The Weekender Pedigree: Unusual Suspect

In a world gone wild, at least the designation of races makes a bit of sense, doesn’t it?

For the past three-day weekend, there were 31 races designated stakes, according to Bloodstock Research Information Services. Of those, four were graded, including the Grade 1 Hollywood Turf Cup; 20 were restricted; four were listed or open; and a pair were purely non-black type because of purses below the minimum to qualify for the bold-face type that attracts notice in sales catalogs, as set by the guidelines of the International Cataloging Standards group.

At the high end of the stakes spectrum, the G1 Hollywood Turf Cup was won by the homebred Unusual Suspect, another in a long line of high-quality racehorses sired by the Nureyev stallion Unusual Heat.

In his race on Saturday, Unusual Suspect won the 12-furlong Hollywood Turf Cup by a neck from the Dynaformer horse Temple City, with Buenos Dias (by Peintre Celebre) three-quarters of a length farther back.