Bad Choices and Turf Championships

Paddy O’Prado lost a huge opportunity when his connections decided to run him one race too late on Breeders’ Cup Day at Churchill Downs. By choosing to run a superior turf horse on the dirt in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, they turned their back on a $3 million purse and the most important race run on turf in America. The result was a non-threatening 5th place finish to Blame and Zenyatta. Meanwhile two good horses, but far from world beaters, named Dangerous Midge and Champ Pegasus battled down the lane to finish a clear 1-2 in the Breeders’ Cup Turf. With the Eclipse Award decisions pending, I wonder if his connections not only cost him a win in the Breeders’ Cup, but also an end-of-the-year championship. O’ what might have been. Imagine if you will Paddy O’ Prado in the Turf field.  I can.  I visualize the talented grey three-year-old in a menacing stalking position, before pouncing as the field straightens out for the stretch run. Champ Pegasus and then Dangerous Midge would have no answers for their more talented foe. Jockey Kent Desormeaux would drive Paddy to the wire a few lengths clear of his pursuers. The eruption of emotion from the large partnership group of Donegal Racing would be heard throughout the Churchill grandstand. It did not happen. As we all know, trainer Dale Romans and managing partner Jerry Crawford went a different way. The decision still bothers me. Was it based on greed? Or arrogance? Did they really think that there horse, who has never won a race on dirt, would win the Classic? I hope their $150,000 paycheck for running 5th in the Classic provides some consolation, but then again maybe not … The 1st place check in the Turf was $1,620,000. As for the Eclipse Award, I believe he should still receive the honor. His competition includes Gio Ponti, Winchester, Champ Pegasus, and Dangerous Midge. The latter ran only once in America, and was rather nondescript in Europe. Champ Pegasus won only two graded stakes in California. Winchester has two grade one wins, but plenty of losses including a poor performance in the BC Turf. That leaves Gio Ponti as the main competition for Paddy O‘Prado. Now I have nothing negative to say about Gio Ponti, but as marvelous a horse as he is, and as wonderful a career as he has had, he managed only 2 wins in 7 starts this year. His 2nd to Goldikova in the BC Mile did nothing to hurt his resume, but he was no match for the great mare. I prefer the resume of Paddy O’Prado, who has four graded stakes wins on the turf this year, albeit in races for three-year-olds. His only recent loss on grass was a fine 2nd place finish, when he made an early move to the lead in the Turf Classic. It was his first try against older, on soggy grass, and farther than 1 ¼ miles. It seemingly was the ideal prep for the Breeders’ Cup Turf. If only. I believe in Paddy O’Prado. I see him as the finest grass horse in our country, and he is my choice as the most deserving horse to win the Eclipse Award as the Outstanding Male Turf Horse of 2010. Too bad his connections did not give him a chance to prove it in the Breeders‘ Cup. Now we will have to wait and wonder if their arrogance cost him a turf championship. Photo Courtesy of Reed Palmer Photography

Say It Ain’t So Paddy O

Paddy O’ Prado to the Classic? Big mistake I say. Jerry Crawford is the manager of the Donegal Racing Partnership, the group that owns Paddy O’Prado. Yesterday Crawford announced the syndicate had decided at a recent meeting to run their colt in the Breeders’ Cup Classic rather than the Breeders‘ Cup Turf. Apparently this was a decision made after Crawford mulled over the options with trainer Dale Romans. Really? Paddy O‘Prado is one of the most exciting young turf horses American racing has seen in years. He has four impressive graded stakes wins on the grass in his last five tries. He is coming off a loss, but one in which he ran a big race when second in his first attempt on an off course, at 12 furlongs, and against older horses. It seemed to be the perfect prep for the biggest race on turf this nation offers. Paddy O’Prado is a turf horse. On dirt, Paddy O’Prado is a maiden. 7th, 3rd, and 6th. Three races on dirt and those are the results. In fairness, the third place finish was in the Kentucky Derby on the same track and the same distance as the Classic. That doesn’t mean much though, for this year’s Derby was simply not a good race. The track was sloppy and most of the best dirt horses did not run their race for various reasons. I ask you, what kind of shot would second place finisher, Ice Box, have in the Classic? Paddy O’Prado is not a dirt horse. Here is what trainer Romans had to say: “He ran well in the Derby on the same racetrack. It’s worth taking a shot. With the stallion potential of this horse, we’d like to see him do something big on dirt.” Sounds like this decision was made to boost his value as a stallion. I wonder what finishing 8th in the Classic will do for his stud value. In the Turf, he had a real shot. Paddy is that good on grass. In the Classic, he has no shot. I realize that if he runs big in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, I will look foolish as the author of this column … I am not worried. Paddy O’ Prado to the Classic? Big mistake I say.

How Far Can Paddy Go?

Quick … what do Kitten’s Joy, Sunshine Forever, Manila, Mac Diarmida, Johnny D., Secretariat, and Run the Gantlet have in common? While I give you a few seconds to mull that over, please read on about the horse I believe most likely to be remembered as a superstar from the foal crop of 2007.  In the $500,000 Colonial Turf Cup last month, Paddy O'Prado who had finished 3rd in the Kentucky Derby and 6th in the Preakness in his previous two outings, went wide coming out of the turn, before making an electrifying move under regular rider Kent Desormeaux to take over from Two Notch Road. From there, he accelerated down the Colonial Downs stretch to win by three lengths over Arlington Classic winner Workin for Hops. To say it was an impressive score would not do it justice. The win in the Turf Cup was only the second career victory for the El Prado colt owned by Jerry Crawford and trained by Dale Romans, a figure that should be on the rise soon. It was an impressive win to be sure, but how can I predict such lofty heights for a horse with only two victories in nine starts? Easy. Paddy O’Prado is the best turf horse in the nation. No, not the best three-year-old turf horse, but the best horse running on American grass period. Hyperbole? I don’t think so. The Turf Cup was the best performance by any grass horse this year, and the observant race goer could see it coming. Good performances in the Blue Grass and Kentucky Derby underlined how good this attractive gray colt was getting. He drew raves from those who saw him train up to the Derby. One thing to remember with those performances though, is that they were not on his surface. Paddy O’Prado is a turf horse. Remember his maiden breaking run back in March? Paddy pointed at things to come as he easily dispatched a solid stakes field in the Palm Beach Stakes. That day he blistered the teletimer in 1:45.40 for the nine furlongs over Gulfstream Park’s turf course. With trainer Romans making the wise decision to skip the Belmont Stakes and focus on grass racing, the sky is now the limit. I see the Colonial Turf Cup as the first of many turf stakes for the future turf champ, continuing tomorrow. Look for Paddy O’Prado to handle a strong field in the Virginia Derby that includes Interactif, Stately Victor, and Krypton. From there it should be on to Chicago for Arlington Million Day as he marches towards the Breeders’ Cup. A march that I see culminating with an Eclipse Award as America’s best turf horse. Will Paddy O’Prado keep it rolling in the Virginia Derby? Will Dale Romans be so impressed with another win that he enters Paddy O’Prado in the Arlington Million next? Will I be right, and he will become only the eighth American three-year-old to be named turf champion in my lifetime? Stay tuned… Oh, I almost forgot, the answer to my opening question is: they are the only American three-year-olds to be named turf champion in the past 40 years. But you already had figured that out, now didn’t you?

Sir Barton Reincarnate

90 years ago, Sir Barton made his seventh start in the Kentucky Derby. Winless in his six previous starts, the maiden won that edition of America’s most famous race, forever becoming the most notorious maiden in the history of racing. Last night, deep down in the Louisiana Delta, a young filly entered the evening a maiden. By the time the night was over, Quiet Temper had become the winner of a half million dollar graded stakes. In smashing style, the Mark Stanley owned daughter of Quiet American, dominated the nine horse field and splashed home nearly eight lengths the best. In the process she earned first prize of $300,000 and now has one win and three seconds, in her four starts. Quite an accomplishment for a maiden, OK maybe not on a scale of Sir Barton, who went on to become our first Triple Crown winner in 1919, but noteworthy nonetheless. Jockey Robby Albarado had plenty of horse early to get into a perfect stalking position on the outside. Quiet Temper looked relaxed and ready to pounce as Truth and Justice made the early fractions. She then quickly and decisively took command on the turn and drew away with every stride in the stretch. Final time for the one mile was 1:40.05 and her winning margin was an eye catching 7 ¾ lengths. The time sounds slow, but the sealed and sloppy Delta Downs surface was playing slow all night. Her time is put into better perspective when older stakes males ran only a few lengths faster in the very next race. Maidens have won stakes since Sir Barton, but seldom so impressively and rarely in such a rich race as Quiet Temper accomplished last night. There were plenty of signs that Quiet Temper may be up to the task. In each of her three second place finishes in New York, she ran against very good fillies. In her last two races, Quiet Temper was beaten by the fillies that came back to run 1-2 in the Tempted Stakes. She also twice defeated Protesting, who recently ran 2nd in the Grade 2 Demoiselle Stakes. While they may have been maiden races on paper, they clearly had stakes race quality. Stakes quality is exactly what Quiet Temper displayed last night and she now becomes a filly that should be on everyone’s watch list for next Spring’s Kentucky Oaks. With her impressive win, Quiet Temper became the third two-year-old filly to win major stakes for conditioner Dale Romans this Fall, as he also trains the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner, Tapitsfly, and Sassy Image, winner of the Pocahontas and Golden Rod Stakes at Churchill Downs. On a sad note, last night’s Delta Princess was all to clear an illustration of the incredible highs and the devastating lows of our beloved sport. Racing is a wonderful and beautiful game, but just like anything else in our world, it is not without tragedy. While the connections and supporters of Quiet Temper were thrilled with the victory of their promising filly, it can not come close to the heartbreak and sadness felt by the connections of Truth and Justice. Ridden by Joe Bravo, and sent off as the 2-1 favorite, Truth and Justice set the early pace and was beginning to tire when she broke down at the top of the lane. The daughter of Yes It’s True sustained multiple fractures in her right knee and was euthanized. Owned by George and Lori Hall and trained by Kelly Breen, Truth and Justice had displayed excellent speed in winning three consecutive stakes in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Louisiana. Unfortunately, tragedy’s like this one are a part of racing that we all struggle to deal with. I send my condolences to everyone connected to Truth and Justice.