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

Blind Luck the Praiseworthy

She came from a twinkle in her father’s one good eye. Sired by Pollard's Vision, and out of the Best of Luck mare, Lucky One, she was a meager $11,000 yearling purchase. To add a little spice to the classic rags-to-riches story, she was then was bought back by her owners for $10,000 at a two-year-old in training sale the following Spring. The inexpensive chestnut filly would begin her racing career in a lowly maiden claiming race at Calder Race Course. From these most humble beginnings, a champion was born. By all rights, Blind Luck has no business being as good as she is. Blind Luck would win that 4 ½ furlong maiden claiming debut by 13 ¼ lengths and the rest, as they say, has been history. Purchased by trainer Jerry Hollendorfer after the impressive maiden win in Southern Florida, and taken to California, Blind Luck has never stopped flourishing in the 16 months since. She would win three more times as a juvenile, with a second, and a third, from five starts. She finished off her first season with a seven length thrashing of her competition in the Grade 1 Hollywood Starlet. It was the kind of race, and the kind of juvenile season that demanded an Eclipse Award. I said as much at the conclusion of 2009. Unfortunately, she would be denied the award, but to most onlookers she entered 2010 as the best young filly in the nation. 2010 has only gotten better for Blind Luck. The upcoming Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic will be a showcase for her talent and an exclamation point on her remarkable season. Blind Luck's has run eight times in 2010 and at seven different racetracks. All of her starts this year have been in stakes of either the grade 1 or grade 2 variety. She's won on dirt in Arkansas, Kentucky, Delaware, and New York, as well as a grade 1 win on a synthetic track at Santa Anita. She‘s traveled the nation back and again. She has proven best at distances up to 10 furlongs and she has won on both fast and sloppy tracks. Blind Luck has already won America’s top race for sophomore fillies, the Kentucky Oaks, over the very track where the Breeders’ Cup is about to commence. She may be coming off a loss, but it was a performance that only furthers her stature. In the Cotillion, she conceded ten pounds to one of the top fillies in the nation in Havre de Grace. Closing like a freight train, Blind Luck got to the wire just a few strides too late. She may have been denied her 10th victory on that day, but the feeling here is that we will need not wait long for lucky number 10. Whether or not she will be the very best horse running over the two-day celebration that is the Breeders‘ Cup, is immaterial. In an age when far too many horsemen coddle their horses, with little or no travel, and only a handful of races in an entire year, Blind Luck is a shining example of what racing used to be. From those humble beginnings, a true champion was born.