Everybody Loves Brass Hat

It has already been quite the career for one Mr. Brass Hat, and don’t look now, but there are no signs of him slowing down anytime soon. At an age when if he walked on two legs he may be out buying a flashy new sports car, Brass Hat continues to roll on. The cagey old veteran that he is, Brass Hat chooses rather to act out his mid-life crisis at the expense of his four-legged rivals. Last Thursday, the timeless gelding did it again, as he rallied from way back to overtake his competition late, and win the Grade 3 Sycamore Stakes at Keeneland. Ridden by Calvin Borel, the nine-year-old son of Prized proved too much for both longshot Southern Anthem and favored Musketier, rolling by the pair to win by a measured length. Brass Hat was met with a fitting greeting when he returned to Keeneland’s winner circle, as the crowd cheered in admiration. It was an ovation more for career accomplishments than a one-race victory celebration. Brass Hat returned $11.60 to his happy supporters after covering the 12 furlongs over the turf in 2:30.73 for owner Fred Bradley. The winner‘s check of $60,000 boosted his impressive career total to $2,167,921. The win was the Kentucky homebred’s first victory at Keeneland in his sixth try. It was also the tenth win in thirty-nine lifetime starts for the battling bay gelding, as race in and race out, he has proven to be a rough and tough customer who is as much a threat in stakes races today as he was six years ago. Trained by his owner’s son, Buff Bradley, his racing career has proven to be one of the more interesting ones of any horse in recent years. In 2004, Brass Hat was the winner of both the Ohio and Indiana Derbies seemingly out of nowhere. Missing much of his four-year-old season due to injury, Brass Hat returned in 2006 to set a track record with an easy win in the Grade 1 Donn Handicap. He then traveled across the world to run a bang-up second in the Dubai World Cup. Things would never come easy for this horse though, and Brass Hat’s large second place check was never issued after he was disqualified for having trace amounts of a banned medication in his system. More injuries would follow, but he would always be given time to recuperate back on the home farm. He would also consistently come back in strong form, running well on dirt, turf, or synthetics. Brass Hat won the Mass Cap in 2007, hit the board in the 2008 Donn, and took down the winner’s prize in the Louisville Handicap of 2009. In 2010 the saga continues. With the Sycamore victory, Brass Hat became the second consecutive nine-year-old to win the race after Cloudy’s Knight turned the trick last year. Cloudy’s Knight wheeled right back to run second in the BC Marathon a few weeks later. When I see the BC pre-entries on Wednesday, I am hoping to see Brass Hat’s name. He would be a great addition to the mile and three-quarter Breeders’ Cup Marathon field. Hey, a nine-year-old came awfully close to winning it last year, why not Brass Hat? We already know he has the heart. Photo by Tim Tiznow Reynolds