Atta Boy Roy swept into the Midsouth region last week, won the $200,000 Remington Park Sprint Cup, and is now back at his Churchill Downs base awaiting a rematch with Majesticperfection in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint.
The two last met in the $125,000 Iowa Sprint Handicap on June 25, a race in which Atta Boy Roy was the favorite off the strength of his win in the Grade 2 Churchill Downs. But he ended up finishing second in the Prairie Meadows race, beaten 4 3/4 lengths by Majesticperfection.
“I made a tactical error,” said Valor Lund, who trains Atta Boy Roy. “I misjudged [Majesticperfection.] I chose to take a stalking position, which I believe cost us the race. Once he got the jump on us, we could not run him down. We hooked a horse that’s exceptionally talented. Next time we meet, we’ll go for him early on. I think it will be an exciting horse race.”
The match-up is expected to come Nov. 6 at Churchill in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. Majesticperfection established himself as the division’s leader in August, when he took the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt at Saratoga. Atta Boy Roy, like Majesticperfection, has made one start since the Iowa Sprint. He won the Remington Cup in hand, with a Beyer Figure of 103. Lund said it was probably his final prep for the Breeders’ Cup.
“In all likelihood that will be our next spot,” Lund said. “If the right race came up at the right time, we might start him once in between. But there aren’t races that really fit him on the stakes schedule, and he runs well fresh. He’s a tough galloping horse and he keeps himself pretty fit.”
Atta Boy Roy is a Washington-bred by Tribunal. Last fall he ran six furlongs in a blazing 1:07 when he won the $50,000 Chinook Pass at Emerald Downs.
Productive Envoy will focus on La-bred races
Productive Envoy, who won the allowance prep for the $100,000 Prelude at Louisiana Downs, passed the race up Saturday and instead will focus on a fall campaign against Louisiana-breds, said his trainer, Tony Richey. At one point, Productive Envoy, who is a multiple stakes winner at two turns, was being geared up for a run at the Prelude and Super Derby.
“We had to decide, do we do that or give him a break and be ready for all the [statebred stakes] this fall and winter?,” Richey said. “He’s eligible for so much money. So, we just decided he’s going to need a break sometime and instead of going against these open horses, let’s be ready for this fall and winter. We’ll wait and be as good as we can be.”
Productive Envoy has been turned out, and will point for a return to racing at Delta Downs, said Richey. The target will be the $100,000 Gold Cup for Louisiana-breds at a mile Nov. 5. From there, Productive Envoy would point for the $150,000 Louisiana Champions Day Classic at Fair Grounds on Dec. 11.
Richey said Debris, who won the $100,000 Louisiana Cup Oaks at Louisiana Downs in May, is also being freshened with her return expected to come at Delta in the $100,000 Magnolia for Louisiana-bred fillies and mares Nov. 5.
Yearling sales in Texas, Louisiana
Fasig-Tipton Texas has cataloged 363 horses to its summer yearling sale that will be held Monday at Lone Star Park near Dallas. The auction is one of two on deck for the region. The Breeders Sales Company of Louisiana is set to sell 350 yearlings at its Sept. 27 auction at Ike Hamilton Expo Center in West Monroe, La.
Fasig-Tipton will offer offspring by such stallions as Afleet Alex, Candy Ride, Smarty Jones, Tiznow, and Valid Expectations. There are 159 Louisiana-breds in the catalog, 101 Texas-breds, and 33 Oklahoma-breds, according to director of sales Tim Boyce. Last year, the sale’s average was $10,213.
The Louisiana auction will include offspring of Bellamy Road, Grindstone, Leestown Sharp Humor, and Tapit. Last year, the sale’s average was $8,237.
◗ A decision in the appeals case of It’s a Bird, who was disqualified from his 2009 win in the Grade 2, $500,000 Oaklawn Handicap after testing positive for the Class 4 non-steroidal anti-inflammatory Naproxen, is expected to come Sept. 9. A hearing in the matter was held last week in a court in Little Rock, Ark.
◗ The Texas Racing Commission’s final dates committee meeting on a track proposal to consolidate the Texas racing calendar in 2011 will be held Wednesday in Austin.
