By: Jarrod Horak

Native Diver was a California equine star of the 60’s, and the versatile Hall of Famer owned the Hollywood Gold Cup from 1965-1967. He won an impressive thirty-seven races and was the sport’s seventh millionaire.

Saturday’s Grade 3 ninth race, named in his honor, has attracted a deep field of ten, lead by Todd Pletcher’s promising three-year-old colt Ravel. The talented son of Fusaichi Pegasus, out of an A.P. Indy mare, kicked off his career in the fall of 2006 with a runner-up finish to the fleet Teuflesburg. He graduated around two turns here at second asking, then briefly joined the Triple Crown trail after a smart victory in the Grade 3 Sham Stakes. A subsequent injury to his left front leg sent him to the sidelines, and he returned nine weeks ago to easily nab an allowance affair at Keeneland. Today, the stalk and pounce type tries older stakes foes for the first time, and his regular pilot Garrett Gomez sticks. Ravel will be tough to beat, but he is not the only contender.

Hello Sunday (FR) has improved for Robert Frankel since switching to synthetic ground in July. Arson Squad won the Grade 2 Strub in February, but he has tailed off in three synthetic starts since.

Buzzards Bay is an inconsistent multiple graded winner. Isipingo has been knocking on the door in the graded turf ranks recently.

Wanna Runner dons the hood and figures to attempt a wire job for Tyler Baze/Bob Baffert.

Masterpiece (ARG) exits a sharp local allowance route tally, but he seems up against it versus these.

Racketeer frequently fires for Frankel, but he has yet to have success in the graded ranks.

Bold Chieftain exits a gritty Cal Cup Classic score, and show finisher Seminole Native returned to win a local allowance affair on Thursday.

The biggest longshot threat to Ravel could come from Jerry Hollendorfer’s Heatseeker (IRE). The former Robert Frankel trainee has always been held in high regard, but he has never lived up to his potential. He is training well for this, likes synthetic ground, and may appreciate today’s added real estate. All of his past disappointments would be erased with a win today.

Earlier on the card, Sunriver takes on seven rivals in the Grade 1 Hollywood Turf Cup. He is also trained by Todd Pletcher and ridden by Garrett Gomez. He has found new life on the sod this year, but the probability of a less than firm course downgrades his chances.

Champs Elysees, a Juddmonte Farms overseas invader, may end up as the slight favorite. Now under the care of Robert Frankel, the consistent colt handles any footing and is bred to be a monster. Two-time winner has yet to live up to his pedigree, but the change of scenery may do him a world of good.

The remainder of the Turf Cup field, from the rail out, starts with Obrigado, a graded winner at this marathon turf distance. He has lost five straight and is winless in five local turf outings. Tissy Fit exits a solid turf marathon tally versus minor stakes company at Golden Gate. He proved he could handle yielding ground last time, but he meets much tougher today. Heroi Do Bafra is the other Robert Frankel runner, and the Brazilian import has been knocking on the door versus lesser recently. He won a Group 1 at this distance in his native land and seemingly handles any footing. Chief Running Bear is lightly raced and improving rapidly for Graham Motion, and Spring House has moved forward since Julio Canani took over the training duties in June. Sudan is another quality overseas invader, but he seems to prefer firm footing.

Mr. Horak is a guest handicapper for Nostalgic Horse. He has been handicapping horses regularly for racingonthenet.com since the late nineties. He was also a contributor for Fast Track horse racing radio show for several years and recently has started a Myspace page devoted to handicapping.