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

Anatomy of a Champion

Lookin at Lucky is the Juvenile Champion of 2009. He has won six of seven starts with only a narrow defeat in a tough trip BC Juvenile. His return to the races in last month’s Rebel Stakes was a top shelf performance. Clearly he is a racehorse who has earned respect. He may not be everyone’s top choice, but you will find him as one of the top three choices on everyone’s Derby list. Respect is the word for Lookin at Lucky, and it is well deserved. Will he win the Derby? Can he possibly be the 12th horse to win the Triple Crown? Those answers will soon unfold, but for now, I would like to give tomorrow’s Santa Anita Derby favorite the props he deserves for what he has already accomplished. He is a champion in every sense of the word. Let’s take a look under the hood and see what makes this horse so good: Pedigree: (Smart Strike -- Private Feeling by Belong to Me) Class appears everywhere in the bloodlines of this Kentucky Derby favorite. Sire Smart Strike is already a multiple champion at stud, due in large part to superstar Curlin, but he has sired many other top horses as well. Out of Mr. Prospector and the superlative broodmare Classy N’ Smart, the half brother to champion Dance Smartly has more than realized his regal breeding on the track and the breeding shed. Lookin at Lucky’s female family may not be quite as famous, but you need not look far to see quality. Broodmare sire, Belong to Me is a stakes winning son of the great sire Danzig, who was one of America’s greatest Northern Dancer influences. Private Feeling, Looking at Lucky’s dam, also traces back to Northern Dancer, Native Dancer, and Neartic on the female side, giving her a stellar breeding of both brilliance and staying power. Lookin at Lucky is her best foal, but only one year older, is the winner of last year’s Dwyer and Jim Dandy, Kensei. All and all, Lookin at Lucky has classic breeding in every branch, and should excel even at classic distances. Connections: Owner: Mike Pegram et al / Trainer: Bob Baffert / Jockey: Garrett Gomez. While a good owner may not help a horse much on raceday, a bad owner can have detrimental effects. A good owner knows to stay out of the way of their trainers. Pegram and Baffert are longtime buddies and he allows Baffert to do what he does best. There is no trainer better at getting a horse ready for a big race than Bob Baffert, as evidenced by his eight wins in Triple Crown races with Silver Charm, Real Quiet, Point Given, and War Emblem. He is not afraid to work and race his horses, and he knows how to properly prepare them for one race and a series of races. Jockey Garrett Gomez has yet to win the Kentucky Derby, but he has been one of the best riders in the nation for years. It should only be a matter of time before the two-time Eclipse Award winner breaks through on the first Saturday of May. Versatility: In his short career, Lookin at Lucky has already displayed a great versatility. With a slower early pace, he can stay close to the early lead as seen in his win in the Cash Call Futurity in December. In a stronger pace scenario, Lookin at Lucky has no problem falling behind and making a big stretch run. His last race, the Rebel Stakes, should be proof of that. In the Rebel, Looking at Lucky also showed the ability to overcome. He was bothered in the backstretch and fell much farther back then planned. Lucky was not deterred and got up to win in the final strides. His versatility also shows up in other ways, which is a good sign of a champion. Lookin at Lucky has enough brilliance to be a graded stakes winner sprinting, and he appears to be very strong in the stretch of his two turn races to date. He will have to run even longer in the upcoming races, but has shown no signs coming up short as distances become longer. Lastly our two-year-old champion, has now proven he can run well on either dirt or synthetics. Not a surprise with his breeding, but nice to see nonetheless. I do not know if it will ever happen, but Lucky should also be just fine if ever given the chance on the grass. Future Projection: Win, lose, or draw tomorrow in a tough Santa Anita Derby, I am a true believer in Lookin at Lucky, and as such, I expect him to have another big season. So much so, that I consider him the most likely winner in Louisville, and it would be a surprise to me, if he did not win at least one leg of this year’s Triple Crown. With his excellent bloodlines, a sturdy frame, and the best of connections, Lookin at Lucky should be a champion that is around for a while, and a threat in many of our biggest races.

Who Am I ???

*Bred in the United States, I was a hero in my native state. *I won stakes in four of my five seasons of racing; injuries hampered my chances in the only year I was not a stakes winner. *I was defeated in the Kentucky Derby, but I still ended the year as the nation‘s top three-year-old. *My English bred sire produced two other champions besides myself; they were both female. *In one of my biggest wins, I set a track record carrying 133 pounds. *Before my injuries, I was able to win 18 times, 16 of them coming in stakes races. *I raced my Hall of Fame rival four times at the age of three, and we each won twice, but I won the final meeting. *I won major races in the East, Midwest, and West, with my world record coming in Kentucky. *My list of honors include four eclipse awards and induction into racing‘s Hall of Fame. *I never cowered in the dust, and my fans went home plenty flush. *I sired thirteen stakes winners, but none could match my accomplishments on the racetrack. You should know by now … Who Am I ???

Wood-Working on ZATT

New York’s premier prep for the Kentucky Derby, the Wood Memorial, will celebrate its 86th edition this Saturday at Aqueduct Racetrack. In its rich and storied past, the Wood has seen such winners as Gallant Fox, Count Fleet, Assault, Native Dancer, Nashua, Bold Ruler, Damascus, Foolish Pleasure, Seattle Slew, Pleasant Colony, Slew O’ Gold, Easy Goer, Unbridled’s Song, Fusaichi Pegasus, Empire Maker, Bellamy Road, and I Want Revenge. It has consistently been one of the most important springboards to the Run for the Roses, and this year’s running sets up to be a strong one. With some realistic handicapping, the Wood boils down to a four horse race. Each of the big four of Eskendereya, Awesome Act, Schoolyard Dreams, and Jackson Bend, has a chance to win Saturday and then make a big splash at Churchill Downs. Let’s take a closer look at the Wood Memorial’s fantastic four: Eskendereya (Giant's Causeway—Aldebaran Light by Seattle Slew) Trainer: Todd Pletcher   Jockey: John Velazquez   ZATT Odds: 6-5 Eskendereya has been freshened since his monster effort in the Fountain of Youth. In his time away, the Florida Derby finish of Ice Box and Pleasant Prince 1-2, only served to flatter the Wood Memorial favorite. Pletcher believes the beautifully bred colt will run all day, and a performance similar to his last at Gulfstream will make him one of the two choices in Louisville. He appears to be the number one bullet in Pletcher’s brigade of prospects. Awesome Act (Awesome Again—Houdinis Honey by Mr. Prospector) Trainer: Jeremy Noseda   Jockey: Julien Leparoux   ZATT Odds: 2-1 A quality English import, with breeding that suggests a route of ground on dirt, makes for a most interesting Kentucky Derby prospect. Another solid effort, now against tougher competition, in his second dirt race will make the European a hot choice in Kentucky. The chestnut colt, trained by the same Englishman who brought us BC winner Wilko, certainly had the look of quality in his first two U.S. starts. Schoolyard Dreams (Stephen Got Even—Hear This by Prospector’s Music) Trainer: Derek Ryan   Jockey: Ramon Dominguez   ZATT Odds: 5-1 He has all the look of a horse who is getting good at the right time, and has bounced back from an excellent effort in the Tampa Bay Derby with a bullet work over the deep strip in Tampa. The Wood Memorial should offer a good gauge for the Tampa Bay Derby which I have rated very highly. Conditioner Derek Ryan has been high on this colt for a long time and, in the Wood, will finally get the rider he has been wanting to ride Dreams, in Ramon Dominguez. Jackson Bend (Hear No Evil—Sexy Stockings by Tabasco Cat) Trainer: Nick Zito   Jockey: Calvin Borel   ZATT Odds: 5-1 He ran a big race in the Holy Bull, but will have to show improvement after running a well beaten second in the Fountain of Youth, to none other than Eskendereya. I refuse to take this one too lightly, however. He is trained by master conditioner Nick Zito, and has run well in all of his eight starts. Maybe the Fountain of Youth was not his best, he was preferred to Eskendereya by bettors that day, and maybe Zito has him geared up for the big ones. He is still a horse to fear.

Remembering ... Hansel

My recent trip to Turfway Park for Saturday’s Lane’s End Stakes got me into a bit of a nostalgic mood. While I have been to Turfway, or Latonia as it was formerly called, many times in the past, it had been several years since I had been to the Northern Kentucky oval. It seemed smaller than I remembered, a common phenomenon I guess. Being there brought back a flood of happy memories, and in recalling visits of the past, there was one memory that stood head and shoulders above the rest. The year was 1991, and a handsome bay colt’s performance that day was the cause of my vivid memory. In fact, it was not just his huge performance in the Jim Beam, (now called the Lane’s End) but it was also the magnificent year he had following that day at Turfway. Handsome Hansel was a looker right from the beginning. Hansel (Woodman--Count On Bonnie, by Dancing Count) was owned by Joe Allbritton's Lazy Lane Farm and trained by Frank Brothers. He was the picture of health when he arrived on the scene for a maiden special weight at Arlington Park in early June of his juvenile season. Hansel won easy in his debut under Randy Romero and would never again run in anything but graded stakes. In his next start he was an easy winner in the Tremont Stakes at Belmont Park. The future was bright. Unfortunately, he was still green and could not stick with the lightning quick Deposit Ticket in the Sapling and Hopeful. The season ended on a high note though, when Hansel returned to Chicago to win the Arlington-Washington Futurity, despite traffic problems. It was the second graded stakes win in only five starts for Hansel, and he wintered as one of the early favorites for the Kentucky Derby. 1991 did not start well for the beautiful bay. He bled in his first start, the Fountain of Youth, and finished fifth. A few weeks later he bore out on the turn and was beaten easily when third to juvenile champion Fly So Free and Strike the Gold. He left Florida 0 for 2 and fans wondered if he was a true Derby threat. Away from the heat and humidity of Florida, and armed with new rider Jerry Bailey, Hansel was now ready to re-announce himself to the world. I remember it well. Hansel broke from the three hole under rider Jerry Bailey and sat just behind race favorites, Californian shipper Apollo, and classy middle distance specialist Richman, around the first turn as those two set a fast pace on the fast track. He trailed by two lengths down the backstretch before making his move on the turn for home. Richman resisted, but it was clear that Hansel was too much horse. He drew away for an easy score and obliterated the track record by more than two seconds. It was an eye opening score, and everyone noticed. Following the Jim Beam record breaking run, Hansel was the hot horse. Only three horses challenged him in the Lexington Stakes, and it was a route. Hansel would head to Louisville off a nine length runaway. Off these two wins, he was bet down to the 5-2 favorite in the Derby over such stalwarts as Fly So Free, Best Pal and Strike the Gold. The fans would be right about Hansel, just not on that day. Bouncing around between horses in the large Derby field, Handsome Hansel had nothing when the horses turned for home. The Kentucky Derby favorite checked in a disappointing tenth, but his connections knew that the real Hansel had not showed at Churchill. It was on to Pimlico and a heavy dose of redemption. In the Preakness, bettors doubted Hansel after the debacle in the Derby. Sent off at a lifetime high of 9-1, those who stuck with the horse who had looked so good at Turfway and Keeneland, but not Churchill, were handsomely rewarded.  It was a good day for horse betting. In one of the most impressive Preakness wins ever, Hansel and Jerry Bailey stalked a fast pace, challenged on the turn and absolutely cantered home the easiest kind of winner. Once again the teletimer would be a big part of the story, as Hansel’s seven length romp produced a time of 1:54 flat. It was one of the fastest middle jewels ever run and it stamped Hansel as a bona fide star. While the Preakness was an explosive display of Hansel’s talent, it was in the Belmont, where Hansel began to show what he was truly made of. Not favored in part due to the fact that he would not run with Lasix for the first time since bleeding in the Fountain of Youth, Hansel was made a second choice to the stretch running Derby winner, Strike the Gold.  A wager on Hansel and a bet on the Belmont Stakes was once again wise, but it would not be easy.  Hansel would pressure a fast pace, one of the fastest in Belmont Stakes history. He would fight hard to put away the early speed and when he finally did turning for home, it looked like the Derby winner had him in his sights. Strike the Gold had sat way behind the brisk pace and was now flying on the outside passing horses one by one. The Frank Brothers trainee had something left though, and it was a race for the wire. Hansel was striding to the wire, but Strike the Gold was gaining with every stride. Ordinary horses would have succumbed to the fast fractions and demanding Belmont stretch in the grueling 1 ½ miles of the Test of Champions. Hansel was not ordinary though. He dug in and hit the wire a head in front of the Strike the Gold rush. The Derby debacle was a distant memory, Hansel had just run two huge races to win the final two legs of the Triple Crown. The Belmont would be the last moment in the glow of the winner’s circle for Hansel. He ran only two more times, a troubled and well beaten third place finish in the Haskell, and then a swan song in the Mid-Summer Derby. In the Travers, Hansel showed the heart of a champion as he chased Corporate Report around the entire track. He was beaten that day by a neck, but when you consider he hurt himself in the stretch and still almost got up for the win, you realize just what kind of horse he was. In his game Travers effort, Hansel had tore a tendon. Unable to return to the races, Hansel was retired that Fall. He was voted champion 3-year-old male of 1991 after winning four graded stakes, including the two classics. For his career he won half of his 14 starts and earned just a shade under three million dollars. At stud, he proved to be a useful sire with 18 stakes winners, and many more as a broodmare sire. His stud career is now coming to an end and Handsome Hansel should enjoy a very nice life in his golden years thanks to his old owner. Joe Allbritton purchased his star in Japan and brought him back to his Lazy Lane Farm in Virginia. Originally, Hansel was bought by Sheikh Maktoum's Gainsborough Farm following his retirement. He first stood at Gainsborough near in Kentucky, and then at Questroyal Stud in New York before being sold to a Japanese stud farm at Hidaka Stallion Station. At the time of the sale in 1999, Allbritton expressed an interest in re-acquiring Hansel in the future. True to his word, Allbritton purchased Hansel back in 2006 after his breeding prospects waned. Well done Mr. Allbritton, this is exactly how a proud and beautiful Thoroughbred should be treated. I remember you Hansel.

Where Did He Come From???

Bob Baffert’s undefeated 3-5 shot, Conveyance, was loping along on an uncontested lead. Expected early pressure from sprinter Classical Slew was nowhere to be seen. Meanwhile, morning line second choice Tempted to Tapit chose to stalk and offered no pace bother to the heavy favorite. The closest pursuer to Conveyance’s early lead was longshot Endorsement. It appeared to be as simple as Wire-to-Wire 101, and Baffert was already preparing his victory speech, but then something funny happened. This is why they run the race my friends…Halfway through the race, you could see that Endorsement was sitting very comfortably behind Conveyance. Jockey Robby Albarado was sitting as chilly as the cartoon penguin with Endorsement, who was now cutting into Conveyance’s lead. As they turned for home, it was clear who the stronger horse was, and it was not the undefeated colt who had been so high on the Kentucky Derby list of many. Instead it was Endorsement who proved an easy winner as he drew clear down the lane. At odds of nearly 12-1, and with only a maiden win in three starts, where did this kind of overpowering performance come from? ***The remainder of today's column can be found on Youbet.com*** Click Here