The Tale of Two Races

“It was the best of times, It was the worst of times…” I wonder if Charles Dickens was a fan of the horses. Yesterday’s wonderful day of racing had its ‘worst of times’ moments, with the cancellation of Santa Anita’s big card, and a broken bit that had the promising Eightyfiveinafifty looking more like a scared jackrabbit being chased by the wolves. Like a microcosm of life, with the bad came the good. The good, in this case, came in the form of two beautiful four-year-old colts named Quality Road and Musket Man. The two horses have a few things in common. Both colts won for the sixth time in their ninth lifetime start, and neither have ever finished out of the money. Both Musket Man and Quality Road winter in Florida and call the Northeast their home the rest of the year, and both colts fell just short of ultimate glory in the previous season. That is where the similarity ends. Sticking with the Dickens theme, If Musket Man is the French peasant, than Quality Road is the English aristocrat. Greatness was expected for Quality Road from a young age. Since his smashing win in the shadow of New York City as a juvenile, this is a colt who all the experts have touted and spoke about in the most glowing terms. With his powerhouse victories at Gulfstream Park early last year, Quality Road steamed towards the Kentucky Derby as the likely favorite. Unfortunately, an ugly quarter crack kept the big, muscled son of Elusive Quality out of the Derby, and out of the entire Triple Crown for that matter. Meanwhile, no one paid much attention when a dark bay, sired by Yonaguska won his first three starts at Belmont, Philadelphia Park, and Tampa Bay Downs. Musket Man chugged along proudly wearing his blue collar and carrying his lunch pale to impressive victories in the Tampa Bay and Illinois Derbies. With Quality Road recuperating on the sidelines, Musket Man ran large, if not somewhat unlucky, races to finish 3rd in both the Derby and the Preakness. Still, Musket Man was far from a household name. While Quality Road readied for a much anticipated return to the races, it was now Musket Man’s turn to succumb to soreness. A bone bruise would put him on the shelf for the remainder of the year. Quality Road finally returned with a blazing win in the Amsterdam Stakes at Saratoga, and the pundits dove on to his bandwagon. His mercurial rise back to the top of the division was stunted somewhat by two defeats at the hands of the champion, Summer Bird, in the Travers and Jockey Club Gold Cup. Those defeats were on messy tracks and to a horse with a great deal more bottom than the talented colt who was now trained by Todd Pletcher. His 2009 season, which was paved with both brilliance and setbacks, would have one final unusual turn. Set to contest America’s richest race, the Breeders’ Cup Classic, Quality Road balked at the starting gate. The refusal to enter the gate escalated into a scary situation and Quality Road was scratched, but avoided injury. The psychological damage from the incident was evident a few days later when Quality Road would not willingly enter the airplane ready to transport him home. Instead he hit the highway and was driven all the way across the nation back to New York. Through his struggles, Quality Road is now beloved, not only by fans of his immense talent, but also by those who feel for what he went through in November. Unfinished business is a theme for both horses, as they passed on an early exit to the breeding shed, and returned for their third season of racing. The glamour boy, Quality Road ran an absolute monster race yesterday in winning the Grade 1 Donn Handicap. Every bit of his talent and strength was on display as he destroyed a full field of mediocre stakes horses. His winning margin was nearly 13 lengths as he broke his own track record set in last year’s Florida Derby. In just nine races, it was his third track record and preliminary reports of his Beyer number are set at a gaudy 122. Quality Road has not accomplished as much as the reigning Queens of racing, but he is unquestionably a member of the current racing aristocracy. A King in waiting. Not quite so regal, but in my opinion just as good a story, is the small town, Musket Man. Yesterday he ran a deceptively excellent race in the Super Stakes at Tampa. In his first race in nearly nine months, Musket Man showed everything you could have hoped for, as he stalked a fast pace from a wide position, and then battled with a 7 furlong specialist, who had mustered up a full head of steam, through most of the stretch. They left the rest of the field far behind, and it was a hard fought ½ length victory for the classy Musket Man. It was a perfect return race that should set him up nicely for the bigger things to come. They come from different sides of the track to be sure, and yesterday’s races may have looked disproportionately more impressive in favor of Quality Road, but both horses are pure quality in their own ways. Each colt has an ultimate goal of the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic, and whether or not that is the venue, I hope they someday meet as two of the best handicap horses in the nation, and don’t be too surprised if the unheralded Musket Man gives the superstar Quality Road everything he wants.