VOSBURGH
A field of 6 was scratched down to a field of 4 which was headed by Imperial Hint with Firenze Fire being the 2nd choice and for only a 4-horse race this one was fun to watch. This race was majorly impacted by the scratches of Call Paul and Promises Fulfilled who were both more than likely going to be the main pace horses in this race.
With no disrespect to both American Power and Brown Buckeye, neither of them is in the same league as the other two and going around the turn this showed. Imperial Hint looked to be home free before Firenze Fire caught and passed him mid-stretch, but Imperial Hint eventually dug down deep and won in a thrilling photo.
Both Imperial Hint and Firenze Fire were given a 103 Beyer for the G1 Vosburgh which was an 11-point bounce for Imperial Hint which in my opinion is good to see for the Breeders Cup. I think he is very playable now in the Breeders Cup Sprint knowing that he should run the same or better Beyer next time out. This race still leaves questions about Firenze Fire who once again runs a huge race at Belmont Park, but has yet to run a huge race away from Big Sandy. If you haven’t seen the replay of this race yet go find it online and watch it as the stretch is thrilling. I would also keep on eye on Imperial Hint as we head into the Breeders Cup to see how he is training.
BELDAME
A field of 6 was scratched down to a field of 5 but at the end of the day it did not matter as Midnight Bisou did what everyone thought she would, win and win easily. She is now a perfect 7-7 in 2019 with 3 G1 wins, 2 G2 wins and 2 G3 wins and in my opinion is in the driver’s seat for Horse of the Year as this is her.
However, she did regress in her Beyer by 13 points from a 104 in the Personal Ensign down to a 91 here in the Beldame. I am not too concerned about this drop as we head into the Breeders Cup with her as I think she was due for a “bad” race and if this was it I would expect another high 90 low 100 Beyer next time out.
Wow Cat did run a game second and at one-point mid-stretch it looked like she was going to pull of the upset but at the end of the day Wow Cat could not run with Midnight Bisou late. Wow Cat will likely head to the Breeders Cup off this effort and I think she has a ton of potential to finish in the money again in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff (2nd to Monomoy Girl in 2018), but I don’t think she can beat Midnight Bisou without Midnight Bisou regressing again which I do not see happening. At this point Midnight Bisou I think is the Breeders Cup Distaff favorite and may be a popular single on multi race tickets in that sequence.