Santa Anita Report (Cont.)

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Eoin Harty was shopping for fishing gear at Wal-Mart when he got the call. On the other end of his cell phone was bloodstock agent John Ferguson, and the news was life-changing.

Looking to expand their quest to win the Kentucky Derby (gr. I), the Maktoum brothers wanted to establish a regiment of Godolphin 2-year-olds in the United States. They wanted to start now. And they wanted Harty for the job.

It was certainly the chance of a lifetime, and for Harty, it was a bolt from the blue. He nearly collapsed into a bucket of rods and reels. The plan was simple. Take a handful of youngsters. Get them fit. Race them and let the cream rise to the top.

"What they're looking for is horses that are going to progress the latter part of their 2-year-old year and are going to be competitive at three," Harty said, acknowledging a Derby winner is the ultimate goal. "I've got a couple of really top-class colts that haven't started yet and are getting close. Maybe it will be one of those two."

Or maybe the hopes will ride with Essence of Dubai and Ibn Al Haitham, the twosome that unleashed a Godolphin one-two knockout in the $250,000 Norfolk Stakes (gr. II) on Sept. 29. This time, it was Essence of Dubai, a regally-bred son of Pulpit and champion Epitome, who was standing tall once the dust had cleared...but not by much.

The race was decided around the far turn when apprentice Mac Rodriguez couldn't keep pacesetter Roman Dancer anchored to the rail. The Polish Numbers colt drifted well off the fence, leaving both Ecstatic and Ibn Al Haitham hung out to dry while creating a canyon inside for Essence of Dubai. Alex Solis, not one to squander a gift, pushed him forward and readied for the camera. Ibn Al Haitham, a maiden son of Zafonic, battled on to take second, three lengths behind his stablemate.

Yet Essence of Dubai was strong under the wire, a far cry from the horse who finished off the radar screen, well behind Officer, in Del Mar's Best Pal Stakes (gr. III) in August. Time apparently has served him well.

"He got outrun, plain as that. I think he just mentally wasn't ready. He was never in the race," said Harty, watching the Norfolk winner saunter around the tow ring. "But he's grown up since then, physically and mentally. Look at the condition the horse carries, and I'm working the heck out of him. He carries a lot of flesh. He can take a lot of training."

And now, he's carrying the dreams of an entire operation on his shoulders. The Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I) is up next.

No Secret Now
Her record may not sparkle. Her name probably doesn't ring a bell. You'd be hard-pressed, however, to find a more reliable filly than Queenie Belle. And now, Gary Seidler's daughter of Bertrando will get a shot to shine on the biggest stage of them all after winning the $209,400 Lady's Secret Breeders' Cup Handicap (gr. II) at 1 1/16 miles.

Handled confidently by jockey Brice Blanc, the 4-year-old Queenie Belle raced alone in third most of the way, then launched a protracted move around the far turn that caught both Favorite Funtime and favored Tamara Princess at the quarter pole. The filly took command for good in midstretch, finally drawing clear to beat Letter of Intent by 1 1/4 lengths. Tamara Princess, the unbeaten full sister to champion Riboletta, ended up last.

"She was awful hot; she got really hot in the post parade, more than usual," said Tamara Princess' jockey Mike Smith. "It wasn't her at all. It wasn't even a glimpse of her."

While Tamara Princess left her backers flummoxed, the Lady's Secret was just another of Queenie Belle's consistently solid performances. Trainer Ben Cecil acknowledges it was her most important triumph to date. And he wasn't the least bit surprised.

"She's always run well here, and she ran a huge race in the Cal Cup last year," he said the next morning. "Look at who she beat there--Feverish, Lazy Slusan, and Gourmet Girl were all behind her."

The waters will get deeper, though, when Queenie Belle heads to Belmont. In some circles the Breeders' Cup Distaff (gr. I) is being regarded as Flute against anyone else who bothers to show up. Though Cecil knows the nine furlongs of the Distaff will test Queenie Belle's limits, he also feels the race's single turn will cater to his filly's tracking style. Either way, she won't disgrace the home team.

"That's the thing; she gives 110 percent every time we run her," Cecil smiled, adding that Flute still has some history to overcome. "Let's face it. Frankel's never won a Breeders' Cup in 30-something tries."

Such a comment, you'd think, would draw the ire of Bobby Frankel. By now, however, he's used to it. Every year around this time, it starts all over. The numbers are dredged up. The questions arise. Does it bother you, they ask, that you've never won at the Breeders' Cup? Is this the year, he'll hear, that your 0-for-lifetime skid will finally be snapped?

For Frankel, the responses range from philosophical--"Maybe it's just not meant to be"--to direct--"I never think about it until you guys bring it up." But Frankel is currently riding the crest of a summertime bonanza, a coast-to-coast pillage that would have made Captain Kidd blush. With a Breeders' Cup roster that boasts not only Flute but Lido Palace, Aptitude, and You--all prime contenders--Frankel got just what he needed from Juddmonte Farms' Senure in the $300,000 Clement L. Hirsch Memorial Turf Championship (gr. IT) on Sept. 30.

The 10-furlong Hirsch was the ideal tightener for the 5-year-old son of Nureyev. With the runaway Penamacor still a dozen lengths clear after a mile, Alex Solis kicked Senure loose turning for home. When he did, Senure ignited and nailed Penamacor inside the sixteenth pole, holding off speeding White Heart to his inside by a head.

While the Frankel barn is perpetually bursting at the seams with big-time runners, Tali'sluckybusride launched her connections into their highest orbit yet after her 4 1/2-length spree in the $250,000 Oak Leaf Stakes (gr. I) later that afternoon.

Tali'sluckybusride, a daughter of the Storm Cat stallion Delineator, is owned by Ron and Susie Anson, owners as familiar for their Chicago Cubs silks as for their unflinching devotion to their horses. The 2-year-old filly also caught an Oak Leaf without a confirmed star. It was a race ripe for the picking.

The single-minded Ayanna blazed the way, ripping through six furlongs in 1:10.52 before throwing in the towel. Tali'sluckybusride was right there to pick up the pieces. Without a threat in sight, Tali'sluckybusride simply ran off at her leisure, covering the mile in a decent 1:37.77 under Jose Valdivia Jr. Imperial Gesture, a Langfuhr filly from Harty's Godolphin barn, emerged with a solid stretch run to take second. Tali'sluckybusride is trained by Alfredo Marquez.

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