Fabulous Strike wins his tune-up

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Off of Beyers of 119 and 115 in his last two starts, Fabulous Strike made his 4-year-old debut look easy---winning by 6.5 lengths, in the 75K Panhandle Stakes at Mountaineer. In hand pretty much throughout, he won with his ears pricked in what looked more like a workout than a race.

He got his five furlongs in 57 flat over a racetrack that yielded some comically slow times---the days opener, a maiden claimer for the boys at 1 mile and 70 yards, was won in the final time of 1:50.11 That amounts to a raw figure of 16....about 95 points less than the raw figure achieved by FS in his paid workout.

Trained by the suspiciously good Todd Beattie, Fabulous Strike is a gelded son of Smart Strike. The same sire of such horses as Curlin (who Robby Alberarto so cleverly had positioned in 14th place after a half mile today) and English Channel.

Perhaps, FS can prove himself the best six-furlong horse in the East this year.