Oscar Performance

SCRIBBLED on a sheet of paper, a combination of cursive and print - call it turf scratch - five letters and two numbers define a first impression. On a hectic August day in Saratoga, I scribbled, “Lynch 48” in a reporter’s notebook (yes, I still use one) while horses breezed on the turf. “Lynch 48” would later be deciphered as Oscar Performance in 48 seconds for a half mile. The son of Kitten’s Joy, trained by Brian Lynch, blew his debut but won his next three, including the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. Lynch, a Bobby Frankel disciple, won’t change a thing and Oscar Performance will dominate the three-year-old turf division next year.