Remembering ... Invasor

When I think I about the greatest horses I have ever seen, the names of Secretariat and Spectacular Bid immediately spring to mind. They were horses from my childhood and they were too fantastic ever to forget. Over the years, there have been plenty of great horses who have come and gone since. None of them could ever quite match my exalted estimation of those two, but nonetheless were unforgettable in their own right. One of these greats was, and is, Invasor. Although he ruled racetracks all over the globe but a few years ago, I fear Invasor is somewhat underappreciated by the racing public. This is far from the case in his native land. A true South American sensation, Invasor is a national treasure in more than one country. Although he never competed at a racetrack in Argentina, he is beloved for having been foaled there. Today he stands as the shining example of the nation’s breeding industry. And if he is considered extremely popular in Argentina, then he is an equine god in Uruguay. Almost immediately after the nation was dealt a major blow, as the national team (soccer) failed to qualify for the following year’s World Cup, Invasor stepped in to give the country something to be proud of again. Uruguay embraced him as a sports hero while he dominated their 2005 Triple Crown. In the calendar year of 2005, Invasor would begin by impressively breaking his maiden in a 5 ½ furlong race to romping home a winner in the final leg of their Triple Crown at a distance of 13 furlongs. As an undefeated winner of their most important races, Invasor was the hero of Uruguayan racing, but this would only be the beginning. It would be Sheik Hamdan bin Rashid al-Maktoum who would give Invasor the opportunity to prove to the rest of the world what kind of horse he was. Sheik Hamdan made owners Juan Luis Vio Bado and Pablo Hernandez Trucido an offer for the son of Candy Stripes out of the Interprete mare Quendom that could not be refused. The $1.5 million sale was finalized and Invasor would be off to conquer new worlds. Uruguay may have seen their horse leave the borders, but they would soon rejoice in watching him become the best of the world. The first time I saw Invasor race would be his first race in America, the 2006 Pimlico Special. There was a red hot speed horse in the race named Wanderin Boy who figured to control the pace. He would be a heavy favorite against the South American import who was let go at odds of 6-1. I actually bet on Invasor that day, mainly because of the chasm in odds between him and the favorite. I remember thinking that he had been placed in a very tough spot in his only loss. That loss came in the UAE Derby, where Invasor had finished 4th in a 13 horse field in his previous start. He had not been close to the ultra talented winner, Discreet Cat, but he was close to second, after traveling across the world, having a long layoff, and coming out of marathon to compete in a relative sprint. To top it off, he gave Discreet Cat nine pounds that day as a slightly older Southern Hemisphere horse. Not that this spot would be much easier, as new trainer Kiaran McLaughlin had placed him in the grade one Maryland race off another long journey. He had been working well, and I decided he obviously had some class and was worth a shot at the odds. My expectations were exceeded. Stalking Wanderin Boy during the early part of the race, it looked like Invasor had no shot when Wanderin Boy spurted clear at the head of the stretch, but that was when the American legend of Invasor would be born. Invasor dropped to the inside and suddenly started reeling in the front runner. I was surprised as in a matter of seconds, he had gone from a horse that I wondered if he could hold second to a powerful winner. The final margin was 1 ¼ lengths, but it was a visually impressive stretch run and in fast time. A bay colt with a tiny white star on his forehead, it has been said by many around him that Invasor is a horse with great intelligence and presence. These qualities helped him achieve things on the track seemingly out of reach. The Pimlico Special was my first understanding of this. An easy could be next out win in the Suburban Handicap placed Invasor atop the older male contingent on the East Coast. It was then on to Saratoga for another glimpse at what was inside of this horse. The Whitney Handicap assembled a strong field of nine. Among them was a good Nick Zito colt named Sun King who was about to run the race of his life. It would be to no avail. You see Invasor would not let him win. Invasor had stayed closed to the pace under teenage rider Fernando Jara and pounced to contend for the lead early in the lane. As he often did in races, he did not just blow right by his competition. It was as if he enjoyed testing the other horses for awhile before putting the hammer down. In the Whitney though, it looked to be a losing tactic, for on the outside Sun King had a full head of steam and was quickly bearing down on the leaders. Almost instantly, Invasor put it into another gear, and the rest of the field was left far behind. Sun King kept coming, but Invasor would not let him by. This was another clue for the world to discover just what he was made of, and the best was yet to come. The $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic would be a showdown between the three leading candidates for Horse of the Year. Invasor was there, along with the West Coast star Lava Man, the new glamour boy of our sport, Bernardini, and ten other horses sporting strong credentials. Bernardini had been winning stakes races on the East Coast in scintillating fashion and was made a strong favorite. Invasor who had only won the Whitney by a nose, was relegated to third choice at 6-1. A minor setback had kept Invasor away from the races for three months, but that mattered little to this horse. Proving his superiority, Invasor unleashed a powerful closing charge down the center of the track to eyeball Bernardini at the 16th pole. Bernardini would have no answer, and the horse from Uruguay pulled away for a one length victory in the race of the year in the United States. The win would clinch both Horse of the Year and champion older male for Invasor, and in 2007 he would pick up where he left off. Despite a troubled trip in the Donn Handicap, Invasor was an easy and ridiculously effortless winner of the first big race of the year. He looked even better than he had the previous year in racking up his 5th grade one victory in the United States in only five races. It would be on to Dubai next for the champion, where he would get a chance to avenge his only career loss. It is the world’s richest race and the 2007 World Cup brought together top horses from all over the globe. Adding to the intrigue of the big race was the inclusion of the still highly regarded, Discreet Cat, who was the only other horse to finish first in a race entered by Invasor. The race proved to be a two-horse match, but it was the American export, Premium Tap, who would provide the drama. The drama would not last long though, as soon as Invasor loped alongside his rival, the world knew it would just be a matter of time before the inevidble would happen. For when Invasor drew eyeball to eyeball with another horse, his force proved irresistible. Premium Tap would give it everything he had, and the two would match strides for a large part of the stretch, as the rest, including Discreet Cat, were left far behind. Invasor seemingly enjoyed the test, but kicked clear late for a powerful and efficient two length score. Invasor’s return to Nad Al Sheba was a triumphant one. He was celebrated by a global audience of fans of racing, as he won the world’s richest race in front of owner Sheikh Hamdan. There could no longer be any doubt, Invasor was the best horse in the world. He proved it everywhere he ran. He was globally recognized as the highest ranked horse all over the world, something not easily achieved in our sometimes fractured sport. Unfortunately, this affirmation of greatness would be short lived. After working a strong five furlongs on a Saturday morning in late June at Belmont Park in preparation for defense of his Suburban Handicap victory, Invasor came back injured. The problem was discovered later at McLaughlin's barn and X-rays revealed a fracture to the top of the sesamoid bone. The great horse would be retired and sent to stud at his owner’s Shadwell breeding operation in Lexington, Kentucky. His first crop are yearlings now. I am eagerly awaiting his offspring to hit the track in 2011. You would think that a horse who won grade one races on three separate continents, was Horse of the Year in two nations, was an undefeated Triple Crown winner, and was a winner of the two richest dirt races in the world, should never suffer from an identity crisis. All of this was accomplished by a horse whose career was cut short just when he appeared to be at his most dominant. He was victorious in 11 of his 12 career starts for earnings of over $7.8 million. He was Invasor the Invader. He deserves to respected as one of the very best horses of the 21st century, if not the very best. I remember you Invasor. photo courtesy of Rickelle Nelson

The Zipse Awards - The Best of the Decade

The first decade of the 21st century is absolutely sprinting to the finish line. The decade must have set slow fractions, because it is now flying to the wire. This allows me to unveil a very special edition of ZATT. A column so big that I have already notified my server to be ready for the onslaught. A column so important, that I could not wait the final 30 days before publishing. Today I present to my millions of readers (foreshadowing the future of Zipse at the Track) the Zipse Awards. Horses of the decade in each division, I even added one category that the Eclipse Awards should recognize. These only come around every ten years or so, take a deep breath, grab a drink, and enjoy! The Single Year Awards: Champion Two-Year-Old Colt: Perfection is rewarded as The Zipse Award for the most outstanding juvenile of the decade goes to Vindication. The son of Seattle Slew was undefeated at two culminating with an effortless score in the 2002 BC Juvenile. He won a lot of people money through horse racing betting as he won all of his races and he traveled from California to Kentucky to Chicago in his four races. While it was not a long season for Vindication, it was the best of any juvenile of the decade. Champion Two-Year-Old Filly: A very strong division this decade with several worthy candidates. Because there were so many similar juvenile filly resumes to consider, I went with the filly who I thought ran the best single race in her marvelous season. That filly is Halfbridled. The daughter of Unbridled sported an undefeated 4 for 4 record and overcame the adversity of having post position 14 in her biggest race of the year, the 2003 Breeder’s Cup. Champion Three-Year-Old Colt: There were a slew of excellent three-year-olds in the decade, but for whatever reason, most were unable to complete a full season of excellence. The exception to this was Curlin, who began his career in the Spring of the season with romping wins in Florida and Arkansas and finished the year with an easy score in the BC Classic. Because of his consistency over the entire year of 2007 and the depth of his competition, Curlin nabs the Zipse Award as the three-year-old of the decade. Champion Three-Year-Old Filly: Rachel Alexandra is my choice for champion three-year-old filly in this decade and she would be in any other decade. 8 for 8 all in stakes, winning the Kentucky Oaks and Mother Goose by 20, the first filly to win the Preakness in almost a century, the first female ever to win the Woodward…Rachel is an all-time great. The Multi-Year Awards: Champion Older Male Horse: There were many good candidates here, but the nod goes to the Star of Uruguay and Kenny Mayne’s favorite horse, Invasor. Invasor was undefeated as an older horse, competing in only the biggest races. He won the BC Classic to cap his perfect season in the U.S. and returned the following year to win the Dubai World Cup. Invasor is the only horse I know to be Horse of the Year in both Uruguay, where he won their triple crown, and in America. Champion Older Female Horse: Zenyatta may have won this award before this year even began and with another undefeated season and a spectacular victory in the BC Classic, she storms by her main Zipse Award competition, Azeri, with power and ease. Champion Sprint Horse: Another tough call, but I am going with the durability of the champion sprinter of 2000, Kona Gold. Unlike much of his competition, Kona Gold had a lengthy career that finally ended at age nine. Even at nine he was a stakes winning sprinter. I am not sure his record of running in five consecutive Breeder’s Cups will ever be broken. He only won the BC once, but he was the old man to fear in the big sprint stakes the first four years of this decade. Champion Female Sprint Horse: Xtra Heat was a sprinting marvel. She was such a quality sprinter that she was named three-year-old filly champion of 2001, despite running exclusively in sprints. He record was remarkable, 26 wins in 35 races and the last 34 were all stakes . Enough said. Champion Miler: While Ghostzapper only got the chance to display his talents at the flat mile one time, in an explosive win in the Met Mile, he was undoubtedly the horse who best bridged the gap between outstanding sprinter and top handicap horse. Ghostzapper was a unique talent for the late Bobby Frankel, and in my opinion he was the most outstanding miler of the decade, just ahead of a certain French filly we all know. Champion Male Turf Horse: One of my tougher decisions. In the end I made my decision based on Breeders’ Cup brilliance. Conduit ran two spectacular races in the BC Turf and either of those races would have been good enough to win in most Breeders’ Cups of the decade. Only two races run in America were enough for Conduit to win the award in part because this division was down a little compared with previous decades. Champion Female Turf Horse: Ouija Board was a super turf mare worldwide during her entire, illustrious career and overshadows all but one great turf mare that has run this decade. During her trips to America, Ouija Board won the BC Filly & Mare Turf twice and was second once in a three year span. This year’s BC Mile made this a very tough decision, but in the end I went with the distance mare over the miler as I feel the longer races are of slightly more importance than the one mile specialty of Goldikova. Horse of the Decade: Drum roll please…The winner of the Zipse Award for Horse of the Decade goes to none other than the undefeated mare from California, Zenyatta. Many may think this is an odd decision, as I do not advocate her for Horse of the Year in 2009. True, but when I consider the entire body of work over the decade, Zenyatta narrowly outshines the credentials of Curlin, Invasor, Tiznow, Ghostzapper, and the horse I consider to have had the best single year, Rachel Alexandra. I commend Zenyatta and her unblemished record of 14 for 14, highlighted by impressive wins in two different Breeders’ Cup races. The Queen of California is the Horse of the Decade.

Race of the 21st Century

Is it Too Early? The Zipse Awards

Don’t look now but the first decade of the 21st century is winding to an end. Four months and a few days and we will be entering the 2nd decade…where did the time go? With the end of the decade speeding towards us, I have decided to get a jump on things for a change. I am previewing the Zipse Awards, which will be awarded to the best horses of the decade in their respective divisions. Champion Two-Year-Old Colt: Unless something big happens this year, 2-year-old of the decade will be a tough call. My selection right now is Vindication over War Pass and Street Sense. Street Sense clearly has the best single performance winning the BC Juvenile in 2006 by 10 lengths, but falls short with only two wins from five starts. War Pass and Vindication’s juvenile campaigns were very similar. Both went 4 for 4 culminating with easy wins in the Breeder’s Cup. I give Vindication the edge by virtue of more travel and winning the 2002 BC Juvenile on a fast track. Champion Two-Year-Old Filly: A very strong division this decade with several worthy candidates. The strongest contenders, Stardom Bound, Indian Blessing, Sweet Catomine, Halfbridled, and Storm Flag Flying all won the BC Juvenile Fillies in impressive fashion to cap their excellent years. It will be very difficult for any 2-year-old filly this year to top my top selection for juvenile filly of the decade, Halfbridled. The daughter of Unbridled gets the nod because of her undefeated 4 for 4 record and by overcoming the adversity of having post position 14 in her biggest race of the year, the 2003 Breeders' Cup. Champion Three-Year-Old Colt: Many nice 3-year-olds in the decade, unfortunately in several cases their campaigns were cut short. Smarty Jones, Barbaro and Afleet Alex did not get a chance to run after the Triple Crown. Tiznow was not a factor the fist half of the year. Big Brown did not finish the Belmont, nor the year. Bernardini was beaten in his biggest race. That left it to either Curlin or Point Given. Very tough decision, and I have gone back and forth, but at this time I am siding with Point Given. He failed when he ran 5th in the Kentucky Derby, but he proved his class winning each of his other six races of 2001. They were easy scores in the San Felipe, Santa Anita Derby, Preakness, Belmont, Haskell, and Travers. Champion Three-Year-Old Filly: Of this decade and just about any other is Rachel Alexandra. Sorry Rags to Riches’ fans, but the answer is definitely Rachel Alexandra. Champion Older Male Horse: Tiznow, Mineshaft, Ghostzapper, St. Liam, Lava Man, Invasor, Lawyer Ron, Curlin…how can I pick just one? Well I will pick just one, I promise, just not today. Give me four more months to chew on this one. Champion Older Female Horse: A two horse race between the great, Californian mares. Azeri and Zenyatta both thoroughly dominated their divisions and compiled impressive win streaks. I am going to give the edge to Zenyatta, as she is still undefeated, while Azeri was beaten in six out of her last nine races. Champion Sprint Horse: There has been a lot of sentiment expressed to me lately in favor of Midnight Lute off his consecutive wins in the last two BC Sprints. Being the man of integrity that I am, I will not be swayed in my decision. I am going with the champion sprinter of 2000, Kona Gold. Unlike Midnight Lute, Kona Gold had a lengthy career that finally ended at age nine. Even at nine he was a stakes winning sprinter. I am not sure his record of running in five consecutive Breeders' Cups will ever be broken. He only won the BC once, but he was the old man to fear in the big sprint stakes the first four years of this decade. Champion Female Sprint Horse: I have one word for you: Xtra Heat. OK, I know that is two words, but what a sprinter she was. 26 wins in 35 races and the last 34 were all stakes . Enough said. Champion Male Turf Horse: Again I am going with the consistently excellent career over the short term greatness. That is why my selection here is English Channel over High Chaparral. English Channel never quite reached superstardom, but he was the best American grass horse over a three year span. His sparkling career was made complete with a seven length score on the soft BC Turf of 2007. High Chaparral and his consecutive championships was very, very tough to deny though. Champion Female Turf Horse: Ouija Board was a super turf mare worldwide during her entire, illustrious career and overshadows all the other great turf mares that have run this decade. During her trips to America, she won the BC Filly & Mare Turf twice and was second once in a three year span. Not even repeat BC wins this year by either Goldikova or Forever Together could surpass Ouija Board’s accomplishments. Horse of the Decade: Too early to call, or maybe I don’t want to give this one away just yet. I will tell you that I have six horses still under consideration. Remember these are only previews, the actual awards have not been decided yet and will be announced after Christmas. Horses had to run in America to be considered for the Zipse Award. 2-year-old and 3-year-old divisions are single year awards, while all the other divisions are cumulative awards for the decade. Let the debate begin!