Death of a Father, Death of a Son

I am very saddened to report we have lost a special horse today. Buddy's Saint has been euthanized after breaking down while working this morning at Belmont Park. Buddy’s Saint was a three-year-old son of the ill-fated Saint Liam, and was a member of the only crop of the 2005 Horse of the Year. Saint Liam passed away at the young age of six-years-old, after a freak accident caused an untreatable fracture. Despite siring only one crop, Saint Liam had two excellent race horses in Buddy, and the topnotch filly Havre de Grace. Today was a sad twist of fate, as his most talented son has now joined him in dying far too young. A colt with seemingly unlimited potential, Buddy’s Saint fractured his left shoulder while breezing on Belmont’s main track. Because of the seriousness of the injury there was no alternative but to euthanize him. Trained by Bruce Levine and owned by Kingfield Stables, he was the toast of the juvenile set last Fall after winning Aqueduct’s Grade 2 Nashua and Grade 2 Remsen Stakes in sensational fashion. The two victories, by a combined 16 ¾ lengths, made Buddy‘s Saint one of the hot favorites for the 2010 Kentucky Derby. After the Remsen, Levine was quoted as saying, “I wouldn't trade places with anyone in America." Unfortunately, the Derby would never happen, and 2010 would turn out to be a nightmare for Buddy’s Saint, Levine, and all those who cared about the bay colt. In his 2010 debut, Buddy’s Saint finished ninth as the 9-5 favorite in the Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park in February. That day, he was victimized by a nightmare trip, and to make matters worse, a bone chip was discovered in his right front ankle requiring surgery. Away from working for half of the year, Buddy had returned to the worktab on August 28 and had eleven published workouts in the past 2 ½ months. The last coming on November 8, when he worked four furlongs at Belmont in 48.67. It was expected that he was getting very close to a return to the races. A return that would have drew much interest, especially for anyone who had seen him run as a juvenile. When Saint Liam passed away at the age of six, it was a tragedy. The racing world was robbed of a great horse and a promising young sire. Today’s horrible accident and subsequent death of Buddy’s Saint is even more tragic, and displays just how cruel fate can be. Saint Liam’s best son is gone, and much like his father, he has left us at a heartbreakingly young age. Rest in Peace Buddy’s Saint. Photo by Eric Kalet

Down and Derby c19

19 weeks until the Kentucky Derby, let the countdown begin! Zipse at the Track will fill out the Kentucky Derby starting gate with 20 horses, in three categories, to keep your anticipatory eyes on. The Big 8 will include the eight horses I feel the most likely to win come the first Saturday in May. The Hidden Dragons will include the horses laying in wait and ready to breathe fire in the near future, and the Forget Me Nots category will feature those horses that may not be currently on the forefront of anyone’s mind, but are eligible to move there, with one solid race. I will unveil the categories in the coming weeks, and after that, they will form a Top 20 list all the way to the Derby. This week, the… Big 8 1 Connemara (Giant's Causeway - Satin Sunrise by Mr. Leader) The half brother of 2004 Derby runner-up, Lion Heart, has yet to test the deep water, but he has all the look and tools of a future superstar. Connemara was left hopelessly at the gate in his debut at Turfway Park and still easily recovered to roll over a field that included a Pletcher stablemate who won his next out at Keeneland. Connemara showed determination in his second race, an allowance win at Santa Anita, while coming off the rail to outfinish a solid field. You could tell he was full of run after the wire of that win, and there appears to be a lot more under the tank of this one. I see big things for him as he moves into stakes company in the near future. 2 Lookin at Lucky (Smart Strike - Private Feeling by Belong to Me) The soon to be two-year-old champion is hard to knock and even harder to keep out of the number one spot. Physically he looks the part and all he does his win stake after stake. All six of his races have been over synthetic surfaces, so the question of how he will handle dirt is still out there and there is a touch of sprint breeding in his pedigree, but being a son of the excellent sire Smart Strike causes me not to worry too much on either account. Lookin at Lucky is the horse all others will compare themselves on the early road to Louisville. 3 Buddy’s Saint (St. Liam - Tuzia by Blushing John) The ill-fated champion, St. Liam, only sired one crop before his untimely death. How fitting that he has a top-notch horse to make a run at the Derby trail. Buddy’s Saint absolutely whistled in his two stakes wins at Aqueduct, where he will return, in the Spring for the Wood Memorial. In winning the Nashua and Remsen, he dominated with complete authority despite being under wraps. He is a fluid mover and has the look of a horse that will have no trouble getting the Derby distance for conditioner Bruce Levine. 4 Super Saver (Maria’s Mon - Supercharger by A.P. Indy) WinStar’s first horse on the list, Super Saver is a big strong colt with quality distance breeding throughout his lineage. He has improved with each of his four starts and has quickly trended to near the top of everyone’s juvenile list. The ability to harness his early speed may be his only question mark. Super Saver also has one large advantage over any other potential Derby horse on the list, as he clearly ran the best race by any two-year-old this year at Churchill Downs, in his impressive win in the Kentucky Jockey Club. 5 Piscitelli (Victory Gallop - Rayelle by Relaunch) With only one win in five starts, you would not expect to see this horse so highly rated, but to me, this is the most likely horse of all to relish the demanding distance of the Derby. In his last race, the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, in which he finished 4th and beaten less than one length, Piscitelli fought back from the rail and was running great at the end, despite being the early pace setter. His breeding tells me he will appreciate the return to dirt, will handle an off track, and only get better as he develops. 6 Jackson Bend (Hear No Evil - Sexy Stockings by Tabasco Cat) The King of the Calder juveniles, Jackson Bend showed courage and the ability to overcome, in winning five straight races at the South Florida oval. He has since been turned over to experienced Kentucky Derby winning trainer, Nick Zito, in preparation for a raid on Louisville. His freshman sire was a sprinter, so distance limitations are the one major concern for the very likeable horse. He has experience on the dirt and has already handled good horses, so if he can get 10 furlongs, look out. 7 American Lion (Tiznow - Storm Tide by Storm Cat) I had a hard time keeping American Lion this far down on the list, with his royal breeding and his regal good looks. Another WinStar runner with a big upside, American Lion transferred his Keeneland form nicely in his first stakes appearance in Southern California. I have no doubt that Tiznow will someday sire a Derby winner and this colt has the potential to be the one, but right now potential is the key word, as he has yet to race farther than a 7 furlong sprint. 8 Winslow Homer (Unbridled’s Song - Summer Raven by Summer Squall) A win in an allowance race at Philadelphia Park gets him a spot in the Big 8? Yes, when you win the race like Winslow Homer did. The double digit score was as easy as it was impressive, and it came on the heels of a smart score in a maiden race at Saratoga. He has all the looks of many of the recent brilliant Unbridled’s Song runners, such as Eight Belles and Old Fashioned. Obviously we all pray that he will prove more durable. Look for the Tony Dutrow trained gray to move with ease into stakes company in his next start.

A Feast for the Fans

I hope you all had a turkey day filled with friends, family, and food, but do not take too long to digest that last piece of pumpkin pie, for there is a whole new feast being served up by racetracks from coast to coast. Churchill Downs serves up two solid days of racing with a healthy heaping of six stakes races. Saturday will feature the youngsters, headlined by Thiskyhasnolimit in the Kentucky Jockey Club and Sassy Image in the Golden Rod. Both horses will try to repeat the success they had in recent stakes races at Churchill. Also on the Saturday menu, will be a turf stakes for juveniles of each gender. For added intrigue, a cherry on top of the all two-year-old card will be fashioned in the day’s closing race by Barbaro’s full brother, Lentenor, who makes his turf debut in his second career start. Friday’s races will include the River City Handicap, a wide open turf affair for older males. My rooting interest will fall squarely on the extremely hard knocking New York bred, Banrock. All of the aforementioned races are appetizing, but there is no doubt that the featured entry will be today’s Grade 1 Clark Handicap. A loaded field of 14 runners make this one of the more competitive races of the year. Einstein, Macho Again, and Bullsbay all are still in with a chance for year end honors and a win today would go a long way in the minds of many voters. Throw in talented horses like Blame, Etched, and Misremembered trying to make a name for themselves and live longshots Giant Oak and Demarcation and you have all the ingredients for one whale of a race. Aqueduct’s main course is Saturday with four major stakes races headed by the Cigar Mile. A compact field of six will square off in the Mile with the highly talented and lightly raced Vineyard Haven taking on some salty veterans. Sensational sprinter, Kodiak Kowboy, top miler, Bribon, and his own dangerous entry mate, Pyro, offer a huge challenge to the beautiful gray. This has been Vineyard Haven’s long term goal since his return this Summer and with a victory tomorrow would validate himself as a true star. The Gazelle features the long awaited return to the races of Stardom Bound. Now trained by Rick Dutrow, the gray filly has been away since her disappointing third place finish in April’s Ashland Stakes. The Ashland loss ended a skein of five straight Grade 1 scores for last year’s juvenile filly champion. Chief among Stardom Bound’s rivals, figures to be the up and comer Unrivaled Bell, who has been effortlessly working her way up in class and could be any kind. In Saturday’s Demoiselle, juvenile fillies will stretch out to nine furlongs for the first time in their careers. Kelly Breen ships in an entry of New Jersey invaders and could well take the big money back across the Hudson. Possibly the most interesting morsel of the day could be found in the Remsen Stakes. Two of the most exciting 2010 Kentucky Derby prospects will look each other in the eye, as Champagne hero Homeboykris and the scintillating winner of the Nashua, Buddy’s Saint do battle. Aqueduct preps for Saturday’s smorgasbord with a tasty Friday appetizer. In the Top Flight, Justwhistledixie returns for new trainer Bill Mott, after nearly six months away and looks to build upon her stakes winning total that she began this time last year at the same racetrack. She will need to be at her best though, as she takes on a tough field headed by the fast Godolphin filly, Sara Louise. Hollywood Park offers up a little greenery for the more delicate of tastes. Things get started today with the Grade 1 Citation Handicap. The classy Cowboy Cal will be favored as he tries to rebound quickly from a beating administered by the might filly Goldikova in the Breeders‘ Cup Mile. On Saturday a pair of turf stakes top the card. Featured is an excellent matchup of older females at nine furlongs on the lawn. The Matriarch has attracted pure class with Ventura, Diamondrella, Rutherienne and four other mares in a race sure to please the most finicky fan. The other Saturday stake is the Generous which is topped by Bridgetown, fresh off his runner-up finish in the BC Juvenile Turf. The weekend bonanza lasts a little longer on the left coast as Sunday’s Hollywood Derby sports a full field of classy three-year-olds. Take the Points, Battle of Hastings, The Usual Q.T., Al Khali, Straight Story, and Black Bear Island all figure prominently in this excellent betting affair. Finally on Sunday, if you still have a little room left, look for the turf debut of the speedy young miss, Connie and Michael in the Miesque Stakes. The good news with all this great racing is, unlike Thanksgiving meals all around the country, this equine feast should not leave you reaching for the Rolaids. Enjoy race fans.