Remembering ... Ack Ack

In a career filled with the training of great horses, it may have been in the transforming of a former sprinter into a sensational Horse of the Year, which proved to be Charlie Whittingham’s greatest professional accomplishment. Ack Ack was a bay son of Battle Joined out of the Turn-To mare Fast Turn foaled in 1966, and he did not come to work with the Bald Eagle until he already had two seasons under his girth. In those first two seasons, Ack Ack displayed a penchant for winning, but also a preference for shorter distances. His racing career began the year before I was born in 1968. As a juvenile, Ack Ack managed only one win and two seconds in three starts. At the time he was trained by Frank Bonsal, for owner and breeder Harry F. Guggenheim. His sophomore season began in South Florida and Ack Ack began to flash his talents. Three straight wins ensued, including Hialeah’s Bahamas Stakes, but he failed when trying a distance for the first time in the Everglades Stakes. Back at shorter distances, Ack Ack romped in an allowance race at Keeneland and then scored an impressive victory in the Derby Trial. In that race he broke the track record by running the mile in 1:34 2/5. The sharp time did not persuade his connections to go on the Triple Crown trail though as they knew their charge was best in one-turn races. While Majestic Prince and Arts and Letters were deservingly getting all the headlines with their series of battles in the Derby, Preakness, and Belmont, Ack Ack stayed off the major stage. He was placed first in Belmont’s Withers Stakes and then finished second in two straight distance races at Garden State Park, before ending his season with a big win in the one-turn Arlington Classic. At year end, his sparkling three-year-old record showed seven wins and three seconds in eleven starts. Offered as part of a full stable dispersal sale due to the owner’s failing health, Ack Ack, was not sold. It was no wonder as his reserve price was rumored to be one million dollars. A huge number as the 1960‘s came to a close. Still running for his ailing owner, Ack Ack was sent to California to work with his new conditioner, Charlie Whittingham. Ack Ack began his career as an older horse, and for his new trainer, with a troubled trip when fourth in the Premeire Handicap. He would go on to win the Los Angeles Handicap at Hollywood and the Autumn Days Handicap on the Santa Anita turf course. He also set a track record of 1:02 1/5 for 5 ½ furlongs in an easy allowance score at Del Mar. At four, he may have only raced five times, winning four of them, but it was clear that Whittingham‘s new charge was one of the fastest horses in America. Although he specialized in sprint races, his trainer saw the potential for distance racing because of the bay colt’s breeding. Whittingham mapped out a plan to test him in the biggest races on the West Coast. Ack Ack began his fourth season of racing the day after New Year’s by finishing second in the Palos Verdes Handicap and then quickly wheeled back to win the seven furlong San Carlos Handicap easily for Guggenheim. The sickly owner would not live to see the transformation from sprinter to superstar though, as he died in January of 1971. Whittingham was able to convince friends Buddy Fogelson and his wife, actress Greer Garson, to buy a majority interest in Ack Ack for a reported $500,000, while the wily trainer retained one-third interest. It was money well spent all around as Whittingham would be correct about the horse and Ack Ack would go on a major roll for his new owners. In his first route try in nearly two years, Ack Ack won the San Pasqual at 1 1/16 miles. Next came a win in the nine furlong San Antonio Stakes. The historic Big Cap would be next, and the former sprint specialist was assigned 130 pounds in his first try at a classic distance. He opened up a large lead and was able to hit the wire 1 ½ lengths clear of the classy Cougar II. Proving his amazing versatility, Ack Ack returned to the races, after a brief rest, to score easily in the Hollywood Express at just 5 ½ furlongs. Next would come only his second ever try on the grass, and he once again dominated from the get go in the 1 1/8 mile American Handicap, setting a course record in the process. His next test would come in the Hollywood Gold Cup. On a six-race winning streak, Ack Ack was asked to carry 134 pounds. It marked the fifth straight race where he carried rider Willie Shoemaker and enough lead to hit at least 130 pounds. The heavy impost and the ten furlongs mattered little as Ack Ack rolled home much the best. Unfortunately, Ack Ack would not be afforded the opportunity to build on his lengthy win streak. A life-threatening bout of colic saw to that, and the speedy son of Battle Joined was retired. Despite not racing after the Gold Cup on July 17, his superlative five-year-old season earned an embarrassment of riches at the Eclipse Awards. Ack Ack was named Horse of the Year, as well as both the Champion Older Horse and Champion Sprinter awards. Ack Ack retired as a champion with a career record that displayed his marvelous consistency, 19 victories and 6 second place finishes in only 27 starts and career earnings totaling $636,641. With his racing career behind him, Whittingham’s star project went to stud at Claiborne Farm in Kentucky where he once again was a big success. Ack Ack sired a diverse group of 55 stakes winners. Among his notable offspring was the great turf talent Youth, who won the Canadian International at 1 5/8 miles and the prestigious D C International by ten lengths, as part of Ack Ack’s first crop. He also sired a favorite of mine in Broad Brush, who inherited his sire’s consistency and toughness, and became a champion sire as well. He lived at Claiborne until his death on December 28, 1990 at the age of 24. Ack Ack was buried at Claiborne Farm. Elected into Racing’s Hall of Fame in 1986, he was truly one of a kind. Sprinting, routing, grass, or dirt, Ack Ack, with the help of his legendary trainer, did it all. I remember you Ack Ack.

Remembering ... Broad Brush

The date was September 27, 1986 and it began innocuously enough. I was a senior in high school, and my father and I were on the road to Philadelphia. We were headed to Philadelphia Park, a track that had become a regular for the two of us in those years. The almost two-hour drive from Northern New Jersey, gave us a chance to catch up on the week’s goings on, but more than anything we discussed the horses. We talked about the stakes horses, whether or not we were about to see them run in person or not. That day we would have the pleasure of seeing one of the best three-year-olds in the nation in person. His name was Broad Brush. We both admired the colt for the consistent class he had displayed in the 15 races he had run since his career had begun eleven months before. My father and I both liked the horse for a variety of reasons. We had won money on him when he won that Spring’s Wood Memorial at 7-1. Hoist the Flag had been one of our favorite sires for years, and Broad Brush was a son of the Hoist the Flag mare Hay Patcher. It was easy to like Broad Brush, as he was competitive in all the big races, even without our own personal reasons. To tell you the truth, we were pleased to be going to see him that day, but we were not expecting that interesting of a race. The Pennsylvania Derby had attracted him, but not one other star would join him. Broad Brush, despite having lost his previous few races, was sure to be a heavy favorite against the rest, who honestly were little more than minor stakes horses. We had no idea what would be in store for us on that day. The day proved to be a bit gloomy. It rained throughout the afternoon and the track was sloppy. My father and I had no luck during the day with our picks, and with Broad Brush at 4-5, we did not see much opportunity to win money on the feature race. So far the best thing about the day was the Philadelphia Park hot dogs we consumed for lunch. They always taste better at the track, don’t they? Now, if you think a 4-5 shot will be beaten, it can be an exciting race to bet. The Pennsylvania Derby was not such a race; neither of us saw anyone in that field touching Broad Brush. So it went, as Broad Brush seized command on the far turn and was poised to waltz home to an easy score, but if horse racing has taught me one thing, it is to never become complacent. Six of the seven horses turned for home down the Philadelphia Park stretch and one did not. Broad Brush did not turn…at all. He instead headed directly for the outer rail. His lead was gone. By the time Hall of Fame rider Angel Cordero straightened him out, he could have grabbed a beer from one of the railbirds. He had gone from first to last in a matter of seconds. It was a shocking way for a horse to lose a big race. But, here is the catch, or the reason for this story if you will, Broad Brush did not lose. I steered my binoculars gaze toward the new leaders to watch, what I thought would be the rest of the race unfolding. I was wrong. Broad Brush was now gaining with every stride from the twenty path. I dropped my binoculars to see him flying, no other horse was near him, but he was sprinting as if he was in the race of his life. It was not to be believed, except I was there, I was seeing it with my own eyes. He was so far outside that we were not sure from our vantage point at the eighth pole, if he had gotten up. He did. Broad Brush won with room to spare. The official margin was 1 ¼ lengths, but it may as well have been 30. To this day, it is the most remarkable performance I have ever seen. Broad Brush also won the Grade 1 Wood Memorial Stakes and the Grade 1 Meadowlands Cup at three and finished third in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes for trainer Dickie Small. As a four-year-old, the bay son of Ack Ack beat Ferdinand by a nose in the Santa Anita Handicap and also scored in the prestigious Suburban Handicap. Overall he won 14 of 27 career starts and earned $2,656,793. He was victorious in 12 stakes races and finished in the money in ten others. He danced every dance, traveled the nation, carried much weight, and fired every time. On the track, Broad Brush was truly an admirable horse. He may have been an even better sire. Broad Brush sired more than 90 stakes winners and his sons and daughters won nearly $70 million dollars in their racing careers. 37 of his stakes winners are graded or group winners. He was the leading sire in the nation in 1994, and sired a Breeders’ Cup Classic winner in Concern and a three-year-old filly champion in Farda Amiga. As a broodmare sire, Broad Brush is quickly closing in on the enormous numbers he put up as a sire. His daughters are among the most sought after broodmares in America. One of the most influential sires in Thoroughbred history was Domino, and Broad Brush’s influence is considered the last of the Domino line. Broad Brush’s breeding career ended in 2004 due to decreasing fertility. He lived on to 2009, when he was euthanized at the age of 26, because of untreatable infirmities. In those 26 years, Broad Brush proved to be both a top notch race horse and perhaps an even better sire, but the one thing about Broad Brush, that will be with me forever, is that performance in the 1986 Pennsylvania Derby. It was truly unforgettable, and because of those twenty seconds of time, more than anything else, I remember you Broad Brush.