Posts Tagged ‘fair grounds’

By Ray Paulick
 What’s that old expression often repeated in the legal world: He who represents himself has a fool for a client? I think a similar statement can be said of some horse owners: He who makes decisions on where and when his horses should run has a fool for a trainer.

That phrase came to mind, not once, but twice this week when the owners of two of America’s highest-profile Thoroughbreds, Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra and early Kentucky Derby favorite Eskendereya, made the type of decisions that are better left to their trainers. And the real trainers of these two horses, Steve Asmussen and Todd Pletcher, respectively, are anything but fools. Both are locks to someday be inducted into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame.

Jess Jackson struck first when he issued a press release Sunday declaring Rachel Alexandra out of the April 9 Apple Blossom Invitational at Oaklawn Park, less than 24 hours after she was defeated in the New Orleans Ladies at Fair Grounds.

“Yesterday’s race while a disappointment, helped us define Rachel Alexandra’s racing condition,” Jackson said. “While she is healthy, just as I had anticipated, she is not in top form. Therefore, I decided today she will not be going to the Oaklawn Invitational on April 9. Steve and I discussed this fully and we now regret we tried to accelerate her training in order meet the Apple Blossom schedule. We have a whole season before us to help define her greatness. She will tell us when her next race will be.”

The key phrase in the above paragraph is “Therefore, I decided…”

Only a few hours earlier, the Fair Grounds media office sent out the following comments from Asmussen, a two-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer: “We don’t have any negative indications yet today. Like anything, you want to be 100% and if you’re not you go from there. We don’t have any negative this morning other than the loss and the hurt feelings of yesterday. Our main concern is how Rachel feels and her well-being and we’re very pleased with her today.”

Two days later, Ahmed Zayat made a decision to pull his Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth winner Eskendereya from an intended start in this Saturday’s Florida Derby and have Pletcher instead send him to Aqueduct for the Wood Memorial on April 3.

“The main issue is timing,” Zayat was quoted in Daily Racing Form as saying. “I’m not really comfortable off the six weeks (the gap between the Florida Derby and Kentucky Derby). If I’m genuine about the Kentucky Derby, I need to give the prep I want to make sure he peaks on the right day.”

Zayat, who has been sued by Fifth Third Bank over alleged delinquency on a $34-million loan and has put his racing stable in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, like Jackson has owned racehorses for only a few years. Apparently, he thinks he knows more about training a Thoroughbred than Pletcher, a four-time Eclipse Award winner.

Earlier in the week, Pletcher was quoted in the Miami Herald saying he thought six weeks between starts was just right for Eskendereya. “He won an allowance (at Gulfstream) six weeks out from the Fountain of Youth,” Pletcher said. “So, six weeks seems like good spacing for him.”

Cynics may be thinking Jackson and Zayat–two owners with immodestly sized egos—might be fibbing about their decisions. In the case of Jackson, the real reason to skip the Apple Blossom could be based more on the winning performance by unbeaten champion Zenyatta at Santa Anita the same afternoon Rachel Alexandra lost. He can’t be blamed for wanting no part of Zenyatta at Oaklawn, and for that I say he’s nobody’s fool.

Zayat’s reason could be entirely different. The beleaguered owner has been entertaining offers to sell all or part of Eskendereya to help satisfy his loan obligations, and it’s possible he wants to finalize a deal before the son of Giant’s Causeway makes his next start.

I hope that’s the case. If Zayat thinks he can train a horse better than Pletcher, he really is a fool.

Copyright © 2010, The Paulick Report

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By Ray Paulick
There has been a lot of talk since Charles Cella shocked the racing world with his $5 million Apple Blossom gambit comparing the proposed Rachel Alexandra - Zenyatta confrontation at Oaklawn Park with the storied match race between Triple Crown hero War Admiral and the great Seabiscuit. Jess Jackson, the owner of Rachel Alexandra, likes to talk about how he saw Seabiscuit race in California during his youth. But does Jackson remember that Seabiscuit was defeated in his final race before the match with War Admiral, just as Rachel Alexandra lost her 2010 debut Saturday at Fair Grounds?

I went to the source on all things Seabiscuit, Laura Hillenbrand, the author of Seabiscuit: An American Legend and asked for her thoughts on yesterday’s performances that went from the agony of defeat for Rachel Alexandra’s camp to the thrill of victory for those backing Zenyatta. Here are Laura Hillenbrand’s thoughts comparing the two rivalries:

There are obvious limits to the parallels one can draw between Seabiscuit-War Admiral and Rachel-Zenyatta.  But what came to mind as I watched Rachel lose, and Zenyatta win, is that past is not always precedent in such meetings.  War Admiral’s last start before the match race was the Jockey Club Gold Cup, and he won it much as Zenyatta won her race–under wraps, in smashing style.  In his last start prior to the match, Seabiscuit was soundly beaten by the soon-to-be champion three-year-old filly, Jacola.  He was carrying 24 pounds more than Jacola, and encountered traffic trouble, but she beat him rather impressively, breaking the track record at Laurel.  Seabiscuit’s loss made War Admiral even more of a favorite in the match race, but Seabiscuit’s trainer, Tom Smith, wasn’t the least bit worried.  The losing effort brought Seabiscuit’s fitness to the place he needed it to be, and he trounced War Admiral a little more than two weeks later.

Zenyatta’s connections were surely hoping to preserve her unbeaten record; for Rachel, a loss would be a much smaller deal, so perhaps they could afford to have her a little less fit, in the service of having her peak in the Apple Blossom.

Times have changed and horses are handled far differently today, but am I crazy in suggesting that there could still be an Apple Blossom between these two with Rachel winning, just as Seabiscuit not only went on to face War Admiral but defeated him soundly?

Copyright © 2010, The Paulick Report

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Kate Hunter wins the prize for traveling the farthest to see Rachel Alexandra at Fair Grounds in New Orleans on Saturday, coming all the way from Tokyo, Japan. Actually, Hunter, a native of Nashville, Tenn., is an English teacher in Tokyo who was back home on a school break but decided to go forego family and hop in a car for the drive to Louisiana.

Paulick Report asked if she would mind sending us a brief account of her experience at the Fair Grounds, whether Rachel Alexandra won or lost.

Hunter writes her own blog on Japanese racing at www.keiblog.net and takes racing photos in Japan for Bloodhorse.com. Following is her recap of the mood at the Fair Grounds after the reigning Horse of the Year suffered her first loss in more than 15 months. –Ray Paulick
 

By Kate Hunter
You wouldn’t have known that Rachel Alexandra had lost her 2010 debut by listening to the reaction of the crowd as she made her way back toward the grandstand to be unsaddled. The cheers and applause were just as loud after the race as they had been during the post parade.

People of all ages and from far away places were there to see the 2009 Horse of the Year in action and to cheer her on, no matter what the results were. Racing fans from all around the United States came to the Fair Grounds on March 13tto see the inaugural New Orleans Ladies Stakes and their favorite racehorse. New York, California, Tennessee, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Arkansas, and of course Louisiana were there to lend their support.

Between all of the hats, signs, shirts, hoots and hollers, it felt more like a rock concert than a horse race. Track officials hoped for about 10,000 people to visit their dear Fair Grounds, and they might have gotten close. There were so many people in attendance that late comers had to park in the stable area. This ended up delaying Rachel’s return to her stall by almost an hour, since hundreds of race fans found themselves trying to navigate their way to an exit, through the racetracks vast stables.
 
Even after hearing about Zenyatta’s victory, Rachel’s fans held to their beliefs that their girl would win when she finally does meet trainer John Sherriffs’ other mare whose name also starts with Z. They justify their belief by the 11-plus lengths between second place Rachel  Alexandra and third place Unforgotten, and the fact she fought back so hard down the stretch. "Rachel Mania" won’t let a second  place finish rain on their parade.

By Ray Paulick
There are a lot of people sitting on pins and needles in Hot Springs, Ark., this afternoon, all waiting to see what happens at Santa Anita Park and Fair Grounds when two-time champion Zenyatta and Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra make their 2010 debuts in anticipation of their long-awaited match-up, scjheduled to take place  in the $5-million Apple Blossom Invitational at Oaklawn Park on April 9.

From the hotel and motel owners, bar and restaurant operators, the folks who sell their front lawns for parking spaces to souvenir stand concessionaires and Oaklawn Park owner Charles Cella, everyone has the same question: Will they both show up?

Consensus seems to be in the 50/50 to 60/40 range that the Battle of the Amazons will take place, though anyone who’s been following Rachel Alexandra’s camp carefully in recent days wouldn’t be surprised to see Jess Jackson burst racing’s bubble and say his filly won’t come to Hot Springs.

Behind the scenes, there have been discussions for national television for the Apple Blossom, though the Paulick Report has learned that NBC Sports, which will have its camera and crew in place at Oaklawn Park for the April 10 Arkansas Derby, has passed on the opportunity.

If that’s the case, the best opportunity for the Apple Blossom will be on ESPN, which is currently scheduled to show the second round of the Masters golf tournament from 4-7 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) If the published reports of the last couple of days are true and Tiger Woods makes his comeback in the Masters, and has an afternoon tee time for the second round, a 7-8p.m. Eastern time slot would have a terrific lead-in audience.
 
Sunset in Hot Springs will be around 8:35 p.m. (Eastern Time), and track officials are planning to put the Apple Blossom very late on the card. Thus, it’s possible the race could go off at close to prime time in the East Coast and a reasonable time for a wide viewing audience in the Midwest. But many West Coast are more likely to be sitting in their car on a freeway at post time for the Apple Blossom.

A further indication of ESPN’s interest in the Apple Blossom could come later today when they may cut in to SportsCenter to show Rachel Alexandra’s and Zenyatta’s comeback races. Let’s all hope for a safe journey for both of racing’s superstars.

Today’s attendance at Oaklawn is probably in the vicinity of 25,000, and it’s not easy to navigate through the crowd lined up for beers, food and wagering inside the gr7andstand (not to mention the long line for the ladies room). I can’t imagine what this place will be like on April 9 if Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra are here.

5 p.m. … Oaklawn Park’s general manager, Eric Jackson, stopped by the press box and updated the Paulick Report on plans for the Apple Blossom. It looks pretty the certain the race will be run at 7:45 p.m. (Eastern) as the 11th and final race on the program. Jackson said. That makes a one-hour ESPN spot all the more likely following hte Masters from Augusta. While some will complain that racing needed to be on a broadcast network, the 7-8 p.m. timeslot on the networks belongs to local affiliates who fill the hour with trash like "Access Hollywood," "Entertainment Tonight" or with game shows like "Jeopardy" and "Wheel of Fortune." 

Jackson talked bluntly about the economics of offering a $5-million purse for the big race. "God bless Charles Cella,"  Jackson said. "From a sporting standpoint, this is one of the greatest gestures in the history of the sport. From a business standpoint, as I said to the racing commission, it’s the dumbest thing Oaklawn Park has ever done.

"We can’t make a dime," said Jackson, indicating the Friday of the "Racing Festival of the South" would have been a sellout with or without the two champions. "But that didn’t enter into Charlie’s thinking on this."

Prices will remain the same as usual at Oaklawn Park on Apple Blossom (hot tip–the Reuben sandwich for $6.50 is a steal), though private parking lot operators said they will charge as much as $50 a spot (up from $20 on Rebel Stakes Day). The infield will be open, and for the first time Oaklawn will have hospitality and corporate sponsor tents there–even though they don’t have any corporate sponsors yet. "We had a staff meeting when we first came up with this and someone said, ‘You want us to do in seven weeks what most people have a year to do?’" Jackson said. "I told them, ‘No, we actually have eight weeks now.’"

Handicapper Paul Skelton tried to convince Jackson the Apple Blossom day races will be stronger along with the following day’s Arkansas Derby because horsemen shipping in will sent other horses to fit the card. Jackson thought about it for a second and said, "Okay, maybe now we’ll only lose $4.7 million instead of five. That makes me feel a whole lot better."

So it all comes down to what Bill Murray’s character in "Caddyshack," Carl Spackler, got the time he caddied for the Dalai Lama and got stiffed on his tip. "I say, ‘Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know.’ And he says, ‘Oh, uh, there won’t be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consiousness.’ So I got that goin’ for me, which is nice.

So will Charles Cella and Eric Jackson. Gunga galunga.

5:40 p.m. …  Well, if the Tampa Bay Derby is any indication of how this day is going to go, it could get a little strange. Odysseus, making his stakes debut after romping to a 15-length allowance/optional claiming win at Tampa Bay, surged to the lead right at the wire to edge Schoolyard Dreams by a nose in a weirdly contested race. Super Saver, the 3-2 favorite who set fractions of :23.52, :47.02, 1:11.74, and 1:37.42, was a close third for trainer Todd Pletcher.  Final time for the 1 1/16 miles was 1:44.37.

Rajiv Maragh had Odysseus in a perfect striking position throughout the Tampa Bay Derby but the Malibu Moon colt looked to be struggling at the top of the stretch, falling back to fourth or fifth position when Schoolyard Dreams moved to the lead. But as Schoolyard Dreams and Super Saver battled in the final sixteenth, Odysseus squeezed between them and had just enough to get up at the wire and win in a head-bobbing finish. Local hope Uptowncharlybrown had a rough trip from the rail, having to block and steady around the final turn before winding up fifth. Gleam of Hope was pinched back to last after the start but rallied into contention on the stretch turn before fading to fourth.

The winner races for Satish Sanan and family’s Padua Stables and was the 2-1 second choice in the wagering. The $250,000 OBS March 2-year-old purchase, bred in Kentucky by Haymarket Farm and Lakemont Stable, is trained by Tom Albertrani.

Tampa Bay Derby chart.

6 p.m. … Saw Airdrie Stud owner and former Kentucky Gov. Brereton Jones  earlier in the card and didn’t think much of it when he said he’d only been to Oaklawn Park three other times, and each  time he ended up winning a graded stakes race on the day. "Of course, I don’t really know if we belong in this field," Jones said about his filly No Such Word’s chances in the Grade 3 Honeybee Stakes. All I could think about as the Canadian Frontier 3-year-old filly pulled away from favorite Beautician and the rest of the Honeybee Stakes was "Thanks, Gov!" The filly is trained by Cindy Jones, whose husband, retired trainer Larry Jones, is one of the most recognizable hotwalkers in all of racing.

6:16 p.m. … The fillies are walking toward the starting gate for the New Orleans Ladies and I notice that Rachel Alexandra has taken about $975,000 of the $1 million in wagers in the show pool.

6:20 p.m. … It got awfully quiet at Oaklawn Park when Zardana pulled up alongside Rachel Alexandra  and then went right on by in the stretch run of the Ladies to win by three-quarters of a length. Trainer Steve Asmussen has been telling anyone who would listen that he’s concerned Rachel wasn’t quite fit enough, and guess what? He was right. 

Zardana, coming off a fourth-place finish in the Santa Maria Handicap for John Shirreffs–YES, THAT JOHN SHIRREFFS, also the trainer of Zenyatta–is a Grade 2 winner of the Bayakoa Handicap at Hollywood Park who was ridden to perfection by David Flores. Zardana settled into third position  while Fighter Wing set fractions of :23.84, :47.22 and 1:12.86 for six furlongs.  Calvin Borel had Rachel Alexandra second early, racing wide around the first turn and then just off the leader down the backstretch while appearing a bit eager. She moved to the front before hitting the far turn, but was quickly under attack from Zardana, who had all the momentum entering the stretch. Rachel Alexandra fought back, feeling the sting of Borel’s whip four times from the left hand four times from the right, but then the rider wrapped up on the filly when defeat was certain.

The winner, a Brazilian-bred daughter of Crimson Tide was winning for the eighth time in 19 starts. She is owned by Arnold Zetcher. Zardana paid $21 to win on a $2 mutuel. Unforgotten was a distant third, followed by Fighter Wing and Clear Sailing.

Here’s the New Orleans Ladies Chart.

6:45 p.m. … Zenyatta did her job, winning the Santa Margarita with yet another dramatic stretch run. More in a few minutes, but let me just say that Mike Smith did one hell of a job negotiating through traffic at the top of the stretch, then swinging ooff the fence and winning comfortably without ever going to the whip.

6:52 p.m. … Champion Lookin At Lucky just got up to win the Rebel, defeating Noble’s Promise by a nose, with Dublin third. That wasn’t what I would call a comfortable win, and I’m not thinking Lookin At Lucky looks like a horse who has another three-sixteenths of a mile in him.

6:55 p.m. … Planning to escape the press box for a while and catch the post-Rebel press conference. Back in a little bit. Need to catch my breath. Too many exciting races in too short a time.

7:30 p.m. … Horses in the paddock for the day’s final 3-year-old prep,. the San Felipe at Santa Anita.

7:35 p.m. … I asked one of Lookin At Lucky’s co-owners, Mike Pegram (pictured, left), if he thought after today’s narrow win in the Rebel if he thought the Smart Strike colt could get a mile and a quarter for the Kentucky Derby, and he had a quick response. "Mickey Mantle never knew he could hit a curveball till they threw him one. This horse is an athlete."

Trainer Bob Baffert said jockey Robby Albarado aboard Noble’s Promise put Looking At Lucky in a box near the half-mile pole and said jockey Garrett Gomez told him he got bounced around a little near that point of the race. Watching the head-on replay as the horses were pulling up when Gomez could be seen saying something to Albarado. "Look, he’s telling him something," Baffert said, "He’s saying, ‘You sonofabitch!’"

Dublin ran a solid third behind the top pair after moving toward the lead at the top of the stretch.

7:50 p.m. … Like taking candy from a baby. That’s how easy the win by Sidney’s Candy was in the San Felipe. Under jockey Joe Talamo, the John Sadler-trained colt cruised through soft fractions of :24.39 for the opening quarter mile, :48.55, 1:13.53 and 1:36.26 en route to a final clocking for the 1 1/16 miles of 1:42.30. Interactif chased early and late, finishing second, beaten about a length, with American Lion third after taking back off the early pace while wearing blinkers for the first time. Sidney’s Candy was coming off an easy win in the seven-furlong San Vicente Stakes, so this was the Candy Ride colt’s first try around two turns.Sadler’s other entrant, Dave in Dixie, a stretchrunner, never fired.

8:00 p.m. … I am still in absolute awe of Zenyatta and the manner in which she won the Santa Margarita, spotting from 11 to 15 pounds to her rivals and coming off a four-month layoff. Today’s win was "only" by 1 1/4 lengths, and the filly that finished second, a 51-1 shot named Dance to My Turn, is obviously not a world beater. But when Smith was caught in traffic at the top of the stretch more than a few people watching the telecast around me said ‘She’s gonna lose.’ But just as in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, Smith found room along the inside (he’s not Five-Wide Mike any more), then guided her into the clear to make a breathtaking run to the lead in a matter of strides.

I don’t want to get in the 2009 Horse of the Year debate, but those who continue to put Zenyatta down mystify me. What more could they possibly want her to do? 15-for-15 is pretty darned good.

Here’s the Santa Margarita chart.

8:25 p.m. … Media relations director and race caller Terry Wallace stopped by for a chat and you could feel a great sense of disappoint about the Apple Blossom from him—not that the race or the day will be any less exciting for racing fans (with or without Rachel Alexandra, since Zenyatta is scheduled to come here either way). "If both fillies were to come here off a win, this would have really given the sport something it needed,"  Wallace said. "It will still be a big day, but this really took the starch out of the sails." He agreed that it would be like a prize fighter losing his warm-up bout before a championship boxing match against an opponent he’d never faced. Racing people understand that prep races are meant to get horses ready for something bigger down the road, but the general sports fan or non-racing media person might not. The New Orleans Ladies should be viewed with the same significance as a spring training game for Major League Baseball or a pre-season game in the NFL.

The only problem with that philosophy is that Jess Jackson wants to win them all, and now that Rachel has lost carrying his silks I’m afraid he will back out of the Apple Blossom,. even though veteran horsemen I spoke with after the New Orleans Ladies thought it was an excellent prep race for Rachel Alexandra.

8:45 p.m. … Bouncing around yet again, I want to revisit the Rebel Stakes. Lookin At Lucky really had a rough trip, according to the Equibase footnotes: "Lookin At Lucky, bothered start, settled off the pace and on the inside, jumped across Noble’s Promise heels when that one came out just outside the half-mile marker, quickly recovered, advanced four wide into contention turning for home, set down, late bid, gained the nod in a game effort."

"There was a lot of race riding going on. They put him in a spot," said Baffert, who said he got exactly what he wanted out of the Rebel, whether Lookin At Lucky had gotten up to win or not. "This was kind of a Kentucky Derby experience he got." Baffert hasn’t been to Oaklawn Park for over a decade, but said he really liked the dirt surface of the main track, saying it’s as close to Churchill Downs in its composition as any track he’s seen. He even told the track superintendent he’d like to take him back to California with him. (Of course, I have to wonder how many days Baffert would be here before he started complaining about the track surface, something he’s known to do just about anywhere he’s been stabled.)

He said "anything’s possible" regarding the next start for Lookin At Lucky, though indicated the Wood Memorial or the Arkansas Derby would be the most likely spots. He compared Looklin at Lucky to the first of his three Kentucky Derby winners, Silver Charm. "You know he’s gonna give you everything he’s got," Baffert said.  Speaking of Silver Charm, it was when he was considering what to do with Bob and Beverly Lewis’  horse after scratching out of the Santa Anita Handicap that he said, "We could either go the Oaklawn Park for the Oaklawn Handicap or Dubai for  the Dubai World Cup (which Silver Charm won), but it’s a lot easier to get to Dubai." The private jet owned by one of Lookin At Lucky’s owners made Baffert’s trip to Hot Springs a little easier this time around.

Here’s the chart for the Rebel Stakes.

Here’s the chart for the San Felipe.

9:20 p.m. … Oaklawn Park is becoming one of my favorite racetracks in the country. It’s all about horse racing, and the management and staff seem to always put on a good show. Today’s attendance turned out to be 36,298. Yes, a lot of them came in hopes of winning the pickup truck and boat/trailer given away, but find me another track that packs ‘em in like this on the weekends. From Arkansas billionaires to farmers in bib overalls they love their horse racing here in Hot Springs and the whole region that Oaklawn Park draws from.

Come April 9, the day of hte Apple Blossom Invitational, this place will be jumping again, whether or not Rachel Alexandra shows up.If she is here, she’ll be a lot fitter and better prepared filly than she was today in the New Orleans. And if she isn’t here, racing fans will be treated to what I think is the greatest female Thoroughbred in my lifetime. It will be a day to remember…. no matter what.

That’s it from Oaklawn Park.

All eyes will be on last year’s champion fillies, Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta, as they both make their 2010 debuts on Saturday. While the Steve Asmussen-trained Rachel Alexandra is set to race in the ungraded New Orleans Ladies Stakes at the Fair Grounds (approx. post time 6:15 e.t.), Zenyatta has her sights set on the Grade 1 Santa Margarita Handicap at Santa Anita. The John Shirreffs-trained Zenyatta will carry 127 lbs., conceding up to 19 lbs. to her opponents, which include Striking Dancer, Floating Heart and Pretty Unusual. The Santa Margarita is 1 1/8 miles on the Pro-Ride surface; the scheduled post-time is 6:40 e.t.

Also, on Saturday’s card at Santa Anita is the G2 San Felipe, a Derby prep at 1 1/16 miles on the main track. The line-up appears familiar with the first three finishers from the Feb. 13 G2 Robert B. Lewis in action again—Caracortado, Dave In Dixie and American Lion.

The other Derby prep of interest is the G2 Rebel at Oaklawn Park. Shipping in from California is 2009 2-year-old champion Lookin at Lucky, who will be making his 2010 bow for trainer Bob Baffert and regular rider Garrett Gomez. Others in the 1 1/16-mile Rebel with possible Kentucky Derby aspirations are Noble’s Promise, Cardiff Giant and Dublin. Three-year-old fillies are in the spotlight in the G3 Honeybee, also 1 1/16 miles on the dirt. Heading the field is Decelerator, a stakes winner at Oaklawn on Feb. 13. Brereton Jones’s homebred No Such Word and Beautician, runner-up in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, are entered as well.

Tampa Bay Downs will host a 12-race card on Saturday which includes three graded stakes. Eclipse winner She Be Wild will try to avenge her fifth-place finish in the Forward Gal in the G3 Florida Oaks (1 1/16 miles on turf for 3-year-old fillies). The G3 Hillsborough, for older females at 1 1/8 miles on turf showcases Mushka, the favorite at 5-2 on the morning line, Lady Shakespeare, and Tottie, who is undefeated in two U.S. starts. The Tampa Bay Derby (G3) has a contentious 7-horse field headed by slight favorite Super Saver. Making his 2010 debut here, the Todd Pletcher trainee last won the Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill Downs by five lengths in November.

The Gulfstream Park Handicap (G2) at one mile on the dirt for older horses will take place Saturday at the South Florida racetrack of the same name. The morning line favorite is This Ones for Phil, from Rick Dutrow’s barn. He will face two entries from Kiaran McLaughlin’s shedrow—Grasshopper and Past the Point, as well as Harlem Rocker (Todd Pletcher) and Cool Coal Man (Nick Zito).

Sunday’s Gulfstream program features the G2 Inside Information, a seven-furlong sprint for older fillies and mares on the main track. The top four finishers of last month’s Hurricane Bertie return for Inside Information. Kays and Jays was the winner of the 6 1/2-furlong Hurricane Bertie, who outfinished Tar Heel Mom, Warbling and Pretty Prolific.

By Ray Paulick
Todd Pletcher isn’t the only who had a big weekend last week, winning three American Graded Stakes races for 3-year-olds on Feb. 20: the Grade 2 Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park with Eskendereya, the Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds with Discreetly Mine, and the Grade 3 El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields with Connemara.

Coolmore Ashford’s Giant’s Causeway sired two of the Pletcher-trained AGS winners, Eskendereya and Connemara, giving the 13-year-old Storm Cat stallion a total of three AGS winners thus far in 2010 (San Pasqual Handicap winner Neko Bay is the other one). For good measure, another top 3-year-old prospect by Giant’s Causeway, Northern Giant, finished a solid third for Pletcher’s mentor, Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, in the Risen Star. Only 16 days earlier, Northern Giant turned in a huge effort winning an Oaklawn Park maiden race by 11 1/4 lengths. He’s obviously a slow developing colt, the win coming in his sixth start.

On the strength of those AGS winners, Giant’s Causeway is atop the general sire list thus far in 2010 after being leading North American sire in 2009 for the first time since his first crop reached the racetrack in 2004. He was a truly outstanding racehorse and it’s no surprise that he’s developed into an elite sire. Giant’s Causeway has yet to sire his first American classic winner, but Eskendereya, who moved to the top of many Kentucky Derby lists with his Fountain of Youth victory, could easily change that.

With his weekend victories, trainer Pletcher now has won eight AGS races of 2010 with seven different horses. That’s 16% of the 50 AGS races run so far this year. Pletcher is on a brief “vacation” now, the result of a suspension stemming from a positive test at the 2008 Breeders’ Cup. His stable is deep in talent, is coming off a very strong 2009, and is ranked as the leading trainer by money won so far in 2010 (with reigning Eclipse Award winner Steven Asmussen in hot pursuit) while winning at a 27% clip. With Quality Road leading the way in the older male division, an incredibly deep roster of 3-year-old talent, and undoubtedly a talented group of 2-year-olds now going through early training, this could be a year to remember for Pletcher.

Kentucky Derby preps are in full swing across the country with more than a few contenders from the 2007 foal crop hoping to emerge as stars. Gulfstream Park will present two graded stakes for 3-year-olds, the Hutcheson, at seven furlongs, and the 1 1/8-mile Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth, both Grade 2. In the Hutcheson, Rick Dutrow has two entries, Radiohead and D’Funnybone, the likely favorite. Rick’s brother, Tony Dutrow, also has an entry in the Hutcheson, A Little Warm. Nick Zito’s Jackson Bend will face nine rivals in the Fountain of Youth. The diminutive son of Hear No Evil had a five-race win streak broken in his last out when he ran second to Winslow Homer in the Holy Bull. His biggest challenger appears to be Remsen winner Buddy’s Saint.

Gulfstream has also carded a pair of complementary G3 grass races for older horses on Saturday—for the ladies it’s the Honey Fox and the guys run in the Canadian Turf. An overflow field has entered the Honey Fox, including Bluegrass Princess, Backseat Rhythm, and Quiet Harbor, who brings with her a string of five consecutive wins. Courageous Cat makes his 2010 debut in the Canadian Turf; he finished his 2009 campaign with a sensational runner-up effort to Eclipse Award winner Goldikova in the Breeders’ Cup Mile.

After inclement weather at Oaklawn Park forced the cancellation of last Monday’s G3 Southwest Derby, it was rescheduled for Saturday. Conveyance, Cardiff Giant and Domonation, the first three finishers in the San Rafael Stakes, shipped in from California and all remained on the grounds and re-entered one mile test.

At the Fair Grounds, the spotlight will be on 3-year-olds in the G3 Silverbulletday, for fillies, and the G2 Risen Star, for colts and geldings. Both races are 1 1/16 miles on the dirt. In the Silverbulletday, Todd Pletcher’s Devil May Care is the slight morning-line favorite over the Dale Romans-trained Quiet Temper. A full field of 12 goes to the gate in the Risen Star; the top choices here are Bill Mott’s Drosselmeyer, and from the Tom Amoss barn, Ron the Greek.

Also, at Fair Grounds on Saturday, two other G3 stakes will be run for older horses—the Mineshaft, at 1 1/16 miles on the dirt, and the Fair Grounds Handicap, 1 1/8 miles on turf. The one-two finishers in the Jan. 23 Louisiana Handicap, Friesan Fire and General Quarters, will face off again in the Mineshaft, while the Fair Grounds Handicap has attracted the likes of Acting Zippy, Transduction Gold and the now 10-year-old Silverfoot. Giant Oak is entered as well, but will run only if the race is transferred to dirt.

The other graded Derby prep on Saturday is the G3 El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields in Northern California. Ranger Heartley and Connemara are the likely favorites among eight entered in the 1 1/8-mile dirt contest; they ran first and second, respectively, in the Jan. 16 California Derby.

Saturday’s Santa Anita card features the G2 San Carlos Handicap, a seven furlong dirt race for 4-year-olds and up. Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner Dancing In Silks hopes to rebound from his third-place finish in the Palos Verdes and earn a trip to the Golden Shaheen in Dubai in late March. His day could be spoiled by Ventana, runner-up in the Palos Verdes, or the speed demon, Bob Black Jack, off since winning the 2008 Malibu.

On Sunday, the only graded stakes action takes place at Santa Anita with the running of the G2 San Luis Obispo Handicap for older horses on the turf at the marathon distance of  1 ½ miles. Obrigado, now a 7-year-old, won this race in 2007 and makes his seasonal debut here. The Neil Drysdale trainee will face eight rivals, including his stablemate Bourbon Bay.

PRESS RELEASE

Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra will make her 4-year-old debut in the March 13 New Orleans Ladies, assuming she continues to progress as expected, owner Jess Jackson of Stonestreet Stables confirmed Thursday. The $200,000 New Orleans Ladies is for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on the main track.
 
“That is our intended goal,” Jackson said by phone Thursday evening. “I believe she’s on schedule and she’ll get the prep race before she goes on to Oaklawn. There are other tracks that have offered to have us go, but right now we’d rather stay here.”
 
Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., announced earlier Thursday that the date of the Grade I Apple Blossom had been moved back to Friday, April 9, in order to give Rachel Alexandra and champion older female Zenyatta sufficient time to each get one start before meeting for the first time in what Oaklawn is billing as the “Race for the Ages.” The new date of the Apple Blossom places it 27 days after the New Orleans Ladies.
 
“We’re obviously thrilled by the news that Rachel Alexandra, already a legend based on her accomplishments last year, intends to make her 2010 debut at Fair Grounds,” said Fair Grounds Vice President and General Manager Eric Halstrom. “We are already working to make sure March 13 will be a special day befitting of racing royalty.”
 
Jackson expressed his hope that the New Orleans Ladies would attract a solid field of competitors despite the imposing proposition for the others of having to face one of the top female racehorses in history.
 
“I’d really like to have more than just nominal competition in the race,” Jackson said. “Assuming it’s a fair race I don’t expect Rachel to have any trouble but at the same time, regardless of whether they’re superstars or not, it embellishes the track’s reputation and Rachel’s reputation to have the best possible competition.”
 
Record rainfall in December and more high levels of precipitation in January repeatedly forced two-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Steve Asmussen to adjust Rachel Alexandra’s schedule. More recently, however, she has posted official workouts on consecutive weekends, including a half-mile breeze Saturday in :50 3/5.
 
“It’s not anyone’s fault, but with the rain and the track conditions it’s been a serious setback to Rachel’s routine,” Jackson said. “When you’re training a horse it’s an animal that needs to have a regular routine and Steve’s been hard-pressed to keep her going given the weather. When we do get her to the track it’s well maintained, but she’s behind schedule and that means we’re compressed to try to get everything done and keep her on schedule leading up to works and preparing her for a major competition at Oaklawn.”
 
Fair Grounds officials added the New Orleans Ladies to the stakes schedule last fall in hopes that a scenario such as this would play out. Now it appears Fair Grounds will get its wish—to showcase the champion filly in front of New Orleans’ faithful race fans.
 
“It’s always fun to visit New Orleans, one of the top cities in the United States,” Jackson said. “My wife loves it. You have great food. The rebound has been phenomenal as far as sports are concerned so maybe that will help lead to a full recovery.”
 
Rachel Alexandra established herself as one of the all-time great fillies last year with historic wins in the Grade I Kentucky Oaks and Grade I Preakness Stakes, as well as six other stakes races, including the Grade II Fair Grounds Oaks. She defeated older males twice, in the Grade I Haskell Invitational and the Grade I Woodward.

Kentucky Derby preps are well underway now as tracks across the country begin to winnow out the best 3-year-olds whose paths will converge on May 1 in Louisville. Last week we saw Conveyance win at Santa Anita; this week, the Fair Grounds in Louisiana and Gulfstream Park will host their first major preps of the season.

On Saturday, Fair Grounds is offering six stakes races, including two graded affairs, the G3 LeComte, for Derby hopefuls going a mile and 40 yards, and the G3 Colonel E.R. Bradley, for older horses on the turf. The LeComte, scheduled as the 10th race on the card, has drawn 11 starters. Cool Bullet has a win over the track in the Sugar Bowl Stakes, while two other entrants, Turf Melody and Citrus Kid have minor stakes wins at other tracks. Maximus Ruler is another to consider; the Roman Ruler colt comes off a winning effort in an allowance race at Churchill Downs.

The Col. Bradley, carded as the sixth race, has attracted Princeville Condo, an Illinois-bred who has hit the board in all10 of his career starts, including a stakes win over this course in his last start. The puzzler here is Tybalt–he raced only once last year, but his steady pattern of respectable workouts are promising.

A contentious field of nine will go postward in the G3 Holy Bull, a mile on Gulfstream’s main track. If Homeboykris can run back to his performance in the G1 Champagne, he should win this race; however, his poor fifth-place showing in the G2 Remsen was a head-scratcher. Piscitelli, Aikenite and William’s Kitten all ran in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita, finishing fourth, fifth, and eighth, respectively.

The last graded stakes to take place on Saturday is the Palos Verdes Handicap (G2), though racing at Santa Anita at this time is up in the air, depending on the track condition. The heavy rains in Southern California have caused drainage problems on the Pro-Ride surface. Carla Gaines put Dancing in Silks in the entry box but is hesitant to race the Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner for a couple reasons: he drew the inside post, must spot his rivals three to 10 lbs., and though no rain is expected on Saturday, she is still concerned about the condition of the track. Other entrants in the six-furlong Palos Verdes are M One Rifle, winner of G1 Malibu, and Kinsale King, who won his last two starts, including the G3 Vernon O. Underwood at Hollywood Park.

Martin Luther King holiday racing was a casualty of last week’s inclement weather and track condition, thus the G2 San Marcos Handicap, at 1 ¼ miles on turf, was rescheduled for Sunday. Heading the field is Loup Breton, coming off a second-place finish in the G2 San Gabriel Handicap. Among nine other challengers is Muhannak, a 6-year-old gelding by Chester House. The Irish-bred, in the care of Ben Cecil, most recently ran fifth in 2009 Breeders’ Cup Marathon; he won the 2008 edition of that race.

As you may know, our intern, Natalie Voss of the University of Kentucky Equine Program, submitted a piece a few weeks back throwing her hat in the ring for Rachel Alexandra as Horse of the Year. It was a strong piece and one of hundreds that have or will be written on the subject. But when I read the following piece about her perception of the media wars between the two camps, I was impressed by her analysis of a subsection of this larger argument. I don’t necessarily agree with her, but of course that’s not the point.

On a side note, this was submitted to us last week but because of the shorthanded nature of the Paulick Report, I regrettably didn’t have time to look at it until yesterday. I bring this up to give her credit for noticing the potential return of Zenyatta before others in the mainstream press.

- Bradford Cummings

By Natalie Voss
As 2009 comes to a close, the Eclipse Award ballots are finding their way to voters and once again the Rachel vs. Zenyatta Horse of the Year debate is lighting up blogs and message boards in the Thoroughbred world. I’ve already voiced my opinion on which filly I would like to see win the award although I believe both are deserving of the honor. However, the more interesting part of reading the headlines is not the same old debate but instead the media campaigns both horses’ supporters and connections have been running post-Breeder’s Cup.

Outside of my opinion of her qualifications as Horse of the Year, I think Zenyatta’s camp has been more guilty of electioneering than Rachel’s (although they eventually picked up on the concept also). While it’s reasonable that California should honor a champion who has brought them extra attendance and handle with a retirement ceremony attended by Gov. Schwarzenegger at Hollywood Park, the subsequent announcement that the Lady’s Secret Stakes would be re-named for her rubbed many the wrong way. Stripping Lady’s Secret of that honor in order to make more headlines was completely unnecessary.

Also reasonable is the assertion that her official workout several weeks later was done just “to take the edge off”. (We’ll ignore the fact that there was no cause to have a supposedly casual work officially timed and published.) 



Things really started getting ridiculous when it was announced around the same time that Zenyatta would parade yet again, on the opening day of Santa Anita despite her retirement. Sure, it was a great opportunity for fans to see her again, but what motive did her owners have for delaying her trip to Kentucky for a repeat her ceremony at Hollywood?

She also made news with the auction of Moneighs to benefit retired racehorses (a great cause but awfully convenient timing). Because of all these photo opps and press releases, Zenyatta’s connections received the Big Sport of Turfdom Award for “their efforts to work with media and track publicists”. And indeed they did make an effort.

Rachel’s group was slower on the uptake; although she made news for her workout and shipping schedule, as an active racehorse this would have been carefully tracked regardless of the approaching Eclipse ballots. Jess Jackson did come forward to the press in early December about his attempts to set up a match race with Zenyatta (which put a lid on the Mosses’ attempts to publicly compare the two fillies). The Fair Grounds stepped up soon after, hinting that such an opportunity could come again in early 2010 in the New Oreleans Ladies. Rachel also got her name in the papers for charity with an announcement that $20,000 was donated to the V Foundation for Cancer in her name.

In my opinion, such obvious campaigning on the part of each filly’s connections and the California tracks cheapens their accomplishments. It will demean the accomplishments of whichever horse wins the Horse of the Year title. Perhaps worse, it will make it easy for outsiders to look at the highest honor in our sport and say that like so many other things in the horse world, it was all about politics. 



Yet, the Mosses and Jackson are perhaps demonstrating that it is possible to use the national media for good rather than further bloodying the evil face it has given the sport. This may not have been their intent as each campaign their champion filly, but I can only hope that somewhere Alex Waldrop and all NTRA employees, the self-declared marketing gateway of the Thoroughbred industry, are taking notes.

It is about time that someone among the horse racing higher-ups recognized the enormous marketing potential that lies in all our equine and human atheletes’ accomplishments year after year. After all, how many of us didn’t grow up in a training barn but became immersed in racing when we saw a horse like Zenyatta parade at Hollywood, or Rachel jogging in the fog at the Fair Grounds? If you build the energy, the stories, the excitement after a year like this one, the fans will come.



Sounds like good material for the NTRA’s New Year’s Resolution, doesn’t it?

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