3YO (1/12): FG-LeComte; SA-San Rafael

[Oaklawnfan]

I really like the NY bred Z Fortune. I think it's interesting that Steve would ship him to the Fairgrounds. It almost looks like Mr. Assmussen is trying to hide his horses a little bit. Maybe he'll make his Derby Trail run from the Deep South. Who knows, he might even show up in Hot Springs say for the Southwest or Rebel. Look out, this one could go off at a decent price.

[Kasept]

5th: San Raphael (Gr. III), 3yo, 1m

1. El Gato Malo (Flores/Dollase, C.) 119 (3-1): West Coast West Point interest under direction of '07 breakthrough conditioner Dollase; Owns pair of open length scores comin in and should sit trip behind Pletcher product gated adroit; May not want classic distance but El Corredor gelding certainly suited for today's tour; Using..

2. Talk of a Cat (Gomez/Pletcher) 116 (5-2): $625k Coolmore buy at Saratoga Select Sale was OK in debut behind 'Racecar' and Mad Flatter before wiring HOL foes in zippy time; Gives 2 turns a try and may well find self alone and loose; Another good for today and questionable going 9f+..

3. Sierra Sunset (Espinoza/Bonde) 122 (5-1): Stoutly-campaigned Cal-bred has visited 5 coastal venues (including Santa Rosa) en route to 8/3-2-1-$190k marks; Ran deceptively solid HOL Futurity with he, Indian Sun and Massive Drama finishing 6th, 5th and 3rd respectively less 2L apart; Honest enough Bertrando bay from Bonde seems tactical, but hard to gauge fit with added pace factors signed on and his questionable finishing ability..

4. Overbid (Baze M./Guillot) 116 (6-1): $450k Pulpit from Guillot spots group a lot of experience with maiden-breaking debut lone outing; Tend to think finding 2nd turn and stakes foes off the one start a lot to ask; Looking elsewhere..

5. Indian Sun (Solis/Hendricks) 116 (15-1): Brother Derek team visits third graded stake in a row sporting classic development arc for young horses; Shows 2 sets of paired tries and logical next step could find him in the money mix at a bonus price; Hendricks knows this path from '05 Derby run, and Injun Chuck bay looks like one of the ones here sure to run his race; Exotics booster..

6. Massive Drama (Bejarano/Baffert) 119 (2-1): Pricey Zayat buy from Kafwain is steadily slipping backwards on the fig scale as distances increase, a distressing sign; 2-1 an impossible price to embrace this time of year with young 3yo's developing at rapid rates, but sharp works from Baffert charge makes him difficult to toss totally; Using defensively only..

7. Spinning Sound (Baze T./Gallagher) 116 Blk-On (30-1): Gallagher import has disappointed in prior pair, first 2 NA, with off board finishes in Logan and Generous; Moves to sythetic possible cause for optimism given maiden hit over Lingfield's PolyTrack last summer; Couple that with addition of goggles, and 30-1 doesn't look so bad; For deep exotic plays..

SELECTIONS:

1. #1 El Gato Malo
2. #2 Talk of a Cat
3. #5 Indian Sun
4. #6 Massive Drama