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Rising Star Looks to Remain Perfect in Dogwood

'TDN Rising Star' Carribean Caper (Speightstown) looks to keep her perfect record in tact Saturday and score her first graded victory in Churchill's GIII Dogwood S. Donning cap and gown by eight lengths in her Fair Grounds unveiling Feb. 13, the $250,000 KEESEP acquisition captured a Keeneland optional claimer Apr. 2 and an Ellis Park test July 10. She passed her first black-type test with ease in the Audobon Oaks last out there Aug. 15.

Li'l Tootsie (Tapiture) seeks her black-type badge in this event. Capturing a Churchill optional claimer May 31, she finished ninth in both the July 7 GIII Indiana Oaks and the grassy Galway S. at Saratoga Aug. 15. The bay rallied to be third last time when getting back on dirt at the Spa in the GII Prioress S. Sept. 4.

Patty H (Flatter) makes her first start off the claim here. She was haltered by Mike Miceli for $40,000 out of a winning effort at Saratoga July 16. GIII Iowa Oaks runner-up Shesa Mystery (Verrazano) also runs in this spot.

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Life is Good Faces Elders in Kelso

'TDN Rising Star' Life is Good (Into Mischief) takes on his elders for the first time Saturday and will be heavily favored to defeat them in a four-horse renewal of Belmont's GII Kelso H. Informative (Bodemeister) is scratching in favor of Saturday's Parx Dirt Mile. Devastating the field to graduate by 9 1/2 lengths and earn a 91 Beyer Speed Figure on debut at Del Mar Nov. 22, the $525,000 KEESEP buy captured the one-mile GIII Sham S. next out at Santa Anita Jan. 2. Romping by eight lengths when trying two turns in the GII San Felipe S. in Arcadia Mar. 6, the bay was knocked off the GI Kentucky Derby trail in March after a chip was discovered in his left hind ankle. Transferred from Bob Baffert to Todd Pletcher in the interim, Life is Good returned in Saratoga's GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial S. Aug. 28, finishing a narrow second after a brawl with Jackie's Warrior (Maclean's Music). He ran triple-digit Beyers in his last the races, numbers which put him well above the rest of the field. With Irad Ortiz in the irons, Life is Good can be expected to go right to the front and never look back.

“He ran a giant race off the layoff and has trained well since then,” said Pletcher, who plans to use this race as a springboard to the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. “He's just a very talented horse so I was not surprised he had run so well off the bench. It was an ambitious goal to run in a Grade I, but he's a very talented horse and ran terrific. He came out of it well and has continued to train great.”

Chance It (Currency Swap) has been knocking at the door of a graded victory. Runner-up in the GIII Smile Sprint S. at Gulfstream July , he checked in third behind a savage battle between Yaupon (Uncle Mo) and Firenze Fire (Friesan Fire) in the GI Forego at Saratoga Aug. 28.

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Alabama Also-Rans Invade For Cotillion

The second-, third-, fourth and last-place finishers from Saratoga's GI Alabama S. comprise half of what is expected to be a field of eight for Saturday's GI Cotillion S. at Parx Racing. Private Mission (Into Mischief), recent winner of the GIII Torrey Pines S., did not make the trip in from California.

Clairiere (Curlin) won the GII Rachel Alexandra S. at the Fair Grounds on her seasonal debut, but was second in the GII Fair Grounds Oaks and a one-paced fourth to 'TDN Rising Star' Malathaat (Curlin) in the GI Longines Kentucky Oaks Apr. 30. Third following a stumbling start in the GII Mother Goose S. June 26 and again when Maracuja (Honor Code) upset Malathaat in the GI CCA Oaks at Saratoga July 24, the Stonestreet homebred closed willingly to complete the exacta behind Malathaat in the Alabama, a half-length ahead of GII Black-Eyed Susan S. heroine Army Wife (Declaration of War) in third. Will's Secret (Will Take Charge), winner of Oaklawn's GIII Honeybee S. and third in the Oaks, attended the pace in the Alabama, but weakened to be fourth.

Maracuja finished one spot ahead of Army Wife in the GIII Gazelle S. Apr. 3 and was allowed to take her chance in the Oaks, finishing an even seventh. She made her next appearance in the CCA Oaks, where she was the recipient of a heads-up ride from Ricardo Santana, Jr. and outfinished Malathaat, who was forced to race closer to that pace than is her custom. The gray filly stumbled at the start of the Alabama, contested over a rain-affected track, but retreated late to finish at the tail.

Always Carina (Malibu Moon) was the popular winner of a key Aqueduct maiden on debut Apr. 11 and earned 'TDN Rising Star' honors with a 9 3/4-length thumping of first-level Belmont allowance foes May 20. Beaten into second after setting a manageable pace as the odds-on choice in the Mother Goose, the homebred cut back to no avail in the GI Longines Test S. Aug. 7, finishing a midpack fourth behind Bella Sofia (Awesome Patriot).

“I really want to get her back out in a distance where she will be forwardly placed and in control of her own trip,” trainer Chad Brown said.

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‘Spirit’-less PA Derby Weekend’s Main Event

The decision to withdraw GI Kentucky Derby first-past-the-post Medina Spirit (Protonico) from Saturday's $1-million GI Pennsylvania Derby is certainly a disappointing development, but eight of the nine remaining entrants already have at least one stakes win to their credit, six of those at the graded-stakes level, with a couple of new shooters that have earned their chance to contest a race of this magnitude.

Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) is a deserving favorite based on his body of work, one that could look dramatically more sparkling with a few different bounces of the ball. The wire-to-wire winner of the GII Louisiana Derby in March, the half-brother to champion Mitole (Eskendereya) made a run from slightly off the pace and may have hung late when third across the line in the Derby, beaten a length for all of it. Ridden for speed in the GI Belmont S., Hot Rod Charlie cut out an otherwise suicidal early pace and held well deep into the final eighth of a mile, only to be outfinished by Essential Quality (Tapit). His heart was on full display yet again in the GI TVG.com Haskell S. July 17, but he drifted in with a furlong to race, causing Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow) to stumble, and was placed last. Connections passed on the GI TVG.com Pacific Classic at home and a trip back this way for the GI Runhappy Travers S. in favor of this spot, won by the Doug O'Neill (Leandro Mora)-trained Handsome Mike (Scat Daddy) in 2012.

“Selfishly, I want it for the whole team, but also for him as an individual,” said O'Neill. “It would be a pretty awesome result for Charlie to get a Grade I win, that's for sure.”

Midnight Bourbon will jump as the second favorite and is likely to be bet well down from his morning line. Able to control a moderate pace in wiring the GIII Lecomte S. over the winter, the strapping bay was runner-up in the Louisiana Derby and ran with credit to be sixth in the Derby after being farther back than connections had hoped. Second to Rombauer (Twirling Candy) in the GI Preakness S. after racing more prominently, he showed tremendous athleticism to pop right up from the incident at Monmouth and gave Essential Quality all he could handle in the Travers last time, going down to a neck defeat while earning a career-best 107 Beyer.

“Hopefully, Saturday is his turn,” said David Fiske, racing manager to Winchell Thoroughbreds. “It's been a peculiar year. Most years, the field for the Kentucky Derby evaporates the day after the Derby. This year we've had Essential Quality, Midnight Bourbon, Hot Rod Charlie, Medina Spirit–even though he scratched–he's still going. There are a lot of them out there and they're all quality colts.”

Fulsome (Into Mischief) pinch-hits here for Derby second and 'TDN Rising Star' Mandaloun (Into Mischief) and capped a three-race winning streak with a convincing victory in the GIII Matt Winn S. at Churchill May 29. A money-burning third to the progressive Mr. Wireless (Dialed In) in the GIII Indiana Derby July 7, he bounced back in this track's GIII Smarty Jones S. Aug. 24, but will have to run significantly faster to factor here.

Speaker's Corner (Street Sense) bested next-out 'Rising Star' Caddo River (Hard Spun), future MGSW Greatest Honour (Tapit), GSW Bourbonic (Bernardini) and GISP Miles D (Curlin) to graduate at Belmont Oct. 11 and went missing for 10 months before returning to take a first-level Saratoga allowance by 5 1/4 lengths Aug. 14, for which he earned a 101 Beyer. Trainer Bill Mott is a two-time winner of the race, including To Honor and Serve (Bernardini) a decade ago.

Americanrevolution (Constitution) won the state-bred restricted New York Derby at Finger Lakes by 7 1/4 lengths July 19 and added a five-length success in the Aug. 27 Albany S. for Todd Pletcher, whose lone win in this race came courtesy of Harlan's Holiday in 2002.

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