Longshots in the Breeders’ Cup? Youbet!

The Breeders' Cup has a long history of producing winners at big odds. Horses like Arcangues, Miss Alleged, Volponi, Lashkari, One Dreamer, Action This Day, Caressing, Miesque’s Approval, Desert Code, Vale of York, and Dancing in Silks have sent some lucky bettors home with smiles on their faces and cash filling their pockets. As approximately 200 quality horses ready to be pre-entered for the 2010 Breeders’ Cup, there is one thing you can count on, and that is great payouts in many of the races. With that in my mind, I have began my search for those horses most likely to light up the tote board on November 5 & 6. CLASSIC - In a race dominated by the big 4 of Zenyatta, Blame, Lookin at Lucky, and Quality Road, the Classic could prove the toughest of any for a longshot to make a dent. If one does though, I believe it will be Musket Man who is as honest as they come. The son of Yonaguska is riding a five race losing streak, which should ensure high odds, but has run well every time. He has good experience over the track and distance coming in last year’s Derby, and with a little racing luck is likely to be right there at the eighth pole. I am not sure if he will win this, but at 20-1 or so, is a great play in the exotics. ***The remainder of today's column can be found on Youbet.com*** Click Here

32 Days and Counting … ZATT’s Breeders’ Cup Rankings

MARATHON 1. Temple City 2. A.U. Miner 3. Eldaafer 4. Alcomo 5. Unusual Suspect JUVENILE FILLIES TURF 1. Winter Memories 2. White Moonstone 3. Roxy Gap 4. New Normal 5. Fancy Point FILLY & MARE SPRINT 1. Champagne D’oro 2. Evening Jewel 3. Rightly So 4. Sara Louise 5. Sweet August Moon JUVENILE FILLIES 1. Summer Laugh 2. Tell a Kelly 3. Wonderlandbynight 4. Awesome Feather 5. R Heat Lightning FILLY & MARE TURF 1. Midday 2. Red Desire 3. Éclair de Lune 4. Hibaayeb 5. Ave LADIES’ CLASSIC 1. Blind Luck 2. Havre de Grace 3. Devil May Care 4. Life at Ten 5. Biofuel JUVENILE TURF 1. Rough Sailing 2. Soldat 3. Major Gain 4. Air Support 5. Pluck TURF SPRINT 1. California Flag 2. Chamberlain Bridge 3. Rose Catherine 4. Fatal Bullet 5. Stradivinsky MILE DIRT 1. Musket Man 2. Tizway 3. Here Comes Ben 4. Crown of Thorns 5. Warrior’s Reward JUVENILE 1. Stay Thirsty 2. Boys at Tosconova 3. Uncle Mo 4. Jaycito 5. Pathfork MILE 1. Goldikova 2. Violon Sacre 3. Gio Ponti 4. Sidney’s Candy 5. Paco Boy SPRINT 1. Discreetly Mine 2. Big Drama 3. Atta Boy Roy 4. Girolamo 5. Kinsale King TURF 1. Paddy O’Prado 2. Workforce 3. Al Khali 4. Fame and Glory 5. Bourbon Bay CLASSIC 1. Blame 2. Zenyatta 3. Lookin at Lucky 4. Quality Road 5. Espoir City

Don’t Blame Me for Gushing

“We were super confident,” Gomez said. “It’s just one of those things you don’t want to say too much so you can let the horse do the talking. He’s trained magnificently for this race and every other race I’ve ridden him in. He’s a magnificent older horse and I can’t wait until we go farther.  “If you watched me ride him, I never hit him. I actually moved up at about the three-eighths pole and I felt pretty confident then. I was just biding my time until we turned for home. I just didn’t want to sit too long because he’s got a long consistent run and just keeps coming. … He kept staying on and in that last eighth of a mile, when I finally got right to [Quality Road], I said ‘I got him.” Garrett Gomez had good reason to be confident. His charge Blame rallied relentlessly down the stretch to do what to some was the unthinkable, and nail Quality Road a few strides before the wire. No matter who you were rooting for, yesterday‘s Whitney Handicap lived up to advance billing. It was supposed to the best race so far in 2010, and it was. Yesterday’s race was a shining example of why we watch horse racing.  Three of the best horses in the nation put on a show, and they produced a thrilling stretch run. Yes, I said three. Musket Man deserves his props. After being forced wide on the first time, the gutty little Yonaguska colt chased Quality Road around the track, and once again ran a big race. It’s clear that he is not quite as good as the top two, but he is quite a horse in his own right. He is still my early pick to win this year’s Breeders’ Cup Mile. But make no mistake, yesterday was all about Blame, and he could not be a more deserving star. Winning stakes in relative anonymity until yesterday, Blame continues to climb to the stratosphere of the racing world. I saw the Al Stall trained bay win last Fall’s Clark Handicap as a three-year-old; I was very impressed. I saw him rally on a speed track to win this year’s Foster; my respect for him grew. In the Whitney, he turned it up another notch. In beating the best male horse in America, he now smoothly steps into that title. Claiborne Farm’s Blame is now the top male horse in the nation. Yesterday’s win was his best yet, his fifth straight in graded stakes, and the scary thing is, he still may be improving. I have a feeling this horse will never be underestimated again. “I tried to put him into the bridle, but he was just going through the motions, which is strange for him. I was hoping there’d be nobody there, so I got to drifting. I was trying to make it more difficult for the horse on the outside.” So said disappointed rider John Velazquez who was aboard the race favorite. As for Quality Road, he ran a very good race, but it was not quite what his staunchest of supporters were hoping for. The terrific talent, who can make the speed figure dials spin, has still not proven that he can beat the very best gong a route of ground. Does yesterday prove he can not? Absolutely not, but the question lingers. Until he beats Blame, Zenyatta, Rachel, or all of the above at a classic distance, we just don’t know. What’s next for these two titans? Well the ultimate answer is the Breeders’ Cup Classic and a showdown with a couple of ladies, but for the immediate future, the Jockey Club Gold Cup would seem to be a sensible stage for Blame-Quality Road II. We shall see. For now I am going to watch the replay of the Whitney about a dozen more times. Race of the year so far? I’d say so!

Whitney Wonderland

Quality Road is the kind of talent that makes you believe in superheroes. Born with the ability to leap tall buildings and outrun speeding bullets, he has proven to be able to run like the wind and carry his speed for at least nine panels. Tomorrow’s Whitney Handicap, at a mile and an eighth, falls into the realm of his track record breaking history. Therefore it stands to reason that we are just hours from adding his name to an illustrious list of past winners. Horses like War Admiral, Tom Fool, Kelso, Dr. Fager, Alydar, Lady’s Secret, Personal Ensign, Easy Goer, and Invasor have snared the Whitney. But wait, not so fast my friends, just ask Secretariat about counting Whitney chickens before they have hatched. Big Red was shocked in this very race by Onion, 37 years ago. Two big reasons not to hand the trophy over to the Road early, come in the form of Blame and Musket Man. Blame is all racehorse. Bred to run long and improve with age, the next time Blame runs a bad race, will be the first. As honest as they come, he fires every shot, is getting better on a monthly basis, and is for 1 for 1 over the Saratoga strip. The winner of four consecutive graded stakes, Blame has never faced a magnificent monster like Quality Road before, but after tomorrow’s run, we may be saying the same about Quality Road never having faced anyone like Blame before. Gritty is a word that best describes Musket Man. Not the quickest horse in the world, nor is he blessed with a Forego like closing kick, but this mucker and grinder knows how to get things done. The winner of six of his first nine races, Musket Man is currently on a three race losing streak, but the luck of the draw has clearly not been on his side. He ran a bang-up race last time in the Met Mile, only to be repelled by Quality Road. Can he turn the tables in the Whitney? Stranger things have happened, and getting nine pounds from the chalk can’t hurt his chances. Other Whitney contenders include the underrated recent winner of the Suburban Handicap, Haynesfield, who will be looking for a fifth consecutive victory, and the somewhat forgotten Mine That Bird, winner of the Derby, 2nd in the Preakness, and 3rd in the Belmont last year, he is making only his second start of 2010. Who will win the Whitney? Most likely, Quality Road. At nine furlongs, without much speed, I expect him to be extremely difficult to beat.  But even an impressive win tomorrow will not prove that he will beat the best at 10 furlongs this Fall at Churchill Downs.  Who will I bet in the Whitney? On this one, the author makes no choice, 2-5 is low, real low, even for Superman.

Happy Memorial Day!

Today is a day to celebrate the memory of our fallen soldiers. It is also traditionally one of the finest racing days of the year. As usual there are big stakes and great cards all over the nation on Memorial Day. So today I wish you all a happy holiday… now let’s talk horses. Lone Star Park, Hollywood Park, and Monmouth Park all have multiple stakes to keep a close eye on, but no race today is bigger than the return of the brilliant Quality Road in Belmont Park’s historic Met Mile. A career that has been filled with setbacks, but also with the promise of ultimate quality, has led Quality Road to be one of the most interesting horses on our racing landscape in years. Today, another chapter of the Quality Road saga will be written. ***The remainder of today's column can be found on Youbet.com*** Click Here

Ode to Eskendereya Musket Man You probably expected me to compose a celebratory piece about a certain Wood Memorial winner today, didn’t you? In a day that was absolutely dominated by a sublime performance by a three-year-old rocket named Eskendereya, I instead offer my readers a different perspective on the beauty of a horse, and the race. Sure it was easy to marvel at the magnificence of Eskendereya as he effortlessly cantered free from quality opposition, barely slowing down on the fast lane to Louisville. I, however, found an even greater amount of joy in watching a horse in a losing effort only 36 minutes later on the same Aqueduct Racecourse. His name is Musket Man and Musket Man is the embodiment of everything I admire in a Thoroughbred horse.  So much so, that today I immortalize him on the pages of ZATT. Musket Man O’ Musket Man Whenever you run I believe you can A gorgeous dark bay with a powerful stride You always give your fans quite the ride Thundering hooves and flowing mane Your competition finds you impossible to tame I am never afraid to be your admiring tout For I know on race day you will run your heart out In the Carter Handicap you may have lost by a nose But with the race you ran your stock still rose If you run a bad race it will be your first More likely you will win each race with a burst Last year you made noise on the Triple Crown trail This Breeders’ Cup you may be the colt we all hail New York, Philly, Tampa, Chicago, Kentucky and Baltimore You have earned your fans and we are hardcore Six nice wins already to your credit There will be many more I believe in fact I will bet it Ten lifetime races and each time you impress You have become a great favorite of mine I must confess Now I vow to follow you both near and far For me you will never be anything but a star I will search for your name in hope to see you run For you Musket Man the best is yet to come Photo by Sue Kawczynski       Poem by Brian Zipse

Say Yes to Yonaguska

It could be a big day for the young sire Yonaguska. Here is a little refresher on the son of Cherokee Run. Handsome and brilliant as a youngster, he sold for $1,950,000 at the Fasig Tipton, February two-year-olds in training sale of 2000. It did not take long for him to reward his owners as he won Saratoga’s prestigious Hopeful Stakes, defeating eventual juvenile champion Macho Uno in the process. That may have proved to be his greatest win, though, as Yonaguska was never able to beat the big boys going a route of ground. He did go on to be a top notch sprinter, and at three he won the Grade 2 Hutcheson, the Grade 2 Fall Highweight and the Grade 3 Sport Page. At retirement he had accumulated 6 wins from 18 starts and earnings of $536,355. He was sent to stud at Vinery in Kentucky and has proven a success, siring horses who can win sprints, but also longer races as well. ***The remainder of today's column can be found on Youbet.com*** Click Here

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.

Musket Man Reloaded

In a sequel that promises as much excitement as Neo, Morpheus and Trinity created several years ago, Musket Man is returning to the races in 2010. He kicks off his season in tomorrow’s The Super Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs. In the nine months since Musket Man last ran, he has become somewhat forgotten. With horses like Quality Road, Blind Luck, American Lion, and Eightyfiveinafifty set to race this weekend in major markets around the country, and thereby dominating the attention of many racing fans, Musket Man’s return is in danger of being shuffled down towards the middle of the news deck. It should not be. This beautiful dark bay may be one of the most underrated runners in the nation. Musket Man has been spectacular in his consistent excellence and I look for him to be one of the most important horses on the national scene this year. Let’s take a closer look at exactly how good Musket Man has been to this point. In his eight race career, Musket Man has won five times with three thirds. Never rushed, he began his career in late October of 2008 at Belmont Park. He was an easy winner of the debut. He was brought back for one more race as a juvenile, in an allowance race at Philadelphia Park. Despite lacking room, he was able to turn on the afterburners and sweep to victory. Sent to winter at Tampa Bay Downs, Musket Man returned in January in the Pasco Stakes, where he faced and defeated General Quarters, the future winner of the Blue Grass. Now considered a contender for bigger things down the road, Musket Man would attempt two turns for the first time, in his next race. In what can be considered as his only non-sparkling outing, he hung in the stretch and finished third to General Quarters in the Sam F Davis Stakes. Not deterred, his connections brought him right back in the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby. It would prove to be a breakout race for the son of Yonaguska. Sent off at nearly 6-1 in the ten horse field, Musket Man was squeezed and shuffled back on the far turn. He swung out for clear running room as the field straightened out, but still looked hopelessly beaten at the eighth pole. As if he was the chosen one, afterburners were once again deployed and Musket Man looked like he was shot out of a cannon, or better yet, a musket, as he nailed the leader just short of the wire. It almost appeared that the other horses moved in a matrix like slow motion, in order for him to get the win. He followed this up with an easy win in the Grade 2 Illinois Derby in a final prep for the Run for the Roses. He arrived at Louisville with an excellent record, but without a whole lot of respect. The lack of respect was a mistake. Musket Man ran a big race to finish 3rd, and in fact, if his jockey had taken an opening on the rail when it presented itself, there could have been a totally different result to the 2009 Kentucky Derby. It was on to Baltimore and another chance for Musket Man to prove his doubters wrong. In the Preakness, he did just that. Briefly steadied at the quarter pole, Musket Man came on strongly in the stretch to finish a bang-up 3rd. He was beaten only 1 ½ lengths by super filly, Rachel Alexandra. Musket Man once again proved to be one of the elite sophomores in the country. Unfortunately, we did not see any more from him last year as he suffered a bone bruise and was put on the shelf for the remainder of the season. Now at long last, it is time for Musket Man to race again. Photo courtesy and property of Sue Kawczynski Musket Man has been working very well in familiar surroundings at Tampa Bay Downs for tomorrow’s return. His trainer, Derrick Ryan, took his time in bringing him back to do what is right for the horse and should have him prepared for a big season. The Musket is reloaded and now ready to fire in a big way. Tomorrow’s Super might not be the biggest race in the world, but I fully expect it to be only the opening scene in what promises to be a very exciting year. So when you are watching the races this Saturday afternoon, do not forget to tune in to Tampa Bay Downs and Musket Man, you will not be disappointed.