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03.13.2006
ARCADIA, Calif. - It is mid-March again, time to channel the madness and turn up the heat on those colts and fillies who are starting to look like first-class tickets to Churchill Downs. In California, the winter has produced two of the best.
Of course, calling Brother Derek the top 3-year-old in the land isn't exactly a stretch, at least as long as long as Private Vow continues to lurk in the background and Bluegrass Cat remains content to be the king of Tampa Bay.

Arguments for First Samurai ("solid seconds"), Bob and John ("great potential"), Cause to Believe ("can't be blamed for his competition"), Barbaro ("1 for 1 on dirt"), and Corinthian ("unlucky sucker") deserve a good listening, but Brother Derek's consecutive efforts in the Hollywood Futurity, the San Rafael, and the Santa Catalina require no explanatory qualifications, other than a simple, "He won big."

Now the Santa Anita Oaks, run last Sunday, has brought forth Southern California's female version of Brother Derek, giving the West Coast the early favorites at this point for the Kentucky Derby and its prestigious companion, the Kentucky Oaks.

Balance, a daughter of Thunder Gulch, is a filly who seems destined to carry her owners, John and Jerry Amerman, and trainer, Dave Hofmans, as far as the game allows. In taking the 1 1/16-mile Santa Anita Oaks by a comfortable 2 1/2 lengths, she literally won for fun, making runner-up Quiet Kim look good by comparison and beating third-place Wild Fit with ease.

Coupled with her victory in the one-mile Las Virgenes Stakes in February, the Santa Anita Oaks gave Balance a sweep of the two major tests for Santa Anita's best 3-year-old fillies. But while she has clearly separated herself from the rest of the California class, the accomplishment is not unique. Commonplace is a better description.

The Oaks goes back to the beginning of Santa Anita's history (it was known as the Santa Susana Stakes until 1986), while the Las Virgenes joined the parade in 1983. Since then, in 24 runnings, the Las Virgenes winner has come back to win the Oaks no fewer than 14 times.

Balance has joined a list of names that includes Althea, Fran's Valentine, Timely Assertion, Lite Light, Lakeway, Serena's Song, Antespend, Sharp Cat, Excellent Meeting, Surfside, Golden Ballet, You, and Composure.

What those fillies have in common - besides the ability to win two races in a row at Santa Anita - is an almost universal ability to take their act on the road. With the exception of Composure, who went wrong after the Santa Anita Oaks and never raced again, 10 of the remaining 12 flattered their Santa Anita winter form with at least one major win in the East or Midwest as 3-year-olds.

Fran's Valentine and Lite Light won the Kentucky Oaks. Lite Light and Excellent Meeting won the Fantasy at Oaklawn. Sharp Cat and You won the Acorn Stakes in New York. Lakeway and Serena's Song won the Mother Goose, and Surfside defeated males in the Clark Handicap. Of the others, Antespend was second in the Fantasy, while Golden Ballet was second in the Ashland.

With the bar already set perilously high, Dave Hofmans was asked if he thinks Balance will be able to replicate her best game out of town. The answer was no real surprise.

"I think she'll be okay," Hofmans said. "She ships from Hollywood Park to Santa Anita for her races over there, and she's handled it well. Sometimes I think they handle a plane flight better than a van ride across town."




In action, Balance is a sight to behold, living up to her name with a finely tooled stride that has already handled turf and a variety of dirt. Given this potent package, her trainer was asked if she ever put a foot wrong.

"No - well, yeah, she kicks somebody every now and again," Hofmans replied. "But that part we put up with. In her case, we don't consider that wrong."

Thunder Gulch was a broad-backed tank who loved a good ruckus, so it is no surprise to learn that Balance possesses a full-blooded personality, with all the psychological markings of a diva-in-training.

"She is very much her own person," Hofmans said, and yes, he meant to say "person." Remember, successful trainers like Hofmans spend more time with their horses than they do with their families.

"She dictates what happens with her," Hofmans noted. "You don't fight her, you just try to get along with her. Things have to be done at her pace.

"For instance," he continued, "she'll go out there one morning and stand like a pony. She'll stand there with three outriders for as long as you'll let her. The next morning she'll come out, stand there, and then try to buck the rider off. You figure, okay, that's what she wanted to do today.

"Horse people, especially the Kentuckians who spend all their time raising yearlings, look for the horse that looks right through you," Hofmans added. "It's as if they're thinking, you're just not that important to them. Balance is like that. She has a great deal of confidence in herself."

If all continues to go as hoped, Hofmans and the Amermans could be very much in demand during Kentucky Derby Week. In addition to Balance in the Oaks, the team could be on the starting grid for the Derby with Sacred Light, a son of Holy Bull who just finished second to Brother Derek in the Santa Catalina Stakes.

The Amermans have flirted with the Derby before, but so far have yet to make the race. In the early spring of 2002, Hollywood Futurity winner Siphonic was injured prior to the Derby, while last year a similar fate befell Golden Shine, an impressive local winner who got as far as the San Felipe before he was grounded.

"A lot can happen between now and then," Hofmans said, referring to the Derby/Oaks package. "But it's fun to have the horses who might take us there."



03.12.2006
Migliore was aboard Sunshine Alpine for a seven-furlong move that Aqueduct clockers timed in 1:26.83 over the inner track. Like several horses in this field, including possible favorite Keyed Entry, Sunshine Alpine will be making his first start around two turns in the Gotham, which this year will be run on the inner track at 1 1/16 miles.

Sunshine Alpine, trained by Gary Contessa, has raced exclusively at six furlongs, with two wins and a second-place finish behind Like Now in the Capossela Stakes.

"He gave me the impression that distance won't be a problem, because he's just got a very long, efficient stride," Migliore said. "He got in a real comfortable rhythm, and when I asked, he really finished. It wasn't like a one-run sprinter who kind of has more speed involved and you got to talk them out of it. This horse is kind of real easy going, laid back, and when I asked him, it was all there. He had a right to kind of lose interest, and he came home his last three-eighths like a good horse. I'm kind of excited about him."

Migliore has won the Gotham three times, including last year's running with Survivalist. He said he feels, at the very least, that Sunshine Alpine has earned the right to run in the Gotham.

"Obviously, he's done a lot right his first three starts, and this is a big step up," Migliore said. "I think he's earned his right to compete with them. Now let's see if he can do it."

The Gotham is coming up a very intriguing field, led by the Todd Pletcher-trained Keyed Entry, the locally based Achilles of Troy, and the Maryland-based Sweetnorthernsaint. Keyed Entry is 3 for 3, including a victory over First Samurai in the Hutcheson Stakes. Achilles of Troy has won three in a row, including the Count Fleet and Whirlaway, but he has yet to be tested. Sweetnorthernsaint has won his last two impressively, including the Miracle Wood Stakes by 10 lengths at Laurel Park.

Several Gotham runners put in their final workouts Sunday and Monday. On Sunday, at the Palm Meadows training center, Keyed Entry zipped through a five-furlong move in 59 seconds, equaling stablemate Magna Graduate for the best time of 38 works at the distance. Keyed Entry worked by himself.

On Monday, Sweetnorthernsaint worked four furlongs in 49.60 seconds at Laurel Park. At Belmont, One Way Flight went an easy half-mile in 50.01 seconds over the training track.

As of Monday, there were nine confirmed starters for the Gotham. With riders, they are: Achilles of Troy (Ramon Dominguez), Greeley's Legacy (Eibar Coa), Hesanoldsalt (to be announced), Keyed Entry (Edgar Prado), Like Now (Fernardo

Jara), One Way Flight (Channing Hill), Putonyerdancinshuz (Hiram Rivera), Sunshine Alpine (Migliore) and Sweetnorthernsaint (Kent Desormeaux).