Life At Ten fiasco: Blame for all, save the rider

Bettors and horse-welfare advocates alike are in a furor, and have a right to be, over the fact that Life At Ten broke from the gate -- if you can call it that -- in the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic, despite showing obvious signs to both her trainer and rider that she just wasn't right.

It was downright wrong that the unwell horse was loaded into the gate and asked to, in any way, "run" with the field. It's also wrong that the stewards didn't immediately refund all wagers placed on Life At Ten -- the second choice in the wagering at 7/2 -- when it was clear from the moment the gate opened (actually, well before it closed behind her) that the horse never stood a chance and almost certainly shouldn't run.

So call down wrath from the sky upon the stewards. Vent your fury on the track veterinarians, who observed Life At Ten after both trainer Todd Pletcher and jockey John Velazquez suggested she wasn't well, but authorized her to run anyway. Be angry that Pletcher didn't make the disappointing decision to scratch his own horse when she didn't seem right, though it could be argued he chose to trust the judgment of the vets.

But whether you're livid that the horse's safety was risked, furious that you lost money wrongfully on betting a horse that never even tried to race, or both, I say spare John Velazquez. He did all he could do in untenable circumstances.

According to Blood-Horse reports, Pletcher said Life At Ten seemed well when she walked over to the paddock. But he noticed problems during the saddling, describing the mare as acting as though she'd been sedated. Pletcher said he told Velazquez to be sure he warmed-up the mare well. But when she didn't respond to the rider's efforts, Pletcher said Velazquez asked that vets check Life At Ten before loading the horse into the gate for the start.

Dr. Larry Bramlage, on-call veterinarian for the American Association of Equine practitioners, said in a statement that a team of three vets at the starting gate "did not observe any physical problems." In fact, Bramlage said the vets didn't find anything out of the ordinary upon examining Life At Ten after the race, either.

(Note: The Daily Racing Form reports that Velazquez said nothing to the vets pre-race, according to a quote by Bramlage. Somebody should get to the bottom of that. Complaining to the vets; did Johnny V, or didn't he?)

At any rate, something wasn't right. John Velazquez knew it; even said so before a television audience. And when the veterinarians didn't scratch the horse (and Pletcher didn't either), in my mind Velazquez was left to make one of three terrible choices.

1. Get off the horse. Refuse to ride her. Risk them calling in a replacement jockey who will ride Life At Ten as though nothing is amiss, until such time as she goes completely wrong, perhaps fatally.

2. Ride the mare himself as though nothing is amiss, even though he knows that there is. Be the jockey that maybe kills her. And maybe gets himself killed in the process.

3. Stay on the horse that has become one of his most prized regular mounts, so that nobody else has control of his stricken charge's fate. When the gate opens, keep Life At Ten under wraps for her own good.

In an impossible situation, where he (and possibly the horse) will be damned regardless of his choice, John Velazquez did the closest thing there was to "the right thing."

Yes, it screwed bettors. But were they (or "you" where applicable) any more screwed by Velazquez's not persevering at all with Life At Ten than if she had broken down on the clubhouse turn? Or had a heart attack on the backstretch?

It's the vets' error for not listening to a trainer and a rider who both (at least according to some reports) were openly concerned that the horse they know, train and ride wasn't herself today. Pletcher could be blamed for sending her out to the post-parade at all considering how she was behaving in the paddock. And it's the house's inexcusable decision to keep your money when the horse you bet was as close a thing as you'll find in this game to a non-starter without actually "not starting."

The Life At Ten incident of BC2010 was embarrassing. Terrible.

But John Velazquez quite possibly saved us from far worse.

My only tip for the Breeders' Cup, but it's a doozy

With the Breeders' Cup finally upon us, I'm going to leave the heavy-duty handicapping other pros and bloggers.

I'm gonna make just one highly controversial recommendation.

Toss Quality Road in the Breeders' Cup Classic.

I don't write that lightly, and certainly not with any joy. Quality Road's owner and breeder, Edward P. Evans, is one of the true gentlemen of the sport, and a Virginia icon, the state where some of the fondest of my early horse-racing connections (and my only two foals) happen to be. I briefly owned a stallion he bred, the late Silver Music (winner of the G2 Swaps Stakes). Folks associated with his operation have been kind enough to not only offer uncompensated advice on getting into (and getting through) this business, but to take in another older stallion I was placing, giving him a great home and third career as a teaser.

And I'm not rooting against Quality Road on Saturday. I don't do that, even when I have money on a race. I cheer for the horse(s) on my ticket, but never wish ill -- not a bad trip, not even a dull effort -- on the others in the race. They're magnificent animals who lay their lives on the line every time they race and while it's fun to bet 'em (and beat 'em), and intriguing to discuss their place in history (such as the frequent furor around Zenyatta), they all deserve our respect.

If I lose -- and oh, do I lose -- my first thought will usually be "how did I miss that?" Or at the very least: "Today was their day. Not mine."

(Sidebar: If you happen to have a calendar with the date marked on it for when my next "My Day" happens to be, please drop me a line. I've been waiting on that like a kid pining for Christmas.)

No, in this case, I think one of the more wildly talented horses we've seen in the past few years, is just not well-spotted to win this race. And I'm not sure there's anything his connections could do about it.

Some took a dimmer view of Quality Road's chances after he was assigned the 1-hole in the post-position draw. The rail at Churchill can be a tough place to start a race; ask Lookin At Lucky, who was beaten around and against the fence enough on the first trip by the stands in this year's Kentucky Derby to rob him of all chance.

But with fewer horses in the gate (12 vs. 20), the gate's positioning won't be quite so far to the inside and the rail won't "come up" on Quality Road as it does on a Derby starter as they break for a 10-furlong race from Churchill's chute. There also won't be quite the crush of horses trying to get down to the rail. And after all, if there's a horse in this Breeders' Cup Classic who is the speed of the speed if he wants to be, it's Quality Road. So I think he can actually play the 1-hole to his advantage, take the early lead, save ground all the way around while in front (others saving ground will have to shuffle back to do so) and hopefully control the pace to have gas left in the tank for the stretch.

But therein lies the trouble, in my opinion, for Quality Road. I'm not sure whether he's a gas-guzzler, like most muscle cars, or the tank just isn't quite big enough. But when it comes to getting 10 furlongs, I don't think he's the right horse.

From the perspective of just this race, Quality Road isn't likely to get an uncontested lead with a soft pace. The other two logical speed horses are drawn just to his outside -- No. 3 Haynesfield (12/1) and No. 4 First Dude (15/1) -- and have little to lose by just "going for it" from the gate. The 7, Musket Man, another horse I love but think doesn't fit at this distance, isn't the type to let the leaders back up into him too much without pushing them to go on with it. So the 5/1 Quality Road is likely to be hounded by 12/1, 15/1 and 20/1 long-shots who might be even higher in the odds by post-time.

That sets up the race for a stalker or a deep-closer, and apart from Quality Road, that's where the biggest talents of this Breeders' Cup field lie in wait. If she's on her game, expect the undefeated queen, Zenyatta (8/5), to be coming hard in the final two furlongs. I think Lookin At Lucky (6/1) might be the sharpest horse in the field right now and unlike his battering rail-trip in the Derby, can more casually find a spot from which to stalk or close from his position on the far outside. Churchill-loving Blame (9/2) and up-and-comer (but not quite gettin' there-er, sometimes by a whisker) Fly Down (15/1) can settle into good positions from their posts, 5 and 6. If he takes to the track when it's (likely) fast -- something I consider iffy -- turf standout Paddy O'Prado (15/1) could also be closing late as he did to pick up third in a sloppy Derby back in May.

So I'm confident that somebody's gonna pass Quality Road before the wire, as did Blame when they met in the nine-furlong Whitney a couple of months back. (And Blame did it even though Quality Road benefited from fractions of 24.41 and 48.06 that were far from suicidal.) In fact, I wouldn't be flabbergasted if Quality Road were passed in the stretch on Saturday by two horses. Or three. Or more.

Sealing the deal in my opinion is the fact that the undeniably gifted, brilliant, very fast racehorse that is Quality Road, is only a 50/50 proposition when asked to race beyond a mile. He has six lifetime starts at nine or 10 furlongs. He has won three of them, all at the shorter of the two distances, two in record time at Gulfstream (the 2010 Donn H.-G1 and 2009 Florida Derby-G1). But he's 0-for-2 at 10 panels.

Now look inside that raw, coin-toss-equivalent percentage and see the horses he defeated, and which horses managed to beat him in the losses.

The 9f wins, in reverse chronological order:

-- Sept. 4 this year, the Woodward S.-G1, over Mythical Power, Tranquil Manner, Convocation, Indian Dance, Arcodoro and a by-now-flightless Mine That Bird. Apart from Mine That Bird's walking on water in the 2009 Derby, there isn't even a Grade 2 win in that field. Mythical Power has won two G3s; Indian Dance an overnight stake at Laurel. The other three have never won a stakes race of any kind, anywhere. The Woodward, in fact, is Tranquil Manner's only lifetime placing in a stakes race.

-- This year's Donn Handicap in February, the second time Quality Road has set the Gulfstream Park track record for a mile and an eighth, this time at 1:47.49. (He also holds the Saratoga record for 6.5f, a blistering 1:13.45.) Second place was Dry Martini, a rugged war-horse, four-time G2 or G3 winner (including at 10f) and millionaire who has been among the closest to chase home Quality Road more than once. Third was Delightful Kiss, G2 winner of the Ohio Derby. A respectable trifecta. The rest of the field: Mambo Meister; Helsinki; Past the Point; Kiss the Kid; Duke of Mischief; Dubai Gold.

-- The 2009 Florida Derby, a 1:47.72 track record win over Dunkirk (two G1 placings, no stakes wins before he became another Unbridled-line to break and be retired after five races), Theregoesjojo (only horse ever to beat Quality Road at less than 9f, in a 7f Gulfstream allowance, but whose only stakes performance besides two losses to QR is a third at Prairie Meadows), Stately Character (listed winner at Calder, but with three wins from 27 starts), Sincero (listed win at Calder, 5-for-24 lifetime), Casey's On Call (lone stakes win, the Western Canada Handicap at Northlands Park), and Toby the Coal Man (2-for-19 lifetime, no blacktype).

The losses, in reverse chronological order:

-- Quality Road lost the mile and an eighth Whitney to Blame, with Musket Man in third (again, in defiance of his own distance limitations, but still not good enough to win). Haynesfield, who was more than a handful during the gate-loading, was fourth. The only other two horses in the sparse field were a hopeless (yet still just 12/1) Mine That Bird and terribly overmatched Jardim (30/1).

-- Last fall as a 3-year-old, Quality Road was second in the Jockey Club Gold Cup-G1 at a mile and a quarter to eventual 3-year-old champion Summer Bird. Hardly an embarrassing "beat." But the horses who finished behind? By finish order: 3. Tizway (now a G2 winner, then a non-winner of any stake); 4. Macho Again (gutted by his narrow loss to Rachel Alexandra in the Woodward, later skipped the Breeders' Cup, on the downward spiral toward retirement); 5. Dry Martini; 6. Sette E Mezzo (only career stakes-placing, third in a G2); 7. Asiatic Boy (in the last race of what had been a competitive, albeit not-often-winning, graded-stakes career).

-- In August 2009 at Saratoga, Summer Bird handed Quality Road the first of his two "beats" in head-to-head match-ups, winning the Travers in 2:02.83 for 10 furlongs. Second that day was Hold Me Back at 10/1. Quality Road settled for third as the beaten favorite. The also-rans: Charitable Man; Warrior's Reward; Kensei; Our Edge.

I'm not wishing to disparage the horses who finished behind Quality Road in these races, or to offend their connections. Almost to a horse, they're stakes-performers (at some level, if not graded) and six- or (rarely) even seven-figure earners. They're far better than the average racehorse in this age.

But if you look at all those names and let the caliber of their stakes careers tumble around in your mind just a bit, it isn't a stretch to say that anytime there was a horse in a 9f/10f race who seemed to be anywhere in Quality Road's ballpark on talent and form, that horse managed to beat him. Nor is it off-base to add that of the names of those who finished behind him, you wouldn't put many, if any, on the marquee.

Frankly, Quality Road arguably hasn't faced as many top-shelf-talented horses in his first 12 starts combined as he'll face in one race on Saturday.

I think Quality Road is a monster. All the way out to nine furlongs. He might win the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile in a laugher, if he ran it. But I know that isn't the race his connections want ... nay, need ... to win.

Quality Road might make me look the fool and win the Breeders' Cup Classic on Saturday under John Velazquez, for trainer Todd Pletcher and owner/breeder Ned Evans, some of the most respected -- and respectable, and respectful -- people in this business. After all, I was dead-wrong last year when I suggested it might be best to root for Zenyatta in the Classic, but to bet against her.

But I've been taking a stand against him in personal discussions for awhile, based on the 10 furlongs. (That is, the last one furlong more than the first nine.) And I feel strongly enough about it to go public.

Good luck to all. And safe trip.

Jaeger first to defend his own honor

A $350,000 sales colt is the 5/2 favorite on the morning line for a maiden special weight race at Delaware Park Saturday, the first of a handful of horses whose prices I took a stand against this year to step up to the gate and try to make me eat my words.

Jaeger certainly has all the advantages a horse could ask. Pedigree? He's by $70,000 per mating, sire of champions Indian Charlie out of The Church Lady, a Valid Wager mare who has produced two stakes horses by Doneraile Court: SHEYENNE GIRL and Codio. His second dam was a stakes-placer and stakes-producer; his third dam bore six stakes horses, two of them blacktype winners. Successful operators Padua Stables clunked down major coin to buy Hip 123 at Keeneland's April sale, and turned him over to arguably the best trainer in America, Todd Pletcher, who has named an excellent jockey in Fernando Jara to ride.

What's not to like?

Well, not much, really, except the price vs. the expectations. And that's what I detailed on my blog after that Keeneland sale.

While there is black type on the page, not only is none of it graded, it really hasn't even occurred outside of restricted company. His stakes siblings performed at Northlands Park and Hastings Park in Canada -- certainly better than not performing anywhere, but hardly the equivalent of winning a highly competitive stakes race at Woodbine, Canada's premier track.

Jaeger's dam was unraced, which always leaves me wondering why -- is it some conformational fault or other deficiency she might have passed along to the foal? While stakes-placed Codio ran 21 times and earned $148,035, stakes winning Sheyenne Girl made four starts at 2 last year, collected $42,545, but hasn't seen a track again through nine and a half months of 2010; that's suspicious. And bear in mind Indian Charlie only raced five times himself, though his progeny are averaging about 13.7 starts for their careers, which is average durability.

Sound or not, Jaeger's four older siblings to race -- all multiple winners and two stakes horses, mind you, useful racehorses -- combined haven't quite earned $300,000; less than what was paid for this one horse.

Still, I understand that despite being unraced, The Church Lady has produced four winning racehorses, and that's to her credit. As stated when panning this price as among the "surreal" from KEEAPR, I conceded that this one has every chance to be a good racehorse, too. But it will take better than "good" to earn back $350,000.

Of course, earnings at the track aren't the only consideration. A son of Indian Charlie from a blacktype female family -- even restricted blacktype -- has some hope of a stallion career, if he can win a stakes race somewhere himself, preferably more than one and of course, most preferably graded. That was no doubt in the back of Padua's minds when the stable spent more than double the sale's average price to get him.

Provided I haven't wagered on the race and since I don't yet own any to compete with them, I never root against a horse. They're magnificent animals and I respect them all. And I have no reason to cheer against Padua, Pletcher and Jara on Saturday, even though I took a bit of a stand against this horse on price at KEEAPR.

It's good to see him make the racetrack as a 2-year-old -- the first of that small handful of 10 or 12 horses I "went against" -- and it will be fun to see whether he can meet or exceed his buyers' expectations.

Track all the horses I did pick -- that's 187 from a slew of this year's 2-year-old sales -- and the few I panned in the list at the bottom of this former post.

Looks like a Devil of a Derby

Thoroughbred Times' text-messaging service a few minutes ago informed me that the Kentucky Oaks indeed has drawn up without top filly Devil May Care, suggesting that trainer Todd Pletcher -- who has lost likely favorite Eskendereya and in-the-field Rule in less than a week -- is absolute in his decision to run his Grade 1-winning girl against the boys on Saturday in the Kentucky Derby.

Eskendereya was declared out on Sunday due to a slight filling in his left fore. Rule was dismissed from Derby entry by his connections because the Roman Ruler colt just wasn't where they wanted him to be in his training leading up to the run for the roses.

Devil May Care is reportedly tearing up the Churchill track in training. And Pletcher -- who in 2007 won the Belmont Stakes with a filly in Rags to Riches -- has said the decision to run her in the Derby became more clear with Eskendereya's defection. Not only was the race-favorite on the sidelines, but so was his jockey, John Velazquez, who is among Pletcher's preferred riders.

Plus, the filly will benefit from a five-pound break in the weights; no small advantage at a mile and a quarter.

Pletcher also expects to start Louisiana Derby-G2 winner Mission Impazible (fifth in graded earnings), G2-winning 2-year-old Super Saver (12th) and Risen Star S.-G3 winner Discreetly Mine (14th). A fifth Pletcher horse, Interactif, a dual G3-winner at 2, is 16th in graded earnings and could be in the race, but his entry is still uncertain.

P.S. Let the Eight Belles references commence, hopefully with some measure of restraint and a nod to the fillies who've worn the roses (Winning Colors, Genuine Risk and, way back in 1915, Regret), or the umpteen to have run and not won nor broken down, most recently Excellent Meeting (the betting favorite who finished fifth) and Three Ring, who both were entered in '99.

Eskendereya declared out of Derby

I thought this might be the year for the Storm Cat line to finally get its first son to wear the garland of roses on the first Saturday of May. But a text alert to my phone from Thoroughbred Times buzzed me awake at 9:34 Sunday morning with the news that the horse almost certain to be the morning-line and post-time favorite, Eskendereya, was declared out of the Kentucky Derby.

The Giant's Causeway colt was arguably the best chance Todd Pletcher has ever had to get his first Derby winner as trainer, as well.

Details will follow soon as the working race-media can provide them. At present, the latest on Bloodhorse.com still suggests that the horse's trainer was trying to decide this morning on whether to send out Eskendereya and Derby-possible Interactif for Sabbath-day works over a track affected by heavy rains the day prior.

(Update: The Blood-Horse reports at 10 a.m. that Pletcher says the horse is experiencing a "slight filling" in his left front leg. Tests will determine the nature and severity. Pletcher said the horse is not lame.)

The declaration marks the second year in a row that a scintillating Wood Memorial winner can't make the gate at Churchill for health reasons. I Want Revenge was scratched on Derby morn after his connections and veterinarians determined he wasn't fit to race. His unsoundness prompted a lawsuit between members of the ownership group and a New York Times story trying to make I Want Revenge the poster horse for how legal pharmaceuticals affect racing. The Stephen Got Even colt has never raced again.

Let's hope this isn't the last we've seen of Eskendereya.

Colonial Turf Cup: Battle of Hastings and an absent long-shot

An intriguing field of 10 horses will go to post today in the $500,000 Colonial Turf Cup-G2, first leg of the Grand Slam of Grass -- a challenge I wish some top horse's connections will legitimately try to attain someday.

Battle of Hastings(GB), pictured stepping onto Colonial's main track upon shipping in, is a gelded son of Royal Applause out of the blacktype Night Shift mare Subya, and leads the field in the morning line at 2/1. The Jeff Mullins trainee comes in off a near-miss in the American Turf S.-G3 at Churchill on Derby weekend, plus a series of sharp drills. Tyler Baze gets the call in his only scheduled ride at Colonial Downs this weekend, and though the New Kent, Va., turf course isn't the trickiest oval in America, I'd rather see Baze ride something early on the card to sharpen his skills over the course.

Also given a big chance by track oddsmakers are Take The Points (3/1 for trainer Todd Pletcher and jock Garrett Gomez) and Lime Rickey (7/2 for Frank Alexander and Julien Leparoux).

Only one other horse -- trainer Shug McGaughey's Rescue Squad, with Edgar Prado named -- is at single-digit odds, 6/1. And that makes this both an interesting betting race and a strange contest for a Grade 2, $500,000 event.

Where are the proven turf horses?

Giant Oak is sticking to Arlington Park and the $500,000-bonus "Mid-America Triple" of the Arlington Classic, American Derby and Secretariat Stakes. I don't know the health of all the non-winners of the ungraded May 23 Arlington Classic (who now stand no chance of the bonus), but the Turf Cup didn't draw even an Orothodox and Jon Court, surprise 45/1 winners of the American Turf who stumbled in the Classic, nor Arlington Classic placers and showers No Inflation (who went for Churchill's G2 Jefferson Cup last weekend at less than half the purse, finishing third) and El Crespo (Palm Beach S.-G3 winner), nor Classic-favored Golden Mexico(IRE), all of whom are out of the running for the Arlington bonus but could position themselves to run for the Grand Slam with a win in the Colonial Turf Cup, a much-higher-graded and richer race than they just ran with no greater competition.

The G3 Hill Prince at Belmont June 5 was taken off the turf and ended up a five-horse race. But of the four scratches whose connections wanted grass, only Lime Rickey ships south for a chance a G2 turf race and essentially five times the money.

Aside from the 2/1 ML favorite, Battle of Hastings, who is a Grade 3 winner in California sprinting on grass in the Baldwin Stakes and a listed winner at a mile in the La Puente, there's a wealth of unfulfilled potential from this group, no other stakes wins, and very little blacktype for a Grade 2 field.

Second in the morning line at 3/1 is a horse in Take The Points that likewise has no blacktype win, and in his case is also making the transition from the main track (where he placed in the G2 Sham on synthetic in California) to the lawn. After a trio of second-places, Lime Rickey is hoping to break through to the winner's circle in a stakes race, and Rescue Squad is 2-for-5 lifetime with no blacktype at all, and just 6/1.

Let's check the other six in the field for a potential bomb at the window.

At 10/1 are Straight Story (Giant's Causeway), two wins from four non-blacktype starts and $57,350 for trainer Alan Goldberg and rider C.C. Lopez, and Mark S The Cooler (a Johar gelding with earnings grossly wrong at that link), a Doug O'Neill trainee with Corey Nakatani aboard who has won two of nine for about $90K. Both come in off allowance wins on grass and Brisnet speed figures of 93 and 92, respectively.

Clocking in at 12/1 on the morning line is Final Count (Smart Strike), making just his fourth lifetime start (two wins) for trainer P.J. Oliver, with Corey Lanerie up. His maiden-breaking Brisnet speed figure of 93 on Polytrack at Keeneland is consistent with the prior two and he followed that with a turf win at Churchill in his last out.

At 20/1 is a second Pletcher trainee, Al Khali (Medaglia D'Oro), with a curious past. Sent to Peru as a yearling, he placed, then broke maiden, then collected an allowance win at Hipodromo de Monterrico as a 2-year-old. Returned to the States, he won in allowance company at Gulfstream, but was well-beaten in both the Illinois Derby-G2 and Peter Pan-G2. Now he tries grass under Kent Desormeaux.

Co-30/1 shots are Winning Vow (Broken Vow), stakes-placed on grass at Turf Paradise but neither as fast as this field nor consistent, and Dover Street Art(IRE), by Alhaarth, who has the least earnings ($13,687) of a graded-stakes entry that I can remember seeing in a very long time. And I'm was going to pick him. Not so much to beat Battle of Hastings -- for now I think we can see why he's 2/1 and I'm not sure why that isn't even money -- but to potentially, maybe, be that "bomb."

Trouble is, I just noticed at Equibase.com that he's a morning scratch. But you still get to read my reasoning.

Dover Street Art's earnings are held down a bit because he started his career in Britain, where fans of U.S. racing might be shocked to know that the purses for maidens and others in the lower conditions can be paltry. But Dover Street Art was second in his debut at Lingfield at 2, then won at Great Leighs next out over Tartan Gunna, a horse who has since won three times outside of stakes company. Speed figures are available from Brisnet for neither, but Racingpost.com says his Timeform mark for the 2-year-old win was an 83.

Shipped not only to the States, but way out West, he resurfaced in the La Puente, where he was rank early, got a wide trip, surely needed the race from a four-month layoff, and lost to Battle of Hastings by 7 1/2. But his next two efforts, both on synthetic, were a 90 speed figure placing fourth in an optional $80K claimer and an 84 digging in on the rail for third in an allowance.

I liked that he, like Mark S The Cooler, is trained by Doug O'Neill, who I doubt would've considered hauling him cross-country if he didn't think the colt could figure. He wasn't getting a marquee jock, and SoCal staple Agapito Delgadillo would've had a lot of work to do aboard a colt who has been described as "pulling" at the jockey in more than one race. But I think the horse will appreciate his eventual return to turf, and is perhaps bred for more distance than he's been getting; dam Santa Sophia (Linamix) made only seven starts, but one a stakes win in the Lingfield Oaks Trial at 11 1/2 furlongs.

And in this group that has done little to prove themselves in stakes company, Dover Street Art just might have been near the front at the end, and at considerable odds.

Now, back to my question about when someone will truly pursue the Grand Slam of Grass: What's it gonna take?

Colonial this season would seem to be the place to start for a 3-year-old turf router. The Turf Cup is now a Grade 2 with a $500,000 purse. The Virginia Derby in July is likewise a G2 that I think is destined for Grade 1 status, and you can't quarrel with a $750,000 pot for 3-year-old restricted competition. Then, take a shot at Arlington's Secretariat (still amid 3-year-olds only) and three of the four legs could be yours.

Clearly Arlington has struck back with its $500,000 bonus to any horse that can win its Mid-America Triple, but the purses of those first to races are smaller (the third is the Secretariat Stakes that is also part of the "Slam") and the graded-blacktype is lighter.

And obviously the final race of the Grand Slam is the toughest: The Breeders' Cup Turf at 12 furlongs among older horses. But it's been won by a 3-year-old before (three of the last seven, in fact, with Conduit last year, Red Rocks in 2006 and High Chaparral's first of two in 2002). The task isn't impossible.

Of course, all of those 3-year-old winners were Euros. And they have plenty of their own races to run at all summer.

But I'm still waiting for the year when American connections take a colt -- maybe European-bred -- and sweep the trio of 3-year-old legs of the Slam (by then probably a G2 Turf Cup, G1 Va. Derby and G1 Secretariat), at least giving their charge a chance at the Slam and its $5 million in combined purses and bonuses.