‘Cat No Match for the Top Dog

Maybe older horses will provide Bernardini with a challenge because 3-year-olds certainly have not.

Bluegrass Cat, who had blown away eight rivals in the Haskell earlier this month in New Jersey and had finished second in two legs of the Triple Crown, was no match for Bernardini in the $1-million Travers on Saturday at Saratoga, N.Y.

Trained by Tom Albertrani for owner-breeder Darley Stable, the son of A.P. Indy won his fifth in a row and has yet to be menaced. His victories, which include the Preakness and Jim Dandy, have been by a combined 32 3/4 lengths after he won by seven on Saturday.

Guided to the lead by jockey Javier Castellano when nobody else in the field assumed control, Bernardini set moderate fractions (23.53, 48.17 and 1:12.72), easily repelled a challenge by Bluegrass Cat, the 2-1 second choice, and won in 2:01.60 for the 1 1/4 miles.

In a replay of the Jim Dandy, which he won by nine lengths on July 28, Bernardini never had to be asked for his best by Castellano.

“Right now, I don’t think any horse in the country can beat this horse,” said Castellano, who gave Bernardini a victory pat on the shoulder with about a sixteenth of a mile still to run. “I wanted all the people to recognize he is a special horse. He’s the best 3-year-old in the country right now.”

Bernardini, who increased his earnings to $1,610,480, is expected to take on older horses for the first time in the Jockey Club Gold Cup on Oct. 7 at Belmont Park, then head to Kentucky for the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 4 at Churchill Downs.

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Bernardini is the nation’s top 3-year-old, but Henny Hughes is no slouch himself and could be the best sprinter in the division.

In his second start after a long layoff, the son of Hennessy was again impressive, easily capturing the $250,000 King’s Bishop for the first Grade I stakes win of his career.

Owned by Zabeel Racing International and trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, Henny Hughes, who was second to Stevie Wonderboy in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last fall at Belmont Park, had won his first start of 2006 by 10 lengths in a Grade III race at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J.

Henny Hughes had only three rivals in the Jersey Shore Breeders’ Cup, however, and was supposedly facing a much tougher task Saturday, but he had little trouble in winning by 5 1/4 lengths under jockey John Velazquez. He completed seven furlongs in 1:21.96.

This was the fifth win in eight starts for the $180,000 yearling purchase and he has yet to be worse than second.

Star Dabbler, a 24-1 shot, finished second and Court Folly, the upset winner of the Amsterdam earlier in the meet, rallied for third.

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Using different tactics, jockey Garrett Gomez swept the two Grade II stakes races on grass Saturday at Saratoga.

Gomez went wire-to-wire on 3-1 second choice My Typhoon in the $200,000 Ballston Spa Handicap, then came from off the pace to win the $200,000 Bernard Baruch Handicap with 7-10 favorite Ashkal Way. Gomez had four wins all told on Saturday.

The victory was the sixth in 13 starts for My Typhoon, a 4-year-old Giant’s Causeway filly trained by Bill Mott for Live Oak Plantation. In beating 9-2 shot Karen’s Caper by three-quarters of a length, she covered 1 1/16 miles in 1:41.72.

A 4-year-old Irish-bred gelding trained by Saeed bin Suroor for Godolphin Stable, Ashkal Way now has four wins in five starts in the U.S. He ran the 1 1/8 miles in 1:46.78.

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Aragorn did what he was supposed to on Saturday as the 2-5 favorite, easily winning the $400,000 Del Mar Breeders’ Cup Mile.

Under jockey Corey Nakatani, Aragorn, a 4-year-old son of Giant’s Causeway, saved ground throughout, found an opening inside eventual runner-up Wild Buddy in the stretch and powered home to win his third graded stakes race in a row.

He had taken the Shoemaker Breeders’ Cup Mile at Hollywood Park and the Eddie Read Handicap at Del Mar before his win Saturday for trainer Neil Drysdale.