Stable Mail Time...

--Steve Sherack

   With the Mets already getting the day’s loss out of the way early Thursday afternoon in Philly (as you can see, I’m quite the optimist this baseball season), what better thing to do with my evening than check on my powerhouse 58-horse stable on DRF.com Watch Mail?

   Correction, let’s make that powerhouse 59-horse stable. Speightstown Lady (Speightstown) seemed a very worthy addition after debuting in style at Woodbine Sunday. Dismissed at 16-1, the 3yo filly blazed the way through fractions of :22 and :44 4/5 while well within herself, and impressively opened daylight in the stretch after a tap of Christopher Griffith’s whip to win by 4 1/4 lengths (TDN Video). I’d be lying if I said that I’ve heard of the ownership group Kelynack Racing Stable or trainer Ricky Griffith (former assistant to Mark Casse, courtesy quick google search) before, but something tells me that I will soon enough if this filly is as good as I think she is.

   With the older horse division a complete crapshoot at the moment, I’m quickly reminded once signing into my account of how much I can’t wait to see the return of “TDN Rising Stars” Trappe Shot (Tapit) and Trickmeister (Proud Citizen). Trappe Shot, off since a head-scratching ninth as the favorite in last year’s Travers, looks well on his way to making his four-year-old debut, most recently posting a five-furlong move at Palm Meadows Apr. 8, his seventh breeze of the season. Unbeaten Trickmeister, last seen crushing stakes company at Saratoga in late August, still hasn’t made the worktab yet, but I’ve been hearing nothing but good reports from the crew at IEAH Stables and Rick Dutrow down in Florida since his return to training. Trickmeister was scheduled to join “Babe’s” Belmont Park string this week. Stay tuned.

   Hey, remember Notonthesamepage (Catienus)? I added him to the roster after tabbing the flashy chestnut as a “TDN Rising Star” following his second career start at Churchill Downs back on April 30, 2008. He had me patting myself on the back after registering an eye-catching 8 1/4-length victory in Gulfstream’s 2009 Spectacular Bid S., but there has been very little to celebrate since. Sidelined following a seventh-place finish in Quality Road (Elusive Quality)’s GII Fountain of Youth S., the Kentucky-bred recently resurfaced at the age of five for owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey and trainer Wesley Ward with a fifth-place finish in a $20,000 claimer at Gulfstream. Here’s hoping that he follows in the footsteps of fellow “TDN Rising Star” S.S. Stone (Birdstone), who realized graded stakes glory after beginning the year with a win in a $20k tagger. (Note: Notonthesamepage was haltered by Midwest Thoroughbreds and Jamie Ness in his comeback effort).

   Maiden Watch: Jaredella (Tapit). Very surprised that this filly is still a maiden after three trips to post. The Michael Talla colorbearer reported home a strong third in her Jan. 22 unveiling after having her path briefly stolen in the stretch by winner and “TDN Rising Star” Hout Bay (Harlan’s Holiday). She hopped at the start and failed to land a blow when fourth behind the very promising Mildly Offensive (Sharp Humor) Feb. 19, and was most recently a good second behind another rocketship in Dazzling Display (Dehere) Apr. 2. Still think that two turns is going to be Jaredella’s best game. The fourth time will be the charm.

   Haven’t lost any faith in Willcox Inn (Harlan’s Holiday) (Watch Mail member since 9/20/10, two days after his impressive Arlington debut) following a runner-up effort in his sophomore debut in the Grindstone S. at Fair Grounds Mar. 12. Racing over a yielding course, the GII Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf third-place finisher rallied smartly into very slow early fractions to lose by only a length. Write it down now: he’s your 2011 GI Secretariat S. winner. If he backs up my words with a win in Arlington’s premier event for sophomore infielders, that should certainly help ease some of my pain during the dog days of August, assuming TDN publisher and Philly fanatic Barry Weisbord continues to remind me of how much his Phillies are in first place by in the NL East.