HEADLINE THREE CHIMNEYS NEWS The Idea is Excellence. For information about TDN, War Chant’s WAR MONGER Runs call 732-747-8060. nd Game 2 in Bernard Baruch (G2) www.thoroughbreddailynews.com SUNDAY, AUGUST 24, 2008 TDN Feature Presentation ROCK SOLID It was Group 1 win number five at Newmarket yes- G1 TRAVERS STAKES terday as Susan Magnier and Michael Tabor=s Duke of Marmalade (Ire) (Danehill) ground out a 3/4-length suc- cess in the rerouted G1 Juddmonte International S. Following a gruelling fight in the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. at Ascot July 26 and two flights from Ireland due to York=s abandonment Tuesday, KINGMAMBO Ballydoyle=s juggernaut would have been excused for not wanting to roll up his sleeves again here, but that MAMBO IN SEATTLE IS 2nd IN was not the case. Jockey Johnny Murtagh asked him GRADE 1 TRAVERS S. BY A WHISKER! to stretch when he hit the front three furlongs out, and the ADuke@ had too many guns for Phoenix Tower TRAVERS NEARLY A SPLIT DECISION (Chester House) at the finish. New Approach (Ire) (Gali- Jockey Robby Albarado knows Travers heartbreak. leo {Ire}) failed to provide the much-anticipated match, Aboard Grasshopper when he was narrowly defeated and was a further 2 1/2 lengths back as he stayed on by Street Sense a year ago, the Louisiana native for third after racing too keenly in rear early. Cont. p4 thought he had yesterday=s renewal in the bag, so much WHO’LL BE THE PAC MAN? so that he pumped his fist in A well-matched field of 11 older horses go postward victory as Mambo In Seattle in this afternoon=s $1-million GI Pacific Classic at Del (Kingmambo) raced under Mar and never, arguably, has the race carried such the wire. His elation was significance, with this year=s GI Breeders= Cup Classic to short-lived, as the photo re- be contested for the first time over a synthetic surface. vealed the Colonel John The tepid 3-1 morning-line favorite is Peter Vegso=s Go (Tiznow) had gotten his nose Between (Point Given), who has turned into something Colonel John (inside) down on the money. of an all-weather specialist as he=s grown older. He=ll Horsephotos Cont. p2 have to deal with defending race champ Student Coun- cil (Kingmambo). Cont. p3 Saturday, Saratoga Race Course TRAVERS S.-GI, $1,000,000, SAR, 8-23, 3yo, 1 1/4m, 2:03 1/5, ft. 1--COLONEL JOHN, 126, c, 3, by Tiznow 1st Dam: Sweet Damsel, by Turkoman 2nd Dam: Grande Dame, by Zen 3rd Dam: Fia, by One for All O/B-WinStar Farm LLC (KY); T-Eoin G Harty; J-Garrett K Gomez; $600,000. Lifetime Record: 9-5-2-1, $1,468,830. *1/2 to Caroline's Gold (Touch Gold), GSP, $156,410. Werk Nick Rating: C+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. 2--Mambo in Seattle, 126, c, 3, Kingmambo--Weekend in Seattle, by Seattle Slew. O-Mrs William S Kilroy & W S Farish; B-W S Farish & Kilroy Thoroughbred Partnership (KY); T-Neil J Howard; $200,000. 3--Pyro, 126, c, 3, Pulpit--Wild Vision, by Wild Again. O-Ron Winchell; B-Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC (KY); T-Steven M Asmussen; $100,000. Margins: NO, 5 1/4, NK. Odds: 4.20, 5.50, 3.75. Also Ran: Harlem Rocker, Da' Tara, Court Vision, Tale of Ekati, Macho Again, Tizbig, Amped, Cool Coal Man, Tres Borrachos. P TDN HEADLINE NEWS • 8/24/08 • PAGE 2 of 17 TDN Feature Presentation... Continued GRADE 1 TRAVERS S. The Rodney Dangerfield of the Crop... Despite just one off-the-board finish from his first eight trips to the post, Colonel John just never seems to garner the respect he merits. A maiden winner and J “TDN Rising Star” J over seven furlongs at the Oak Tree meeting in October, the bay figured to im- prove with distance and did just that in his next start, coming from off the pace to win the Nov. 18 Real Quiet S. at Hollywood Park. That effort earned him a spot in the GI Hollywood Futurity Dec. 22, and although the attractive colt finished second that afternoon, anyone watching the way he was striding out in the final fur- long and past the wire knew he would become a seri- ous three-year-old. Brought back to action in the GIII Sham S. at Santa Anita Mar. 1, Colonel John was forced to race unusually close to a dawdling pace and caught a race-fit El Gato Malo, but came calling for the lead at the eighth pole and held on for a half-length victory. The second choice to the West Point runner in the GI Santa Anita Derby, Colonel John was shuffled back on the turn and had nine of his 11 rivals ahead of him with a quarter mile to run, but found his best stride just in time to post a half-length success. The 9-2 sec- ond choice to Big Brown in the GI Kentucky Derby May 3, he was steadied early, made a strong middle move into contention, but flattened in the lane to finish sixth. He was rested off that effort, with the Travers squarely Winning jockey Garrett Gomez rode Colonel John to a in the crosshairs, and the WinStar colorbearer faced runner-up effort on debut, picked up the mount from an just three of his peers in the July 12 GII Swaps S., and, injured Corey Nakatani for the Sham, and was back in a near repeat of the Sham, raced outside his comfort aboard for the Swaps. He was full of praise for his zone on the pace and lost second on the wire. mount. AThe way he ran today was a heck of a perfor- mance,@ said the jockey, winning his first Travers. AI=ve Looking for Validation... always liked him, I was fortunate enough to be the first Well drawn for the AMidsummer Derby,@ Colonel John one to ride him in a race. [Trainer] Eoin [Harty] was high leapt in the air at the start, but recovered and secured a on him then. It took me a while to get back on him, and cozy ground-saving position as GI Belmont S. hero Da= I got to watch him kind of develop. It=s been a real trip Tara (Tiznow) cut out reasonable fractions of :23.91 for me, to have him is unbelievable. The kind of trip and and :48.06. Patiently what he did today, it takes a special horse to do what handled by Garrett he did because he got left a little bit. He was inside and Gomez, he bided his time then I got bounced around a little on the turn and then I on the turn, but was had to jump over heels. To do that after going a mile, bothered a bit and was he still jumped up on his feet and started to quicken it checked as heads were and lengthen his stride. It shows that he is right up there with the top of them. Added winning trainer Eoin turned for home. AThe @ Harty, When you ve been around horses for a long Colonel@ went after a A = time, the really good ones do things very differently weakening Da= Tara at the eighth pole, but was than the usual ones. This one, from Day 1, had shown Colonel John (right) gets up in time that. It was an unfortunate thing in Kentucky. In hind- joined soon after by Michael Marten/raceshooters.com sight, the race he had in the Swaps was a very good Mambo In Seattle, who race. He s a beautiful horse to be around. He has a rallied stoutly on the turn and six wide into the stretch = beautiful personality, and I m just fortunate. Click for and looked as if he had the momentum as they raced = @ the brisnet.com chart, the brisnet.com PPs or the free into the final furlong. The two exchanged leads bob by brisnet.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored bob as the winning post loomed, and Colonel John got by Taylor Made. there when it mattered most. P TDN HEADLINE NEWS • 8/24/08 • PAGE 3 of 17 Pacific Classic cont. The pace should be much faster this time, which will Go Between has never finished outside of the exacta likely benefit Go Between and fellow closers Awesome in five starts on synthetic surfaces but will compete on Gem and Student Council. Awesome Gem hasn=t won a Del Mar=s Polytrack for the first time. After a successful stakes since taking the GII San Fernando Breeders= Cup career on turf, trainer Bill Mott decided to try the chest- S. in January 2007, but has had several close calls. He nut over all-weather tracks upon the advice of exercise lost by a nose in his most recent race, the restricted rider Keith Allen, who said the horse Aseemed to feel Wickerr H. on turf, but last year at Del Mar, he was really good@ during a workout over Arlington=s second to Sun Boat in the GII San Diego H. and to Polytrack. In five subsequent starts over synthetics, Go Student Council in the GI Pacific Classic before losing Between won the 2007 GIII Fayette H. at Keeneland by a nose in the GII Goodwood S. and finishing third in and the 2008 Sunshine Millions Classic at Santa Anita the GI Breeders= Cup Classic.