by Tom De Martini

Two of this year’s three classic winners are set to tangle with six talented three-year-olds for divisional supremacy in the $1-million IZOD Haskell Invitational Stakes (G1) on Sunday at Monmouth Park.

Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) winner Super Saver and Preakness Stakes (G1) victor Lookin At Lucky headline the Oceanport, New Jersey, track’s marquee event and will face stiff competition from a deep field.

WinStar Farm’s Super Saver enters the race off a dull eighth-place Preakness effort following his 2 ½-length Kentucky Derby victory. Trainer Todd Pletcher said the Maria’s Mon colt steadily has improved in recent weeks.

“He’s had a good spring, put on weight, and a good string of works,” Pletcher said. “He’s versatile. If the pace is hot, he can close, but he can win on the front end.”

Pletcher and WinStar won back-to-back Haskell titles with Bluegrass Cat in 2006 and Any Given Saturday in ’07.

Four-time Grade 1 winner and two-year-old champion male Lookin At Lucky drew the inside post, which irritated trainer Bob Baffert. The Smart Strike colt endured a rough Kentucky Derby trip from the rail and finished sixth.

“He’s drawn the rail again and I think his name has jinxed him all his life,” Baffert said. “He’s had tons of trouble and is the most poorly-drawn horse I’ve ever had. Sometimes, he overcomes it and sometimes he doesn’t.”

Baffert seeks his fourth Haskell crown with the colt owned by the partnership of Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman.

Donald Dizney’s First Dude seeks his first graded stakes score after posting respective second- and third-place finishes in the Preakness and Belmont Stakes (G1) on June 5.

“He’s trained well and wasn’t knocked out by the Triple Crown races. He’s actually moved forward,” trainer Dale Romans said of the Stephen Got Even colt.

Robert LaPenta’s Florida Derby (G1) winner Ice Box, second to Super Saver in the Kentucky Derby, looks to rebound from a faltering ninth-place effort in the Belmont for trainer Nick Zito.

“He won the Florida Derby at 1 1/8 miles, he’s tough, and has a lot of guts. He’s got a good chance,” Zito said.

LaPenta and Zito also will send out front-running Our Dark Knight, who will make his graded stakes debut.

Mill House’s Trappe Shot also steps to graded stakes company following four consecutive victories, including a 2 ½-length win in the Long Branch Stakes on July 10 at Monmouth. Trappe Shot was the $850,000 sale topper during the 2009 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic two-year-olds in training sale.
 
Grade 3 winner Afleet Again comes into the race off a game second in the Pegasus Stakes (G3) on June 19 at Monmouth for Cash Is King.

The Haskell is the 12th race on a 14-race card on Sunday with post time set for 5:46 p.m. EDT. The race will be televised live on ABC during a one-hour show beginning at 5 p.m. that also features the $200,000 Oceanport Stakes (G3).

Tom De Martini is a New Jersey-based THOROUGHBRED TIMES correspondent

Izod Haskell Invitational S.

August 01, $1,000,000, 3yo, 1 1/8M, Monmouth Park, 5:43 PM ET

Post	Horse	Sire	Weight	Jockey	Trainer
1	Lookin At Lucky 3, c.	Smart Strike	122	Martin Garcia	Bob Baffert
2	Afleet Again 3, c.	Afleet Alex	118	Joe Bravo	Robert Reid, Jr.
3	Ice Box 3, c.	Pulpit	120	Jose Lezcano	Nicholas Zito
4	First Dude 3, c.	Stephen Got Even	118	Ramon Dominguez	Dale Romans
5	Our Dark Knight 3, c.	Medaglia d'Oro	118	Elvis Trujillo	Nicholas Zito
6	Super Saver 3, c.	Maria's Mon	122	Calvin Borel	Todd Pletcher
7	Uptowncharlybrown 3, c.	Limehouse	118	Rajiv Maragh	Kiaran McLaughlin
8	Trappe Shot 3, c.	Tapit	118	Alan Garcia	Kiaran McLaughlin

Give us your opinion on

Classic winners clash again in Haskell

Reader Comments ON THE WAY UP THERE FROM VA TO SUPPORT "THE GAME"...ty... Bellwether, Cheapeake, VA Posted: 7/31/2010 5:40:05 AM Report Abuse Poor Lookin At Lucky is not lucky on his post positions. First Dude, Super Saver and Ice Box have pretty good posts. L@L will probably have to get lucky to win this one. They're probably gonna have First Dude lead the pace so he'd have to fight real hard to win. Hopefully Ice Box stays calm too, unlike the Preakness where he got steamed up. If Super Saver stays close to the pace he might pull it off, although as Todd Pletcher says, he's versatile so he might win no matter what happens. The others might have a chance too; we'll see what happens. Good luck to all of the horses, forever and always! Mimi, San Antonio, TX Posted: 7/30/2010 4:36:23 PM Report Abuse I also think L@L might pull it off. No, trust me, Lorie, I am NOT the one trying to stir things up... And anyone who bashes ANY horse is an idiot. I think most would agree. I ain't trying to bring up an argument-I'd rather prevent it. I support and root for both Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta so of course I'm not stirring things up because I'm not bashing horses, I'm praising them, like everyone should. I say we should enjoy the awesome horses while they're around! Mimi, San Antonio, TX Posted: 7/30/2010 2:44:37 AM Report Abuse Hope the best for all the horses in the Haskell maybe Lookin at Luck will live up to his name hope so. and Mimi it sounds to me like your the one trying to stir things up thats what happens when you call people IDIOTs!!!! and remember your the one that brought up Rachel and Zen. Lorie, Brookings, SD Posted: 7/29/2010 11:18:59 PM Report Abuse I CANNOT WAIT!!! I like them all and I can't really figure out which one to root for yet! The Haskell is one of my most favorite races and I think this'll be the most exciting race of the year as of yet. This is "friendly competition" among fans I guess. One person doesn't talk trash about Lookin At Lucky or the other horses (Which is an AWESOME field) -unlike the idiots posting trash about Rachel Alexandra or Zenyatta. I hope it stays friendly-the way it should-and I hope the idiotic bufoons shape up. ANYWAY, I wish superb good luck to all of the horses in the Haskell. Mimi, San Antonio, TX Posted: 7/29/2010 9:05:09 PM Report Abuse