Any Given Saturday steals Sunday spotlight
Scores impressive win in 40th Haskell Invitational
BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer

PHOTOS BY SCOTT FRIEDMAN Above, Garret Gomes rides Haskell winner Any Given Saturday to victory at Monmouth Park on Sunday. At left, winning trainer Scott Pletcher is all smiles as he leads his colt to the winner's circle. Below, Matt Miller of Hoboken celebrates his winning bet, while friend Tom Dempsey, of Oceanport, doesn't share his enthusiasm.

OCEANPORT - One race does not a horse make.

That was trainer Todd Pletcher's feeling toward Any Given Saturday following an eighth-place showing at the Kentucky Derby.

With his colt rebounding well from his Derby performance, and assured in the knowledge that his horse was fully recovered from a bruised foot that hindered his effort there, Pletcher fully expected his horse to make a run at Sunday's Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park.

And that's exactly what the powerful colt did - put himself squarely in the championship picture as he scored a sensational victory over Hard Spun and Curlin in the 40th running of the $1 million Haskell Invitational (G1) before a crowd of 43,106.

With Garrett Gomez riding the perfect tactical race, Any Given Saturday rolled home by four-and-a-half lengths over Hard Spun, with Preakness winner Curlin, the 9-10 favorite, a head farther back in third. It was the second straight Haskell victory for Pletcher, the nation's leading trainer, and WinStar Farm, which owns the winner in partnership with Padua Stables. They took last year's running with Bluegrass Cat.

"He came out of the Derby with a pretty good foot bruise," Pletcher said following Sunday's win. "In his two races since, he's been extra special."

"Using Curlin and Hard Spun as how you judge the 3-year-olds, he beat them convincingly today," Pletcher added. "Obviously, he's as good as any 3-year-old in the crop."

But Pletcher wasn't the only one who expected a strong run from Any Given Saturday.

"I knew he was a better horse than he showed in the Derby," Gomez said. "In that race we turned for home and he just flattened out. From that time, Todd got him going in the right direction. When I sat atop him in the Dwyer [Stakes at Belmont, where he won by four lengths], he was a different horse. He was the same today, and I was very confident. It was just a matter of what kind of trip I'd get from the one hole."

The race unfolded like many thought it would, with Cable Boy grabbing the early lead and Hard Spun settling in behind. Gomez placed Any Given Saturday on the rail heading into the first turn, and bided his time until the stretch turn.

Hard Spun made the first move to go by Cable Boy at the quarter-pole, but Any Given Saturday swung out three wide and cruised past Hard Spun as Cable Boy retreated. Curlin made a late move, but could not get past Hard Spun the final 16th of a mile.

"It really all went to plan," Gomez said. "I saw Xchanger and Curlin make early moves, and I was still sitting on the inside. At the quarter-pole I angled out to come after the leaders. I was happy to see the local horse [Cable Boy] dig a little; it helped me out, because I was sitting just behind him.

"I sat about two to three lengths off the lead, and like I said, I made my move right at the quarter-pole."

"The race unfolded the way we thought it would," Pletcher added. "I don't give jockeys instructions, and all I told Garrett was there were three main speeds and I wanted him to secure an inside position going around the first turn. I don't handcuff a rider like Garrett with too many instructions.

"I was hoping he would get the jump on Hard Spun around the turn. He didn't, but he was good enough to push his way through there," he added.

Imawildandcrazyguy closed to be fourth, three-and-a-half lengths behind Curlin and four lengths in front of local favorite Cable Boy, who tired from his early pace-setting efforts. Xchanger was nearly two lengths farther back and two lengths in front of Reata's Shadow, who trailed throughout.

Cable Boy's trainer, Pat McBurney, was pleased with his colt's performance, calling it a positive experience.

"It was an easy pace," he said. "I thought he should have been a little stronger hanging in there. It was only his fourth race, and he needed this kind of seasoning. This race will do him a world of good."

"He ran good," added jockey Jose Velez Jr. of Cable Boy. "They came to him and he tried to fight on. He's a nice horse. He ran good. I tried to slow the pace down. He got beat by Derby horses with more experience."

Any Given Saturday, a colt by Distorted Humor Weekend in Indy, by A.P. Indy, raced the mile and an eighth over a fast main track in 1:48.35 and paid $5.60, $4 and $2.10 across the board as the second choice in the field of seven 3-year-olds.

Hard Spun, the Kentucky Derby second who went off at odds of 4-to-1, paid $5 to place and $2.10 to show, and completed the $24.20 exacta. Curlin returned $2.10 to show.

Any Given Saturday earned $600,000 for his Haskell victory, bringing his lifetime total to $989,213. This was his fifth career win in nine starts.

With Sunday's win, Any Given Saturday ran himself right into 3-year-old championship consideration, a position he would cement with a victory in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic that will be run at Monmouth Park on Oct. 27.

"The way he ran today," Pletcher said, "the Breeders' Cup Classic at Monmouth is now our goal.

"We'll work out his schedule to get to the Breeders' Cup. Right now we're going to enjoy this one. We'll see how he comes out of it and go from there.

"Now that he's raced over the track, and seen everything at Monmouth, it will help him on Breeders' Cup Day."

An all-time New Jersey high of $14,122,636 was bet on Monmouth's 14-race program, and wagering on the Haskell hit a record $3,734,404. The total wagering easily surpassed the previous all-time state high of $12,845,920 set last year, and Haskell betting rose to a record level from the 2003 mark of $3,726,562.

"Everything exceeded our expectations," said Dennis Dowd, senior vice president of racing for the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority, which owns and operates Monmouth Park and the Meadowlands.

"Not only did we have spectacular weather, but a tremendous crowd, and a great racing card. If today is any indication of what lies ahead, we're in very, very good shape for the rest of the meet, the Breeders' Cup and beyond."