The Week In Review

The weekend following the GI Belmont S. doesn't seem like an occasion when the 3-year-old male dirt division would be given a jolt, but that's exactly what happened. You can now add a couple of serious horses to the list of those who are very much in the running for the divisional title.

Many horses become forgotten if they come up short in the GI Kentucky Derby, and many tend to disappear, but not this one.

'TDN Rising Star' McCraken (Ghostzapper) led many a list of Top 10 candidates after his win in the GII Sam F. Davis, but fizzled as the favorite in the GI Blue Grass, where he was third, and then finished eighth in the Derby. McCraken came out of the Derby with a cut on his left hind leg, which meant trainer Ian Wilkes needed to take a step back and regroup. Rather than press on for the GI Preakness S. or the Belmont, he wisely found a soft spot, Saturday's GIII Matt Winn at Churchill Downs.

The chart shows that McCraken won the Matt Winn by 2 1/4 lengths, but his race was better than that. With Brian Hernandez Jr., aboard, he was squeezed coming out of the gate and by the time he recovered he had spotted the field a couple of lengths. He methodically cut into the margin before sweeping by the front-runners on the turn under no urging from Hernandez, and McCraken's victory was impressive. He looked like the same horse that had a lot of people excited before the Blue Grass.

Be it in the GI Betfair.com Haskell Invitational, the GI Travers S., or wherever McCraken heads between now and the end of the year, he will no doubt be someone who will make his presence felt.

The same can be said for 'Rising Star' Timeline (Hard Spun).

Chad Brown has a Classic winner in his barn in Preakness victor Cloud Computing (Maclean's Music), but he may not turn out to be his best 3-year-old colt as Timeline seems prepared to steal the spotlight from his better-known stablemate.

Beyond Timeline, the lineup for Sunday's GIII Pegasus S. at Monmouth was such that we didn't learn a whole lot about Brown's newest 3-year-old star. Timeline went about his business, circled the racetrack, won by 3 1/2 lengths and then headed back to Brown's New York stable to prepare for what will be his first true test, the Haskell. The $500,000 Keeneland September purchase is now undefeated in four career tries, with a win in the GIII Peter Pan S. also on his record. He could be very good.

It's too early to tell how good this 3-year-old crop is, but one certainty, though, is that this is a deep group. The three Triple Crown winners are all healthy and pointing for either the Haskell or the GII Jim Dandy S. Classic Empire (Pioneerof the Nile) and 'Rising Star' Irish War Cry (Curlin) are quality horses and have every chance of landing in the winner's circle in a major Grade I before the year is out. Bob Baffert has an interesting up-and-comer in Easy Goer Stakes winner West Coast (Flatter). Now you can add McCraken and Timeline to that list. It should be a fun summer for the 3-year-olds.

Gun Runner “With Gusto”

Churchill Downs announcer Travis Stone captured the moment perfectly when he editorialized during his call of Saturday night's GI Stephen Foster H. at Churchill Downs and said that Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}) won “with gusto.” Did he ever. The outstanding 4-year-old was geared down crossing the wire under Florent Geroux on his way to a seven-length romp. It didn't hurt that he had a perfect trip, getting to lead and going unchallenged throughout, but take nothing away from this one. It was an exceptional performance.

Afterwards, thoughts had to return to 'Rising Star' Arrogate (Unbridled's Song). This is the same Gun Runner that was swallowed up by Arrogate in the stretch of the G1 Dubai World Cup even though Arrogate had gotten off to a bad start. He also lost to Arrogate by 15 lengths in last year's Travers when finishing third. With racing's reigning monster gearing up for his return at Del Mar, trainer Steve Asmussen and owners Winchell Thoroughbreds and Three Chimneys will likely seize the opportunity to put more money in their bank accounts in the GI Whitney H. at Saratoga.

Truth in Advertising

When you play the claiming game like trainer Karl Broberg does and play it well nearly every horse you run is for sale. But no one has ever gone to the extent Broberg has to let you know that his horses are, in fact, for sale.

Broberg owns many of the horses he trains and they run under the name of End Zone Athletics Inc. Starting in mid-April, the End Zone horses started sporting white silks that feature what appears to be a sign, much like one you'd stick on your front lawn when putting your house up for sale. They read “For Sale by Owner” and Broberg's phone number, 817-903-9322, is listed underneath those words. The words “www.brobergracing.com” run down the sides of the sleeves of the silks.

“I actually had this idea for years and kept talking about it and finally one day decided to try it,” Broberg said. “I thought the worst thing that could happen was they wouldn't let me use them and I'd have to throw them all in a box. The primary purpose isn't for selling horses privately, though I do that all the time. The primary purpose is to get my name out there and hope that some owners call up and give me some horses after seeing the silks.”

Has he gotten any new owners because of the silks?

“Not to this point,” Broberg said.

To the surprise of no one, Broberg has faced some backlash over the perceived crassness of the silks and by putting his phone number out there he has heard from some disgruntled gamblers. Not that he cares.

“You're supposed to be innovative in this game, aren't you?” he said. “The people who are giving me a hard time about this are they same people who loathe me regardless. So it's in one ear and out the other.”

On Father's Day Weekend, Mother's Day at Monmouth

When Irish Defence (First Defence) won a New Jersey-bred allowance at Monmouth, it marked another unique feat for her dam, Irish Sovereign. The daughter of Polish Numbers has three offspring that are currently racing and all three have won this year.

You wouldn't think a mare that is part of the struggling New Jersey-bred breeding program would be a candidate for Broodmare of the Year, but Irish Sovereign, who is by Polish Numbers, has to be on the list. Not only has she had three different winners, but two are stakes winners. The trio is topped by Irish War Cry (Curlin), winner of the GII Wood Memorial S. and the GII Holy Bull S. Then there's the 5-year-old Irish Strait (English Channel), who won this year's GIII Red Bank S.

Irish Sovereign did very little in her career, winning only three races, including a $16,000 maiden claimer at Aqueduct in her debut. She campaigned for Rory and Sharon Huston. Huston is the farm manager at Overbrook Farm in Colts Neck, New Jersey, where all three of Irish Sovereign's winners were born. He said Irish Sovereign wasn't built to be a good race horse.

“I trained her along with my wife, Sharon, and she was a real project,” Huston said. “If you look at her she has a very poor hind end on her. My vet at the time told me, 'If you get this mare to the races, you deserve a medal.'”

What Are They Serving in the Jocks Room at Evangeline?

Being someone who never saw a cheeseburger he didn't like, I probably shouldn't be pointing any fingers, but it was hard not to notice the weight of jockey Warren Ebow when he rode Eutychus (American Patriot) in Friday's ninth race at Evangeline Downs. Ebow likely holds the title of “Racing's Heaviest Jockey.” Eutychus was scheduled to carry 123 pounds in the $5,000 claimer, but Ebow did not come close to making weight. Ebow tipped the scales at 129 pounds.