Two-year-olds of both sexes take the
spotlight Saturday at Arlington Park with the 77th edition of the
Grade III $100,000 Arlington-Washington Futurity and the 77th
edition of the the Grade III $100,000 Arlington-Washington Lassie sharing top
billing on the 11-race card. Each of these prominent fixtures on the
racing calendar will be contested over a one-turn one mile on Polytrack.
An overflow field of 14 2-year-old colt
and geldings were entered for the Futurity topped by stakes winners Twelve
Hundred, owned by B Jock LLC, and Alice Mettler’s Hogy.
The former is an Illinois-foaled son of
Cape Town and recent winner of the $60,000 Prairie
Meadows Juvenile Mile, a two-turn contest at that Iowa
racetrack. The gelding, who broke his maiden over Arlington’s
Polytrack in July, is trained by Jim DiVito – far and away the leading
conditioner of 2-year-olds at the meet with an impressive 8 for 13
record. Francisco Giles has the mount
Saturday.
The latter, a Joel Berndt-trained son
of Offlee Wild, carries a three-for-three mark into the Futurity with his most
recent score coming in the $50,000 Brian Barenscheer Stakes at Canterbury Park
on Aug. 14. His previous victories came over the Arlington
Polytrack. Florent Geroux, who has been aboard for each of the gelding’s
starts, has a return call in the Futurity.
Others of note entered in the Futurity
include Jerry Namy’s Shared Property (Leandro Goncalves), a four-length winner
at first asking at Ellis Park in July; Chuck & Maribeth Sandford and Secure
Investments’ Take Charge Indy (James Graham), a six-length victor over
Polytrack in his only trip to post; Lloyd DeBruycker’s Squid (Jesus Castanon),
runner-up in the Barenscheer after posting an eight-length win in his debut at
Prairie Meadows; and Leonard Blach & Ray Willis’ No Spin (Eduardo Perez), a
5 ½-length winner here last out.
Also in the field for the Futurity are
maiden winners Raut LLC’s Danger Storm (Wade Rini), Vladimir Kazakov’s Fairy
Cat (Lyndon Hannigan), Lantern Hill Farm’s Motor
City (Calvin Borel), Stephen Baker’s
Saturday Launch (E. T. Baird), Sugar Daddy Stable’s Ville (Julio Felix) and
Eagle Valley Farm’s Priceless
Shore (Brandon Meier).
Completing the field for the Futurity
are maidens Silverton Hill’s Heiko (Jermaine Bridgmohan) and Bluegrass Hall’s
Ormond Quay (Israel Ocampo).
Glen Hill Farm’s Struck It Lucky and
Livin the Dream Racing 2010 LLC’s Dream Peagasus should vie for favoritism in
the Lassie, which drew a field of nine fillies.
Struck It Lucky, a Tom Proctor-trained
daughter of Smart Strike won her debut here Aug. 21 by 2 ¼ lengths despite
being bottled up in traffic at the top of the stretch when racing 5 ½ furlongs
over Polytrack. Junior Alvarado has the mount.
The Ken McPeek-trained Dream Pegasus
broke her maiden by seven lengths at Ellis Park on July 8 in a one-mile race
originally carded for the turf. E. T. Baird picks up the mount on the
daughter of Fusaichi Pegasus.
Essence of Bubbles, a recent purchase
by Richard Ravin, makes her first start for her new connections in the Lassie.
The daughter of Essence of Dubai, who is now trained by Larry Rivelli, carries
a three-race win streak into the race including a two-length tally over Arlington’s
Polytrack on Aug. 25 Jozbin Santana gets the call Saturday.
William Cox’s Ann of the Dance brings a
perfect two-for-two record into Lassie. The Jim DiVito-trained daughter
of English Channel won a two-turn allowance
race by 6 ½ lengths over the Arlington Polytrack on Aug. 14. Diego
Sanchez has a return engagement aboard Ann of the Dance.
Completing the field for Lassie are
maiden winners Pop-A-Top LLC’s Always Here Too (Leandro Goncalves), Frank
Fletcher’s Rocket Twentyone (Eusebio Razo Jr.), Michael Helmbrecht’s Venetian
Sonata (Jesus Castanon) and Sugar Daddy Stable’s Yorona (Inocencio Diego); and
maiden John Haran Jr.’s Coyote Breeze (Francisco Giles).