Future Star Watch - Alcindor

Never one to go to long without a star in his barn, Bob Baffert may have another colt with the talent to place his name next to the long line of major stakes winners for the silver haired Hall of Fame trainer. A late-developing three-year-old, Alcindor is a son of Unbridled's Song out of the Storm Cat mare Zing. Purchased for $1.15 million by Thoroughbred Legends Racing Stable at the 2008 Keeneland September yearling sale, he is a big, tall colt who was given plenty of time to grow into his frame. Because of his size, and the talent Baffert could see early on, the Kentucky bred was pegged with the rather auspicious name of Alcindor. Named after the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who had changed his name from Lew Alcindor, Baffert’s new star has impressed greatly in his first two starts. On Sunday November 28, the dark bay made a big splash with his second triumph in as many starts. Alcindor had little trouble with a more experienced group of allowance foes, romping home in a seven furlong affair at Hollywood Park by 7 ½ lengths in the sprightly time of 1:21.67. The impressive win was number 1,999 for his trainer and followed a strong debut victory just five weeks earlier. That day, he stalked blazing fractions before rallying from third to get up and nail favored Chapman's Peak by a nose. He ran the six furlongs in 1:09.45 under jockey Martin Garcia as the well backed second choice in the wagering. His early success has been little surprise to those around the backstretch. Along with his obvious physical attributes, he displayed major talent in his morning works, flashing two bullet works at five furlongs and six furlongs this August at Hollywood Park. Clearly he has not disappointed so far in the afternoons. With the name, the connections, and the buzz generated by his first few performances on the track, Alcindor has quickly become one of the most talked about horses in Southern California. If he continues to progress, he may just have the talent to become one of the top handicap horses on the West Coast. With the Strub Series for newly turned four-year-olds just around the corner, it looks like he will have the opportunity to do just that. His first major test is expected to come in the $250,000 Grade I Malibu Stakes at Santa Anita the day after Christmas. With the expected tough opposition he will have to face in the Malibu, it is unlikely that the race will be a slam-dunk for him … much more likely to be a sky-hook.

Remembering ... Real Quiet

With every heart pounding stride it was becoming painfully evident that the quest for racing’s holy grail was in jeopardy. Only seconds before, Mike Pegram’s Real Quiet had seemed home free, as he and Rider Kent Desormeaux had stormed to a commanding lead early in the stretch. He was on the verge of becoming the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed had outfought his great rival Alydar to the Belmont Stakes wire twenty years earlier. While Affirmed had to best the great Alydar in three straight classic races, Real Quiet’s foil was Victory Gallop. The late developing son of Cryptoclearance had finished second to Real Quiet in both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, and was back to challenge for a third time. The two proud colts were now in the midst of thrilling the second largest crowd to see the race in the rich history of the Belmont Stakes. The thrilling duel, down the Belmont stretch, brought the crowd first to a fever pitch, and then to an eerie silence on a gorgeous June afternoon in New York. Immortality would slip away from Real Quiet on that day, as Victory Gallop methodically reeled him in during the final few strides of the Belmont Stakes. In the end, Real Quiet had been beaten a scant nose, and in that tiny margin, the hopes of millions of race fans, desperately seeking a new hero, were dashed. Adding to the drama of the closest Belmont since the Affirmed/Alydar epic, was the announcement after the race that stewards might have disqualified him if he had won the race, due to bumping Victory Gallop twice nearing the finish. It marked the second year in a row that Real Quiet’s trainer Bob Baffert was denied after coming agonizingly close to completing a Triple Crown. He had been turned away the year before when Silver Charm was passed by Touch Gold late in the race. This near miss was closer though, much closer. I could not help but feel for Real Quiet and his connections. I was not alone in my disappointment. Real Quiet was bred by Little Hill Farm in Kentucky, and born on March 7, 1995. The bay colt was by sired Quiet American, out of the Believe It mare, Really Blue. His narrow frame and crooked knees did not attract much attention from prospective buyers, and so the young colt was snatched up at auction by trainer Bob Baffert, to be owned by his friend Mike Pegram, for a mere $17,000 as a yearling. The bargain purchase would set the stage for Real Quiet joining Seattle Slew as a quintessential rags to riches racing story. The first time I saw Real Quiet in person was a very memorable day for me. It happened to be my first ever visit to Santa Anita Park, and I had decided my money would be on the bargain basement colt. The loser of his first six races, including two at the Downs of Santa Fe in New Mexico, Real Quiet had blossomed when stretched out in the Fall of his juvenile year. He broke his maiden impressively at Santa Anita and culminated his two-year-old season by winning the Hollywood Futurity. My first experience at Santa Anita and seeing Real Quiet came in the 1998 Santa Anita Derby. I bet on The Fish, so nicknamed by Baffert because of his skinny appearance from head on, as he faced off against California’s other top sophomores in Artax, and Baffert’s new star, Indian Charlie. My selection ran a solid race that day as he made a strong rally and split horses early in the stretch to finish second to his favored stablemate. Indian Charlie was too good for him that time, and at that distance, but Real Quiet had the look of a colt who would thrive at the longer distances to come. Things would soon be different. The 1998 Kentucky Derby seemed like it was ripe for the taking. Ligthly raced Indian Charlie was the favorite despite questions about his ability to get the Derby distance. Real Quiet and Victory Gallop were two of many of the horses thought to have a real chance to pull the upset. Pull the upset he did. Sent off at 8-1, Real Quiet stormed to the lead on the far turn and had enough to hold off the strong late rally of Victory Gallop, with Indian Charlie checking in third. It was no surprise to winning trainer, Bob Baffert, who knew the colt was peaking at the right time. Two weeks later further demonstrated how good Real Quiet was becoming, as he clinched the first two legs of the Triple Crown with an easy 2 ¼ length score in the Preakness Stakes. Victory Gallop again rallied for second, but this time he could not come close to The Fish. The Belmont, three weeks later, may have been opportunity lost, but it completed an awesome stretch of racing in a five-week period for Real Quiet. Despite being sidelined after his sensational Triple Crown chase, his accomplishments in the first half of 1998 earned him the Eclipse Award as Champion three-year-old male. Real Quiet would further demonstrate his class when returning the following Spring as an older horse. After a couple of narrow defeats, off the layoff, in graded stakes in the South, Real Quiet would be reacquainted with a classic distance in the historic Pimlico Special. I must admit I did not bet The Fish that day, because he was up against one of my all-time favorites in Free House. Real Quiet would prove that last year’s Triple Crown was no fluke by earning a hard fought neck victory over his accomplished foe. Interestingly, Gary Stevens was the winning rider that day, yes the same Gary Stevens who had ridden Victory Gallop on that fateful day at Belmont Park. By winning the Grade 1 Pimlico Special, he became only one of five horses ever to win both the Preakness and the Pimlico Special, joining four Triple Crown winners, Assualt, Citation, War Admiral, and Whirlaway to win both races. After the big win at Pimlico, Real Quiet was upset by the hard hitting Behrens in the Mass Cap, before heading back to Southern California for a date in the Hollywood God Cup. Proving once again that he was a terror at classic distances, The Fish won the ten furlong Gold Cup by a half length. It marked his fifth race at a 1 3/16 or farther, with only the nose loss in the Belmont blemishing his perfect record. The Gold Cup would send Real Quiet out as a winner, as shortly after the Gold Cup in June, Real Quiet suffered a fractured bone in his right front leg and never raced again. All told he won 6 of his 20 starts, finishing in the money 17 times, and earned $3,271,802. Real Quiet was a horse who was not afraid to rise to the occasion, as five of those six wins came in grade 1 races. After retirement, the bay stallion entered stud at Vinery in 2000 and later moved to Taylor Made Farm before being relocated to Pennsylvania. As a sire, he produced Midnight Lute and two other Grade 1 winners, Pussycat Doll, and Wonder Lady Anne L. Midnight Lute would of course win back to back Breeder’s Cup Sprints and was named the Champion Sprinter of 2007. It is with great sadness that I report that Real Quiet’s stallion career has come to a tragic end. The fifteen-year-old stallion passed away suddenly after a freak accident in his paddock yesterday afternoon at Penn Ridge Farms, near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Frankly, it was not my plan to write about the 1998 champion, Real Quiet today, but when I had heard that he had died, my duty was clear. It is always tough to lose a popular horse, and in Real Quiet, racing lost a real champion yesterday. No horse has ever come so close without winning the Triple Crown. He will always be remembered for his heartbreaking loss, but as he proved on many occasions since that afternoon at Belmont Park, The Fish was far more than the horse who narrowly missed out on becoming the 12th ever winner of America‘s Triple Crown. I remember you Real Quiet.

Martin Garcia is White Hot

Think back about a month and a half…Garret Gomez, two-time Eclipse Award winning jockey, was being pulled off Lookin at Lucky in favor of Martin Garcia. It was not a shock, as Gomez and Lucky had found themselves in the middle of rough trips every time they hit the track together this year. To many though, the rider who picked up the mount on the about-to-be Preakness winner, was a bit of a surprise. The casual race fan knew very little about this 25-year-old jockey from Mexico. Flash forward six weeks to present day, and Martin Garcia is a bona fide star. Winning the Preakness changed his national notoriety, but Garcia has been rising up the ranks for several years. Since emigrating to the United States in 2003 and taking a job at a deli in Pleasanton, California, Garcia has taken the fast track to the American success story. From slicing prosciutto, Garcia soon began working at the track as a stable hand and an exercise rider in Northern California. There he galloped horses for six months before starting to race ride at Golden Gate Fields. On August 17, 2005, Martin Garcia won his first race aboard Wild Daydreamer at the Bay Meadows Fair. Since then it has been a steady climb up the ranks. Now he may be America’s hottest rider, winning stakes at an alarming rate and traveling all over the nation to win them. A quick look of major stakes around the nation this year reads like a Martin Garcia highlight reel. Kinsale King wins the Palos Verdes, Jeranimo wins the Strub, Conveyance wins the Southwest, Game on Dude wins the Lone Star Derby, Champagne d’Oro wins the Acorn, Switch wins the Hollywood Oaks. Garcia was on them all. Throw in the Preakness, and you can see that Garcia is simply having a whale of a year. Each week brings another big win, and last night at Prairie Meadows, Garcia was at it again. Riding for his number one client, Bob Baffert, he blitzed the Iowa Derby field aboard the suddenly exciting prospect Concord Point. I am not sure who he will be on next week, but with Martin Garcia in the saddle, whoever it is, has a big chance to take home first money.

Why Monmouth Will Succeed

Bold moves create big questions. Will the Million Dollar Meet be the future of racing? Or will the big plan not be what it’s cracked up to be, further weakening the sport on the East Coast? One thing is for sure, all of racing will be tuned in to watch Monmouth Park’s risky endeavor of shortening the race week to three days while offering 50 million dollars in purses over a 50 day race meet beginning today. My money is on Monmouth, I think their bold initiative will be a big success. Here are just a few of my favorite reasons for the prediction: ***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.

Derby Morning Line … for the Trainers

1 Todd Pletcher 5-2 (Eskendereya, Super Saver, Rule, Connemara, Interactif, Discreetly Mine & Aikenite) Pletcher’s army is deeper than ever, giving him his best chance yet to win his first Run for the Roses. 2 Bob Baffert 3-1 (Lookin at Lucky, Conveyance & The Program) Last time Baffert’s great Derby streak began he finished 2nd the year previous with Cavonnier. Last year Pioneerofthe Nile was 2nd… 3 Nick Zito 10-1 (Ice Box, Fly Down & Jackson Bend) It’s been 16 years since New York Nick won his second Derby. Is he overdue for a third? 4 Thomas Amoss 15-1 (Ron the Greek & Backtalk) Solid conditioner has two interesting candidates. The Louisiana and Illinois Derbies should tell us more. 5 D. Wayne Lukas 15-1 (Dublin, Northern Giant & Wow Wow Wow) 13 time winner in Triple Crown races and 4 time Derby winner must be respected. Dublin looks like his best chance. 6 Alexis Barba 15-1 (Alphie’s Bet & Make Music For Me) With two legitimate contenders, she could become the biggest story on the Derby trail. 7 Kenneth McPeek 15-1 (Noble’s Promise) Tejano Run was his best hope with a 2nd in 1995. Now 15 years later, he will try to stretch out the talent of his game colt, Noble’s Promise. 8 Jeremy Noseda 15-1 (Awesome Act) English trainer who brought us Wilko is back looking for America’s biggest prize, and in Awesome Act, he may have the colt to get it done. 9 Michael Machowsky 20-1 (Caracortado & Nextdoorneighbor) Nextdoorneighbor disappointed in last, so hopes may rest solely on the Cal bred gelding, Caracortado. 10 Thomas Albertrani 20-1 (Odysseus) Won the Preakness and Travers with Bernardini. This year’s hope is firmly pinned on the lightly raced Odysseus. 11 John Sadler 20-1 (Sidney’s Candy & Dave in Dixie) He has a speed horse and a closer, is either one good enough? Only time will tell. 12 Richard Dutrow 20-1 (Homeboy Kris, D’Funnybone & Radiohead) 2008 winner took a hit with Radiohead’s poor performance and announcement D’Funnybone was Preakness bound, but IEAH may buy him something better. 13 Derek Ryan 30-1 (Schoolyard Dreams) He got great experience last year with Musket Man, this year he is back for more with big dreams. 14 Wesley Ward 30-1 (Pleasant Prince) A win at Royal Ascot last year followed by a Kentucky Derby win this year would be an enviable double. 15 Field 12-1 (Everyone else) There is still plenty of time for a horse and trainer to step up in a big way…see 2009.

Remembering ... Silver Charm

A ZATT Guest Blog - by Jay Valter This is a story about many things. It’s a story about a dingy OTB in Louisiana. About a wedding. About the only Derby I’ve missed in 25 years. About a white-haired dude from Arizona. But mostly it’s a story about the horse with the “ham sandwich price,” my favorite thoroughbred I’ve ever had the pleasure to watch. It was early 1997, the spring semester of my first year at Tulane Law School, a Kentucky boy transplanted to New Orleans. Like any good degenerate fan of the ponies, I found a couple of kindred souls in my good friends, Adam & Chris. It wasn’t long before we were making regular trips to the track when we should be in class. At the time, the Fair Grounds was still recovering from the 1996 fire, so they only had temporary wagering tents available. We opted instead to cross the river to Gretna, and make our wagering home a converted movie theatre, one of the dumpiest venues ever. Soon we were holding Contracts II study sessions there. I didn’t immediately fall in love with Silver Charm that Spring. I mean, I was aware of him. Bob Baffert had burst onto the national racing scene with the year before with Cavonnier, and it was obvious he was becoming a major player on the west coast. But I was more focused on a couple of east coast horses: the mighty Pulpit and a plodding closer named Jack Flash. Even a couple of weeks before the Derby, I was still focused on Jack Flash, simply based on his passing a lot of dead horses in the lane in the Bluegrass. I was trying to keep up with all the three-year old contenders, but first-year law school is time-consuming. Everything changed sometime in mid-April sometime in the wee hours of the morning. In those days, ESPN’s Racing Across America came on at some odd times, and that included something along the lines of Thursdays at 3 a.m. They showed a replay of the Santa Anita Derby. Silver Charm went out with the speedball filly Sharp Cat, ran thru some sizzling fractions, got the lead at the head of the stretch, and was beaten barely by his main rival, Free House. Everything about the race stood out to me. He had no business being around at the end, but he was, a near-winner. Free House got the win that day, but Silver Charm won me over. I had my Derby horse.   Derby Day 1997 was going to be bittersweet for me. Law school finals were going on, and on top of that, I was engaged to be married six weeks after Derby Day (in Louisville, no less.) Logistically and financially, I could not attend the Kentucky Derby. This was like being gouged in the eye. Being away from Louisville on Derby Day; indeed, not being at Churchill Downs on Derby Day was something I had not experienced in a long time (and haven’t experienced since.) But, I was determined to make the best of it. Finals were keeping Adam and Chris close to home, but I convinced my fiancée to make the drive out to the Gretna OTB. I’m certain she hated every minute of it, and given the tight state of finances that we were experiencing this close to the wedding, I’m certain she was not happy that I was doing any wagering whatsoever. Nevertheless, I placed a small trifecta, Silver Charm & Captain Bodgit on top with Free House & Jack Flash in 2nd and3rd. A small $12 wager. The 1997 Derby was exhilarating. Gary Stevens kept Silver Charm close to the early pace, but kept him from getting into a deadly speed duel. At the top of the stretch he made a brilliant 3-wide move, passing Free House with a furlong to run. To his outside, however, flying was the favorite, Wood Memorial champion, Captain Bodgit. It looked to all observers like the Cap’n was going to run down Charm. But then Silver Charm caught a glimpse of the Captain, and kicked into one extra gear 100 yards from the wire. Stevens got Silver Charm home first. Bob Baffert had won the Kentucky Derby. I had my first Derby winner since Winning Colors (and last before Street Sense), and also cashed a nice little trifecta. I didn’t attend the 1997 Kentucky Derby, the only such anomaly for me in the past 25 years…but it’s my favorite Derby. Go figure. On to the Preakness. Four weeks before by wedding. Finals were now over, and that meant Adam was in for the trip to Gretna. Once again, Captain Bodgit was favored, as the betting public thought he’d flip the results on Silver Charm. Free House was back as well, and so it was that those three found themselves side by side by side deep in the stretch at Pimlico. They hit the rail whiskers apart, but in between the other two, Silver Charm got a nose in front. I went bonkers, in complete love with this colt. Adam told me later he had never heard someone scream so much during a race. Silver Charm was 2/3 of the way to the Triple Crown, in scintillating fashion. The readers of Blood-Horse magazine would later vote the 1997 Preakness as the Race of the Decade. They got it right. Three weeks later, it was time to go for the Triple Crown. My fiancée and I were leaving for Louisville the next day, as the wedding was only one week away. She was none too happy that I was headed out to watch a horse race, but there wasn’t a chance in hell I was missing this. This was going to a coronation of a silver king!Most likely, you know what happened. Silver Charm didn’t have Captain Bodgit to worry about this time (he had suffered a minor injury and was retired), but he did have his old pal, Free House to contend with. There was also the presence of Preakness fourth-place finisher, Touch Gold, who had stumbled badly at the start, but rallied on the rail to finish only a couple of lengths behind the top 3. In the Belmont, Silver Charm appeared to have the race won in mid-stretch, having put away Free House. But Chris McCarron had Touch Gold zooming on the far outside. Baffert and Stevens insist that because Free House was in between the two, and blocking Silver Charm from seeing Touch Gold coming, that that was the only reason why McCarron could get by him. If Silver Charm locked eyeballs with him, they reason, he could never make the pass. But he did. And I was crushed. It was the most pain I’ve ever experienced watching a horse race, and it look me along time to get over it. Maybe that’s what doomed my marriage! But that’s a story for another day. Silver Charm’s owners, Bob & Beverly Lewis, an elderly couple from California, had gotten in the race game late in their lives, and had a lot of success, Timber Country and Serena’s Song chiefly among them. But for them, Silver Charm was a whole different stratosphere of love and adulation. Following the grueling Triple Crown trail, the Lewises and Baffert made the decision that Silver Charm would definitely run as a 4-year old, with the Dubai World Cup and the Breeder’s Cup Classic the top goals. To wit, they decided to give Charm a rest until late in the year. He returned in December with a second-place finish in the Malibu Stakes. For 1997, Silver Charm finished with 3 wins and 4 seconds in 7 starts, good enough for the Eclipse Award as Champion Three-Year Old. Silver Charm’s four-year old campaign was a roller-coaster ride, and I was watching every exciting moment. The big jewel was his trip to Dubai for the world’s richest race, which was just the third-running of the event. Cigar’s win in the initial running had put the event on the map, and Singspiel’s subsequent win evened the score for the Europeans. So it was a matchup of one of the USA’s big guns vs. Europe’s top contender, Swain in the 1998 event. At the time, the event was not televised stateside and the internet was in its infancy. I was desperate for results that Saturday morning when the race was won. I saw an ad in the Daily Racing Form that an audio replay of the race would be available shortly after the race had been run. Of course, I was on that line every other minute until finally the call was available. And while I couldn’t see the race, hearing the exhilarating stretch duel between Charm and Swain nearly stopped myheart. The gritty gray was a winner of the Dubai World Cup by a nose! Silver Charm is the only horse to win the Kentucky Derby and Dubai World Cup (in fact, before Curlin won in Dubai, he was the only horse to win in Dubai and any leg of the Triple Crown). The ride continued that summer. He won some brilliant races --- the Kentucky Cup Classic in a dead heat with Wild Rush, the Clark Handicap, the San Pasqual; he also had some agonizingly close losses. He once again beat his old rival Free House in the Goodwood in his final prep for the Classic. For me, it all boiled down to the Breeder’s Cup Classic; not only was Churchill Downs the 1998 venue, but I was finally going to see Charm run in person! The 1998 Classic field is probably the strongest in the event’s history --- Touch Gold was there, Swain as well. Add in Skip Away, Gentlemen, Victory Gallop, Coronado’s Quest…well, you get the picture. Beating this field was going to be tough. I had seats at the ¼ pole, so I had a birds-eye view of what transpired in the stretch. Silver Charm seized the lead, but Swain was coming to his outside, just like Dubai. Could Stevens hold him off, I thought? Then, suddenly, Swain bore out badly under Frankie Dettori’s whip. I swear that I have never seen a horse come out that far at Churchill Downs. Silver Charm, ever the eyeballer, drifted out with Swain, though not nearly as bad. The slight drift allowed Pat Day and Awesome Again all the opening he needed, and the big payday. Once again, a year-and-a-half after breaking my heart in the Belmont, it had happened again. It was an emotional defeat, and it hurts me to write about it here. Silver Charm raced as a five-year old; indeed Baffert sent him to Dubai to attempt to pull off the repeat. He bled and finished sixth, the worst result of his career. He just wasn’t the same. His career ended for me in depressing fashion, at the Gretna OTB, watching the 1999 renewal of the Stephen Foster Handicap. I was ready to embrace this as the spark he needed to move forward in his five-year old season. But it was clear he just wasn’t the same. A fourth-place finish signaled to me that he was finished, and apparently Baffert and the Lewises agreed; he was retired the next week. Words can never properly describe what watching Silver Charm meant to me. I could certainly recite the stats, 12 wins in 24 lifetime starts, close to $7 million in earnings, a 2007 Hall of Fame inductee, a #63 ranking on Blood Horse’s top 100 racehorses of the 20th century. Those are all well and good, but they don’t measure how happy watching the Charm, the horse Bob Baffert described as being bought for a ham sandwich, made me feel. Those were halcyon days, those law school days. And I am damn glad I had Silver Charm to help me along. Do I remember Silver Charm? You’re damn right I do.

Remembering ... Point Given

He was not your average two-year-old. Far from it. Pounding the earth with every gigantic stride, Point Given now had his massive frame moving in a fluid motion. His stride was twice the length of any of the other juveniles in the 2000 Breeders’ Cup, but it would not matter, for he was left with far too much to do in the Churchill Downs stretch and was still mired back in 7th at the eighth pole. The classy Canadian colt, Macho Uno had made a winning move and had spurted clear of the rest of the pack. Still I could not take my eyes off of Point Given. He was now in full gear and it had all the look of a Cadillac chasing down a field of Yugos. So big and strong and closing so fast it reminded me of all those times I had seen Forego blistering down the Belmont Park lane. Point Given was flying like no other juvenile I had seen before. It was only a matter of how quickly the wire would arrive. Point Given was gaining half a length per stride, and when he passed Street Cry, I let myself believe for the first time that he may actually pull it off. Macho Uno was still running well, but Point Given was now billowing smoke from his nostrils. They would hit the wire together. On the line was the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and an Eclipse Award as best two-year-old. As the horses galloped past my vantage point, just past the wire, my mouth was ajar and my heart was pounding. Did he get up? No. The photo revealed he had fallen a nose short. He had left a lasting impression though. On this day of great races, all I could think about was the Juvenile and how I had just seen next year’s Kentucky Derby winner. It is difficult to win the Triple Crown. How’s that for understatement? No horse this decade was better in the Spring of their three-year-old year than Point Given and no horse was more dominant of his peers. Horse racing can be a fickle mistress. It is hard to believe how one horse’s fate can change so radically within the five weeks of the Triple Crown. The 133rd Belmont Stakes of 2001 was an ultra impressive display of strength and power. The son of 1995 Derby and Belmont winner Thunder Gulch romped home under his regular rider Gary Stevens, more than 12 lengths in front of A P Valentine. Point Given’s final time of 2:26 2/5 was the fourth-fastest Belmont ever. Everything that I had imagined seven months earlier at Churchill Downs, had manifested itself that day at Belmont Park. Coming on the heels of an impressive score in the Preakness Stakes, Point Given had proven himself a star. It was a crowning moment, but unfortunately, he was not crowned. Maybe it was the hard, lightning fast track surface at Churchill that day. Maybe it was the fact that he was too close to fast early fractions. Maybe it was the heat of the Louisville Spring. Maybe it was the banging around like a pinball in the field of 17. Or maybe it was just the only day in his career, that the 17 hands horse did not feel like running. All we know for sure is that May 5, 2001 was not Point Given’s day. T-Rex, that is what his personable conditioner Bob Baffert affectionately called him, stormed into Louisville as the big horse in more ways than one. Since the BC Juvenile, he had easily handled his competition in the Hollywood Futurity and San Felipe. With his romping win in the Santa Anita Derby, Point Given had everyone thinking he was a legitimate Triple Crown contender. And then came the race. Point Given would run his only bad race of his career and fade to a well beaten fifth in the large field. Once again, Churchill Downs was the place of great disappointment for Point Given. The twin spires oversaw both of his seasons fall just short of greatness. The Derby performance seemed so out of character, but it happened, and it happened on the world’s largest stage. It was if the Racing Gods had not allowed Point Given immortality. Monarchos was a smashing winner that day, but we were all left to wonder what had happened to the big horse. Point Given was the horse that would end the long Triple Crown drought and yet it was not meant to be. Redemption would come in the Preakness and the Belmont and the Haskell and the Travers, four consecutive million dollar races, which only made the Kentucky Derby all the more puzzling. Though his career was cut short, Point Given collected 9 wins and 3 seconds in his 13 starts with earnings just a shade below four million dollars. The Kentucky Derby was his lone loss of 2001, a season that saw him win six major stakes before a strained tendon prompted his retirement. He was rewarded for his excellent season by being named Champion three-year-old male and Horse of the Year. Currently he is a successful young sire standing at Three Chimneys Farm in Midway, Kentucky. I wish the chestnut behemoth a long and happy career at stud. I remember you Point Given.

Remembering ... Free House

I will never forget the look in his eye as he turned to eyeball his great rival Silver Charm coming down the stretch of the 1997 Preakness. It was like he was telling his adversary to bring everything you have, because you are in for the fight of your life. Never mind the two other great horses on either side of them, Captain Bodgit and Touch Gold. This was all about two great rivals giving their all to get to the wire first. It was the fight of both of their lives as they battled to the wire in a head-bobbing, too-close-to-call finish. That was the day my appreciation grew into a real love for Free House. Oh, those long white legs and those expressive eyes. It is said that the eyes are the windows to the soul and for Free House, I knew this to be true. I always felt that he had just a little more depth to him than the average thoroughbred race horse. Smart and sensitive with a whole lot of heart. His heart was on display for millions to see that day in the Preakness. For me, a sad result, but fitting in a way that Silver Charm got the head-bob and defeated Free House by a nose or a small head or whatever they would call it. You see, Free House was the perfect horse to root on, for a diehard Cubs fan like me. Always teasing greatness, but never able to win the really big one. I take solace in the fact that next year or the next race could finally be the big one. Don’t get me wrong, Free House had a very successful career. He is considered to be one of the greatest California breds ever to run. The homebred son of Smokester won 9 times in a 22 race career and earned over three million dollars. Trained by Paco Gonzalez and owned by John Toffan and Trudy McCaffery, his victories include the biggest races run in California: the Norfolk, San Felipe, Santa Anita Derby, Swaps, Bel Air, Pacific Classic, San Antonio, and the Santa Anita Handicap. He never raced in an allowance race and was a major player in one of the best crops of horses I have seen. 3-year-olds of 1997 included Silver Charm, Touch Gold, Captain Bodgit, Pulpit, Deputy Commander, Concerto, Behrens and my favorite, Free House. Together with Silver Charm, he was part of one of the greatest rivalries of modern racing. Their rivalry was another reason for me to be so fond of Free House. Fans could not help taking one side or the other. They faced each other eight times, all in major stakes including all three races of the Triple Crown. Silver Charm won four of those races and Free House won three. Only in the Belmont Stakes did another horse, Touch Gold, win a race that they both ran. In that race Silver Charm and Free House battled the majority of the stretch before Touch Gold swooped by them late with Silver Charm just missing out on a Triple Crown and Free House, who had gone very wide throughout, a tough luck third. Most fans were heartbroken over the Charm losing his bid for immortality, I was saddened that my gray lost again after such a valiant performance. What a Triple Crown series he had run only to be defeated by Silver Charm each time. The final tally was Silver Charm 5 and Free House 3. I for one, wonder when we will ever see two great horses like these ever face each other so often again. It was ironic that in Free House’s final race he found himself battling to the wire again at Pimlico. This time he would fall just short to another Bob Baffert trained, near Triple Crown winner, Real Quiet in the Pimlico Special. It was almost exactly two years after his finest hour and again he showed all the courage that he had in that thrilling Preakness. The performance was all the more impressive when you consider he strained a muscle early in the race. He retired as one of the few horses ever to win at least one Grade 1 race in four consecutive years. Free House’s life came to a sudden, tragic end in 2004 when he injured himself severely at his farm in California. He was only ten years old. In his short career as a stallion, Free House was well on his way to becoming a force among California sires. His life was cut way too short, I miss those long white legs and those expressive eyes. I remember you … Free House.