Focused Filly

Let me preface this piece by saying that I absolutely applaud anyone who goes out and puts their money where the wagers are: ponying up the cash to get involved in the most gut-wrenching, wallet-busting part of this game.

It’s easy to name the celebrities who find fame early and then have an identity crisis some years in. Britney Spears immediately comes to mind, as does her Mickey Mouse Club co-star Christina Aguilera (who waited until she was married with a kid to start acting like the teenager she never got to be). Only Taylor Swift appears to have escaped the spotlight with both her teenage years and sanity intact; though at 22, some would say the jury is still out.

Unless they’re a Kardashian, celebrities have been working on their craft most of their lives and the sudden adulation can be difficult to adjust to. And there can be no denying that we’re seeing this exact same behavior from Mike Repole, owner of Travers winner Stay Thirsty and Kings Bishop runner up (and reigning Juvenile Champion) Uncle Mo.

Mike is a rare breed of horse owner: he invested his billions in the claiming game for many years before ramping up and spending the money to step into graded company. Here is a man who singlehandedly keeps NYRA running over the winter months with his cheaper horses. And for whom that elusive G1 victory didn’t come until late last summer. Plus, he made some fantastic comments about the responsibility of an owner at last year’s Eclipse Awards.

But therein lies the problem. The horse he essentially dubbed the People’s Pony got sick. It was an illness that took time to diagnose and I believe they will look back to realize they handled that situation poorly. But they did the right thing by scratching the horse, sending him to one of the best private rehab facilities around, giving him time and then easing him back into working out.

They could (and, in my mind should) have found a softer spot for him to return to the races, but the horse performed admirably and was beat a whisker by an improving foe. Then, to cap a huge day for the Repole silks, the “little buddy” (who had – in my well documented opinion – no business being on the Derby Trail), comes back and crushes a solid field in the following G1 race.

That’s where it all fell apart. Repole began making statements that reminded me of Courtney Love throwing her makeup mirror to get Madonna’s attention on the MTV red carpet several years ago: a desperate attempt to keep one’s name in the news.

The idea that Uncle Mo finishing second in the Kings Bishop is “the lowest of the lows” in Repole’s racing career is, honestly, his Britney Spears head shaving moment. It’s as if he thought “what’s the single most outlandish thing I can get away with?” And then actually said it. Attention is good, but this kind of attention is not what you want. Barry Irwin made a statement on live television following the Derby that was out of line, but it was the only inappropriate thing he said in that timeframe and it was in response to a question that broke the “never ask what you don’t already know the answer to” rule.

We all say things out of turn and things can be misconstrued or taken out of context. But the point was made and I agree: finishing second in a major stake isn’t low – unless you’re from the Eight Belles camp and have to make a heart-wrenching decision moments after the biggest race of your lives.

Uncle Mo got beat. It sucks. But why not celebrate the fact that, off a four month layoff, your superstar ran his heart out despite being exhausted in the final strides? To call his health into question after the race by saying he may be retired because of “the illness” then further explaining that he doesn’t want the horse to go through that again… that leads any logical person to believe that the horse isn’t 100% healthy. Which should be disclosed before the race, not after (see the post-race disclosure of throat surgery to the $102 winner of the first race on the card for proof).

Mike Repole is the source of much amusement for the Twitterverse. But he’s truly a good guy and he’s great for this game on all levels. He’s just having a very public adjustment to the fame. I would suggest keeping him away from umbrellas, anything that can be used to shave one’s head, and Lindsay Lohan.

Racing doesn’t have a conservatorship program: the worst thing that can happen is for him to burn himself out by trying so hard to be the perfect owner. And, like celebrity or Congress, there is no such thing.

Mike: pull back, grab a Vitamin Water Revive (or two), take a few days with your family, get some perspective and let the horses speak for themselves. The game needs you to hold it together.

Horseracing is inherently rhythmic: it is hearts pulsing and hooves pounding, heads turning and hands moving, sweat dripping and legs tangling.

All this at 45 miles per hour in a tightly packed herd hurling themselves around hairpin turns – it puts the Quickstep to shame.

Like other well paid performers, racehorses each have their own style: there are those like Zenyatta who prefer to toil at the back and be all-but forgotten until the final eighth of a mile; or those like Secretariat who would pull jockey Ron Turcotte out of the irons to lead the field through its paces.

Competitive ballroom dancers are accomplished in many styles, yet typically shine in one specialty. The best racehorses are much the same.

Going into the last leg of the 2011 Triple Crown races, you’ll see these stars at the Belmont.

Shakleford is very much a Foxtrot star: his style is “quick – slow – slow – quick.” The chestnut son of Forestry has won 3-of-7 races lifetime, including the Preakness, and owns a second in the Florida Derby. His best finishes have been when he’s set or been just off a quick early pace, then slowed down for the middle fractions, and come home in a relatively quick 13-and-change.

Animal Kingdom, however, runs more in the style of the Paso Doble: a dance of passion and drama that is an interpretation of a bullfight. It is danced with sharp movements designed to create a sense of tension. The Kentucky Derby winner has never been worse than second in six starts, though anyone who’s ever had a wager on him can attest to the fact that he eeks out every last inch of the racetrack before finding the wire like a bull drawn to the red cape.

Watching “always a bridesmaid, only once a bride” Nehro is like watching someone dance the Mambo: consistent steps at the same intervals. Santiva owns a similar record of 7-1-3-1 and is consistently sluggish in his fractions, despite being rather elegant to watch – like two dancers in the continuously turning Waltz. Stay Thirsty has the Rumba rhythm down pat: “quick – quick – slow – slow.”

What does this mean for the Belmont Stakes on Saturday? If you’re like me and a fan of the true ballroom dance competitions, big races with full fields are much like the freestyle round where couples dance choreographed routines with many elements of their best dances.

In America, there is no race like the Belmont: combine the sweeping turns with the distance, and angles like post position bias and trainer statistics go out the window; as handicappers are forced to rely on pedigree and jockey ability. Plus remember the age-old adage that the best horse doesn’t always win and you might as well be dancing the frenzied Merengue come post time.

After two minutes and twenty seven seconds, one thing clearly separates dancing from racing. It’s no longer about fancy footwork. Winners often prevail by a nose. Other than Jennifer Grey – noses typically don’t take the prize on DWTS.

photo courtesy of the amazing Rick Samuels

When one looks for the watch-stopping work of this year’s Kentucky Derby, they will inevitably stumble upon Archarcharch and Animal Kingdom. Both horses turned in scintillating drills that showed they had turned the corner and were bonafide Derby contenders.

However, those works are essentially meaningless to most because both colts are bred for the wrong surface. Saying “turf pedigree” in the Kentucky Derby is like Julia Roberts not knowing which fork to use in Pretty Woman – so uncouth.

I personally believe in pedigree handicapping and to me turf is more about stamina than the color of the surface. There are benefits to turf breeding that are unparalleled in dirt or the new synthetic era: least of which is that horses tend to stay sounder, longer. A little stamina goes a long way when breeders have been speed-obsessed for years and we’re left with too many brittle boned animals that can’t get much further than six furlongs.

Because so many have accused Animal Kingdom, in particular, of being a two trick pony when it comes to surface,

Wrong.

Using information provided by GradeOneRacing’s pedigree analyst, the incomparable Lauren Stich, it is clear that eight of the nineteen contenders could be – and perhaps should be – competing in turf events.

Looking primarily at the stallion lines: Animal Kingdom is by Leroidesanimaux, a champion turf horse whose offspring are best on grass and synthetic surfaces; out of a Group 3 winning dam who raced exclusively in Europe on the lawn. Archarcharch is by War Chant whose first 14 of 16 foals to race won on all three surfaces on two continents; out of a dam by one of the most prolific turf stallions in history. Brilliant Speed is by a sire known for stamina, whose offspring have been incredibly versatile, yet are superior on turf. Santiva is by one of the world’s premier stallions, but his offspring are generally superior on turf and synthetic surfaces. Soldat is sired by the speed influence of the Danzig line and is out of multiple stakes winner who was especially proficient on turf. Shackleford is by a sire who was a sizzling stakes sprinter whose best offspring are best on dirt and turf.

Looking at both sides of the family tree: Master of Hounds is by one of Mr. Prospector’s best-bred sons who was a top-class miler in Europe, the majority of whose progeny were most successful on turf; out of a dam by the late Sadler’s Wells, who was Northern Dancer’s most successful son at stud in Europe and a major stamina influence on turf. Midnight Interlude is by War Chant, who has been a superior sire of turf horses and from a female family that produced an Epsom Oaks winner.

This many turf pedigrees can’t be surprising for a stamina contest such as the 1-1/4 mi. Kentucky Derby. Every year, the majority of the field winds up staggering the final sixteenth to the wire because they are simply being tested beyond their limits.

In 2009, a jockey was weighing-out in the jock’s room after the race and was heard saying “that colt had no business going beyond a mile.” And he was referring to a G1 winner who had won half of his ten lifetime starts, with distances from 1 mi. to 1-1/8 mi. This is the time of year when we learn who is a router and who just got lucky before.

Bob Baffert is a Hall of Famer because of how he managed careers, as well as for what his horses did on the track.

Last week he did something now considered extraordinary when he scratched The Factor from contention. It didn’t matter how many runners he was going to have: what was paramount in his mind was the individual horse. From the heart, Bob said “I love this horse. I don’t want to ruin him.”

The Factor is at his best at between seven furlongs and a mile. Bob knew it. The media knew it. The colt’s owners knew it. Yet, despite the lure of the Kentucky Derby – the adoration, the saddletowel, the discounted tickets – they did what was best for the colt.

If there is another trainer in this year’s field that cares more about their horses than Baffert, it is Graham Motion. A lesser trainer would probably have run Toby’s Corner when they can’t “rule out whether [they] were dealing with a minor foot abscess or a significant injury.” As Motion said in his perfect English accent, “I feel fortunate that at least I do have another contender.”

That horse? Animal Kingdom.

How many horses have made the transition safely from turf to dirt? In the last five runnings of the Kentucky Derby, two names stand out: Barbaro and Big Brown. Both won.

Whether a horse prefers the Dirt, Turf, or Synthetic, you have to look at the individual. It’s like Julia Robert’s picking the right fork in Pretty Woman: shrimp, salad, or dinner – go with what you know.