SQUEEZE THE LIFE OUT OF SUMMER
The ‘Phelps Olympics’ are in the books and the Dems officially have chosen their entry—1 and 1A. The NCAA and NFL season kickoffs are on our doorsteps and promos for fall television shows fill our television screens. Kids either already are back at school or headed there in less than a week.
Add it up and what do you get? The closing of Saratoga and Del Mar, that’s what.
Not to worry, though. You can be certain each of those racing emporiums will do their best to send us off with a bang. Leave us wanting, craving more—more spa, more beach, more quality racing, more summer.
Saratoga has a firecracker weekend planned, highlighted by a performance from Curlin, the best horse in the world on dirt. He’ll be a short price to dismiss Woodward foes at the track they not-so-comfortingly call the ‘Graveyard of Favorites.’ The nickname alone urges us to tune in Saturday.
Del Mar has an alluring $473,943 pick six carryover this afternoon. And if you’re one of the lucky account holders who live in a state where wagering on Del Mar is offered by phone on XpressBet, well, we know what you’ll be doing around 5 pm ET this afternoon. If you’re not included in that demographic, don’t worry. Odds are this is the final Del Mar season you’ll be forced to miss on XpressBet.
In any case, to paraphrase a John Mellencamp ditty about Jack ‘n Diane: Hang on to summer as long as you can, changes comin’ round real soon make us women and men.
That would be called ‘winter.’
Race On!
On Track
BI-COASTAL RACING REFLECTIONS
I’m a fortunate guy.
No, I didn’t take down a huge pick six carryover.
I said ‘fortunate’ not wealthy.
This summer I spent three days ‘going racing’ at Del Mar and Saratoga, respectively, and for a guy who works for a living that’s a sweet double.
The Del Mar trip was initiated by a friend’s generous invitation and sealed by the coincidental timing of a business meeting on the left coast. I’m all for killing two birds with one rock when possible, so, when the trip dates overlapped, I warmed up my throwing arm.
Del Mar, the town and Del Mar the racetrack have a lot in common. They’re both as light and as breezy as a day at the beach. Shorts, flip-flops and Hawaiian shirts are popular --near the strand and in the grandstand and clubhouse, too. The track Turf Club still requires a jacket, but that’s pretty much as far as outfit restrictions go.
Good thing, too, because the beautiful people in San Diego look best when they wear least.
That’s not necessarily true for folks living in other parts of the country.
My Del Mar racing experience was highlighted by Zenyatta’s performance in the Clement L. Hirsch Handicap.
I had seen all of Zenyatta’s previous races on television, but I had never seen her in person. She’s a lovely creature, tall and feminine with great, long legs. She’s not bulging with muscle, but it’s clear she works out in her spare time. She looks like one of those female Olympic volleyball players—tall, fit and cat-like.
Going into the race, one handicapper (me), whose opinion I value (mine), figured Zenyatta might be vulnerable. After all, she appeared to be all out in winning the Vanity --her most recent race at Hollywood Park. Also, that was her sixth consecutive win. These days, how many horses win seven races in a row against top competition?
Furthermore, I had heard some pre-race banter that Zenyatta hadn’t looked all that great on the track before the Vanity. The scouting report said she was ‘thin’ and ‘not holding her weight.’
I looked forward to wagering against Zenyatta at a short price; taking advantage of all that foolish money in the win pool that was making her odds-on.
And then she set her hooves on the Del Mar Polytrack….
She looked outstanding; as calm as the ocean’s surface in the horizon and as cool as the afternoon breeze tugging at the American flag flying in the infield.
All bets against her were off.
Good thing, too, because Zenyatta lived up to her good looks and undefeated record. And when she returned to be unsaddled after the race, the crowd stood and applauded. We knew we had witnessed something special.
Two weeks later I was at Saratoga. And even though the skies were just as blue and the breezes nearly as cool, I knew I was in a different place.
Connections offered me a choice between a coveted trackside table and a prime box seat. But, when I was informed I’d have to wear long pants and a jacket in either location, I declined. Instead I donned a polo-shirt, sneakers and shorts and rustled up some primo grandstand seats from a scalper in front of the main gate.
Old habits die hard, I suppose.
If Del Mar is Where the Turf Meets the Surf, Saratoga’s got to be Where the Trees Meet the Sky. Those towering giants in the paddock are a sight to behold and the shade they offer patrons in the picnic area… well, calling them a gift from heaven wouldn’t be going too far.
Since my Saratoga sojourn came during Travers week, I got to see some outstanding racing.
Friday, Ginger Punch, who hopefully will meet Zenyatta again someday, displayed remarkable resolve in winning the Personal Ensign despite not being up to par. She was ‘in heat’ in the paddock and halfway through the mile and one-eighth it seemed not to be her day. Jockey Rafael Bejarano was scrubbing on her neck like he was trying to remove an ink stain. Through my binoculars I quit watching her and turned my attention to Lemon Drop Mom, full of run and looking for a way through on the rail.
But Ginger Punch wasn’t finished. The 2007 Older Filly or Mare Eclipse champ summoned her courage and rolled up alongside Lemon Drop Mom late. They hit the finish as one.
When the photo came down, Ginger Punch had gotten the nod by the slimmest of margins.
As things turned out, the Personal Ensign was merely a sneak preview of what was to come the next day in the Travers. And the ‘slimmest of margins’ tag for Ginger Punch’s game win had to be relegated to second-slimmest-of-margins status for the weekend.
If you haven’t seen the Travers, stop reading this drivel and access a replay online because I’m about to ruin the ending.
Early in the stretch it appeared Colonel John had survived a mass mugging involving about half the field off the turn and that he was headed for victory. Mambo in Seattle then roared up on the outside of the leader with bad intentions and looked as if he would roll on by. But ‘John wasn’t done. He fought back like a drowning man going down for the third time. In the last few yards the pair traded head bobs like fighters exchanging body blows.
Watching the race live I thought ‘Mambo had won it. So did his jockey Robby Albarado, who raised his stick triumphantly. After the first replay, I wasn’t so sure. After the second replay in slow-motion, I thought ‘John had gotten the nod.
It was that close.
When the photo-finish image was displayed on the Saratoga big screen in the infield it looked like a dead-heat to the naked eye. I trained my binoculars on the image and, sure enough, the difference was evident but miniscule. Colonel John’s nose was right on the money, while the space between Mambo in Seattle’s nose and the finish was wide enough passage for a whole colony of ants—in single file that is.
Unlike jockey Garrett Gomez, who rode Colonel John and Go Between to victory, I didn’t hit the Travers-Pacific Classic double in person, but I did get home Sunday night in time to watch Del Mar’s main event on the tube from my couch. And, while my Del Mar and Saratoga trips were the bomb, there’s still something to be said for my couch, too.
Like I said, I’m a fortunate guy.
Race On!
It's Post Time
SALUTE THE COLONEL
WinStar Farm’s Colonel John showed considerable heart to win last Saturday’s roughly run Travers Stakes at Saratoga.
Eoin Harty deserves praise for the excellent job he did in having The Colonel ready to run the best race of his life in the Grade I event.
And Garrett Gomez likewise deserves praise for yet another terrific ride in a big race to take the “Midsummer Derby” aboard The Colonel.
Unlike this year’s three Triple Crown races, the Travers was decided by a minuscule margin.
Big Brown won the Kentucky Derby by 4 3/4 lengths and the Preakness Stakes by 5 1/4 lengths. When we saw a Big Brown’s meltdown in the Belmont Stakes, Da’ Tara won by 5 1/4 lengths.
But in the Travers, the official photo showed that if it had been any closer, it would have been a dead heat.
It was so close that Mambo in Seattle’s rider, Robby Albarado, raised his fist immediately after the finish, obviously thinking he had won.
While Colonel John’s connections were understandably elated, I can’t help but have sympathy for those associated with runner-up Mambo in Seattle -- Albarado, trainer Neil Howard and owners Will Farish and Kilroy Thoroughbreds.
To lose such a prestigious race worth so much money by such a small margin borders on cruel and unusual punishment.
Adding to the frustration, Albarado, Howard and Farish also finished second in the 2007 Travers with Grasshopper. Farish co-owns that colt with E.J. Hudson and James Elkins. Grasshopper lost the Travers by a half-length to Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense at the end of a spirited duel all the way down the stretch.
After winning the Grade I Santa Anita Derby last April 5, Colonel John finished sixth as the 9-2 second favorite in the May 3 Kentucky Derby. That’s the only time in eight career starts that the Kentucky-bred colt has finished worse than third.
“He had a troubled trip in the Derby,” Harty told me a week after the Run for the Roses. “He never really had a chance. But we’ll get him ready and run him in the Swaps and then go for the Travers.”
Colonel John did indeed compete in the Swaps and the Travers.
Starting as the 4-5 favorite in the Grade II Swaps on July 12, Colonel John ended up third behind Tres Borrachos and Two Step Salsa. Tres Borrachos also ran in the Travers, finishing 12th.
Colonel John certainly did not have the best of trips in the Travers. He was checked and had to alter course off Da’ Tara’s heels coming into the stretch.
After Colonel John’s Travers triumph, Harty said he certainly had never lost any confidence in the colt following his losses in the Kentucky Derby and Swaps.
“When you’ve been around horses for long time, the really good ones do things very differently than the usual ones,” Harty said. “This one, from day one, showed that. He never did anything to disappoint me.”
Colonel John is by Tiznow, the 2000 Horse of the Year who has the distinction of being the only two-time Breeders’ Cup Classic winner. As a stallion, it is quite an accomplishment for Tiznow to sire the winner of both the Belmont and Travers this year.
Colonel John’s final time in the Travers was 2:03.20. He earned a career-best 106 Beyer Speed Figure. This compares favorably with Big Brown’s 107 Beyer when he took the Grade I Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on Aug. 3.
Here are the Beyers for the Travers winners going back to 1990:
2008 Colonel John (107)
2007 Street Sense (108)
2006 Bernardini (116)
2005 Flower Alley (110)
2004 Birdstone (108)
2003 Ten Most Wanted (112)
2002 Medaglia d’Oro (113)
2001 Point Given (117)
2000 Unshaded (109)
1999 Lemon Drop Kid (110)
1998 Coronado’s Quest (107)
1997 Deputy Commander (110)
1996 Will’s Way (114)
1995 Thunder Gulch (115)
1994 Holy Bull (115)
1993 Sea Hero (109)
1992 Thunder Rumble (109)
1991 Corporate Report (109)
1990 Rhythm (104)
Colonel John became only the second Santa Anita Derby winner to take the Travers, joining 2001 Horse of the Year Point Given. Bob Baffert trained Point Given. Harty is a former Baffert assistant.
Additionally, Colonel John and Point Given have a similarity in their pedigrees. They both are out of Turkoman mares. Turkoman was voted an Eclipse Award as champion older male of 1986.
MAKING A POINT
Point Given is the sire of Peter Vegso’s Go Between, who rallied relentlessly from well off the pace to win last Sunday’s Grade I Pacific Classic at Del Mar by a neck over Well Armed.
Based at Del Mar this summer, Gomez returned to California the day after the Travers on WinStar’s private plane. Bill Casner of WinStar Farm and Colonel John’s trainer also were on the plane. They left Albany, N.Y., early Sunday morning. The plane made stops in Illinois and Colorado before landing at Palamor Airport in Southern California at about 1 p.m. PDT. Gomez arrived at Del Mar approximately an hour later.
At 6:49 p.m, Gomez left the starting gate in the Pacific Classic aboard Go Between. Exactly 2:01.18 later, Gomez and Go Between reached the finish line first in Del Mar’s richest race.
So after Gomez won Saturday’s $1 million Travers for WinStar Farm and Harty, the jockey switched sides, so to speak, and won Sunday’s $1 million Pacific Classic by edging Well Armed, owned by WinStar Farm and trained by Harty.
Go Between has proven quite proficient on synthetic surfaces, with three wins and three seconds from six starts. His synthetic victories have come in the Grade I Pacific Classic, the $1 million Sunshine Millions Classic and the Grade III Fayette Stakes. In his other synthetic starts, Go Between has finished second in the Grade I Santa Anita Handicap, the Grade I Hollywood Gold Cup and the Grade III Ben Ali Stakes.
Hall of Famer Bill Mott trains Go Between. For Mott, Go Between’s win last Sunday took a little bit out of the sting out of what happened in the 1996 Pacific Classic. The Mott-trained Cigar had his 16-race winning streak come to an end when he finished second to Dare and Go.
Go Between earned a 104 Beyer Speed Figure in the Pacific Classic.
Here are the Beyers for the Pacific Classic winners going back to 1990:
2008 Go Between (104)
2007 Student Council (99)
2006 Lava Man (109)
2005 Borrego (113)
2004 Pleasantly Perfect (112)
2003 Candy Ride (123)
2002 Came Home (116)
2001 Skimming (119)
2000 Skimming (118)
1999 General Challenge (119)
1998 Free House (117)
1997 Gentlemen (121)
1996 Dare and Go (116)
1995 Tinners Way (112)
1994 Tinners Way (111)
1993 Bertrando (117)
1992 Missionary Ridge (110)
1991 Best Pal (118)
As you can see, the lowest Beyers for the Pacific Classic have been recorded in 2007 and 2008. But keep in mind that the 2007 and 2008 renewals of the Pacific Classic were contested on Polytrack. Prior to that, the race was run on dirt.
HORSE OF THE YEAR POSSIBILITIES
Here is how I view the 2008 Horse of the Year picture at this time:
CURLIN, 3-5 favorite.
The weekly NTRA national poll shows that Curlin is currently in the driver’s seat for the 2008 Horse of the Year title. In this week’s poll, Curlin is No. 1, having received 16 first-place votes. Zenyatta is second, having received only one first-place vote. Big Brown is third, with no first-place votes.
Curlin is scheduled to run this Saturday in Saratoga’s Grade I Woodward Stakes. Majority owner Jess Jackson has stated that after the Woodward, Curlin is likely to start in the Grade I Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park on Sept. 27 and then make his final career start in the Japan Cup Dirt on Dec. 7.
Since the Woodward and Jockey Club Gold Cup are not on the grass, it will surprising if Curlin does not win both races. If he does that, he will be 1-9 to be voted 2008 Horse of the Year.
But Curlin does still have to go out there and win. A loss in either in the Woodward or the Jockey Club Gold Cup would open the door to some extent for someone else to wrest the 2008 Horse of the Year title away from Curlin.
But, as I see it, the race for the 2008 Horse of the Year title is clearly Curlin’s to lose.
BIG BROWN, 5-2.
After his Belmont Stakes debacle, is it still possible for Big Brown to be Horse of the Year? Yes. If Big Brown wins his scheduled final two starts, the Monmouth Stakes on Sept. 13 and Breeders’ Cup Classic on Oct. 25, he will have quite a 2008 record for Horse of the Year voters to consider: seven wins from eight starts, with victories in the Grade I Florida Derby, Grade I Kentucky Derby, Grade I Preakness Stakes, Grade I Haskell Invitational, Monmouth Stakes and Grade I Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Still, Big Brown probably not only needs to win both the Monmouth Stakes and Breeders’ Cup Classic in order to be voted Horse of the Year, he also probably needs Curlin to lose the Woodward and/or Jockey Club Gold Cup.
Steve Haskin of The Blood-Horse stated this week that he “would give the edge” for 2008 Horse of the Year “to Big Brown because he’s won twice as many Grade I stakes as Curlin,” adding that right now it’s “a toss-up” between those two.
Big Brown is currently No. 3 on the NTRA poll.
ZENYATTA, 5-2.
Undefeated in seven career starts, Zenyatta’s is five for five this year. She is expected to run in the Grade II Lady’s Secret Stakes at Oak Tree on Oct. 27 and Grade I Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic at Oak Tree on Oct. 24.
If she wins the Lady’s Secret and Ladies Classic, a seven-for-seven record in 2008 would present a compelling argument for Zenyatta to receive serious Horse of the Year consideration by the voters, especially if Curlin gets beat in the Woodward and/or Jockey Club Gold Cup and if Big Brown gets beat in the Monmouth Stakes and/or Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Zenyatta is currently No. 2 on the NTRA poll.
COMMENTATOR, 30-1.
A scintillating win in Saratoga’s Grade I Whitney Handicap on July 26 helps give Commentator a longshot chance at the Horse of the Year title. He is to run next in the Massachussetts Handicap at Suffolk Downs on Sept. 20.
To snag the Horse of the Year title, Commentator probably would need a Breeders’ Cup Classic victory along with losses by Curlin in the Woodward and/or Jockey Club Gold Cup, by Big Brown in the Monmouth Stakes and/or Jockey Club Gold Cup, and by Zenyatta in the Lady’s Secret and/or Ladies Classic.
Commentator is currently No. 8 on the NTRA poll.
KIP DEVILLE, 30-1.
Since the Eclipse Awards began in 1971, only four times has a grass horse been voted Horse of the Year -- John Henry (1981 and 1984), All Along (1983) and Kotashaan (1993).
No grass miler has ever been voted Horse of the Year. That does not help Kip Deville’s cause. But perhaps Kip Deville could sneak onto the 2008 Horse of the Year throne if he wins the Grade I Woodbine Mile on Sept. 7 and Breeders’ Cup Mile on Oct. 25 to compile a four-for-four record in 2008 and if Curlin, Big Brown and Zenyatta happen to not win all of their remaining races this year.
There is precedence for a Horse of the Year to have made only four starts. Ghostzapper was voted Horse of the Year after winning all four of his starts in 2004.
Kip Deville is currently No. 7 on the NTRA poll.
CASINO DRIVE, 50-1.
After winning his career debut by 11 1/2 lengths in Japan on Feb. 23, Casino Drive took Belmont Park’s Grade II Peter Pan Stakes by nearly six lengths after a bad start on May 10. He is supposed to return to the U.S. and run in the Grade I Goodwood Stakes at Oak Tree on Sept. 27 and Breeders’ Cup Classic on Oct. 25.
Casino Drive’s stature as a Horse of the Year contender certainly would be enhanced if he were to win the Goodwood and Breeders’ Cup Classic, especially if Curlin, Big Brown and Zenyatta were unable to avoid a loss before the end of the year.
DIVINE PARK, 50-1.
After finishing seventh in Laurel’s Grade II General George Handicap at Laurel on Feb. 18, Divine Park has reeled off three consecutive victories, including a pair of wins in graded races.
In Belmont Park’s Grade III Westchester Handicap on April 30, Divine Park blazed one mile in 1:32.74 to win by five lengths. It was the third-fastest mile ever run on the dirt in New York and the co-fourth-fastest mile ever run on the dirt anywhere.
Divine Park then took Belmont Park’s Grade I Metropolitan Mile Handicap by two lengths over Commentator on May 26.
How does Divine Park become 2008 Horse of the Year? First, he needs to defeat Curlin in this Saturday’s Woodward. That would seemingly make Divine Park a bona fide Horse of the Year candidate. And if Divine Park were to then take the Breeders’ Cup Classic, he undoubtedly would receive considerable Horse of the Year support.
ALL OTHERS, 50-1.
Among those in the “all others” category are such stars as:
GINGER PUNCH, a 2007 Eclipse Award winner, winner of this year’s Grade I Ogden Phipps Handicap, Grade I Go for Wand Stakes, Grade II Louisville Stakes and Sunshine Millions Distaff. She is currently No. 5 on the NTRA national poll.
PROUD SPELL, winner of this year’s Grade I Kentucky Oaks, Grade I Alabama Stakes, Grade II Fair Grounds Oaks and Grade II Delaware Oaks. She is currently No. 6 on the NTRA national poll.
COLONEL JOHN, winner of this year’s Grade I Santa Anita Derby, Grade I Travers Stakes and Grade III Sham Stakes. He is currently No. 9 on the NTRA national poll.
GO BETWEEN, winner of this year’s Grade I Pacific Classic and Sunshine Millions Classic and runner-up in the Grade I Santa Anita Handicap, Grade I Hollywood Gold Cup and Grade III Ben Ali Stakes.
END
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