It’s a veritable clash of the Titans at the grand old Spa this Saturday, when the two best male routers on dirt go head-to-head in the Grade I $750,000 Whitney Invitational Handicap. When it comes to the numbers, the two giants are equally matched with 7 wins in 10 starts; but as for which between them carries Thor’s Hammer, it’s no question that Quality Road towers over Blame as the heavyweight titleholder.
Big, bad Blame is most recently coming off a gutsy victory in the Grade I Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs, where he came sailing late to nail the free-flying Battle Plan a few strides before the wire. A lightly-raced 4-year-old colt by Arch, the Foster was his first Grade I triumph after collecting stakes wins in the Grade II William Donald Schaefer Stakes on the Preakness undercard, the Grade II Fayette Stakes at Keeneland, and last year’s Clark Handicap, which was a Grade II, but has since been upgraded to a Grade I.
Quality Road, or, as I like to call him, Chuck Norris with hoofs, is also a lightly-raced 4-year-old, but not for being a late-bloomer. Ever since his romp in the Fountain of Youth and determined win in the Florida Derby, this horse has been churning up more buzz than a bumble bee on a bender. This year, The Road has cemented himself as a nothing short of a superhorse, winning three of three starts, including the Grade I Donn Handicap by 12 ¾ lengths while breaking his own track record at Gulfstream before adding a win in the Grade I Met Mile to his resume.
But Quality Road and Blame aren’t the only big-name stars in the Whitney—last year’s Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird is still looking for a win since that race, and now that he’s found himself back on dirt after a disastrous first effort on turf, the little gelding stands a chance at spoiling the show at the graveyard of champions. Also jumping in the fray is Haynesfield, winner of the Grade II Suburban Handicap. Haynesfield stands as a salty challenger himself; with 8 wins in 11 starts, the New York-bred Asmussen trainee could also stand a chance at springing an ambush when the two heavyweights start eyeballing each other in the stretch. And then there’s the hard-knocking Musket Man, the valiant runner-up to Quality Road in the Met Mile—the David to his Goliath, if you will, showing up in his every race, thrusting his head in the company of Grade I winners confounded by his presence. Jardim, a Brazilian import nobody knows a hoot about, rounds out the field.
Also this Saturday is the Grade I Clement Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar that may or may not star the undefeated champion mare, Zenyatta. Depending on how the synthetic surface behaves between now and the post, trainer John Shirreffs is considering pulling the champ out of contention if the track shows any signs of inconsistency. Early in the meet, the main track was reworked thanks to an uneven surface and a few horses getting hurt, and since Zenyatta likes the Del Mar surface the least out of every track she’s raced on, there is a chance she may not run. If she does decide to try to win her third Clement Hirsch, she will be facing a field of nobodies (no surprises there). Now that St. Trinians has decided to call it a year after giving up a year’s effort against the California Colossus last time out in the Vanity, Zenyatta is home free until she either ships across the Rockies or is pitted against males for the first time on the West Coast. Don’t hold your breath. Just sit back and enjoy the Zenyatta show.
The Grade I Whitney Handicap will air live from Saratoga on TVG and HRTV Saturday at approximately 5:48pm EST.
The Grade I Clement Hirsch Stakes will air live from Del Mar on TVG at approximately 9:15pm EST. The race will be streamed live for free on NTRA.com.