Kentucky Derby Future Pool

Summer Bird Soars at the Spa

Welcome to On The Muscle. The mission of this blog is to bring the “sport” back into the Sport of Kings. We will follow the exploits of the world’s top Thoroughbreds in all divisions as they continue on their quests to the year-end Breeders’ Cup World Championships and possibly an Eclipse Award as the best racehorse in all of the land.

The Week that Was

A new leader in the 3-year-old division emerged this past weekend when Summer Bird won the Travers Stakes over a sloppy track at Saratoga. Summer Bird, who had previously won the Belmont Stakes before adding the Mid-Summer Derby, has seemingly pulled ahead of Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird in the race for champion 3-year-old colt honors.

Summer Bird earned a career-best 110 Beyer Speed Figure in the Travers. He will make one more start in the Oct. 3 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park before shipping to California for the Breeders’ Cup in November…

Another top contender for what's shaping up to be a deep and talented Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic emerged when Icon Project won the Grade I Personal Ensign. Icon Project, a 4-year-old who spent last year racing in Europe, has certainly taken to American dirt racing for trainer Marty Wolfson. Icon Project earned her first stakes win in the New York Stakes at Belmont in June and came back to be a good 2nd when racing against a speed-favoring strip in the Delaware Handicap won by Swift Temper July 19.

Icon Project is a rapidly improving daughter of Empire Maker that appears capable of making her presence felt at Santa Anita come the Breeders’ Cup. Of course, like Summer Bird, Icon Project is still unproven on the artificial surface of Santa Anita…

In other Stakes action from the weekend, Capt. Candyman Can was awarded the King’s Bishop Stakes after a bumping incident in the stretch caused the disqualification of Vineyard Heaven. Capt. Candyman Can improved his record to six wins from 10 starts. The 3-year-old is as honest as they come and it will be interesting to see him step up against older horses in the Breeders’ Cup…In the 7-furlong Ballerina Stakes, Music Note made a successful return to sprinting for Godolphin by beating last year’s champion distaff sprinter Indian Blessing. Indian Blessing was making just her third start of the year in the Ballerina and will resurface in the Gallant Bloom on Sept 26.

We’ll be back with an in-depth look at this weekend’s Stakes action later this week.