Finally … That’s the Al Khali I’ve been Waiting For

Blocked completely for much of the stretch, the task seemed absolutely hopeless for Al Khali and new rider Alan Garcia. Leader Strike a Deal was resilient on the lead, and recent grade 1 winner Winchester was bearing down on him on the outside. Al Khali was clearly full of run, but desperately seeking racing room until Garcia found the opportunity to yank him to the outside. Within an instant of altering course, Al Khali’s rally was launched like only the folks at Cape Canaveral could appreciate, carrying him to a sudden and measured neck victory over favored Winchester. In typical understated fashion, trainer Bill Mott said, “At the eighth pole, I didn’t think we had any chance, but he came with a good run.” ***The remainder of today's column can be found on Youbet.com*** Click Here

Stopping the Madness

Play the horses long enough and you will always find new and exciting ways to be humbled. How about watching and touting a horse the entire Spring only to be disappointed time after time. Then as soon as you say, "I need to move on and stop the madness," the horse goes and wins one of the most important and historic races in the United States. Yes, my friends, this sport that we love, is quite a game! The horse of whom I speak, of course, is Drosselmeyer, and yesterday he was able to fulfill all the promise that many, including me, saw in him before he had ever run in his first stakes race. Much like last year's winner Summer Bird, Drosselmeyer is a strikingly handsome chestnut colt who made the Test of Champions his first career stakes win. The son of Distorted Humor, out of the stakes winning Moscow Ballet mare Golden Ballet, won for the third time in nine starts with a nearly one length win yesterday at Big Sandy. In winning, Drosselmeyer gave his Hall of Fame trainer, Bill Mott, his long awaited first Triple Crown victory, and also carried his popular new rider, Mike Smith, to his first ever Belmont Stakes victory. It was nice to see two of the sport's good guys collect their first Belmont Stakes win. The win also marked the second Crown victory of the year for owner WinStar Farm, who also own Super Saver. Wrapping up coverage of the Triple Crown, that saw three different winners, yesterday's race for 2nd place behind Drosselmeyer, saw Fly Down nip the pacesetting First Dude near the wire. Incredibly, it was the same trainer photo finish as the Kentucky Derby, in which Ice Box passed Paddy O'Prado at the wire, and the Preakness when First Dude just held off Jackson Bend for 2nd. Once again it came down to the last few jumps to see if it would be Nick Zito or Dale Romans who would train the classic's 2nd place finisher. Zito made it two photos out of three when Fly Down passed Roman's First Dude late.

One Courageous Cat

My favorite turf horse returned today at Gulfstream Park and earned a hard fought victory in the Grade 3 Canadian Turf Stakes at Gulfstream Park. His name is Courageous Cat, and he certainly lives up to his name. Last seen in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, where he ran second to the great French mare Goldikova, Courageous Cat showed no ill effects from the three and a half month layoff. He stalked a fast pace, as he normally does, pounced as the field straightened out and was very game in holding off a spirited rally by longshot Cherokee Artist to win by a head. A good enough return race for the Bill Mott trainee until you consider the final time. The one mile race on the lawn was run in 1:31.58. Horses simply can not run a flat mile much faster than that, and in fact, the race was less than one fifth of a second behind the world record for the distance. The Gulfstream Park turf course is playing fast, but for a return race, and one in which he was giving the field weight, it was most impressive. Coglianese Photo I first time I saw this colt, was last Summer at Belmont Park, where I was impressed with both his physical look, as well as his quick burst of speed. Courageous Cat is an attractive bay with three white stockings and a long white blaze that stretches all the way down his nose. What I saw that first day, when he broke his maiden on the grass, was a horse who could run fast early and then explode into another gear to put his competition away. He was placed directly into stakes races after the maiden score, and he continued to impress. He won an overnight stake at Belmont, shading 1:40 for a 1 1/16 in the process, before easily annexing the Grade 2 Hall of Fame Stakes at Saratoga. That day he ran 1:45.90 for the nine furlongs. His three race skein was broken in the Grade 1 Jamaica, where he steadied, when the real running began and was beaten by the classy Take the Points by ¾ of a length. In that defeat, he showed a lot of heart as he re-rallied, after he looked like he was out of the race. On Breeders’ Cup Day, Courageous Cat made a name for himself. He knocked on the door of stardom when he surged to the lead at the eighth pole before succumbing to the irresistible rush of Goldikova. Ignored that afternoon at nearly 23-1, he was the best performing of my longshot selections in the BC races, and I will be a fan of his for the duration. Ridden for the second consecutive time by Garrett Gomez, today’s victory was Courageous Cat’s fourth win in seven career starts on the grass. It marked his third stakes win and second graded stakes tally. So far, so good for the impeccably bred son of Storm Cat and Tranquility Lake. A homebred for Pam and Martin Wygod, Courageous Cat is very lightly raced and still on the improve. If he remains healthy, he will give the American side a wonderful opportunity to reclaim the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Churchill Downs. A task made all the taller by the fact that the two-time defending champion Goldikova is preparing to begin her five-year-old season and another raid on our Breeders’ Cup. Can he beat her? Only time will tell, but now a year older and with more experience there for the offing, I think he just may be the horse to take down the French Superstar. He has courage, and he has speed. He is…One Courageous Cat.

Heralding Drosselmeyer

WinStar Farm is in the best position of any owner at this point on the Kentucky Derby highway. Their hand is stacked with four major players ready to march on Louisville the first of May. Three of the four secured their position as early favorites by impressively winning stakes late last year, with Super Saver winning the Kentucky Jockey Club, Rule winning the Delta Jackpot, and American Lion accounting for Hollywood’s Prevue. The final horse of their big four may not be as well known, or even run in a stakes race yet, but he just might have what it takes to be the one horse draped in roses at Churchill Downs. His name is Drosselmeyer. Named for a character from Tchaikovsky's ‘The Nutcracker’, Drosselmeyer is a chestnut colt by Distorted Humor, who has already sired a Derby winner in Funny Cide, out of the grade 1 winning mare, Golden Ballet, a daughter of Moscow Ballet. The well bred sophomore, trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, also has a stronger foundation of experience than many of the top candidates, with four two-turn races and a win over the Churchill Downs strip under his belt. He has already run on turf, synthetics, and dirt, but it was his two dirt races that really caught my attention. After three solid, but losing, efforts on East Coast lawns and Keeneland’s synthetic course, his first try on dirt was a race at Churchill originally scheduled for the turf. In the maiden special weight, Drosselmeyer broke from the outside post and toyed with his overmatched opponents in the one mile affair to the tune of a six length tally. Ridden by Kent Desormeaux, he ran a solid time on the same strip that will host the derby, and it was one of the more visually impressive maiden scores of the year. That November 18 race would be his last of the season, and it stamped him as a horse to watch in 2010. I will admit, the maiden win was not quite enough to crack my Down and Derby Top 20 list, but he was very close, and he had my full attention for his return. We did not need to wait too long for him to reappear. It happened on the last day of January at Gulfstream Park. The nine furlong allowance race gave Drosselmeyer another opportunity to run over a route of ground, and allowed for his first dirt race around two-turns. He passed the challenge with flying colors. Drosselmeyer, ridden again by Kent Desormeaux, had to find room on the turn and for awhile it looked like he might be in trouble. Drosselmeyer was patient and professional and when the hole opened up he showed excellent acceleration and easily edged away from the solid allowance field by 1 ¾ lengths. Once again the final time was solid, 1:49.52, and the way he did it was impressive. I always look for a horse that can be patient and maneuver through openings once presented in the Derby. Drosselmeyer appears to be that type of horse. His two dirt races are impressive enough for him to sky rocket up my list of Derby contenders, which will be out on Saturday. All things look full steam ahead for the powerful colt. Elliott Walden, the Vice President & Racing Manager at WinStar, tells me that Drosselmeyer is doing good and his next race will most likely be the Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes at the Fair Grounds on February 20. If that is indeed where he runs next, it will mark his sixth race at six different tracks and his fifth race around two-turns. Along with impressive experience already at Churchill Downs, and being trained by one of our sport’s masters, you would have to think that Drosselmeyer will be one of the most well prepared horses in the Kentucky Derby starting gate. Yes, I know I might be jumping the gun a bit with that last statement, but this is one colt I really like.

Remembering ... Paradise Creek

Who was the best American turf horse of the 1990s? A tough selection to be sure, but I know whom I would pick…Paradise Creek. A model of consistency, the Creek ran 24 times on the lawn spanning four marvelous seasons. Keeping the very best company, he won 14 times and finished 2nd in seven others. There was only one occasion, in these 24 turf races, where Paradise Creek did not prove a major factor. It is always a joy to root for a horse that you know will fire every time, and Paradise Creek was one of those rare horses. He was never afraid to hop on a plane and bring his A game, starting his career in upstate New York and finishing it in the Land of the Rising Sun. In between, the Creek would win stakes at eight different tracks all over the country. There was an antagonist in his story, the brilliant miler, Lure, who would get the best of my hero on more than one occasion. In the end though, Paradise Creek persevered and was never better then his final season. At 5-years-old, he was deservingly named the champion grass horse of 1994. From the beginning, I followed his career closely and I have wonderful memories of this terrific grass horse. It all began in the Summer of 1991, when I was fortunate enough to be in the stands for the start of his career. It looked like Paradise Creek was an older horse running against babies as he demolished a full field of well bred juveniles at Saratoga. The 11 length beating was so thorough, that from this Maiden Special Weight on the turf, Bill Mott placed him next in the Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes. The Hopeful would be Paradise Creek’s only lifetime race on the dirt and he finished 4th in the field of nine. That would be it for his juvenile season, but that one magnificent turf race made a lasting impression on me. From that race, I would be a fan of his for life. After a lengthy layoff, the Bertram Firestone owned and bred colt returned in the Summer to dominate three consecutive turf races in New York. I kept an eye on him from a distance and I jumped at the chance to see him once again as he shipped in to Chicago for the Grade 1 Secretariat. Disappointment, as the Creek was held off a slow place, had brief traffic issues and then gallantly gained to no avail against the talented frontrunner, Ghazi. I went home that day knowing that Paradise Creek was the best horse, but it would be the first of many tough defeats for the son of Irish River; good thing he would go on to win so many. He continued his 3-year-old campaign with two more seconds, first in a turf stake at the Meadowlands and then in the Breeders’ Cup Mile. His 2nd place finish in the Mile was validation for my belief in him, as he rallied to beat every horse in the stellar field except for his new nemesis, Lure. Paradise Creek was dismissed at 30-1 odds that day, it was a mistake that bettors would not make again. After gamely winning the Hollywood Derby to end his three-year old campaign, Paradise Creek was slowed by setbacks in his four-year-old season and he would win only one of five races. In three consecutive races that year, he would taste defeat at the hands of that pesky middle distance star. Lure was one of the finest milers ever to run on American grass, but to me he was a thorn in the side, because he was to Paradise Creek. Finally completely healthy at five, the Creek would get off to an early start, winning three turf stakes at Gulfstream to begin the year. In his Ft. Lauderdale score he stopped the teletimer of the 1 1/16 race in 1:39 and 1. Revenge proved a dish best served in Kentucky, as it was there that he first spanked his rival Lure in winning by four lengths at Churchill Downs. He would go on to beat him again in the Dixie, and then rattle off wins in the Manhattan, Arlington Million, and DC International. Eight major stakes wins already that year and he was doing it so impressively. In the Manhattan at Belmont, he won off by 6 ¾ lengths and his final time was an unbelievable 1:57 and 3 for the 10 furlongs. It remains one of the fastest races I have ever seen. All my time watching and rooting for this lord of the grass was paying off in a big way. This amazing year brought him to the Breeders’ Cup Turf as a prohibitive 4-5 favorite in a 14 horse field full of talent. There was one problem though, Paradise Creek had never in his career been farther than 1 ¼ miles. This would be one of the toughest fields of his life and he would need to run one quarter mile farther than he had ever gone before. I was there in the crowded Churchill Downs grandstand as this beautiful dark brown champion made a big, powerful early move to take command on the far turn. For a second I thought the Creek was home free as Pat Day guided him to a clear lead in the stretch. My heart sank though, as he began to shorten strides and the European monsters, Tikkanen and Hatoof gobbled him up. Paradise Creek finished a winded, but gallant 3rd. It would be his final race for me to see him and in the United States. Looking back, my favorite race out of all of Paradise Creek’s excellent career had to be the afternoon of August 28, 1994. Having spent much of my life in Chicago, the Arlington Million is a race close to my heart. This would be Paradise Creek’s only attempt in the Million and I wanted badly to see him win. There was not much money to be made…he was a 9-5 favorite and it certainly was not his most impressive win…he won by ¾ of a length, but it was my horse winning the Million. He had done it, I can still see him crossing the wire in front. It was a day of joy and a day of satisfaction as the horse I had followed and admired for so long, won the race I wanted to see him win. Paradise Creek would go on to end his career in the Japan Cup, which at the time was the world’s richest race. His new Japanese owner wanted a chance to see him compete one time in his homeland before sending him off to a successful stud career in Japan. In a race that no American has won in the past 18 years, Paradise Creek would run huge one last time. Just three short weeks after his demanding run in the BC Turf and with a trip across the world under his belt, Paradise Creek ran like a champion. Sticking his nose in front only yards before the wire of the 12 furlong marathon, but it was not to be. He lost the scantest of photos in a head-bobbing finish. To this day I still believe he won the race, but the Japanese stewards awarded the photo to a Japanese horse, and once again, the Creek would have to swallow a tough defeat. A great turf champion, Paradise Creek fell short of absolute superstardom with his losses to Lure, his 2nd place finishes in the Breeders’ Cup and his whisker of a defeat in his final race, but you must appreciate this horse who performed so well in 23 out of his 24 lifetime turf races. I know I appreciate him…I remember you Paradise Creek.