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David Zenner
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International Festival of Racing Notes: Monday, August 11, 2014 – First Edition
In Today's Notes:
· Million Would Fulfill Romans' Finnegans Wake Prophecy
· Elm Racing Wants Signature Win With Street of Gold in Beverly D.
MILLION WOULD FULFILL ROMANS' FINNEGANS WAKE PROPHECY
Finnegans Wake has been as challenging to train as his namesake novel is to read, but the rewards for figuring out the horse can be as satisfying as navigating James Joyce's final tome.
Two years ago, Finnesgans Wake entered the Grade I Secretariat Stakes off a third-place finish in the Virginia Derby, and trainer Dale Romans promised, "This horse has a big one in him."
Finnegans Wake finished second that day to international invader Bayrir, the second of 13 consecutive losses over a two-year period before a win in the Grade III Arlington Handicap on July 12. Even with the local prep win, though, Romans did not commit to the Arlington Million for Donegal Racing's son of 2005 Million winner Powerscourt until seeing how the rest of this year's field shaped up.
"The field size is what made the difference," Romans said. "We can run against a small field for a lot of money."
The Million on Saturday as part of Arlington International Racecourse's International Festival of Racing will be Finnegans Wake's seventh attempt at the Grade I level, and although Romans called the horse's Arlington Classic win "huge," he acknowledged that the Million was the type of race he had in mind when promising big things for this horse two years ago.
"It took me a little longer than I expected with him to get that first big win, but we haven't seen him cap out," Romans said. "As he gets older he gets better. If he wins Saturday, it doesn't get any bigger than that."
Romans won the 2012 Million with Little Mike, and a win Saturday would make him the sixth trainer in history to capture the race multiple times with Aidan O'Brien being the most recent to do so with the aforementioned Powerscourt then Cape Blanco in 2011.
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International Festival of Racing Notes
Monday, August 11 – First Edition
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European jockey Ryan Moore will have the call on Finnegans Wake. The international superstar rider has never won the Million, but he does have several Breeders' Cup and International Festival wins to his credit, including the Beverly D.-Filly & Mare Turf double last year aboard eventual champion turf female Dank.
"I've ridden Kieren Fallon a few times but never Ryan, but he's one of the best riders in the world, so I think he'll be able to figure [Finnegans Wake] out pretty quick," Romans said.
In Finnegans Wake's best Grade I efforts he rallied from near the back of the pack, but he won the Arlington Classic pressing a soft pace, and Romans expects Moore to employ similar forwardly placed tactics in the Million.
Finnegans Wake has won three of 21 starts and has earned $605,675. He will ship to Arlington from Churchill on Wednesday.
ELM RACING WANTS SIGNATURE WIN WITH STREET OF GOLD IN BEVERLY D
Trainer Eric Reed thinks the Arlington International Racecourse turf could be Street of Gold's path to riches.
Elm Racing's 4-year-old Street Sense filly will make not only her Grade I debut in the $750,000 Beverly D. Stakes on Saturday at Arlington but also the first race at that level for her owner's fledgling racing and breeding operation.
Street of Gold finished third last out, beaten just a quarter-length in the Grade III Modesty Handicap by fellow Beverly D. pre-entrant I'm Already Sexy. It was her 11th stakes try and second placing at that level with both coming on the Arlington sod.
"We were thinking about running in the Glen Falls at Saratoga, but because [Street of Gold] performs so well [at Arlington], we thought we'd take a big shot with her in the Beverly D.," Reed said. "She likes the turf course there, so if we wanted to take a chance, this is the time."
Elm Racing purchased Street of Gold for $70,000 at the Keeneland April 2-year-olds in training sale, and she has won three of 21 starts and has earned $129,986. Elm Racing has a focus on developing fillies and mares for a broodmare band that it has established in Kentucky.
"This is the first Grade 1 they've been in, and they're putting together a real good program," Reed said. "All the horses I have for them now are fillies. They're really into the breeding stock, and for the program winning a race like the Beverly D. would be a huge boost."
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Monday, August 11 – First Edition
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Reed began training for Elm Racing last year, and received Street of Gold as a 3-year-old following a juvenile campaign in which she won her career debut but was unplaced in three subsequent starts. She has since won entry- and second-level allowance races but has yet to break through in stakes company. Reed thinks the Beverly D. combo of Arlington turf and 1 3/16-miles could make the difference.
"She's only ordinary at a mile or 1 1/16-miles, but she's a different horse at the classic-type distances," Reed said. "I train her at Mercury Training Center in Lexington that I own, and I turn her out each day which helps keep her fresh."
And fresh she stays, as the Beverly D. will be Street of Gold's 12th start in the past 12 months. She raced on Million day last year as well, finishing third in a division of the $75,000 Hatoof Stakes—her lone other stakes placing.
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