Posts Tagged ‘hawthorne’

By Bradford Cummings
Just four and a half years ago I was working as a barista at a Starbucks in Louisville, Ky., trying to get a break after an acting career cut short and yet just a few days ago I had the pleasure of finishing a 13-day, 7-“city” tour with who I believe is one of the preeminent thinkers in the Thoroughbred industry. As they say, only in America.
 
And it was our beautiful and remarkable country that served as an appropriate backdrop to a trip that so easily could have gone wrong. The idea for a fundraising “drive” across country to the Breeders’ Cup was hatched two weeks prior to our visit with Keeneland, the first stop on the tour to raise money through Breeders’ Cup Charities to benefit the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund and The V Foundation for Cancer Research. In that time, five of six racetracks, TVG and the Breeders’ Cup all quickly rallied around the cause and captured our vision. Tens of sponsors were called and agreed to shell out $2,000 each. And two guys who have a general liking for each other but have opposite views on the world (what type of person continues to root for a team that hasn’t won the World Series since Teddy Roosevelt was President?) successfully completed 13 days in a car together and are still on speaking terms and managing a growing business.
 
Each day was an adventure. Spending part of our day with Tom Leach, while not a big deal for this Louisville Cardinals fan, served as great fodder for my many poorly misguided University of Kentucky friends. Getting to meet the father/son duo of Randy and Brandon Meier at Hawthorne made it clear that when this sport is in the family, it stays in the family.
 
The pain in my thighs two days after the bouncy ball race at Remington Park did not last as long as the emails I still receive laughing about the YouTube video featuring that giant man racing people half his size. The drive to Hobbs, N.M., was a long and arduous one (on a side note, don’t stay at the Motel 6 in Amarillo) but led us to a perfectly small racetrack not pretending to be anything more than it is.
 
Going from the outhouse to the penthouse, we finished the stretch run of our trip through Phoenix and to Las Vegas where the truly spectacular Wynn Hotel accommodated us. We were unsuccessful in our betting there, but our nights of rest there were much needed.
 
And of course, the Breeders’ Cup was topnotch. I’ve been to several major sporting events yet this event was by far the best. The racing was dramatic, the corned beef sandwich was delicious and I got to meet Bo Derek. Oh, and as one of our Facebook followers said, the mare that won the feature at Santa Anita on Saturday gave quite a performance, too.
 
But the real magic was in meeting the jockeys at each stop and hearing their stories. They ranged from the tragic to the inspiring, often depending on where they were on their journey back from the brink.
 
I can’t remember a more heart-heavy day than when we visited Michael Straight’s hospital room in Chicago. To see a young man who was on his way to accomplishing his vision for his life get it all stripped away, crushed the dreamer in me. He was understandably emotional about what had happened to him with even the idea of moving hospital rooms setting off his ire. And yet through my tears and heartache, I left his room knowing things would be okay for Michael because he is blessed to have such an amazing set of parents by his side. And though I didn’t meet his twin brother Matthew, I know that relationship will never be strained. Whether he walk again, whether he ever rides a horse, Michael Straight will come out of this tragedy with a strong purpose for his life.
 
In Oklahoma City, we met Jo Hays, who will most likely be in her wheelchair for the rest of her life. She was paralyzed in an accident at Remington Park so for her to revisit the scene of the accident must cause her to go through emotions you and I will never understand. And yet she too is blessed with a supportive family network including a strong, quiet husband and several beautiful children. You could see the spirit in her eyes and just how grateful she was for what she had. And yet there was the pain of knowing she could never get back on a horse, at least not a fast one (her words). But pain is not entirely a bad thing for I imagined it is pain that keeps her going on some level, keeps her motivated to enjoy the life she has been given.
 
Dennis Keehan, who we had the pleasure of meeting at Hawthorne in Chicago, may not have had the support system of others on our journey but his spirit and love for humanity was clear. (Of course, your opinion of someone you share fried green beans and cheese balls with will always be slanted to the positive.) A 64 year-old man, Dennis had already gone through the struggles of accepting the cards dealt to him in his life and had come out the other side a person our industry can be proud of. It is my sincere hope that he has a chance to talk with jockeys like Michael Straight and Julia Brimo, recently injured at Keeneland, as they work their long road back in recovery.
 
And of course, who could forget Stacy Burton and Jan Hortyk in Phoenix. Turf Paradise management was less than supportive for the fundraising cause, though they did buy us lunch. We decided to reimburse them for the cost; perhaps they can use that money to improve the backside we heard nightmares about. 

These two dynamos—Stacy and Jan–were enough to put a smile on any face. Stacy defines fighting spirit, having worked her way back from a brain injury and paralyzed lower half to walking on her own again. She spends seven days a week in rehab, still working to get as close to all the way back as she can. And despite a slow speech pattern suffered from a stroke she had during the beginning of her road back, she has a sense of humor and quick wit that was both surprising and uplifting. But her recovery could not have been possible without the love and support of Jan, who has been there every step of the way in Stacy’s recovery. While I found it disappointing Stacy’s parents weren’t more involved in her life, Jan serving as her caretaker is truly a divine intervention. Our country would be better off if we were all a bit more like her.
 
But any story about the PDJF should begin and end with a tribute to Nancy LaSala. Few organizations are fortunate enough to have her brand of talent and energy leading their cause. Whenever we needed something to make our trip easier, Nancy was on the spot. Every disabled jockey we spoke with sang her praises without hesitation. Dennis Keehan put it best when he referred to her as ‘lightning’. Having someone like Nancy in charge should reassure all who want to give to this cause that their money will be used as effectively as possible.
 
The stories of these disabled jockeys along with the 60 or so others we did not get the pleasure of meeting need to be told. We as an industry must shine a light on these permanently disabled athletes who willingly participated in a dangerous sport—because they loved it, and still do. Sadly, one consistent theme we noticed throughout our trip was how the jockeys felt like second-class citizens in horse racing. When discussing synthetic tracks, several stated that while people thought about the well being of the horse, no one considered what it would be like for a jockey to land on what some of them said was a hard and unforgiving surface.
 
Ultimately, this is why we chose the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund as one of our charities. We believe the horses need to be taken care of and found homes after their careers in racing are over. We hold horse welfare issues close to our hearts. But things have gotten a little backwards in our thinking as of late with over 50 horse related charities and only a handful of groups concentrating on the jockeys that risk their lives every day. We have forgotten about the people on the back of the horse and what happens to them if tragedy strikes. In an ideal world, there is enough support to go around but if given the choice to only help animals or concentrate solely on people, I will pick a human being every single day of the week.
 
They are our brothers and sisters.
 
They deserve our support.
 
They received it over those thirteen days.
 
And that, my friends, is very good news.

Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report

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By Ray Paulick
Belmont Park offers five Grade 1 races today, beginning with the Beldame (you remember, the race where TVG boosted the purse in hopes of getting Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra, connections for neither of which appeared to take very seriously). I’ll be writing a live blog providing results of Belmont’s races (following the Beldame is the Vosburgh for sprinters, the Flower Bowl for fillies and mares on turf, the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational for male turf horses, and the Jockey Club Gold Cup, which pits the top-class 3-year-olds Summer Bird and Quality Road against Macho Again, who nearly caught Rachel Alexandra in the Woodward Stakes. I’ll provide some of the other day’s graded stakes activity from Hawthorne, where the Grade 2 Hawthorne Gold Cup is being run, as the serious final prep races for the Breeders’ Cup World Championships get under way.

(All photos by Eric Kalet.)

Here is a link to today’s Belmont Park Equibase charts.

Post time for the Beldame is 3:23 p.m. Eastern.

The rains came midway through the Belmont card, and though the main track was still called fast when Music Note entered the gate as the 1-5 favorite in the Beldame, it was a very wet, fast track. Music Note may have had a few nervous moments, as track announcer Tom Durkin said, when she was pinned down on the rail in the long run down the backstretch while tracking pacesetter Unbridled Belle.  But jockey Rajiv Muragh, moved the daughter of A.P. Indy to the outside around the turn and she wore down Unbridled Belle to get the win by 2 1/4  lengths, covering the distance in 1:48.49.  Unbridled Belle (who set soft fractions of :24.24, :47.99 and 1:11.66) held second, with Copper State third and Captain’s Lover fourth in the five-horse field. Captain’s Lover and Unbridled Belle were coupled, and Captain’s Lover and John Velazquez did their best to keep Music Note down on the rail, but Captain’s Lover couldn’t keep up after five furlongs.

Music Note was winning for the seventh time in 11 starts for Godolphin. This was just her third start of the year, following a fifth-place finish in the Ogden Phipps at Belmont Park and a victory in Saratoga’s Ballerina. She finished third behind Zenyatta and stablemate Cocoa Beach in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic (formerly the Distaff). The Saeed bin Suroor-trained filly paid $2.50 for the win.

Couple of college football notes: Michigan State upset previously unbeaten Michigan, 26-20, in overtime. Alabama crushed the University of Kentucky Wildcasts 38-20.

3:58 p.m. … The rain at Belmont has gotten worse, making it tough to even pick up the horses on the television feed. Good luck Tom Durkin, though the fact the Vosburgh is a four-horse field makes it a lot easier for him.

Kodiak Kowboy got up in the final strides to beat odds-on favorite Fabulous Strike by a half-length in the six-furlong Vosburgh under Shaun Bridgmohan. The 4-year-old son of Posse owned by Rick Porter Fox Hill Farms and Tom Simon’s Vinery Stables was back in the care of trainer Steve Asmussen for the Vosburgh after being transferred from Asmussen to Larry Jones a little over a year ago.

Fabulous Strike got a stalking trip, settling just off the pace of Go Go Shoot, with Munnings in third and Kodiak Kowboy the trailer. Go Go Shoot went a quick opening quarter-mile in :22.33 over a very rain-soaked track. Fabulous Strike moved to the lead on the turn under Ramon Dominquez, but Kodiak  Kowboy was beginning his rally before straightening out for the stretch run. He appeared to have all the momentum, but hesitated when he was getting the muddy kickback from Fabulous Strike. Bridgmohan shifted Kodiak Kowboy to the outside and he quickly regained his best stride and went on to win by a half length. Munning was third after never really threatening.

This was the 10th win from 22 starts for Kodiak Kowboy and the second in a Grade 1 race, following his victory earlier this year in the Carter Handicap at Aqueduct. He had finished second to Pyro in the Forego and third behind Fabulous Strike and Go Go Shoot in the Aflred G. Vanderbilt Handicap in his previous two starts. Kodiak Kowboy ran third for Jones in last year’s Vosburgh.

Kodiak Kowboy covered the six furlongs on a sloppy main track in 1:10.08 and paid  $11.60.

4:15 p.m. … When Matt Carothers sings Happy Birthday to Ken Rudulph on TVG, that can mean one of two things: mute button or HRTV. We’ll go for the latter. I have a feeling I’m not alone.

4:30 p.m. … Congrats to Equibase for putting together a useful late changes/scratches service. I won’t ask what took so long. Here is the link to Belmont’s late changes. Presious Passion wasn’t listed as a scratch from the Joe Hirsch last time I looked, but that was the word from the television talking heads.  Carribean Sunset has been scratched from the Flower Bowl, while Gio Ponti’s entrymate Winchester and Ready’s Echo have been scratched from the Hirsch.

The rains are still falling heavily at Belmont Park as the field of fillies and mares heads toward the gate for the Flower Bowl.

4:40 p.m. … Julien Leparoux gave the ever-consistent Pure Clan a perfectly timed ride in the Flower Bowl, getting up in the final sixteenth of a mile, then pulling away to beat Criticism by 2 3/4 lengths over a boggy Belmont turf course. Queen of Hearts was third and Moneycantbuymelove fourth.

Leamington took the early lead in the Flower Bowl, putting up very slow splits of :26.81 for the quarter, :53.81 for the half-mile and 1:20.43 for six furlongs on the soft turf, with Criticism tracking her. Leparoux had  Pure Clan in good position in fifth, then rallied on the final turn and took dead aim at Criticism and jockey Javiar Castellano. 

It was the eighth victory in 15 starts and 14th 1-2-3 finish for the Lakland Farm runner trained by Bob Holthus. The daughter of the Storm Cat stallion Pure Prize was coming off a third in the Beverly D. Stakes at Arlington and had one previous Grade 1 victory in last year’s American Oaks on the Hollywood Park turf course. Pure Clan was never a factor in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Filly &  Mare Turf at Santa Anita.

Final time of the 1 1/4 mile Flower Bowl was 2:12.43 after a mile fraction of 1:46.63. It was a bog out there, but Pure Clan didn’t seem to mind it one bit.

5:08 p.m. … It’s true that you don’t see the Phipps Stable silks at Thistledown that often, but the trip by Gone Astray from Belmont Park to Cleveland was well worth it as the son of Dixie Union sat off the early pace set by War Fighter, moved to the lead at midstretch and drew away impressively by 2 1/4 lengths. The Shug McGaughey-trained colt was coming off a big win in the Pennsylvania Derby. Gone Astray covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.56 War Fighter was second, with Ice Road third. Gone Astray was the 2-5 favorite.

5:15 p.m. … Gio Ponti looked like a winner in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational when he cruised up alongside pacesetter Interpatation at the top of the stretch, but the Bobby Barbara-trained 7-year-old gelding by Langfuhr found a second wind in the final furlong and rerallied to beat Gio Ponti by 1 3/4 lengths on an extremely soft turf course.

Robbie Albarado rode the winner, who was getting just his sixth career win from 50 starts for owner Elliot Mavorah. He set all the fractions of :26.01, :54.22, 1:22.20 and 1:48.77 for the opening mile After a mile and a quarter time of 2:14.59, Interpatation completed the 1 1/2 miles in 2:41.22, about 17 seconds slower than the course record.

Interpatation hadn’t finished in the top three in his last seven starts. His last in the money finish came when second to Grand Couturier in the 2008 Joe Hirsch Turf Invitational. Gio Ponti, on the other hand, came into the Joe Hirsch off four consecutive Grade 1 victories, but the 1 1/2 miles of the race and the soft conditions may have exposed the 4-year-old son of Tale of the Cat’s distance limitations, as he had never raced farther than 1 3/8 miles. 

Interpatation paid $89.50 on a $2 wager to win. Telling, the original third-place finisher, was disqualified and placed fourth behind Grand Couturier for interference.

5:30 p.m. … Awesome Gem and David Flores ran down Nite Light to win the $500,000 Hawthorne Gold Cup going away at Hawthorne Park, giving West Point Thoroughbreds the first leg of a big potential parlay that could culminate with a victory in the Jockey Club Gold Cup only a few minutes from now with Macho Again. Going Ballistic was third and You and I Forever fourth in the mile and a quarter Gold Cup, a Grade 2 event. 

5:50 p.m. … The rain  has subsided as the field entered the gate for the Jockey Club Gold Cup, which begins midway around the clubhouse turn on this 1 1/2 mile oval.  

Summer Bird and Quality Road put on a show, racing together the length stretch while well off the rail, but Summer Bird prevailed by one length to win the Jockey Club Gold Cup on a sloppy dirt track. Pacesetting Tizway was third, with Macho Again never really getting untracked and finishing fourth.

Summer Bird only has four career victories to his credit, beginning with a maiden win at Oaklawn Park in March. But the son of Gainesway stallion Birdstone, owned and bred by Drs. K.K. and Devi Jayaraman and trained by Tim Ice, has built quite a resume with the other three victories, all Grade 1–the Belmont Stakes in June, the Travers in August, and now the Jockey Club Gold Cup in early October–to make him the clear leader for an Eclipse Award in the 3-year-old male division.

Kent Desormeaux allowed Summer Bird to settle off the early pace set first by Tizway through the opening quarter mile in :24.96 and then by Quality Road through a half mile in :49.73 and six furlongs in 1:13.12.  Sensing that Quality Road might have it too easy on the front end, Desormeaux moved Summer Bird toward the lead before hitting the far turn, and engaged Quality Road in earnest when the pair hit the top of the stretch, the mile in 1:37.62. With Summer Bird on the outside, the pair raced together to the final sixteenth, when Summer Bird edged away gradually for the win, the 1 1/4 miles in 2:02.51 on the sloppy track. 

There were plenty of  other races on the day that I didn’t blog about, but George Jacob and Jill Baffert’s Misremembered won the Grade 2 Indiana Derby, which offered a $500,000 purse. Victor Espinosa rode the winner, a son of Candy Ride. Giant Oak finished second, a half length back, with Karama third. Win Willy, the slight favorite over Misremembered, finished fifth.

 JOCKEY CLUB GOLD CUP QUOTES