JUVENILES MAKING THEIR MARK

Great Hunter - By Michael Hammersley of Daily Racing Form
Perhaps lost in E Z Warrior's wake was the performance of this colt in the Hollywood Juvenile. Great Hunter had won his first two starts impressively at Lone Star Park in the spring, then was privately purchased by J. Paul Reddam and transferred to trainer Doug O'Neill's care prior to the Hollywood Juvenile. A son of long-winded Kentucky Derby runner-up Aptitude, he was slow into stride in the Juvenile but made a strong wide run, briefly ranging up alongside the eventual winner. But while E Z Warrior made room between horses and found a much shorter way home, Great Hunter was pitched out very wide. He wasn't going to beat the winner regardless, but certainly could have finished closer.

O'Neill showed last year with Stevie Wonderboy that he knows how to handle a top juvenile, and Great Hunter holds tons of promise as the furlongs increase and the months tick down to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile

Date: 17 July 2006