Columnist Ralph Siraco: Riboletta moves into some fast company

Ralph Siraco

Monday, Oct. 16, 2000 | 10:05 a.m.

Ralph Siraco's horse racing column appears Monday, and his Southern California selections run Tuesday through Friday on the scoreboard page. Reach him c/o Las Vegas Sun, 800 S. Valley View Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89107.

The Breeders' Cup is less than three weeks away, and the past weekend served as a preview to the finals of horse racing's championship series.

No fewer than a dozen stakes races over the weekend at Belmont Park, Keeneland and Santa Anita featured all but one division of Breeders' Cup competition, and that one -- the Turf -- had a representative race in Europe that may shed some light on the Breeders' Cup, set for Churchill Downs on Nov. 4.

Calaneisi won the Dubai Champions Stakes, upsetting runner-up Montjeu. It is still uncertain whether either will cross the pond for the Breeders' Cup Turf.

The Breeders' Cup Distaff may have taken the worst of it after the Beldame at Belmont and the Spinster at Keeneland. The expected meeting of division-leading Riboletta, defending Distaff champion Beautiful Pleasure and multiple graded-stakes winner Heritage of Gold may have disintegrated over the weekend.

At Keeneland on Saturday, Heritage of Gold, who had been beaten by Beautiful Pleasure at Saratoga in July over a sloppy track, attempted to rebound in the most productive prep race for any Breeders' Cup event -- the Spinster Stakes. She had reeled off five straight victories before stubbing her hoof at Saratoga and was odds-on to bounce back in the Spinster. Plenty of Light, recently purchased by Riboletta owner Arron Jones, took the field wire-to-wire in an upset, while Heritage of Gold finished off the board. Trainer Tom Amos was so baffled by the dull performance that he has ordered a complete once-over for Heritage of Gold in Kentucky today.

Later that afternoon in the Beldame, Riboletta stalked pacesetter Beautiful Pleasure and put her away with ease, romping to an awe-inspiring victory. Two weeks prior, in the Ruffian Stakes at Belmont, she displayed such dominance that many speculated she was better than the boys and should be pointed to the Classic rather than the Distaff. After Saturday's performance, the boys are hoping her owner decides to pass the hefty supplement stipend and keeps his monster mare in the barn for another day.

Early indications suggest he may do just that. Riboletta has already sewn up the division without a Breeders' Cup start, and taking on the boys in the Classic wouldn't add much more value to her broodmare career. So, if Jones writes the check, it will be a sportsmanlike gesture.

Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus was originally scheduled to compete in the Jockey Club Gold Cup as part of Belmont's five-race Breeders' Cup Preview series Saturday. But he grabbed himself (which means he nicked his front foot with the cleat of one of his rear shoes) during a playful moment last week. He will now train up to the Breeders' Cup Classic with only his Jerome Handicap victory under his belt since a runner-up effort in the mid-May Preakness Stakes.

However, he is doing well and after the Jockey Club Gold Cup still stands at the head of the division.

Albert The Great, a late-developing 3-year-old, attended the pace and drew away from his elders to win the Jockey Club Gold Cup in impressive fashion. Trainer Nick Zito, who had just won the Champagne with budding 2-year-old A.P. Valentine, will now point both victors to the Breeders' Cup.

Other winners on the Breeders' Cup Preview day card were Raging Fever, who captured the Frizette Stakes for 2-year-old fillies, and Delaware Township, who upset Forest Camp and Kelly Kip in the Forest Hills Stakes for the sprinters.

The Breeders' Cup Sprint secured another pair of contenders with victories by Kona Gold and Five Star Day. Saturday's Ancient Title Handicap at Oak Tree was Kona Gold's prep for a repeat try at the Sprint. Winner of 4 of 5 starts this year, Kona Gold finished second in last year's Ancient Title before a runner-up effort in the Breeders' Cup Sprint. This year they hope to parlay the victories together. Five Star Day won the Phoenix Stakes at Keeneland on Saturday, and, although aided by a speed-favoring rail-biased track, the time of 1:07.4 still stamps him for the Sprint down the road in Louisville.

Another promising 3-year-old returned to the races with a smasher this weekend. War Chant, last seen finishing up the track in the Kentucky Derby, swooped past a field of elders to win the Oak Tree Mile on the Santa Anita turf on Sunday. Stablemate of Fusaichi Pegasus, the Neil Drysdale trainee secured an invitation to the Breeders' Cup Mile with the solid performance. In the Jamaica Handicap at Belmont Park, prohibitive favorite King Cugat won a hard-fought victory over 50-1 shot Mandarin Marsh. He is still eligible to show in the Mile.

Finally, Sunday's Goodwood Handicap at Oak Tree at Santa Anita showcased a pair of sophomores who have matured over the summer. Super Derby winner Tiznow and Kentucky Cup Classic winner Captain Steve hooked up early and dueled mano-a-mano as they outclassed the rest of the field. Tiznow, a strapping grand-looking full brother to Budroyale, held the lead tenaciously while the smaller but gritty Captain Steve attacked right to the wire. At the finish, Tiznow prevailed by a neck in what was the most exciting matchup of the long preview weekend. Tiznow, like Riboletta, will have to be supplemented to the Breeders' Cup Classic if his connections decide to take the California-bred to the big show in Kentucky rather than wait for what will amount to a walkover in the Cal Cup Classic at Oak Tree later this meeting.

There were two glaring realizations from the weekend's competition: One, that the two most impressive winners will have to pay a heavy penalty to play at the Breeders' Cup; and two, that the 3-year-old crop is clearly outperforming its older weather-beaten counterparts in the handicap division as Breeders' Cup day draws closer.