GREAT HUNTER IS READY FOR HIS NEXT CHALLENGE
Great Hunter takes on the champ
By JAY PRIVMAN
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Last fall, just after Great Hunter
(APTITUDE) finished third
in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, trainer Doug O'Neill huddled
with his closest confidant, his brother Dennis, and owner
Paul Reddam to map out a plan for the colt considered their
best Kentucky Derby prospect. They decided to give Great
Hunter an extended vacation, bring him back in the Robert
Lewis Stakes in March at Santa Anita, then head back to
Keeneland, where Great Hunter had won the Breeders' Futurity,
for the Blue Grass Stakes. And then, if all went well, it
would be on to the Derby.
So far, it's one down, two to go. Great Hunter returned from that
four-month layoff in style last month, rallying powerfully to win
the Lewis. Now he is here at Keeneland, where on Saturday he will
take on Street Sense - the Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner, champion
2-year-old male of 2006, and, oh yes, the current favorite for the
Derby - in a compelling edition of the Grade 1, $750,000 Blue Grass
Stakes.
Seven are entered in the 1 1/8-mile Blue Grass, which will be run
for the first time on Polytrack. While there are a couple of horses
with upset looks, the focus will be on Great Hunter and Street
Sense, two of the highly regarded contenders for the May 5 Derby.
This will be the third meeting between the two. Great Hunter was
first and Street Sense third in the Breeders' Futurity, and then
four weeks later they swapped spots in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile
at Churchill Downs.
O'Neill trains on the synthetic Cushion Track surface at Hollywood
Park, and that is what initially drew him to Keeneland's Polytrack
surface last fall with Great Hunter. When Great Hunter ran well
here, there was no question the plan would be to return for the
Blue Grass.
"After the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, Paul and Dennis and I thought
the Lewis and the Blue Grass would be the best Derby preps,"
O'Neill said Thursday from California. "Fast-forward five months,
and here we are. Paul is a big advocate of the synthetic racing
surfaces. The fact that we had success over Polytrack at Keeneland,
and he trains on the Cushion Track at Hollywood, it all played out
well."
The Blue Grass, which will be televised live on ESPN beginning at 5
p.m. Eastern, is the ninth race on a 10-race card that begins at
1:15 Eastern. It is the second leg of a pick four wager that begins
with the Grade 2, $400,000 Commonwealth Breeders' Cup at Keeneland
and continues with the Instant Racing Stakes and Arkansas Derby
from Oaklawn Park.
In addition to the Commonwealth, which includes the sprinters
Midnight Lute and Ramsgate, Keeneland has another graded stakes on
the undercard, the Grade 2, $200,000 Jenny Wiley for female turf
runners, featuring last year's Eclipse Award-winning 3-year-old
filly, Wait a While.
Handicappers will face a conundrum in the Blue Grass, for while it
is a major race, it clearly is first and foremost a Derby prep for
both Great Hunter and Street Sense. They have sufficient graded
stakes earnings to make the Derby field if more than 20 horses
enter the race, whereas other Blue Grass runners - like Dominican
and Teuflesberg - need a cash call.
"We're in it to win it, and to get a good tightener," O'Neill
said.
Both Great Hunter and Street Sense have finished in the money in
every one of their starts. And both have a late-running style that
tends to play well on Keeneland's Polytrack surface.
"He's a patient horse," said Carl Nafzger, the trainer of Street
Sense. "He does what I like. He doesn't make mistakes."
Date:
13 April 2007