Posts Tagged ‘einstein’

It’s finalist day for the 2009 Eclipse Awards. With perhaps the exception of Dolphus Morrison as a finalists for breeder, no real surprises among the list of candidates. Headlined by Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta as the only two listed in the Horse of the Year category, the complete list of the finalists are listed below.

- Bradford Cummings

Female superstars Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta lead an all-star cast of finalists for the 2009 Eclipse Awards, recognizing excellence in Thoroughbred racing. Winners in all categories will be announced at the 39th annual Eclipse Awards ceremony, to be held Monday evening, January 18, at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif.

The announcement of the finalists was made today by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), National Turf Writers Association (NTWA) and Daily Racing Form (DRF), the three presenting organizations of the Eclipse Awards.  

The three-year-old filly Rachel Alexandra, winner of all eight of her starts in 2009, including the Preakness Stakes; and the five-year old mare Zenyatta, who won all five of her races last year and culminated her undefeated career by becoming the first female to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic, are the two candidates for Horse of the Year. Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta were the only two horses to receive votes in the Horse of the Year category.  

The Eclipse Awards finalists (in alphabetical order) are:

·          Horse of the Year:                Rachel Alexandra, Zenyatta        

·         Two-Year-Old Male:               Lookin At Lucky, Noble’s Promise, Vale of York (IRE)

·         Two-Year-Old Filly:                Blind Luck, Hot Dixie Chick, She Be Wild            

·         Three-Year-Old Male:             Mine That Bird, Quality Road, Summer Bird

·         Three-Year-Old Filly:              Careless Jewel, Flashing, Rachel Alexandra

·         Older Male:                             Einstein (BRZ), Gio Ponti, Kodiak Kowboy                      

·         Older Female:                         Life Is Sweet, Music Note, Zenyatta

·         Male Sprinter:                        Dancing in Silks, Kodiak Kowboy, Zensational

·          Female Sprinter:                    Informed Decision, Music Note, Ventura

·         Male Turf Horse:                    Conduit (IRE), Gio Ponti, Presious Passion          

·         Female Turf Horse:                Goldikova (IRE), Midday (GB), Ventura

·         Steeplechase Horse:             Mixed Up, Red Letter Day, Spy in the Sky

·         Owner:                       Godolphin Racing, Juddmonte Farms, Mr. and Mrs. Jerome S. Moss

·         Breeder:                                 Adena Springs, Juddmonte Farms, Dolphus C. Morrison   

·         Trainer:                                 Steve Asmussen, Bob Baffert, John Shirreffs       

·         Jockey:                                 Ramon Dominguez, Garrett Gomez, Julien Leparoux

·         Apprentice Jockey:               Luis Batista, Christian Santiago Reyes, Luis Saez  

The Eclipse Awards are named after the great 18th-century racehorse and foundation sire Eclipse, who began racing at age five and was undefeated in 18 starts, including eight walkovers. Eclipse sired the winners of 344 races, including three Epsom Derbies.  

The 2009 Eclipse Awards ceremony will be held on January 18 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., and televised live on TVG.

The upcoming long holiday weekend provides an opportunity for three tracks–Hollywood Park, Aqueduct and Churchill Downs—to run a combined total of 16 graded stakes, many with entrants coming out of the Breeders’ Cup Championships held earlier this month at Santa Anita.

Churchill Downs has carded the 1 1/8-mile G2 Falls City as the 11th of 12 races on Thursday. Unbridled Belle hopes to go out a winner before she heads for the breeding shed. The 6-year-old mare has accumulated almost $1.9 million in earnings and will face off against another millionaire, Swift Temper, who has gotten the best of Unbridled Belle in their three previous meetings this year.

Friday’s feature race, the G2 Clark Handicap, has attracted a stellar field of competitors, including Macho Again, Bullsbay, Etched, Blame and Einstein, the highweight in the 1 1/8-mile dirt event. The 7-year-old will start from the far outside post (14) in what will be the 30th and final race of his career. With regular rider Julien Leparoux in Japan, Rajiv Maragh will take over in the irons. The G3 River City Handicap (race 9) at 1 1/8 miles on the turf, is on the undercard.

Churchill’s meet closes on Saturday with the running of twin G2 stakes, the Golden Rod for fillies, and the Kentucky Jockey Club for colts and geldings. Sassy Image, winner of the opening weekend’s Pocahontas Stakes, as well as the runner-up in that race, Decelerator, are expected to start. The upset winner of the Iroquois, Thiskyhasnolimit, is the 2-1 favorite in the field of nine in the Kentucky JC. Both races are 1 1/16 miles on the main track.

Aqueduct hosts the G3 Fall Highweight on Thursday, the G2 Top Flight Handicap on Friday, and a quartet of graded stakes on Saturday, highlighted by the G1 Hill ‘n’ Dale Cigar Mile. Pyro, winner of the Forego and Kodiak Kowboy, victor of the Vosburgh, are co-highweights at 120 lbs. They will be facing DeFrancis winner Vineyard Haven, Bribon and Driven By Success. With the coupling of Pyro and Vineyard Haven, there will be only four betting interests.

Also on the Aqueduct’s Saturday card is the running of the 1 1/8-mile G1 Gazelle for 3-year-old fillies. Stardom Bound will be in the spotlight here; she had a string of five consecutive G1 wins to her credit, before finishing third in the Ashland in April. This will be her first start on the dirt. The other two graded stakes will focus on juveniles–the G2 Demoiselle for fillies, and the G2 Remsen for males, both run at 1 1/8 miles on the dirt. The winners of these races may be pointing to a race on the first Saturday in May next year.

The G1 Citation kicks off the three-day Hollywood Park Turf Festival on Friday and features a field of ten older horses going 1 1/16 miles. Cowboy Cal, winner of the Oak Tree Mile, will attempt to redeem himself in the Citation after a 10th-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Mile. Proudinsky and Fluke, also entered in the Citation, will both be saddled by Bobby Frankel’s long-time assistant Humberto Ascanio, who is now the trainer of record for the late Hall of Famer’s starters.

Saturday’s Hollywood stakes are the G1 Matriarch for fillies and mares going a mile on grass, supported by the G3 Generous, for two-year-olds, also at a mile. The Matriarch pits two outstanding mares against each other—Ventura and Diamondrella. Both were last seen at the Breeders’ Cup; Ventura was second in the Filly & Mare Sprint, while Diamondrella ran a disappointing 11th in the Turf Sprint. Following the Breeders’ Cup, Diamondrella changed barns and is now with jockey-turned-trainer Gary Stevens.

Hollywood’s Turf Festival concludes on Sunday with the running of the G1 Hollywood Derby and the G3 Miesque (a mile for 2-year-old fillies). In the 1 ¼-mile Hollywood Derby, we can expect to see Take the Points square off against Battle of Hastings. Another intriguing entry is Black Bear Island. Now with Julio Canani, the son of Sadler’s Wells was previously conditioned by Aiden O’Brien.

By Ray Paulick
Rallying eight or nine wide into the stretch under Mike Smith, Richard’s Kid ran down Einstein in the final yards to post a 24-1 upset in the $1-million Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Sunday. Favored Rail Trip finished third, Parading fourth and second choice Colonel John was fifth in the Grade 1 race for 3-year-olds and up going 10 furlongs on Polytrack. Bob Baffert trains the winner, a 4-year-old son of Lemon Drop Kid out of the Broad Brush mare Tough Broad. He was purchased earlier this year by Arnold Zetcher after racing in Maryland for Robert Meyerhoff and  trainer Richard Small.

“He loves this track,” Baffert said on TVG after the race. “I bought him for the synthetics, and he likes it.”

Richard’s Kid came into the Pacific Classic as one of the most lightly regarded starters in an 11-horse field that included multiple Grade 1 winners Einstein and Colonel John, along with Hollywood Gold Cup winner Rail Trip, 2008 Gold Cup winner Mast Track, and Global Hunter, winner of this year’s Grade 1 Eddie Read Handicap on the Del Mar Turf.

Tres Borrachos outran Mast Track to get the early lead, setting fractions of :23.16 for the opening quarter mile, :47.42 for the half mile and 1:12.53 for six furlongs. Richard’s Kid lagged second from the back, about 15 lengths off the lead. Approaching the far turn, Garrett Gomez tried to move Colonel John toward the leaders on the inside, but as the field rounded the turn, he was shuffled back, losing valuable position before reaching the stretch. 

As Colonel John was forced to retreat behind a wall of horses,, Einstein and Julien Leparoux were making a four wide move around the turn, then surged to the lead down the stretch, looking like a winner until Smith and Richard’s Kid came flying on the outside. It was a tough loss for Einstein, the Brazilian-bred by Spend a Buck who was racing for the first time in the colors of Frank Stronach’s Stronach Stable, which purchased the 7-year-old a week before the race.

The margin of victory for Richard’s Kid was a neck. He completed the 10 furlongs on Polytrack in 2:02.39 after a mile clocking in 1:37.37.

The win was the sixth from 19 starts for Richard’s Kid, who was bred in Maryland by Meyerhoff’s Fitzhugh LLC. His lone stakes victory before the Pacific Classic came in the ungraded John B. Campbell Handicap at Laurel in February, when he defeated eventual Grade 1 Whitney winner Bullsbay. He ran twice for Baffert and Zetcher, finishing seventh in the Eddie Read and second, beaten a nose by Unusual Suspect, in the Cougar II Handicap going 1 1/2 miles on Polytrack Aug. 5. Two bullet works since that race had him on edge for the Pacific Classic.

Baffert was asked on TVG if the Breeders’ Cup Classic would be in order for Richard’s Kid. “Of course,” he said. “Win and you’re in, right?”

Click here for video of the Pacific Classic and here to see the official chart.

By Ray Paulick
UPDATED (EIGHTH AND NINTH PARAGRAPH)
There are a lot of things Frank Stronach does that I don’t like, most of them involving the structure of his public companies and how he has run Magna Entertainment into bankruptcy and many of the company’s racetracks into the ground. But when word got out that Stronach was buying multiple Grade 1 winner Einstein from the Midnight Cry Stable of William Gallion and Shirley Cunningham, the two attorneys convicted of wire fraud and conspiracy for pilfering millions of dollars from a class-action lawsuit settlement, I could only applaud the move. When I later read that Stronach said he would retain Helen Pitts as trainer of the Brazilian-bred 7-year-old, well, I started getting this warm and fuzzy feeling about ol’ Frank.The sale of Einstein probably wasn’t an easy one, but it was in the best interests of racing to get the horse as far away from the two convicted and jailed felons as soon as possible, especially since he is racing in Sunday’s $1-million Pacific Classic at Del Mar. The sale apparently had to be approved by a judge and the attorney for the plaintiffs in a civil lawsuit filed by the people Gallion and Cunningham represented in the class-action case involving the diet drug fen phen.

Complicating matters is the fact Einstein is not a young horse, is a son of the unsuccessful and unfashionable Buckaroo stallion Spend a Buck, a front-running Kentucky Derby who may be best remembered for skipping the Preakness to go after a big bonus in New Jersey. Einstein is expected to be a very difficult sell at stud to commercial breeders. Stronach, with a huge broodmare band, is perfectly positioned to support Einstein in a way that few if any other stallion farms could, and he figures to give Einstein every chance possible to succeed as a stallion.

Let’s put it this way. I’ll bet Stronach didn’t have to climb over any other major Kentucky stallion farm owners to buy the horse.

Price of the transaction was not disclosed; the horse was appraised by two bloodstock agents, who apparently testified in a recent court hearing concerning the sale of Einstein. There were no media members present during the hearing, and no one involved in the hearing would provide details. So it’s anyone’s guess as to the appraised value of Einstein or what Stronach ultimately paid.

Given the current uncertainty in the bloodstock market, and the recent news that the North American foal crop is expected to decline 20% from 2008 to 2010, it’s not an easy time to sell any new stallion, much less one that lacks commercial appeal. Valuations that once ran as high as a multiple of 350-to-400 times the first-year stud fee are non-existent today, except perhaps for a farm like Sheikh Mohammed’s deep-pocketed Darley. If Einstein entered stud with a $7,500 or $10,000 stud fee, my best guess is that his estimated sale price would be in the $1.8 million-$2 million range.

Einstein, a winner of 11 of 27 starts and just over $2.7 million, has won seven stakes, none before his 4-year-old season, when he captured the Grade 1 Gulfstream Park Breeders’ Cup Stakes. He won the Gulfstream Park Turf Stakes and Woodford Reserve Turf Classic at 6 and this year’s Santa Anita Handicap along with a repeat of the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic at 7 to round out his current Grade 1 resume.

UPDATED: The fact he won the Santa Anita Handicap on that track’s Pro Ride synthetic surface makes Einstein an interesting possibility for the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic. According to Dora Delgado, senior vice president of nominations and on-site operations for hte Breeders’ Cup, Einstein could be made fully eligibleto the Breeders’ Cup through the Horses of Racing Age nomination at a cost of $200,000. Along with $150,000 in entry and starting fees for the Classic, the total would be $350,000, far less than the previous supplementary fee for the Classic, which would cost $750,000, or 15% of the purse. The Horses of Racing Age nominations began in 2006 and was reduced last December from $250,000 to $200,000 for the offspring of unnominated stallions and from $150,000 to $100,000 for the offpsring of stallions nominated to the Breeders’ Cup, according to Delgado.

The $2.7 million winner’s share of the Classic, minus the Horses of Racing Age, entry and starting fees, would probably be equal to or in excess of what Stronach paid for Einstein. Another possibility this fall would be the Japan Cup Dirt, a $2.8 million race run clockwise at Hanshin race course whose winner’s share is about $1.4 million. Then, of course, if Stronach chose to keep Einstein in training next year at 8, he would be a serious contender for the $10 million Dubai World Cup.

If he opts to retire Einstein to his Adena Springs Farm in 2010, it would be similar to when Stronach stood the two-time Santa Anita Handicap winner that he campaigned, Milwaukee Brew, following his 6-year-old season. A son of Wild Again, Milwaukee Brew, who like Einstein was unraced at 2 and a long-fused runner, stood for $15,000 his first season. He has since moved to Adena Springs South in Florida and ranks fourth among third-crop sires nationally. He’s been a bigger success producing solid runners than sale ring candidates. Milwaukee Brew’s 2009 fee was $7,500.

By purchasing Einstein for eventual retirement to Adena Springs, Stronach will be adding to the stallion pool a horse who has proven himself on dirt, turf and synthetic tracks over a distance of ground. The lack of commercial appeal he is likely to have should be good news for breeders who are more interested in producing a racehorse than a sales horse from a moderate stud fee.

Stronach’s purchase of Einstein could, in a few years, have him looking like a genius.Brilliant, I say.

Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report

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By Ray Paulick
Spring is in the air, with temperatures topping 70 in Kentucky, and visions of Roses in the minds of many horse owners around the country. Today’s Triple Crown preps start in New York with Aqueduct’s Gotham Stakes and continue in California with last year’s 2-year-old champion, Stardom Bound, the heavy favorite in the Santa Anita Oaks. But the capper for today’s outstanding racing is the Santa Anita Handicap — the Big ‘Cap — the race the great Seabiscuit won in 1940, the fixture that attracted an all-time record crowd to the Great Race Place in 1985 when Lord At War won in front of 85,527 fans.

Perhaps the Big ‘Cap hasn’t been quite as prominent since the Dubai World Cup took the spotlight away from winter racing for the handicap horses when it was inaugurated in 1996. It still carries a $1-million purse and carries Grade 1 status, along with a whole lot of prestige.

I’ll be providing commentary for the next few hours, beginning with the Gotham Stakes, won with a huge performance by California invader  I Want Revenge, who pressed Mr. Fantasy on the lead for the opening seven furlongs, then kicked away at the top of the stretch to score by a wide margin–my guess in nine lengths. Imperial Council got up for second, just edging Mr. Fantasy at the wire, with  Masala fourth. Final time on a fast track was 1:42.65 for the 1 1/16 miles after fractions of :23.76, :48.45, 1:12.69 and 1:36.46. 

This was the first "off synthetic" race for the Jeff Mullins-trained  son of Stephen Got Even, who was coming off a third-place finish behind Pioneerof the Nile in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes on Santa Anita’s Pro-Ride surface. Joe Talamo has been in the saddle for the last five starts of I Want Revenge (pictured, left), who races for David Lanzman.  It was I Want Revenge’s second win in seven starts, but he’s never been worse than third, after beginning his career at Hollywood Park last July and breaking his maiden in his fourth start in October at Hollywood Park, his first race around two turns.

Back to the Big ‘Cap for a second. If you haven’t seen the YouTube video of Seabiscuit’s victory, check this out by clicking here.

4:46 p.m. (Eastern) …. Jeff Mullins is hot. His first-timer Leavenworth just aired in the fourth race at Santa Anita, a 6 1/2-furlong maiden event for 3-year-olds. Son of Forest Wildcast was ridden by Tyler Baze and drew down the stretch impressively. On to Nicarnor’s second race…

4:51 p.m. … Well, that was more like it. Nicanor (Barbaro’s full brother if you didn’t know) finished a game second at 8-1 behind 4-5 favorite Custom for Carlos in a seven-furlong maiden race at Gulfstream Park. Under Jose Lezcano, Nicanor broke well from the nine post, took the lead while setting fractions of :22.83 and :46.57 for the half, then yielded at the top of the stretch to Custon for Carlos , who was just off Nicanor’s outside flank from the beginning. It looked as though Nicanor might fade back as he did in his Jan. 31 debut (when he grabbed a quarter coming out of the gate) but he kept to his task, and was actually cutting back into Custom for Carlos’ lead when they hit the wire. Custom for Carlos (a More Than Ready colt trained by Eddie Kenneally and ridden by Kent Desormeaux) won by about a length, getting the distance in 1:23.55 after a six-furlong split of 1:10.55. 

All in all, a good race for Nicanor. I’d like to see him stretch out next time, though I’m certainly not going to second guess trainer Michael Matz. Chart.

4:58 p.m. … Here are the quotes from the New York Racing Association from the connections of Gotham Stakes runners. I particularly enjoyed Kiaran McLaughlin’s comments wondering why Jeff Mullins and I Want Revenge didn’t stay on the West Coast.

5:30 p.m. … A lot of early money on another Brian Koriner runner, Hannahs Classy Boy, in the sixth race, a downhill turf allowance. He is 15-1 on morning line and 9-2 early. 

5:35 p.m.  …. Regarding Edgar Prado not riding Nicanor at Gulfstream. As much as I’m sure he’d like to have been on the colt, when any jockey has a chance to win a $1-million race, money trumps maiden races. Prado is at Santa Anita riding that terrific card, including Monba for Todd Pletcher in the Big ‘Cap.

5:40 p.m. … Here’s the answer about why HRTV and TVG both showed the Gotham Stakes on tape delay. Fran LaBelle of the New York Racing Association tells us that "the rights to the Gotham are part of the Belmont Stakes agreement with ESPN/ABC. Although they chose not to broadcast the race, we did not get their OK for anyone else to show it live, so we asked both HRTV and TVG to show the race on a delay." How’s that for arrogance — not on the part of NYRA but by ESPN/ABC? They have the rights to televise a race live, but elect not to show it and don’t want anyone else to, either. Who gets the shaft? You tell me.

5:42 p.m. … Jeannie, you are correct  in your comment about Gomez picking up those mounts. My mistake. Prado was named to ride. Will have to see what happened.

5:45 p.m. … How’s this for back-to-back Big ‘Cap winners? Affirmed in 1979 (the first Santa Anita Handicap I saw in person), followed by Spectacular Bid, the best horse I’ve seen in my lifetime. Video of 1979 and 1980.

5:50 p.m. … From Gulfstream Park publicity department, here are comments on Nicanor’s second-place finish from connections of the winner and Nicanor.

6:30 p.m. .. The much-awaited interview with Michael Iavarone of IEAH, who has backed off a little bit on his ambition of running Stardom Bound against colts in the Kentucky, "My exuberance after the Las Virgenes might have been a little accelerated," he says during an interview on HRTV. After that victory, Iavarone said the Kentucky Derby was the absolute goal. A good win will probably get her a chance against colts in the Santa Anita Derby, Iavarone says, but he’s taking it one race at a time. Gary Stevens says the daughter of Tapit has been tough to gallop all week, and he hopes jockey Mike Smith can get her off the rail and relaxed in the race.

They are approaching the gate, with Stardom Bound 1-5 and no one else in single digits. Miss Silver Brook is second choice at 10-1.

6:38 p.m. … Wow….what a wild stretch run, with four noses on the line. Not sure if Stardom Bound got her nose up. Stardom Bound was last early and rallied about eight wide into the stretch. 

Stardom Bound gets the head-bob photo. Third Dawn, a longshot by Sky Mesa who had just broken her maiden last out for John Sadler, was narrowly beaten…probably by a nose.  There’s a good chance Third Dawn would have been taken down, however, as she shifted out into the path of Stardom Bound with about a sixteenth of a mile to run. Also in the photo was Hooh Why, another nose back, with Nan about a head behind her on the rail in fourth.

There was a stewards inquiry but no change was made in the order of finish.

Burg Berg set the slow early fractions of :23.78, :47.54, and 1:12.12 for the first six furlongs, with Hooh Why and Robbie Albarado not far behind. Hooh Why moved to the front at the top of the stretch, but several fillies were on her heels. One of them, Miss Silver Brook, had to check sharply about 70 yards from the wire. Final time was 1:43.62 after a mile split of 1:37.17.

"Extremely wide, jockey error on my part," Mike Smith said after the race when asked  on HRTV how wide he went. "I was anywhere from 15 to 20 at one point," he said. "I’m just so grateful that she’s so talented." 

"I need a defibrillator right now," Iavarone told HRTV a few minutes after the race was declared official. "I think she worked pretty hard today against the girls. She’s going to really have to improve herself to be able to handle horses like Pioneerof the Nile. But I’m going to talk it over with the guys and see what they think. If they think that they want to go forward, then I’m willing to go forward. But she worked pretty hard against the girls today."

This was Stardom Bound’s fifth consecutive victory in a Grade 1 stakes. She lost her career debut sprinting by a nose at Del Mar, then was second in the Grade 2 Sorrento Stakes at Del Mar. She broke her maiden in the Del Mar Debutante, then reeled off wins in the Oak Leaf Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies and Las Virgines, the latter her first start of 2009. She raced for Charles Cono and trainer Chris Paasch through the Breeders’ Cup and was sold for $5.7 million to IEAH at Fasig-Tipton Kentucky in November and transferred to Robert Frankel.

Oaks Chart.

7:05 p.m. …. Santa Anita publicity department quotes…

MIKE SMITH, STARDOM BOUND, WINNER: “It seemed like she got lost out there early. We had a terrible trip. When I moved out with her turning for home, everybody else went out at the same time and we got caught really wide. From the sixteenth pole home, I thought we could grind ‘em down, but I was worried. At the wire though, she put her ears up and she was playing with the pony coming back. Maybe this is the kind of race she needed. I guess you could say it was a not-so-heady ride.”   

7:06 p.m. … Line of the day from Jeff Siegel of HRTV. "Not a bad warm-up race," he said of the Oaks.

7:30 p.m. … While I quickly down a dinner before the Kilroe and Big ‘Cap, thought I’d link to one of the best Big ‘Caps I ever attended. Here’s the video.

7:35 p.m. …. To answer an earlier question: Would Stardom Bound have won by more if not forced to alter course late? Yes, I think so, but she wouldn’t have won by more than a neck. As Frankel said, she ran 10 lengths farther than anyone else.

What a nice tribute HRTV has put together in honor of the late Frank E. (Jimmy) Kilroe, the longtime director of racing at Santa Anita. He was from another era, when racing secretaries were opinionated in assigning weights to horses and stuck by their opinions. Times have changed, and with so many other opportunities handicaps are no longer relevant.

7:45 p.m. … Is Ventura really that good? The Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint winner is even-money in her second try against colts in North America, her first try resulting in a second-place finish behind Rahy’s Attorney in the Woodbine Mile last fall on yielding turf.

7:50 p.m. … Ventura’s trainer, Robert Frankel, said he wants her to be up close to the pace, in the first flight, behind Hewitts, in the Kilroe Mile. He told HRTV he was very proud of Stardom Bound, but I wonder what he might have said if asked about Mike Smith’s ride. Probably something not fit for the family hour on television….which reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from a trainer about a jockey. Charlie Whittingham, when he trained Gato del Sol (in his later years), was stunned when jockey Sandy Hawley took the late-running Kentucky Derby winner to the lead early in a mile and one-half turf race. "If I had a rifle, I would have shot him out of the saddle," Whittingham joked.

7:57 p.m. … It just doesn’t get any better. Ventura looked like a sure winner of the Grade 1 Kilroe Mile at the eighth pole, opened what looked like a safe lead, but got nipped right on the money by the fast-finishing Gio Ponti, to lose by a nose…the photo makes it look like about two inches. Ramon Dominguez rode the winner for trainer Christophe Clement. Gio Ponti is a 4-year-old colt by Tale of the Cat whose biggest previous win came in the  Virginia Derby when he beat Court Vision by a nose.

Jockey Garrett Gomez said Ventura "took a couple of steps in (at the sixteenth pole), and I had to straighten her back up." Gomez took Ventura back to fifth off the early pace set by Hewitts, who laid down fractions of :23.26, :46.31 and 1:09.86 on firm turf. Hewitts was under pressure from Wise River down the backstretch. Dixie Chatter made the first run at the lead at the top of the stretch, but Ventura edged passed him inside the eighth pole and appeared to be en route to the win. But Gio Ponti (pictured, left) came flying down the outside to just get up, completing the distance in 1:33.65 after a seven-furlong split of 1:21.69.

Ramon Dominguez said he talked with Clemente earlier in the day for instructions on how to ride Gio Ponti, who was coming off a fifth-place finish in the Strub Stakes behind Cowboy Cal on Feb. 7. "He told me to try and save ground and wait as long as I could," Dominguez said. "I was trying to follow Ventura, who seemed like she was getting a great trip, and from then on it was going to really be a horse race."

The Kilroe was the sixth win in 11 starts for Gio Ponti, who races for Castleton Lyons. Chart.

8:10 p.m. … A couple more memories of the Santa Anita Handicap. The Bid ‘Cap was always the biggest day of the Santa Anita meeting when I lived in Southern California, and it still attracts crowds of between 40,000 and 50,000 on-track. But I don’t think anyone was prepared for the crowd that showed up in 1985, the year Lord At War won the race for Peter Perkins, trainer Charlie Whittingham and jockey Bill Shoemaker. That day, a total of 85,527 turned out, an all-time Santa Anita record. The atmosphere was incredible.

There were "only" 72,752 at Santa Anita three years earlier when John Henry went for his second consecutive Big "Cap win, and that was another truly exciting day. John Henry won easily the previous year (with good old Flying Paster among those chasing him home), but he was in for the stretch duel of his life (except, perhaps the Arlington Million against The Bart) against the Whittingham trained Perrault in the 1982 Santa Anita Handicap. Laffit Pincay Jr. used all of his strength to get Perrault to the wire first, but his left-handed whipping caused the horse to drift out significantly, impeding John Henry, who got the victory via disqualification. It’s something you hate to see in a Grade 1 race, but the stewards made the only call they could.

Here’s a recap of John Henry’s two wins in the Big ‘Cap, including the head-on of the stretch run between John Henry and Perrault. Video.  Honestly, watching the replays and just thinking about the excitement of Santa Anita that afternoon sends shivers up and down my spine. 

8:25 p.m. …. OK, Christine, because you mentioned Broad Brush’s sire, Ack Ack, here’s the video of his Big ‘Cap win. Another win for Charlie Whittingham, the second of his eight Santa Anita Handicap wins. There was nobody that could train an older horse like the Bald Eagle could, and later in life he showed he could even win the Kentucky Derby a time or two! Video of Ack Ack.

8:30 p.m. … HRTV’s ace handicapper Jeff Siegal picks longshot Monba in the Big ‘Cap. I’m going with Court Vision, who hasn’t been on a synthetic track since breaking his maiden at Keeneland. They are loading into the starting gate….

8:35 p.m. … Einstein wins the Big ‘Cap under Julien Leparoux, getting a perfect trip from just off a very slow pace, winning easily under high weight of 121 pounds. Champs Elysees finished well to get second ahead of Matto Mondo, who set the pace, with Monba fourth. According to HRTV, the Helen Pitts-Blase runner was the first East Coast based horse to win the Santa Anita Handicap since Broad Brush beat Ferdinand. 

Blue Exit was pulled up approaching the far turn with a fractured cannon bone, was vanned off and later euthanized, according to Santa Anita’s publicity department.

"We got a good pace, not too fast, not too slow," said Leparoux. "When you are behind horses like this it is very easy to relax, and he’s a good horse." "It’s an unbelievable feeling," said Pitts-Blase. "He means the world to me and it’s my biggest win."

Matto Mondo, who was co-favored with Court Vision at 9-2, set fractions of :24.52, :48.31, 1:12.93, and 1:35.59 under Rafael Bejarano. Einstein was never far behind and moved to the lead at the top of the stretch, gaining command at the eighth pole and drawing off to win by about a length. Final time was 2:01.93 for the 10 furlongs on the synthetic Pro-Ride surface. Colonel John, the morning line favorite, was scratched by trainer Eoin Harty when he spiked a temperature on Saturday morning.

Einstein was winning for the 10th time in 24 starts (his first time on synthetics). He races for the Midnight Cry Stable, which also owned two-time Horse of the Year Curlin when he broke his maiden and retained a minority interest in the horse for the remainder of his career. Pitts was Curlin’s trainer when he broke his maiden.

Santa Anita Handicap chart. Will try to get an update on Blue Exit. But otherwise, that’s it for Big ‘Cap day.

Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report

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Have you ever been to one of those business meetings where the boss calls his managers together and “wants feedback” on an idea that, it’s clear to see, he has already decided to put into play? That’s what Thursday’s Congressional hearing, entitled “Breeding, Drugs, and Breakdowns: The State of Thoroughbred Horseracing and the Welfare of the Thoroughbred,” was all about.

The members of the subcommittee on commerce, trade and consumer protection weren’t at all interested in getting feedback from a broad mix of Thoroughbred industry participants. If they were, they would have invited track owners, jockeys and someone representing the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium to testify.

Most glaring, however, was the absence of any racing fans and horseplayers — the people who fuel the entire multi-billionaire-dollar industry with their bets. They would have had plenty to say. Where were all the fans?

Thursday’s hearing was all about reinforcing the predetermined opinion by some - if not all - of the subcommittee members that racing and breeding is in dire need of some form of federal intervention. It was a two-act play, masterfully choreographed by acting chairwoman Jan Schakowsky of Illinois and ranking Republican Ed Whitfield of Kentucky, who tipped their hand that they will try and amend the Interstate Horseracing Act to employ guidelines that could radically change how the sport is regulated and conducted.

Many of racing’s numerous flaws were exposed during the three-hour hearing, which came to an abrupt end when the members were called to the floor of the House of Representatives for a vote. The happiest man in the room when that happened was National Thoroughbred Racing Association CEO Alex Waldrop, the last of a dozen speakers providing testimony. House members were interrupted just before a question and answer session got under way in which Waldrop was likely going to be grilled.

In short order, those problems are:

- Drugs have contributed to a decline of the Thoroughbred breed and Thoroughbred racing

- Research, drug testing programs and horse rescue/retraining efforts are severely underfunded

- The lack of a central authority or national regulatory standards, and the existence of state-by-state regulations, have led to dysfunction

- Existing industry organizations and perceived industry leaders have failed miserably to address the problems successfully

Allowing Congress to interfere with any industry is a frightening thought, given some of the pointless and idiotic questions directed at the two panels. For example, if one of the Congressman had his way, inbreeding would be banned. What’s next, nicking? However, doing nothing under the present industry leadership is the greatest risk we can take.

The uninformed comment about inbreeding was far from being the most outrageous aspect of Thursday’s hearing. It was the complete absence, both in body and spirit, of the racing fan and horseplayer. To my knowledge there was only one mention of fans (by Waldrop, in response to a question) throughout the day, as if they didn’t exist. Let’s not forget that the word “consumer” is part of this subcommittee’s name.

Shame on the committee for not including racing’s ultimate consumers who fuel the industry’s revenue engine.

The NTRA is attempting to put together a coalition of horseplayers, but the NTRA’s track record is not exactly inspiring on many levels. But before we bludgeon that 10-year-old organization to death, it should be pointed out that divisiveness, lack of trust and reticence from other alphabet groups (TOBA, TJC, HBPA, THA, TOC, AAEP, RCI, TRA et al) to give up control emasculated the NTRA and prevented it from having the national oversight and major league commission office status it was designed to have.

Jockey Club CEO Alan Marzelli was pressed hardest by House members and ultimately came out looking the worst of all the industry experts during the hearing. When asked what authority the Jockey Club has to ban steroids and enact other recommendations of its safety committee, Marzelli said it has the “power of persuasion.” It was a pitiful and embarrassing moment for the industry, or a bad attempt by Marzelli to imitate Don Corleone of The Godfather.

The Jockey Club’s same power of persuasion has been ineffective on getting a national license for racehorse owners. If that power of persuasion was so strong, a national owner’s license would have happened 20 years ago when the Jockey Club created an ownership registry, which could have been a first step toward that goal. That boat never left the dock. Instead, we have a patchwork system of state licensing that is a poster child for the industry’s complete and total dysfunction when it comes to regulatory oversight. Look at the situation involving Curlin’s minority owners, the Midnight Cry Stable. Their horse, Einstein, couldn’t run in New York on Belmont Stakes Day because of licensing problems, but could run at Churchill Downs a week later because Kentucky has different licensing rules.

If the Jockey Club’s power of persuasion isn’t strong enough to get something as simple as a national owner’s license accomplished, how can we count on the same failed leaders to persuade 38 state agencies to uniformly ban steroids and enact other necessary change to move the sport forward?

By Ray Paulick

Copyright ©2008, The Paulick Report