When American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) won this year's Triple Crown, he was snapping a streak of 37 years of futility. A similar stretch of time has passed since Bob's Dusty (1977-1978) won back-to-back runnings of the GI Clark H., the centerpiece of the fall meeting at Churchill Downs, but Hoppertunity (Any Given Saturday) has a chance to make some history Friday afternoon.
Runner-up to subsequent dual Classic winner California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit) in last year's GI Santa Anita Derby, the bay colt missed the summer season, but made up for lost time in this event, racing handy to the pace and then holding off Protonico (Giant's Causeway) for a half-length victory. The $300,000 Keeneland September graduate kicked off the new year with a popular success in the GII San Pasqual S. at Santa Anita, and though winless in his seven most trips to the post, seems to be rounding back into his best form. A distant runner-up to Smooth Roller (Hard Spun) in the GI Awesome Again S. at Santa Anita Sept. 26, Hoppertunity settled well off the pace in Keeneland's GII Fayette S. Oct. 30 and rallied nicely to complete the exacta, 3/4 of a length behind Race Day (Tapit).
The Todd Pletcher-trained duo of Protonico and Race Day have traversed similar paths this season. The former caught fire in the spring, popping a big-figure victory in the GIII Ben Ali S. at Keeneland ahead of a narrow defeat of next-out GI Stephen Foster H. hero Noble Bird (Birdstone) in this track's GII Alysheba S. May 1. He has since gone off form and exits a non-threatening fifth in the Fayette. Race Day earned this field's biggest Beyer in wiring the GII Oaklawn H. in April, but he was beaten over 30 lengths in his next two races combined prior to his defeat of Hoppertunity at Keeneland.
The form of the GI Breeders' Cup Classic is represented by runner-up Effinex (Mineshaft) and Keen Ice (Curlin), a well-beaten fourth. Effinex defeated Tonalist (Tapit) by a head in the GII Suburban H. July 4, but was subsequently fourth in the GI Woodward S. Sept. 5 and third to Tonalist in the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup over a sloppy Belmont main track. When Beholder (Henny Hughes) and Smooth Roller came out of the Classic, Effinex was given a positive ride by Mike Smith and the tactics paid off, as the New York-bred finished second at 33-1. Trainer Jimmy Jerkens is not thrilled with the prospect of inclement weather.
“I'm not happy about that, even though he's got some decent races in the mud,” Jerkens said. “If I was a horse I wouldn't want that mud coming back in my face. With quality horses in front of you throwing mud in your face, you never want that. He'll give us his all, but those aren't ideal conditions for us.”
Keen Ice, second to the Horse of the Year-elect in the GI William Hill Haskell Invitational S. Aug. 2, managed to turn the tables in the GI Travers S. 27 days later. The bay faced a hopeless task in the Classic when last seen, and though he passed a couple of rivals late, was beaten better than a dozen lengths. Click for the TJCIS PPs.
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