I’m finally on the last of my umpteenth flights of 2009.
For me, this is 3-1/2 hours of reflection on the year that was: all the twists and turns, highs and lows, that fell on the sport I love.
My year started with the 2yo In Training Sales of OBS and Fasig-Tipton. Watching 200+ baby horses go out and prove their talent in quarter-mile snippets, with their breath hanging in little clouds on the heavy misty morning air, provides the most magical aura of hope for the future of the game.
Then we moved into the fun that is Triple Crown season – which, I’m sorry, has to go down as the single craziest in recent memory. First off, we had the scratch of the morning line favorite on Kentucky Derby morning (a very sad personal moment for me), then Calvin Borel takes Mine That Bird up the rail so tight that even Tom Durkin couldn’t keep up in his call of the race for NBC. For the next jewel – in case there wasn’t enough drama with the 50/1-shot Derby winner trying to prove he wasn’t a fluke – we had Jess Jackson causing drama in the jock’s room with the purchase and entry of Kentucky Oaks queen Rachel Alexandra.
For me, the Preakness was an interesting experience: it started with my standing in the press box with Rick Bozich of the Louisville Courier-Journal and Pat Forde of ESPN when news of Big Drama’s stuck-in-his-stall-that-morning drama caused Pat to fold up nearly all of his just-bet tickets; and ended with standing on the jockey’s scale in the winner’s circle watching Rachel become the first filly to win the Preakness in 80-something years. That was just one of those raw moments of love that I have for this game that will never be duplicated.
Then, of course, there’s the Belmont.
Back to Derby for a second: I remember standing next to my old gap on the backside of Churchill three days to the race when this sweet-looking chestnut with a full blaze came off the track and I remember thinking the look in his eye was going to be deadly later in the year.
Fast forward six weeks and they’re loading in the gate for the Belmont – my mother’s on the phone asking me who’s going to win. I was right in my supposition that it was going to be a son of Birdstone from a little known barn, but – yeah – there were two of those in the field and the winner was not Mine That Bird; rather, it was the sweet full-blazed chestnut I had seen back at Churchill – Summer Bird.
And, boy, was he the bird of the summer – he would go on to win the Travers and Jockey Club Gold Cup to cap what was a banner year for a little known trainer and owners who prefer the breeding side of the game.
Throughout the summer, I was privy to some funny one-liners, conversations, and debates about horses, turf courses, tattoos, bars in Saratoga, where the hot dogs were going, and who drank the most iced tea. Because I posted some of these comments – never naming names, for the record – I got in some hot water, and if I stepped on anyone’s toes I do sincerely apologize.
However, the goal of this blog has always been – and always will be – to bring you the world of racing from every angle you won’t find on ESPN/NBC/TVG/HRTV and anyone else who covers racing.
When it came to the fall, there were some amazing moments – the speed freak Zensational (seen at the ‘08 sales) crushing competition in the west coast sprint division, the Bullsbay v Macho Again rivalry in the Midwest, Awesome Gem finally getting back to the winner’s circle for West Point Thoroughbreds, and Richard’s Kid freaking in the Pacific Classic.
Then we get to the crown jewel of racing: the Breeders’ Cup. I could wax poetic about my calling that Ahmed Ajtebi would have a huge day, or that Beautician would hit the board, or that Conduit is still the most gorgeous horse on the grounds and would repeat. But I’d rather focus on the glory that was Zenyatta. I woke up knowing it was going to be a day of zen – not Zensational in the Sprint, but Zenyatta in the Classic.
As Quality “Please Let Me Be A Miler” Road scratched from the gate, I took a quick poll of those around me – could she do it, was Zenyatta about to amaze us all like we all knew she could? My heart was in my throat as they rounded the turn and Zenyatta suddenly thundered through a hole and bounded down the stretch like the true queen she is. I’ve never seen so many grown men cry tears of joy than in that moment.
As we got further into the fall, my final true crowning achievement of 2009 had to be watching Stardom Bound (seen at the ’08 sales) in the paddock for the Gazelle when I realized that Saeed bin Suroor – trainer for Godolphin – was not only in the ‘States but in a full 3-piece suit and walking Flashing onto the track. Saeed had horses running in major stakes in England that weekend but here he was, walking the mentally challenged filly onto the track – and she went on to win by a big margin at a decent price.
There are a plenty of other memories I have of this year – from the two text messages within days of each other that said great stallions Gone West and El Prado were no longer with us, to the collective crowd gasp when Rachel walked into the paddock for the Haskell, to the giddiness of Eurico Rosa da Silva during the press conference after winning the Queen’s Plate. Among the more heartfelt was the apprentice jockeys debating how they would’ve ridden the Kentucky Derby differently than their senior counterparts if they’d just had the chance and the owners’ thank you I got for not glossing over the breakdown of the horse who went down in the last race at Saratoga.
Yet battling for top spots on the memory poll are Rachel in the Woodward and Zenyatta in the Classic – when I didn’t realize I was crying rivers of “waterproof” mascara. Also right up there is the moment Shane Borel came flying up the stairs of the jockey’s room after his uncle Calvin had just won the Derby and my getting the purest dirt-filled happy hug ever in the history of embraces.
I would share more of my millions of memories but, alas, the stewardess has announced the need to shut-off all electronic devices due to landing. I’ll leave you with one last thought for 2009: if this was the year of surprise and upset, what will 2010 be?
For anyone who wants to ask me what I think of the Horse of the Year debate, my answer is this: while I could lay out a case for both Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra, I thought the bigger story was that two girls would be on the final ballot for the first time in the 111 years that the honor has been handed out.
I have a soft spot for the last female Horse of the Year: I had just started at TVG when Azeri was starting her reign over the racing world, highlighted by 2002 Horse of the Year honors. Then, while I was working at Churchill, I was lucky enough to touch (ok, hug!) the superstar when she was yanked from retirement and shipped into D. Wayne Lukas’ barn for her whisker-loss run in the ’04 Humana Distaff.
What struck me most about Azeri’s recent $2.25 million trip through the Keeneland auction ring wasn’t the pricetag: that’s a fair price in this market for a horse who did what she did on the track but who’s still completely unproven as a broodmare.
The more interesting part is that she’s going to Japan. But the more I thought about her going to Asia, the less I was surprised.
After all:
My first car was a Ford ZX2, my second a Chevy Blazer. I now drive a Hyundai Elantra.
My high school (which counts Will Ferrell as a grad) was 55% Asian when I started. It was 70% when I graduated.
My office used to be in midtown Manhattan. Now I work on the KoreaTown border.
My mom’s fiance is Thai.
While the rest of the world can gripe about buying everything with a Made In China label – racing has long understood that international success doesn’t extend to just the European Union or Dubai. And, yes, while the meltdown of the UAE economy will certainly effect racing’s many segments, the Asian market is stable and ready to pounce where the Sheiks can’t.
In a somewhat ironic twist, the Dubai debt crisis happened just as a slew of American horses – including Belmont/Travers/Jockey Club Gold Cup winner Summer Bird – were making their final preparations for a run in the Japan Cup Dirt – a longstanding end-of-the-season target for many. Things didn’t go so well for Summer Bird (or, rather, for his right front leg), but America still had a runner in the field. And many American-based jockeys – including Calvin Borel and Rajiv Maragh – made return trips for the Japan Cup Turf.
Plus, Darley kicked off this week’s stallion news with Pyro joining Storming Home in bringing American pedigree to their Japan division (along with fellow Japan residents Silver Charm, Charismatic, and War Emblem).
To boot, the Hong Kong Jockey Club recently hosted a “Name Our Chantal” competition to honor Chantal Sutherland – the only woman to race against 11 men in the Cathay Pacific International Jockey Championship. The contest drew 6,119 in just 5 days (that’s an average of over 1,200 submissions per day), while the Kentucky Derby Twitter account has just 2,204 followers in 8 months (and a scant 322 Tweets to its name).
I know most racing folks are wary of the Asian countries because of what happened to Ferdinand. Yes, I share the same “you don’t get to kill a Kentucky Derby winner and get away with it” philosophy. But that was a sad wake-up call the industry needed and won’t let happen again. Most horses sold or shipped over for breeding purposes have a “return to the US” clause built into their contracts nowadays thanks to him. If we’re not going to let horses cross borders where slaughter is legal or horsemeat is eaten, then we’d have to cross Mexico and Canada (respectively) off the list too.
Given that we don’t have the centuries it would take US racing to fix itself and Dubai is suddenly not as viable a savior as we’d all planned for, I’m all for Asia stepping in to fill the void. If you don’t think they do it right over there, here’s some food for thought: even without having on-track wagering, racing is such a draw that they broadcast the major stakes on the jumbotrons of Tokyo’s town center.
Can you imagine New York City freezing for two whole minutes while the Kentucky Derby plays in Times Square?
