2009 October » Focused Filly

Given that we’re about 2 weeks away from Breeders’ Cup, nearing the end of the ’09 racing season in general, and starting to focus on the 2yo crop that will be next year’s stars, I figure that when I log on to DRF.com nowadays, the news will be somewhat happy – who’s going to which division, who’s standing at stud, and who debuted big.

What I don’t like to see is what I got this afternoon:

And we have to add Macho Again after it was announced early Tuesday that a cough (aka The Clark’s A Better Fit) will keep the feisty gray from contending this year’s Classic.

If you’re keeping score, that’s 5 horses in 1 afternoon. If we keep at this pace, Zenyatta will have the Breeders’ Cup Classic all to herself.

The way I see it, a bruised foot (Rail Trip) and a cough (Macho Again) are totally logical reasons to stay away – a few missed days of training this close to the big event can be the difference maker.

As for the retirement of Sea The Stars last week – for a 3yo to do what he did this season is beyond extraordinary and he absolutely deserves time off. Did that necessitate full blown retirement? Probably not in my book, but John Oxx is without question one of the best horsemen in the world so I find it hard to second guess him.

But – I’m sorry – Gitano Hernando not coming because he’s prepping for the Dubai World Cup, Mambo Meister giving up a guaranteed spot due to owner issues, and Lahaleeb being a supplement should not be reasons to steer clear of Santa Anita.

The biggest issue I have is with the Goodwood Stakes winner – Gitano Hernando – sitting out. As I recall, Team Valor purchased him earlier this year for a run at the Belmont Stakes before a fever knocked him out of training for a few weeks. If you were pointing a horse towards the Classic races and he then blasts a talented and full field over the Breeders’ Cup Classic surface … why, then, would you pull him out of contention for a race that’s not for another 5 months?!? That just doesn’t add up. But what does figure as a more logical “reason” is the supplemental fee it would take for him to be in the starting gate – 9% of the $5 million purse is still a lot of zero’s (even if the Classic’s history started with supplemental entrant Wild Again).

This would probably be a really good time to mention that – had she not gotten a very well deserved break for the back half of the year – Rachel Alexandra would have contested the Breeders’ Cup Classic. When trainer Steve Asmussen and owner Stonestreet Stable chose to bench her, she was looking at a field that included the likes of Summer Bird, Macho Again, Einstein, Sea The Stars, Bullsbay, Rail Trip, Mastercraftsman, Gitano Hernando, Conduit, and Rip Van Winkle. Not to mention Zenyatta should she seek to win her 14th straight start against the boys.

There’s always that point in late February when a ton of horses fall of the Kentucky Derby Trail for one reason or another – illness, injury, realization that they just aren’t that good. Suddenly the picture you’d had in your head for months about what the probably field will be is demolished. And that moment for me always comes with a twinge of guilt for the game overall because you know you would’ve seen something magical.

As with any set of athletes, there will always be injuries that knock the best from contention. But to lose 3 big names (Rail Trip, Macho Again, and Gitano Hernando) from just the Classic all in one day is just depressing.

The race will still be amazing but it does lose a smidge of its original luster. So with 2 weeks still to go I gotta ask: who’s going to step up and bring some excitement?

Like most sports, racing has a drug problem. No one disputes this and Joe Drape’s piece in the New York Times earlier this week just showcases the issue yet another way.

But I think I have the solution – and it’s fairly simple: video.

Santa Anita – legendary (though bankrupt) racetrack and (controversial) home to this year’s Breeders’ Cup – announced Thursday that fans wishing to see Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird didn’t have to wait until his run in the Goodwood Stakes on Saturday … simply log on to a website for 24/7 webcam access.

If I can buy a webcam at BestBuy for $29.99 to watch my dog play in the backyard when I’m at work, why can’t racetracks buy them in bulk to watch each barn? (just the four corners would probably do the trick) Most barns at big tracks are already wired for internet access and it’s a simple phone call for those who aren’t.

Some will say the costs outweigh the benefits, especially for smaller tracks. My answer: do it for the stakes barns only. Do you think Jeff Mullins would have walked into Aqueduct’s “safe zone” with a big ‘ole syringe loaded with an illegal substance if he knew he would be on camera? My guess: nope!

Providing webcams for stakes barns would allow the Stewards to “go to the tape,” much like referees in professional sports or the police in a convenience store robbery. Seriously, who didn’t hear about the Mullins/Air Power case or the Biancone/Cobra Venom incident(s) and think there had to be an easier way to prove fault that didn’t rely solely on an (underpaid) security guard or a (complicit) veterinarian?

We know a direct link exists between medication (even some of the legal stuff) and horse breakdowns – so slowing the prevalence of the illegal meds would go a long way towards furthering the safety of horses and jockeys on the track. Besides, people bet hundreds/thousands/millions of dollars on racing everyday and those “investments” in the game need to be protected.

Furthermore, it could also be used in a marketing capacity. Posting the webcam video on the track’s site is invaluable promotion: we already know horses appeal to every demographic – men, women, children, seniors, experts, casual fans – everyone.

And (for an industry that’s not the biggest fan of change) in-the-stall video is just another application of something that’s already being done: several tracks, including Santa Anita, already stream morning workouts.

For those who don’t believe the safety/integrity/marketing value outweighs the cost, let me show you how I spent (much of) my Thursday:

Mine That Bird eating

Mine That Bird looking around

Mine That Bird with trainer Chip Woolley

Mine That Bird not caring about Chip Woolley

Mine That Bird looking around

Mine That Bird eating

Mine That Bird with his groom/exercise rider

Mine That Bird getting his stall mucked out

If I can watch a stall being cleaned in real time, I think the Stewards could catch a vet or trainer doing something illegal. And yes, there would be ways to beat the system (ie: blind spots), but the same could be said of bank and military base security. No one idea is perfect, but we do know the current plan isn’t enough.

The only real cost to this idea might be the number of trainers that would go out of business from a serious tightening of the medication rules. But – hey – I’m game for anything that ups the integrity of the sport, keeps horses safe, and is good promotion.

The only question from the racing industry should be: How do we get a big enough shopping cart for all those webcams?

I must confess to having a small crush on Todd Pletcher. It’s not as big as the ones I have on D. Wayne Lukas or Bob Baffert, but – come on – handsome cowboys immaculately dressed – you can’t beat that!

Todd is amazing in his own right: at 42, he has trained nine Champions, has won four consecutive Eclipse Awards as outstanding trainer (only the 3rd guy to do so), and has hundreds of horses in training across the country. The only knock to his near-perfect resume is his 0-for-24 in the Kentucky Derby (so bad his is jinx that he failed to hit the board despite having 1/4 of the field in 2007.)

But Pletcher has a problem. Like all coaches, Todd wants the best for his players and has owners to answer to. So this explains his habit of excusing every bad run or wrong step. But there have to be limits.

After Quality Road failed to fire in the Travers Stakes, Pletcher blamed a tough trip. Forget the fact that even his own jockey seemed to think the horse needed more than a single prep (and a sprint at that) before he was ready to tackle his Travers foes. True the trip may not have been ideal, but Quality Road had room and – the rule in that case is – the best horse wins. And it wasn’t him. Besides the fact that he was never going to catch Summer Bird, Todd blaming the trip seemed more than a little petty.

The best Mr. P in the horseracing world will always be Mr. Prospector – legendary racehorse, unbelievable stallion, sire of sires, and all around top notch animal. As the next big Mr. P to come along, Pletcher may be as prolific a trainer as Mr. Prospector was a stallion, but Quality Road ain’t ever going to match what Mr. P did in the starting gate.

Today Quality Road will take on older horses for the first time in the Jockey Club Gold Cup. He should be the lone speed and the trick will be if he can outrun his propensity to be a straight sprinter. If his nose isn’t in front when they hit the line, I can’t wait to hear what excuses Todd will come up with this time.

photos courtesy of Eclipse Sports Wire

We all have those horses that stick out for some reason, capture our attention, and hold a place in our hearts. It’s not about what they paid or if they even win – there’s something about them that’s special, even if you’re the only one to see it.

My list includes horses I saw at the sales and followed to the track: including Legally Blanca (aka The Wishful Legacy filly from OBS March) who won a minor stake at Belmont a few Sundays back; Best Lass (aka Who Would Buy A PA-bred Werblin?) who captured the Prairie Meadows Oaks earlier this year; and less notably Carnival Ride, a good worker and hard-tryer from the Bob Holthus barn with maybe the longest tongue I’ve ever seen.

I don’t StableMail a lot of horses from the sales, but La Rocca was one – she was really beautiful and, with her catalog page and performance, was definitely the kind of horse buyers were there to get. It was no surprise when she wound up in Todd Pletcher’s barn and, though it took her 4 tries to break her maiden, showed a ton of promise. But her story takes an interesting turn – she was sold in late July to an owner in the Northwest and is undefeated since: now with 2 stakes wins to her name.

It’s interesting not because she was sold, but rather because a filly who faced the likes of now-G1 winner Funny Moon just six months ago is running at Hastings Park in British Columbia. Most people don’t even know that Hastings is still in business – it’s that small. But don’t forget: a win is a win. We’re all so used to Godolphin or Jess Jackson buying stakes horses to run in major races, but here’s a case where a man (Peter Redekop) saw a horse that could win the local stakes. And when you put a horse in the right spot, magic happens.

For all the talk about the Thoroughbred breed dying out because breeders have pushed for speed not stamina, it’s interesting that there’s a sudden influx of notable older horses – not even geldings. Einstein is a perfect example: at 7yo, he’ll run at any distance, at any track, and run his race every time; and he’ll stand as a stallion next year.

There’s a few of these older guard horses in the Hawthorne Gold Cup on Saturday, namely Jonesboro (7yo), Alcomo (6yo), and Going Ballistic (5yo). The latter is one of those horses I talked about above – he caught my eye way back in March of 2007, when he crossed the line fourth behind Curlin in the G3 Rebel at Oaklawn. He was just so gray and bouncy – he had that “specialness” that lodged him permanently in my heart.

Though he was off the Derby Trail shortly after – he wasn’t that good – I followed Going Ballistic’s career as he captured three stakes through the end of ’07. I lost all interest when his career stalled in 2008, but caught his name on a graphic earlier this year shortly before he was trounced by Prom Shoes in the Essex Handicap at Oaklawn. He may have lost, but I found him again.

It would be another 5 starts for him to get back into the winner’s circle and it took a trip to Remington Park in Oklahoma City to do so. Though not exactly known as a hub of horseracing activity, Remington played host to a $150k stake that drew many of these older guard horses who seem to meet each other in the starting gate time and time again. That day happened to be Going Ballistic’s turn to win (not to discount his 6-wide trip).

A trip to Hastings or Remington probably isn’t on most owner’s radars, but more should try it. The solution to some of racing’s biggest problems may not be bigger purses – the majority of horse owners don’t need the purse money (Godolphin has oil, Jess Jackson has wine, Jerry Moss has music) – why not make a concerted effort to run good horses at smaller tracks?

Who knows? Putting racing in the right spot could make magic happen.

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