengths over show horse Coax Liberty, and that was after doing most of the dirty work on the front end.  The other pace filly, Miss Sarah Brown, she faded to tenth.

-I'm not sure what to make of Saturday's Grade 1 Sword Dancer, other than there were some brutally bad performances from some horses that should have run a lot better.  Marlang has to be at the top of the "under-performed" list after setting the opening 1/2 mile split of 48.27 only to fade to dead last by the times the field crossed the wire.  He was absolutely done after a mile.

Post-time favorite Expansion is next in line for the Sword Dancer flop award after finishing a non-threatening fifth.  Sent off as the 2/1 favorite, Expansion got off to a bit of a rough start when he smashed into the gate leaving the blocks, so perhaps he had a bit of an excuse.  We'll see how he bounces back in his next start.