Molto Vita to Defend Crown in TCA Stakes

(from Keeneland report)
Molto Vita returns to defend her crown in Sunday's $300,000 Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes (gr. III) against 10 fillies and mares set to run six furlongs on the main track.

Also returning is the 2004 runnerup, My Trusty Cat. But Patti and Hal J. Earnhardt III's Behaving Badly is likely to attract most of the public support.

A daughter of Pioneering, Behaving Badly is undefeated in her three-race career. An eight-length winner of her debut in 2004, the Bob Baffert-trained miss returned to the races in 2005 with a conditioned allowance victory. She captured the Rancho Bernardo (gr. III) at Del Mar in her last start. Jerry Bailey will don the familiar navy and gold.

William S. Farish's Kentucky-homebred Reunited, a stakes-winning daughter of Lane's End stallion Dixie Union, has won four of six lifetime starts, all by open lengths, for trainer Neil Howard. She has tremendous early speed and jockey Robby Albarado to ration it.

Jockey Gary Stevens will get a leg-up from trainer Steve Asmussen on Brenda and Phillip Robertson's Savorthetime. Winner of the First Lady Handicap (gr. III) at Gulfstream Park earlier this year, she recently finished third behind Madcap Escapade and Happy Ticket in the Princess Rooney (gr. II) at Calder Race Course.

$300,000 Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes (gr. III, Race 8, 4:45 p.m.), fillies & mares 3 & up, 6 furlongs
PP. Horse, Jockey, Weight, ML Odds
1. Savorthetime (KY), 118, 6/1
2. Vision of Beauty (KY), Mike Smith, 118, 20/1
3. Reunited (KY), Robby Albarado, 116, 4/1
4. Platinum Princess (KY), Corey Lanerie, 118, 30/1
5. Forest Music (KY), Shaun Bridgmohan, 124, 4/1
6. My Trusty Cat (KY), Terry Thompson, 124, 6/1
7. Puxa Saco (KY), Eddie Martin Jr., 122, 15/1
8. Behaving Badly (NY), Jerry Bailey, 122, 7/2
9. Miss Terrible (ARG), David Flores, 122, 10/1
10. Molto Vita (KY), Rafael Bejarano, 118, 6/1
11. Liz On Polk Street (KY), Mark Guidry, 118, 30/1