Posts Tagged ‘mambo in seattle’
Wednesday, August 27th, 2008
By Ray Paulick
WinStar Farm’s Colonel John may have had an advantage over his 11 rival 3-year-olds in last Saturday’s $1-million Travers Stakes when it was learned that jockey Garrett Gomez was carrying an angel on his shoulders.
Gomez, who miraculously put Colonel John’s nose on the wire millimeters in front of Mambo in Seattle (who was in front a jump before and a jump after the finish), was wearing WinStar’s green and white silks that were bearing the initials “KC,” in memory of Karri Casner — the daughter of WinStar co-owners Bill and Susan Casner — who was among the 202 people killed in the Oct. 12, 2002, terrorist bombings on the Indonesian island of Bali.
The WinStar silks designed in memory of Karri Casner are not technically permitted at New York Racing Association tracks, the only ones in the United States that follow the strict guidelines established by the Jockey Club for racing colors. No lettering or asymmetrical designs are permitted on silks at NYRA tracks, according to the guidelines. Somehow, the “wrong” silks ended up on Gomez before the Travers, a race that resulted in the closest finish of a New York stakes since 1991, according to NYRA’s photo finish camera operator.
Karri, the younger of two daughters of Bill and Susan Casner, was just 23 years old when she was killed during a visit to Bali. A day doesn’t go by when her parents and her older sister, Kayce, don’t think of her. The Casners designed the silks with the “KC” on the left shoulder as a memorial to Karri. The idea came from Kenny Troutt, who with wife Lisa are partners in WinStar with the Casners.
Colonel John was named after Army Reserve Lt. Col John Geider, a longtime family friend of the Casners and Troutts. Geider assisted the Casners in the aftermath of the bombing when they flew to Bali in search of their missing daughter.
Kathy Harty, wife of Colonel John’s trainer Eoin Harty, produced a short video documentary of Travers day that can be viewed at Youtube.com. The video, set to the sound of Green Day’s “Time of Your Life,” concludes with two photographs of Karri Casner.
"I feel like she’s with us all the time," Susan Casner told a reporter for Daily Racing form earlier this year as Colonel John was preparing for the Kentucky Derby. "Karri loved horses, and she loved horse racing."
And she would love to have been at Saratoga last Saturday to witness Colonel John’s tenacious victory in the Travers.
Perhaps she was.
Tags: bali, Bill Casner, colonel john, eoin harty, garrett gomez, green day, Horse Racing, john geider, karri casner, kathy harty, kayce casner, mambo in seattle, Paulick Report, Ray Paulick, susan casner, time of your life, travers
Posted in Horse Racing, People | 6 Comments »
Sunday, August 24th, 2008
By Ray Paulick
Turns out that wasn’t an illusion earlier this year when Colonel John seemed to catch another gear just as the wire was approaching in the 1 1/8-mile Santa Anita Derby. The rest of the field looked to be in deep water and the muscular bay son of Tiznow was skipping along on the surface as if he had just entered the fray. His margin of victory that day was only a half-length, but it was the way he did it that was so impressive.
That’s why I thought the mile and a quarter of the Kentucky Derby would be right up Colonel John’s alley. There was some skepticism because it didn’t appear to be a very strong group of 3-year-olds in California prepping for the Classics, and the horse he caught in the final sixteenth of a mile, Bob Black Jack, was a stretching-out sprinter. Nevertheless, I thought Colonel John had what it took to become the 134th winner of the Run for the Roses.
Big Brown ran Colonel John and everyone else off the track that first Saturday in May. It was no contest, really, especially when you consider how much ground Big Brown lost. Colonel John had a nightmare trip, getting virtually eliminated right after the start, when he was pinched back and steadied, then raced into a wall of flying dirt down the stretch the first time. Midway down the backstretch, Colonel John put in a strong run from 16th in the 20-horse field to get as close sixth, but he had nothing left for the final quarter mile.
The team of WinStar Farm and trainer Eoin Harty went back to the drawing board after Colonel John’s disappointing sixth-place result in Kentucky, bringing him back two months later in the Swaps Stakes at Hollywood Park (he finished a close third in a four-horse field) but circling Aug. 23 on the calendar as THE day to seek redemption in the 139th running of the Travers. For despite winning four of his first six races, being a Grade 1 winner, and going into the Kentucky Derby as the second betting choice, Colonel John was still carrying that dreaded new moniker: Synthetic Horse. He had yet to win on a racetrack made of real dirt.
Outside of Churchill Downs, no dirt is more hallowed than that which covers the main track oval at Saratoga racetrack in upstate New York. But Harty kept Colonel John in California almost up to the last minute, working him like clockwork every six or seven days on Del Mar’s Polytrack. Garrett Gomez, racing’s current “go to” big race jockey, would travel east for the mount after replacing Corey Nakatani in the Swaps following the disastrous Kentucky Derby run.
In the crowded, 12-horse Travers field, Gomez didn’t get the smoothest of trips, either. Belmont Stakes winner Da’ Tara led for the first mile of the mile and a quarter “Midsummer Derby,” with Gomez and Colonel tracking him all the way. At the top of the stretch, Colonel John was ready to take off, but Gomez was in tight and had to angle out sharply to avoid clipping the heels of Tale of Ekati to his inside and Da’ Tara, who was directly in front of him. Once clear, Colonel John took dead aim at Da’ Tara and put that stubborn rival away. But quickly joining the fray after rallying around horses on the turn for home was Mambo in Seattle, a late-developing Kingmambo colt who ran on Derby day at Churchill Downs, finishing second in an entry-level allowance race. He breezed through his allowance conditions after that and won a restricted stakes at Saratoga in late July, his first-added money effort. Trainer Neil Howard, who is always dangerous with a loaded gun, had Mambo in Seattle ready for the race of his life, and the colt did everything but win the Travers.
In fact, jockey Robbie Albarado thought he’d won the race, waving his whip in celebration at the wire, and ESPN commentators took the bait, interviewing him as the apparent winner as he jogged back to have his picture taken. But the bob of the head went to Colonel John, whose margin of victory could be measured in millimeters.
The Travers is the second most coveted race for a 3-year-old colt after the Kentucky Derby – at least among breeders. The victory, though the margin could not have been narrower, was huge for the stallion potential of Colonel John, who threw the synthetic monkey off his powerful shoulders. The result also sets up the potential for a most interesting Breeders’ Cup Classic on Santa Anita’s new Pro-Ride synthetic surface, if (and it’s a big if) Big Brown shows up. Right now, the connections of Big Brown say that’s where they are heading after the son of Boundary preps in a specially created turf race at Monmouth Park next month.
As for Mambo in Seattle, he is a colt of great talent who was unlucky to lose. He’ll have his chance at Grade 1 glory down the road, and will be to a force later this year and in 2009 for co-owners Will Farish and Mrs. William Kilroy. His pedigree (Kingmambo out of Weekend in Seattle, by Seattle Slew) assures that he will have every opportunity at stud when his racing days are over.
Copyright © 2008, The Paulick Report
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Tags: Big Brown, Breeders' Cup, breeders' cup classic, colonel john, da' tara, eoin harty, espn, garrett gomez, kentucky derby, kingmambo, mambo in seattle, neil howard, polytrack, pro-ride, robbie albarado, santa anita, saratoga, Synthetic surfaces, tiznow, travers, winstar
Posted in Horse Racing, Synthetic surfaces | Comments Off
Saturday, August 23rd, 2008
By Ray Paulick
WinStar Farm homebred Colonel John won Saturday’s Grade 1 Travers Stakes by a nose in a head-bobbing finish with William S. Farish and Mrs. William Kilroy’s Mambo in Seattle. Pyro, the 7-2 favorite, finished third, 5 1/4 lengths back, with Harlem Rocker fourth in the 139th running of the $1-million "midsummer classic" for 3-year-olds.. Time of the race on a fast track was 2:03.20 for the mile and a quarter on a fast track.
(VIDEO)
(Today’s Saratoga charts)
Colonel John, breaking from the two post, saved ground as Belmont Stakes winner Da’ Tara set all the fractions under Alan Garcia, the opening quarter-mile in :23.91, the half-mile in :48.06 and six furlongs in 1:12.12. When the field turned for home, Gomez had to alter course sharply behind Da’ Tara, then went to his outside, taking the lead inside the furlong pole. Mambo in Seattle, under Robbie Albarado, was forced to take the overland route, rallying from well off the pace but avoiding a scrum to his inside at the head of the stretch that may have compromised the chances of Harlem Rocker and Pyro. The Kinbmambo colt ranged up alongside Colonel John nearing the sixteenth pole, and the two raced to the wire together. Colonel John appeared to be edging ahead, but Mambo in Seattle made one final, valiant run, losing the victory in a head-bob. The official margin was a nose, but the photo finish showed it to be no more than an inch.
The victory was Colonel John’s first on a traditional dirt track. He had previously won four of eight starts, all on synthetic tracks, including three stakes. He came into the Kentucky Derby off a half-length victory in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby, and was the 9-2 second choice behind Big Brown at Churchill Downs. The son of Tiznow out of the Turkoman mare Sweet Damsel was never a factor that day, finishing sixth, 14 1/4 lengths behind Big Brown. He skipped the rest of the Triple Crown, then returned to action with a third-place finish behind Tres Borrachos July 12 in the Grade 2 Swaps Stakes at Hollywood Park.
Colonel John did all of his serious preparation work before the Travers on Polytrack at Del Mar for his trainer, Eoin Harty. The win could set up a rematch between Colonel John and Big Brown in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita Park, which will be contested on that track’s new Pro-Ride synthetic surface.
The winner paid $10.40 and earned $600,000 to increase his earnings to $1,468,830.
IN THE GRADE 1 NETJETS KING’S BISHOP, a race for 3-year-olds going seven furlongs that immediately preceded the Travers, Team Valor International and Vision Racing’s Visionaire, benefited from a hot pace and rallied from last to first to win going away by 2 1/4 lengths under Alan Garcia.
Gentleman James, Golden Spikes and 8-5 favorite J Be K threw down fractions of :22.39 and :44.73 for the opening half mile, with J Be K taking a narrow advantage when the 10-horse field turned for home, and it looked like anyone’s race. Desert Key, had to await room on the inside, then found an opening to gain the lead in the final furlong, but Garcia had Visionaire picking ‘em and mowing ‘em down on in the middle of the track after rallying widest into the stretch.
The son of Grand Slam hit the front in the final 70 yards and drew off, with Desert Key holding second by a nose from I’m So Lucky. The winner, bred in Kentucky by Eaton Sales co-owner Reiley McDonald and trained by Michael Matz, paid $15.60 for the win after covering seven furlongs on a fast track in 1:21.94.
The win was Visionaire’s fifth from 10 starts and second starts victory, following a win in the Gotham at Aqueduct in March. Visionaire ran fifth in the Blue Grass Stakes and 12th behind Big Brown in the Kentucky Derby.
SHADWELL STAALE’S IRISH-BRED SHAKIS won the Grade 2 Bernard Baruch by three parts of a length over War Monger, with Operation Red Dawn finishing third. The 8-year-old by Machiavellian was ridden by Alan Garcia and is trained by Kiaran McLaughlin. He covered nine furlongs on firm turf in 1:46.78.
Tags: colonel john, eoin harty, garrett gomez, mambo in seattle, Paulick Report, pyro, Ray Paulick, saratoga, shakis, team valor, travers, visionaire, winstar farm
Posted in Horse Racing | 2 Comments »
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