Last year's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf hero Oscar Performance (Kitten's Joy) had been a puzzling no-show in his two prior starts this season, but the talented 'TDN Rising Star' bounced back in a big way Saturday to assert himself as a major contender for next month's GI Belmont Derby.
Taking up his preferred spot at the pole position early, the Amerman homebred faced little resistance as a very headstrong Secretary At War (War Front) fought with his rider in second through splits of :24.43, :49.92 and 1:14.74. Jose Ortiz remained very confident as he and Oscar Performance strode past the quarter pole with the cavalry charge stacking up just behind them, and he shook off Secretary at War in upper stretch before easily holding heavily favored late runner Good Samaritan at bay by 1 3/4 lengths. Ticonderoga (Tapit) rounded out the trifecta.
“He's back,” said Ortiz, who was celebrating his third win on the card. “The last couple of races he was breaking bad and today he broke a little slow but I was able to get him going early a little better today. I'm glad where we were and I think the soft ground in Kentucky was hurting him. Thankfully, we got firm turf today and he showed up.”
Sixth on debut at Saratoga last July, Oscar Performance returned a month later to crush his competition by 10 1/4 lengths. He took to yielding sod when a six-length winner of the GIII Pilgrim S. here in October, and successfully shipped to Santa Anita to handle a field that included Good Samaritan, Ticonderoga and Bowies Hero (Artie Schiller) and which produced five next-out stakes winners. Fifth with an awkward trip in Keeneland's GIII Transylvania S. Apr. 7, he was last seen fading to 10th in the GII American Turf S. at Churchill May 6. Both of those races came over courses rated “good.”
“I'm thrilled to see him back in action,” offered winning trainer Brian Lynch. “You're always worried about being a one-trick pony as a 2-year-old and the Juvenile Turf curse, but he had been training so solidly in between, I've just got to put it down to the soft turf courses in Kentucky. He certainly liked it today, he relaxed lovely. I think he got some relatively kind fractions that if he was back to his best, he was going to quicken off them and he did. I think he really finished nice.”
Lynch confirmed that it would be on to the July 8 Belmont Derby for his talented turfer.
“He got the mile and an eighth today and there's no reason to say that he won't get the mile and a quarter,” Lynch said. “He was very comfortable, he saddled well, he handled everything. As a 2-year-old, he had the tendency to get a little bit hot, but he was calm and settled today. I thought he rated very kindly, and he had a really great turn of foot when he called on him.”
Pedigree Notes:
The winner's dam annexed the 2010 Santa Lucia H. over 8 1/2 panels of all-weather at Santa Anita in 2010 for Amerman Racing, and produced back-to-back graded winners with her second and third foals in last year's GIII Spiral S. hero Oscar Performance and Oscar Nominated. Devine Actress has an unraced 2-year-old filly named Emmy Performance (Point of Entry), and a yearling colt by Ghostzapper.
Saturday, Belmont Park
PENNINE RIDGE S.-GIII, $200,000, BEL, 6-3, 3yo, 1 1/8mT, 1:48.44, fm.
1–OSCAR PERFORMANCE, 123, r, 3, by Kitten's Joy
1st Dam: Devine Actress (SW, $107,300), by Theatrical (Ire)
2nd Dam: Devine Beauty, by Mr. Prospector
3rd Dam: Magical Holiday, by Slew o' Gold
'TDN Rising Star' O-Amerman Racing LLC; B-Mrs. Jerry
Amerman (KY); T-Brian A. Lynch; J-Jose L. Ortiz. $120,000.
Lifetime Record: GISW, 7-4-0-0, $847,632. *Full to Oscar
Nominated, GSW & GISP, $806,195. Werk Nick Rating: A+++
*Triple Plus* Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.[bullet ad=”berkelhammer-received-early-preparation-at-abracadabra-farms”][bullet ad=”kbif-g2g3″]2–Good Samaritan, 121, c, 3, Harlan's Holiday–Pull Dancer, by
Pulpit. O-WinStar Farm LLC, China Horse Club International
Ltd., SF Racing LLC et al.; B-WinStar Farm, LLC (KY); T-William I.
Mott. $40,000.[bullet ad=”winstar-bred”]3–Ticonderoga, 117, c, 3, Tapit–Keertana, by Johar. ($850,000
Ylg '15 KEESEP). 'TDN Rising Star' O-Woodford Racing, LLC;
B-Bryant H. Prentice, III (KY); T-Chad C. Brown. $20,000.[bullet ad=”mckathan-brothers-training-grad”]Margins: 1HF, HD, 1 1/4. Odds: 3.90, 0.90, 3.95.
Also Ran: Bowies Hero, Muggsamatic, Makarios, Secretary At War. Scratched: Prize Fight, Bonus Points. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
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