23 Days and Counting … ZATT’s Breeders’ Cup Rankings

MARATHON 1. Bright Horizon 7-2 2. Giant Oak 6-1 3. Eldaafer 6-1 4. Alcomo 8-1 5. A.U. Miner 8-1 JUVENILE FILLIES TURF 1. Winter Memories 2-1 2. White Moonstone 3-1 3. Roxy Gap 6-1 4. New Normal 8-1 5. Together 5-1 FILLY & MARE SPRINT 1. Champagne D’oro 8-1 2. Evening Jewel 4-1 3. Rightly So 5-1 4. Sara Louise 6-1 5. Dubai Majesty 5-1 JUVENILE FILLIES 1. Tell a Kelly 4-1 2. Summer Laugh 8-1 3. Awesome Feather 8-1 4. A Z Warrior 7-2 5. R Heat Lightning 5-1 FILLY & MARE TURF 1. Midday 6-5 2. Red Desire 10-1 3. Éclair de Lune 8-1 4. Hibaayeb 6-1 5. Ave 8-1 LADIES’ CLASSIC 1. Blind Luck 5-2 2. Havre de Grace 5-1 3. Biofuel 12-1 4. Life at Ten 7-2 5. Persistently 12-1 JUVENILE TURF 1. Rogue Romance 5-2 2. Soldat 6-1 3. Formosina 8-1 4. Air Support 8-1 5. Cozy Kitten 6-1 TURF SPRINT 1. Fatal Bullet 8-1 2. Chamberlain Bridge 9-2 3. Rose Catherine 5-1 4. California Flag 4-1 5. Silver Timber 6-1 MILE DIRT 1. Tizway 6-1 2. Here Comes Ben 5-1 3. Crown of Thorns 4-1 4. Warrior’s Reward 10-1 5. Vineyard Haven 6-1 JUVENILE 1. Uncle Mo 3-2 2. Stay Thirsty 15-1* 3. Boys at Tosconova 4-1 4. Jaycito 6-1 5. Pathfork 10-1 MILE 1. Goldikova 6-5 2. Gio Ponti 4-1 3. Violon Sacre 30-1 4. Paco Boy 8-1 5. Sidney’s Candy 8-1 SPRINT 1. Big Drama 9-2 2. Wise Dan 10-1 3. Girolamo 4-1 4. Smiling Tiger 6-1 5. Atta Boy Roy 12-1 TURF 1. Paddy O’Prado 6-1 2. Workforce 3-1 3. Al Khali 12-1 4. Fame and Glory 5-1 5. Behkabad 5-1 CLASSIC 1. Blame 5-1 2. Zenyatta 8-5 3. Quality Road 5-1 4. Lookin at Lucky 4-1 5. Musket Man 20-1

Breeders' Cup Hunch Play

Sometimes when handicapping you just have to let the numbers go, and trust in fate.  2010 may offer the hunch play of all hunch plays ... The Breeders’ Cup has named Dos Equis as the Official Beer Sponsor of the 2010 Breeders’ Cup World Championships.  It is the third year that Dos Equis will serve as the Official Beer of the Breeders' Cup.  As almost everyone knows, Dos Equis is the beer behind the brilliant advertising campaign featuring The Most Interesting Man in the World.  What is this international man of pure cool's tagline?  "I don't always drink beer, but when I do, I prefer Dos Equis.  Stay Thirsty My Friends."  Guess who is pointing for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile?  Stay Thirsty.  My friends, that is too much coincidence to be ignored. Stay Thirsty My Friends!

Zenyatta’s Souper Little Brother

While Zenyatta may never have tried the turf, it appears her little brother has taken to it like a fish to water. Live Oak Plantation’s Souper Spectacular kept his grass record perfect in two starts with a win in an allowance race yesterday at Keeneland. Stalking the pace from a catbird seat on the outside, the three-year-old colt took a slim advantage entering the stretch, and pulled clear for a 1 ½ length victory under rider John Velazquez. The chestnut son of Giant’s Causeway completed the nine furlongs on the firm turf in a respectable 1:49.35 to raise his overall record to 2 wins in 4 starts. Soon to be three-time champion Zenyatta is a daughter of Street Cry, but both horses share a common dam in Vertigineux, a 15-year-old broodmare sired by Kris S. Besides Zenyatta and Souper Spectacular, Vertigineux also produced the multiple grade 1 winner, Balance. ***The remainder of today's column can be found on Youbet.com*** Click Here

Uncle Mo and Gio

What would Uncle Mo do for an encore after his swiftly run 14 ¼ length runaway victory when breaking his maiden in his debut at Saratoga? Winning one of the most prestigious juvenile stakes in the world with disdainful ease would do nicely. Yesterday at Belmont Park, Uncle Mo did just that, as he announced himself as the favorite for next month’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile with an impressive romp in the Grade 1 Champagne Stakes. With rider Johnny Velazquez acting as pilot, Uncle Mo cruised to the finish line in 1:34.51 on a fast Belmont strip. It was one of the fastest final times in the rich history of the Champagne. In fact it was the third fastest ever, behind only champions Devil’s Bag and Seattle Slew. Trained by Todd Pletcher and owned by Repole Stable, the bay son of Indian Charlie strode clear from his opposition after setting fast early fractions in tandem with longshot I’m Steppin’ It Up to waltz home 4 ¾ lengths the best. Third choice Mountain Town ran a huge race to finish second, and was nearly ten lengths clear of the rest of the field. What has impressed me so much about Uncle Mo so far is the way he has finished off these races. Not looking like a one-turn specialist in any way, he strides out to the wire as if added distance will matter little to this talent. To run a final quarter yesterday in 24 seconds after being involved in a speed dual was simply special. After the race, Pletcher said the sky’s the limit for his charge, and I wholeheartedly agree. I’m not one for juvenile hyperbole, but Uncle Mo’s first two races are as impressive as anything I’ve seen in a long time. I remember when Seattle Slew began his career 34 years ago, and this is similar. Of course, he has 15 more great performances and a Triple Crown to go to approach the rarified air of Slew, but at the very least, I can report that Uncle Mo is the real deal. If Uncle Mo defines equine potential, than we need only to look to another of yesterday’s top performers to understand the meaning of equine class. Gio Ponti, coming back after a tough luck loss in Arlington’s Million and dropping down to the one mile distance for the first time this year, exuded class in winning Keeneland’s $600,000 Shadwell Turf Mile. Rider Ramon Dominguez knew what he had yesterday, and he was able to sit chilly-willy on the five-year-old champion, as Gio Ponti smoothly split horses on his way to an effortless one length tally. The victory marked the sixth grade I victory for the dual Eclipse Award winner, and pushed his lifetime earnings over $4.6 million. In his four-season career to date, Gio Ponti has yet to run a bad race. The victory was his 11th in 22 starts, and should set him up perfectly for an attempt in the Breeders’ Cup Mile. Last year he ran second to the great Zenyatta in the BC Classic, but with the Classic being run on a traditional dirt surface this year, it would seem that the decision to run in the Mile instead of the Classic would be the prudent one. In the Mile, things will not get any easier though, as waiting in the wings is another great mare, two-time defending champion Goldikova. After yesterday’s sublime performance, you would have to give America’s best hope, Gio Ponti, a real chance against the great French mare.

The Legend of Secretariat - A Movie Review

America loves a winner, and Secretariat was about as big a winner as you could get. 37 years later the big red colt is further immortalized as the star, and namesake of a major motion picture. It was a movie that I enjoyed, and more importantly the non-racing crowd enjoyed. Disney’s big screen depiction of the great horse is based on historical facts mixed liberally with Hollywood script. Because it is not meant to be a documentary, I arrived at the theatre determined to detach myself from everything I knew about him. This proved to be impossible, as there were very few stretches in the film where I was not critiquing the realness of the action. But, at the same time, I was still able to fall smoothly into the intended flow of the movie, and it was fun. Disney’s version of Secretariat is more of a traditional, formulaic, feel-good movie, than a bastion of historical accuracy. Fine. I am OK with that, especially when I realize that of the millions of people that will pay to see this movie, less than one percent will be hardcore race fans. Their version left the entire crowd cheering as Secretariat drew away from Sham in his masterpiece that was the Belmont Stakes. ***The remainder of today's column can be found on Youbet.com*** Click Here

Remembering … Secretariat

The legend began on July 4, 1972. It was in the 2nd race at Aqueduct, a maiden special weight at 5 ½ furlongs for the youngsters. The best horse would not win the race, but on that Independence Day 38 years ago, a beautiful reddish chestnut colt announced himself to the world. He would run fourth, beaten 1 ¼ lengths after breaking slowly, being blocked a few times, and finishing full of run on the inside. It would prove to be the only time any horse would finish in front of Secretariat in his first eleven races. Barely older than the great horse myself, Secretariat represents my very first memories of thoroughbred racing. My strong feelings for him are honestly an amalgamation of a little boy’s hero worship, and of the way my father saw and talked about him. The two-year-old Virginia bred colt would not take long to show everyone how special he was. Secretariat broke his maiden easily in his next start, eleven days later, winning another special weight at Aqueduct by six lengths. After winning his third start impressively at 2-5, Secretariat would make his stakes debut in Saratoga’s Sanford Stakes, where he faced off with the highly regarded Linda’s Chief. It would be my first opportunity to see Big Red in person. Secretariat would not disappoint. Linda’s Chief ran a big race that day, but still was little competition for the budding star. Years later, I would study the pristine program, with my Dad’s perfectly round circle around his number, and reminisce that it was my first encounter with true equine greatness. In a Preakness precursor, the Hopeful Stakes would take Secretariat’s fantastic Sanford performance to a whole new thrilling level. On that August afternoon at the Spa, Big Red walked out of the gate and fell far behind the rest of the nine horse field. Four furlongs from the wire it looked like it would not be his day. A quarter of a mile later, Secretariat was on the lead and at that moment, everyone knew. The move from last to first was pure electricity, and as completed the formality of cantering down the Saratoga stretch, Secretariat was already a superstar within the racing world. The rest of the world would join in due time. Left in his wake in the Hopeful was a colt named Stop the Music, who became good enough that Fall to become a juvenile champion, if only he had been born a different year. Stop the Music would run a marvelous race in both colts next start, getting within a 1 ¾ lengths of Secretariat at the finish of the Futurity. But in what had become the norm, Secretariat was only toying with his foe. The Champagne Stakes would be next at Belmont, and my father likes to tell his story of the best laid plans, where him and his racing pals had seen enough in the Futurity to think Stop the Music actually had a shot against Secretariat at much higher odds. Apparently he was not alone, as only minutes before post time, the two colts were practically the same odds. Dad changed his mind and put his money on the better horse. Rightfully so, as the powerful chestnut roared off the final turn to prove much the best in the prestigious stakes race. In an ironic turn for my father, Secretariat was disqualified and placed second for impeding second place finisher Stop the Music early in the stretch. If there were thoughts of an emerging rivalry between the two colts, Secretariat dispatched them rather rudely with an eight length runaway in the sloppy Laurel Futurity. Secretariat would finish off his first season by hitting my home state for an easy score in the rich Garden State Futurity. The official record may say that the son of Bold Ruler, out of the Princequillo mare Somethingroyal, ran 9 times, with seven wins as a two year-old, but those who saw him knew he was something very special. The troubled trip debut loss, and the questionable DQ in the Champagne could not detract from his sheer brilliance. The Meadow Stable homebred of Penny Tweedy Chenery would be rewarded when the Eclipse Awards were handed out, by not only winning Champion Juvenile award, but also becoming one of the few horses in history to win the Horse of the Year title at just two years old. For trainer Lucien Laurin, and regular rider Ron Turcotte, it was validation of what they believed since early on … this horse was destined for greatness. For a thoroughbred race horse, the three-year-old season is the glamour year. The world tunes in for the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes that make up America’s Triple Crown. It is racing’s Holy Grail. A horse can become immortalized if he is outstanding enough to somehow sweep all three races. The problem was, it had not been accomplished since Citation dominated back in 1948. The early part of the sophomore season boils down to only a series of preps designed to have your horse peak for the First Saturday in May. For Secretariat, the pressure was on after his superlative juvenile season and news that he had been syndicated for stallion duty for an unheard sum of $6 million. Secretariat’s first race at three was the Bay Shore Stakes at Aqueduct, and he was quick to show the form that had made him a star in 1972. He powered past the field in the stretch to win by nearly five lengths. His next start was the Gotham Stakes in which he was tested a bit by Champagne Charlie, before pulling clear to win by three, and setting a track record of 1:33 2/5 for the mile. The Wood Memorial was now the only race that stood between Secretariat and a glorious run for the roses. In the Wood he would be introduced to a new challenger. Sham had developed late in his juvenile season for trainer Pancho Martin and had been very impressive early that Spring in California. Secretariat, unbeknownst to most, was suffering from an abscess below his lip. The Wood proved to be completely un-Secretariat like, as the big horse struggled home in third, while his speedy entry mate narrowly held off the rally of Sham. Heading to the Derby there were many worries for the Secretariat camp. He had been beaten in the Wood, while his sire, Bold Ruler, was a great one, but questions of his ability to father a horse who could run a distance persisted, and groom Eddie Sweat was fretting daily over the condition of his star’s mouth. These worries would seem silly a few weeks later. I now choose to let the video replays of Secretariat’s amazing run through racing’s most important series of races speak for themselves, for my mere words can not do him justice. Suffice it to say, In becoming our first Triple Crown winner in 25 years, he ran the greatest Kentucky Derby ever, ran even better in an electrifying last to first jaw-dropper in the Preakness, and then in the Belmont, Secretariat ran a race that will forever be held as the gold standard for which all great thoroughbreds will be judged. I was lucky enough to be in the stands that fateful day at Belmont Park, and when Secretariat sprinted down the Belmont stretch, I still remember the awesome energy and feeling of the stands rocking beneath my small feet. After what I consider far and away the finest performance by a race horse in my lifetime, Secretariat did have a few setbacks, when he finished a dull second to Onion in the Whitney, and was second best to a great effort by Prove Out in the sloppy Woodward Stakes. For the most part, however, Secretariat was sensational. He took the road show to Chicago for the Arlington Invitational and won for fun. After the shocking loss in the Whitney, he ran won of his best races in winning the Marlboro Cup. It was my final opportunity to see Secretariat in person, and it was awesome. The field included Secretariat’s wonderful older stablemate, Riva Ridge, who had won the previous year’s Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes, and had been begun the revival of Penny Tweedy Chenery’s struggling Meadow Stable. Riva Ridge proved much the best of the all-star field save one, as he offered little resistance against the speed and power that was Secretariat. In winning the Marlboro, Big Red smashed another world record, running the 1 1/8 miles race in 1:45 2/5. When trainer Lucien Laurin decided to try the big horse on grass a little later that Fall, race fans were once again treated to something extraordinary. Secretariat defeated a top class field of turf horses in the Man O’ War Stakes by five lengths, in track record time of 2:24 4/5 for the 12 furlongs. Secretariat’s last race came against older horses in the grassy Canadian International Stakes at Woodbine in Toronto, Canada. It was his second career turf start and the first time he was asked to go the demanding distance of 1 5/8 miles. It proved to be vintage Secretariat, as Big Red rolled home by 6 ½ lengths. The ease of the victory made it seem as if he could have won that day by twenty. It was a fitting way for the champ to end his career. To the surprise on no one, Secretariat was once again named Horse of the Year, as well as collecting Eclipse Awards as the Champion Three-Year-Old Male and the Champion Male Turf Horse. Because of the syndication deal, there would be no older racing career for Big Red. After retirement, Secretariat was sent to Seth Hancock’s Claiborne Farm where he worked towards rewarding those eager backers who made him the richest syndicated horse ever, after the completion of his juvenile season. As a sire, Secretariat could not possibly live up to his superhero like racing feats, and he did not. He did, however, become a very good sire who had many top horses both here and abroad, and two of his most fabulous offspring, Lady’s Secret and Risen Star, were the ones who most closely displayed flashes of their father’s greatness. Unfortunately the great horse’s life was cut short by the debilitating disease laminitis. Secretariat was put down, to the dismay of a nation, at the age of 19 on October 4, 1989. Adding insight to what made Secretariat tick, was an autopsy that revealed that his heart weighed close to 22 pounds, more than double the size of a normal thoroughbred. With his place in history safe, the only debate is whether he was the greatest that ever lived. In reliving the Belmont Stakes, it is hard to argue against him. My remembrance of the great horse was decidedly geared towards his racing career. For more information on the colorful people that cared for Secretariat, and the coin toss which ultimately decided his ownership, I urge you to run, not walk, to your local movie theatre to see Disney’s Secretariat. As of today, Big Red is a motion picture star. I know I will be one of the first on line. I remember you Secretariat.