May 15, 2010

Ten for Ten

Undefeated superstar, Lookin at Lucky, won the Preakness Stakes today and is now a perfect ten for ten lifetime. That very well could have been my opening line had good fortune been on his side. An overstatement? Perhaps, but Lookin at Lucky once again proved himself to be at the very top of his class once again.

He may not have won the Breeders’ Cup as a juvenile, but with a better trip he would have. Lookin at Lucky was still good enough to win all his other races at two, and easily take home the Eclipse Award as America’s best juvenile.

He may not have won the Kentucky Derby, but he was forced into the rail so forcefully that his chances to win were all but nil after the first quarter mile. After that beginning, finishing in the top third of the field was quite an accomplishment for the son of Smart Strike.

He may not have even won his final prep for the Kentucky Derby, but his trouble in the Santa Anita Derby was severe enough for his jockey, Garrett Gomez to go after rival jockey Victor Espinoza with a right hook. Would he have caught Sidney’s Candy that day? No one knows for sure, but I wouldn’t put it past this horse. Ten races could have easily been ten wins with only a little luck.

Instead Lookin at Lucky has been the brunt of seemingly awful racing luck, but the bottom line is he still has a sparkling record with seven wins in ten tries, including six graded stakes wins. He is already a champion, and in strong contention for another this year, and now he is a classic winner. The horse whose luck needed to change finally had things go his way. He was due, in fact he was overdue. Look out world, Looking at Lucky is back…all he ever needed was a fair chance.

Photo by Cecilia G. Felix

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

He is not 10 for 10, his record is 10 starts, 7 wins, 1 second and 1 third.

Brian Zipse said...

LOL, I am guessing you only read the first sentence?

Anonymous said...

Excellent Brian, you are absolutely right too. He should have been a perfect 10-for-10 but thank goodness he got to prove himself in a fair arena on one of the sports biggest stages.

Anonymous said...

He's a really nice horse and he's tried as hard as he can in all of his races but he's not perfect. Also, he never faced nor gives the impression he could have beaten Eskendereya.

So let's hold off on the hyperboles..

Sarah Grice said...

the person who keeps correcting you makes me laugh. :)