Horse racing

D. Wayne Lukas on the Triple Crown

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- D. Wayne Lukas took a moment out of his job as Hall of Fame trainer preparing a contender for the Kentucky Derby to do a little consultant work this morning, during the renovation break at Churchill Downs. And for this particular work – consulting the industry and the sport on how to improve the Triple Crown – nobody is more qualified. On Saturday, Dublin will become Lukas’ 44th Kentucky Derby starter and could be his fifth winner. He’s 12-1 in the morning line. Lukas also has won five Preaknesses from 32 starters and four Belmonts from 20 starters.

One of the many remarkable things about Lukas is that he always seems ready to make a comment on anything. Ask him about the economy. About Iraq. About patristic exegesis. And given an opportunity to talk about horse racing, where his passion resides – well, Lukas eagerly launched himself into the subject this morning. To start with, the distance for the Kentucky Derby, he said, should be 1 1/8 miles. And then the series could reasonably and logically progress to 1 3/16 miles in Baltimore and to 1 1/4 miles in New York.

The reasons for making such a change, Lukas said, are obvious, and they’re leaving causality behind and approaching necessity: Very few horses these days are truly ready, or even able, to run 1 1/4 miles on the first Saturday in May. As it is, the Triple Crown series begins with the classic distance, takes a one-sixteenth-of-a-mile step backwards and then leaps forward to conclude with an anachronistic distance of 1 1/2 miles. And, of course, Lukas said, nobody really wants to breed a mare to the Belmont winner anymore.

The time between races should be adjusted, too, Lukas said. More time is needed, much more, especially if the starting gate is going to be allowed to overflow annually on Derby Day. A race with 20 horses is much more demanding than a race with, say, 12. And yet the spacing is two weeks and then three weeks – horses don’t run in major races at such intervals anymore. And it’s especially difficult in the Triple Crown because, Lukas said, this is no longer a three-race series. “It’s become a five-or-six-race series,” he said,  “because of the earnings a horse needs just to get into the Derby.”

Adjusting the distances and allowing more time between races would, of course, make the series less demanding, and while traditionalists might scoff at the idea or dismiss it as a sissified notion, such a change would permit more of the sport’s stars to participate and might even prolong their careers. And that’s the whole point. That’s why change is needed.

 “The sport,” Lukas said, “needs to keep its stars on the track.  If the NBA (teams) changed their rosters each year, nobody would be watching.”

Before moving on to one more suggestion, lest anyone mistake him for a crusader or an eccentric, Lukas pointed out that he doesn’t think these changes will take place. At least not soon. Horse racing, after all, remains traditional to a fault. And within the sport, he said, there’s very little innovative thinking. Horse racing’s reluctance to adapt to modern technologies, shift with modern economies and acknowledge the cultural winds has, in part, put the sport in the precarious position it’s in.

“But I can see where the Kentucky Derby could be run at 9 o’clock at night,” Lukas said, speaking about the need to get the sport on prime-time television. “I don’t think that’s too far-fetched. And if it happens and brings the sport more towards the center of things and into the spotlight, then  I’m all for it.”

And regarding the method of restricting the Kentucky Derby field to 20 based on earnings in graded stakes, Lukas added his voice to many, saying, “That needs to be tweaked.” Lukas suggested identifying the six most important prep races leading up to the Triple Crown (“the most important Grade Ones”) and reserving a Derby spot for the winner and runner-up in each. The remaining spots, he said, can go the leading money-winners.

But the current system just doesn’t work. It encourages owners and trainers into desperate attempts to qualify their horses; it also gives equal emphasis to the six-furlong sprint for 2-year-olds and the nine-furlong route for 3-year-olds, as long a they’re both graded. That,  Lukas said, needs to change.

Having shared some wisdom, the most visionary trainer in the game then returned his attention to something more immediate and pressing. The time had arrived to take Dublin to the track.

Blind Luck among 14 in the Kentucky Oaks

Friday’s Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs
Purse: $584,300
Distance:  1 1/8 miles

PP. Horse, Odds
1. It’s Tea Time, 15-1
2. Jody Slew, 30-1
3. Quiet Temper, 10-1
4. Age Of Humor, 30-1
5. Blind Luck, 6-5
6. Beautician, 15-1
7. Crisp, 8-1
8. Tidal Pool, 8-1
9. Bella Diamante, 30-1 
10. Champagne D’Oro, 30-1
11. Evening Jewel, 10-1
12. Ailalea, 15-1
13. Amen Hallelujah, 8-1
14. Joanie’s Catch, 30-1

Calvin says don't leave him out

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Talking about his mount, Super Saver, in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, Calvin Borel offered bettors this advice: “Don’t leave him out.”

After working a horse for his brother, trainer Cecil Borel, the jockey took a moment this morning to discuss his chances of winning his third Kentucky Derby. He won in 2007 on Street Sense and last year on Mine That Bird.

“What are you talking to him for?” joked trainer Neil Howard, who was passing by, somewhat hurriedly to get out of the rain, which continued throughout the morning, “He’s only won two Derbies.”

Yes, and Borel said he rather likes his chances for winning a third. “His light is on,” Borel said about Super Saver. “He’s perfect. I’m real happy to be on the colt. I think he has a helluva shot.”

Borel won the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes here on Super Saver last year. Unable to ride the colt in the Tampa Bay Derby because of a commitment to ride Rachel Alexandra the same day in New Orleans, Borel was back in the saddle for the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park. Although known as a speedster, Super Saver allowed Line Of David to zip to the lead and control the Arkansas Derby pace before challenging in the stretch. Super Saver finished second, a neck back.

But the effort, Borel said, put Super Saver just where he needs to be. The son of Maria’s Mon rated kindly in Arkansas and gained conditioning.

“It was kind of what we were looking for,” Borel said about the pace situation at Oaklawn. Super Saver needed a lesson in relaxing early because, as the jockey said, in the Derby it’s the last three-eighths of a mile that count, not the first three-eighths. “He kept trying to get to that horse -- he’s a gutsy horse. He dug in. But he got a little heavy on me the last 30 yards.”

And since then, Borel said, Super Saver has trained very sharply at Churchill Downs. “He’s a totally different horse here,” Borel said, explaining that he was especially impressed when he worked the colt a half-mile Saturday (48.80 seconds), when Super Saver relaxed, finished well and galloped out strongly.

And this morning, as he did Monday, Super Saver made a very positive impression, galloping easily but strongly through the mud here at Churchill Downs. He's indeed thriving, as his trainer, Todd Pletcher, has said. Super Saver appears ready to give the performance of his life. 

 

Rule out, filly's in

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Sunday, Todd Pletcher announced that Eskendereya, who would have been the Derby favorite, won’t run; and this morning, the trainer said Rule “will take a pass” on the Derby.

A winner of four of seven in his career, including the Delta Jackpot and the Sam F. Davis, Rule finished third as the favorite in the Florida Derby before coming here to Churchill Downs.

“He’s sound. He came out of his work good.  But for whatever reason, he doesn’t seem to be as sharp as he was earlier in the year,” Pletcher said, explaining the decision. Rule galloped out weakly after his recent workout here.

The announcement came as no surprise. Earlier this morning, Bill Casner of Flower Mound, Texas, one of the horse’s owners, said he was concerned about the colt’s workout. “You have to let them tell you what to do,” Casner said. “And he may be telling us to wait for the Preakness.”

Pletcher also said this morning that Devil May Care, the sensational filly who won the Bonnie Miss at Gulfstream Park, will probably be entered in the Kentucky Derby and only the Derby. She was also being considered for Friday’s Kentucky Oaks.

She's Rachel-ready

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Rachel Alexandra looked like, well, Rachel Alexandra this morning. Long before the sun and most of the city were up, about 5:45 or so, the reigning Horse of the Year stepped onto the Churchill Downs racetrack to get in her final preparatory workout for Friday’s $400,000 La Troienne Stakes.

Accompanied by assistant trainer Scott Blasi on a pony, Rachel Alexandra walked and jogged the wrong way to the wire, where she was turned and allowed to set out in a light gallop but not to do much more. And she was eager for more. She tossed her head and then bowed her neck while nearly pulling her regular exercise rider, Dominic Terry, out of the saddle.

As they approached the four-furlong marker, Terry lowered himself into the saddle, and Rachel Alexandra put herself into her workout. Terry kept a firm hold throughout. The official watch got her going the opening quarter-mile through the mud in 25.60 seconds and the half-mile in 50, galloping an additional furlong in 1:03.20.

On my watch, she went a tick faster, but the time was unimportant. She finished faster than she began, and she displayed eagerness throughout. Rachel Alexandra appeared poised and ready. A big effort is imminent.

Previewing the Texas Mile

Imagine deeply engraved gold lettering: You are cordially invited to attempt to pick a winner and then invest in its likelihood, or, as some might say, in the short-term futures market.

That’s what today’s Texas Mile is, an invitation to wager, for it’s a beautifully contentious race, with several contenders and possibilities and scenarios. In fact, today’s entire card at Lone Star Park, for investment purposes, is probably the best in the country: three stakes plus three intriguing allowance races.

Rain fell steadily last night, and the track was “muddy,” but sealed, for works this morning. But the sky has cleared, a mildly refreshing breeze is passing through and I suspect the surface will be “fast” by early afternoon, which means the Texas Mile beckons.

The field is much stronger than the $200,000 purse might suggest it should be. Last year’s winner, the millionaire Jonesboro, has returned, as well as last year’s winner of the Lone Star Derby, Mythical Power, from the formidable stable of trainer Bob Baffert.  Euroears, who can be one of the region’s top sprinters when at his best, will attempt to stretch out. Star Guitar, the king of Louisiana-breds who has won 12 of 16 in his career, will attempt to score his first graded stakes victory. Fifteen Love has looked sensational in consecutive races; Harlan Street has won six straight; King Dan ran second to Jonesboro in this race last year.

Yes, it’s a terrific and contentious race. The eight horses entered in the Texas Mile together have earned $4.2 million in their careers.

Euroears may be the most intriguing horse in the group. Although he could feel some pressure, he’ll almost certainly be on the early lead. He has sharp sprinter speed, which is a different thing entirely from, say, King Dan’s route speed. The question, though, is how far can Euroears go.

His trainer, Bret Calhoun, said he has always believed Euroears could be successful at this one-mile distance. That’s why two years ago Calhoun had the speedster pointed at the Texas Mile before an injury scuttled the plan. At the time, he was unbeaten in six races, including three stakes, and he was willing to relax on the lead in those races, willing even to settle comfortably behind a leader. And his pedigree suggested he could do more than sprint; he’s by Langfuhr.

He’s not quite as speedy as he was two years ago, before the injury. He has to work harder to get a lead, which is why he has faltered late in some of his races, as he did in the Duncan F. Kenner at Fair Grounds, where he finished third, behind Cash Refund and Kensei. But what could happen if he doesn’t have to work so hard to get the lead? In each of his last six races, he has shaved 45 for the opening half. But what could happen if he’s allowed to cruise through an opening half-mile in, say, 46.60?

A week ago, with Jamie Theriot riding, Euroears worked five furlongs at Churchill Downs in 59.80 seconds. And now for the rest of the story: That workout came at the end of a strong gallop. The intention, Calhoun said, was to break him off at the wire and let him gallop along at a two-minute clip (15 seconds for each furlong) to the top of the lane and then breeze home. But Euroears picked up the pace quickly and gained strength as he went along; the clockers put their watches on him at the five-furlong marker, and he rolled home. He was so impressive that Theriot committed to come here to Lone Star to ride him and miss opening day at Churchill.

Euroears could prove very tough to run down.

But while nobody in the field is fast enough to run with Euroears early, not if he wants the lead, several in here could ensure that he won’t be able to slow the pace down to a crawl. And so Mythical Power should also be very tough to beat. He looks sensational, by the way, a picture of health and readiness, and I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t run well.

Baffert has won this race twice, with Preachinatthebar in 2006 and Isitingood in 1997. And he always has had a high opinion of Mythical Power. At Santa Anita, however, Mythical Power’s recent races haven’t been very good. But his style may not be suited to the slow-paced racing that seems to have become the norm on Santa Anita’s synthetic surface.

Mythical Power has raced twice on dirt. He ran second in last year’s Sunland Derby, beating, by the way, Mine That Bird. And he gave the best performance of his career here while winning the Lone Star Derby. I think that’s the Mythical Power we’ll see today.

Selections: Mythical Power, Euroears, Star Guitar, Joneboro.

Upcoming Lone Star stakes

It’s starting to look as if the horses – not a band or a crawfish boil or a giveaway – will actually be the attraction at Lone Star next weekend. In other words, Saturday’s three stakes races, if the Lone Star racing office is correct, could be very attractive. Last year’s Texas Mile and Lone Star Derby winners could return; a local hero of sorts will return; the white-haired sage himself, Bob Baffert, could make an appearance, depending, I suppose, on what he has going on in Kentucky.

The featured event will be the $200,000 Texas Mile. Jonesboro, who won the race last year and finished third most recently in the Oaklawn Handicap, will be here. The old boy – he’s 8 – may have slowed a step -- then again, I thought that going into this race a year ago – but he apparently loves Lone Star. He also ran second in the Lone Star Park Handicap last year. Then he won the Cornhusker Handicap at Prairie Meadows. He has earned more than $1.5 million in his career.

Mythical Power, who won last year’s Lone Star Derby for Baffert, is expected to be on a plane coming here tomorrow from California. He hasn’t done much since winning here, but he has been racing on Santa Anita’s synthetic surface. He may need to return to dirt before he returns to the winner’s circle.

And trainer Bret Calhoun said Euroears will stretch out for the first time in the Texas Mile. Euroears hasn’t raced at Lone Star since 2007, when he won his debut here by more than nine lengths. He was aimed at this race two years ago after he won the first six starts of his career, including three stakes, but an injury scuttled those plans. He has won only twice since then, but he ran third recently in the Duncan F. Kenner Stakes in New Orleans, behind two very good horses, Cash Refund and Kensei.

And Star Guitar, the king of the Louisiana-breds, is expected for the Texas Mile. No Louisiana-bred has won a graded stakes race in at least two years – all that money from slots, it seems, has encouraged the folks in Louisiana to breed more horses, but not necessarily better horses – but Star Guitar is certainly talented enough to snag something adorned with a Roman numeral. He has won 12 of his 16 races, and he ran fourth behind Battle Plan in the recent New Orleans Handicap.

That quartet would make the Texas Mile an outstanding race. But also among its possibilities are Bullsbay, Enriched, Goldsville, Harlan Street, Sing Baby Sing and Z Humor.

Deal Breaker, a recent winner at Santa Anita, is also expected on that plane from California. Trainer Mike Mitchell is sending him here for Saturday’s $50,000 Grand Prairie Turf Challenge. Also among those possible for the race are Active Treasure, Becky’s Express, Fifteen Love, Gretsky and Jake Wil Gallop, who won the USA Stakes here last year.

Multiple stakes winner Bubbler is among those aimed at Saturday’s $50,000 Irving Distaff. Also among the possibilities for the race are Blue Angel, Category Seven, Deamalong, Hisse, Jehan, Love To Tell, Formal Flyer, Minute Limit and Hotlantic, who won the race a year ago.

Aces indeed

GRAND PRAIRIE -- Aces N Kings won by almost seven lengths here tonight, at Lone Star Park, making good, at least for the moment, on the promise of potential he had flashed in morning workouts. But it was not without a moment of concern.

He was nearly wiped out at the start, when the horse to his outside, Country Nugget, ducked in. But Aces N Kings quickly recovered to be second after a quarter-mile. He advanced outside Evil Officer, who also had a troubled start, assumed the lead at the top of the stretch and easily drew clear, completing the 4 1/2 furlongs in 52.78 seconds. Aces N Kings, the 3-5 favorite in his debut, galloped out strongly beyond the wire.

“He’s the real deal,” said his trainer, Bob Young, in the winner’s circle.

Caroline Dodwell, who owns the 2-year-old, said Aces N Kings will be pointed in the direction of the Texas Thoroughbred Association Futurity. The trials will be run May 21.

A teaser plus a winning poker hand equal a runner

Jet Phone is a teaser. That isn’t said disparagingly. Teasing happens to be his job.

As most of you probably know, that means his job is to put mares in, well, an amorous mood before they visit a stallion. Jet Phone works at Valor Farm in Pilot Point, just north of Fort Worth. But his job description could change soon, depending on Aces N Kings, who just might be one of the fastest 2-year-olds seen at Lone Star Park in years. He makes his debut Friday.

But this story actually begins nine years ago, when a son of Phone Trick out of the Alydar mare Jet Route was foaled at Valor Farm.

“He just took your breath away,” said Ken Carson, the general manager of Valor Farm, which is owned by Clarence Scharbauer of Midland, about the youngster who would be named Jet Phone. “He looked like a little version of Phone Trick.”

When it came time to prepare Jet Phone for the races, he was sent to Diamond D Ranch in Lone Oak. Operated by Caroline and Ed Dodwell, with their son, Scooter, Diamond D prepares young horses for the races. In other words, it’s sort of a school for racehorses, and among its graduates there are about 150 stakes winners, including the 2009 Horse of the Year, Rachel Alexandra.

Back in 2003, Jet Phone was a star pupil. From Diamond D he went to trainer Bret Calhoun. And in November, Jet Phone won his debut by nearly four lengths at Hawthorne.

“He was a gorgeous horse,” Calhoun recalled. “And very fast. We just couldn’t keep him together.”

Jet Phone had chronic back problems. And then he bowed a tendon. He didn’t win another race until 2005, for a claiming price of $20,000 at Lone Star. He won again at Remington Park, but when the old back problems returned, Scharbauer and Carson decided to retire him to Valor.

They have bred many of the Valor Farm quarter horse mares to Jet Phone. But for the most part, his part-time job for the last three years has been as a teaser.

“We always liked him,” Carson said. “He’s such a good-looking horse. That’s why we kept him. But he never did enough so that we could promote him (as a Thoroughbred stallion).”

Three years ago, Ed Dodwell decided to breed his mare Pure Mischief to Jet Phone. Not to Early Flyer or Magic Cat or Wimbledon, successful stallions who stand at Valor Farm, but to a teaser.

Dodwell explained that he always liked Jet Phone, the handsome colt who looked like his sire, one of the fastest sprinters ever to step onto a racetrack. Dodwell remembered how fast and talented the horse was as a 2-year-old, how he made stopwatches whistle and seemed to do it easily. And Dodwell said he thought Jet Phone would be a good cross with Pure Mischief, who was something of a precocious speedster herself.

In Lone Star’s inaugural season, 1997, Pure Mischief won her first two starts by a total of 11 lengths. She then ran second in a futurity despite pulling a muscle. But she went on to win two stakes, the Selma at Retama and the Dixie Miss at Louisiana Downs, before retiring with six victories in 10 starts and earnings of $140,237.

The result of their union is Aces N Kings, who’s named after a winning poker hand Dodwell once had – but that’s another story. At Diamond D, where the track is generally deep, Aces N Kings worked three-eighths of a mile in 35 seconds one morning. And here at Lone Star last week, he worked a half-mile out of the gate in 47, effortlessly drawing away by many lengths from whoever that was who had the bad luck to get in the gate with him.

Dodwell said Aces N Kings is one of the fastest youngsters ever to graduate from Diamond D. Maybe the fastest. And that’s saying something.

Leading the way on the road to the Triple Crown: Second thoughts

It looks better and better each time I watch it, this Arkansas Derby. No, I don’t think it’ll produce the Kentucky Derby winner, but I expect several horses coming out of Saturday’s million-dollar race to make some noise down the road.

Line Of David took advantage of the surface’s speed-favoring tendencies. Half of the 12 races Saturday at Oaklawn Park were won by horses that led early or were right there with the early leader. Still, any horse that can run through those splits – 46.26 for the half-mile and 1:10.75 for three-quarters – and win going nine furlongs is obviously a horse of quality. Unbeaten now with blinkers, he left the gate like a popped champagne cork and seemed determined to have the lead. In other words, he didn’t seem very willing to be rated.

For the numbers folks, I gave the race a 101, which, after Eskendereya’s easy victories in the Fountain of Youth and Wood, puts it right up there, for me, with the best preps of the year. I don’t expect the Kentucky Derby to reward Line Of David’s foot-to-the-floor style, not at that distance at that track and especially not with the other speed that’s expected. But he could be the early leader in Kentucky.

But Super Saver, who ran second, and Dublin, who finished third, gave performances that suggest they’re moving forward and could be ready for big efforts on May 1. Super Saver never has won without the early lead, but he seemed content to follow Line Of David and then challenge in the stretch. He never got by the leader, not even galloping out, but he ran the final three-furlongs in 38.02, which is solid. And Dublin, who raced wider in the turn and made up a little more ground, ran the final three-eighths even faster.  

Uh Oh Bango didn’t flash his usual speed, but he rallied determinedly despite racing wide. He finished about two back in only his second start of the year. And Noble’s Promise, the favorite, had an unfortunate journey on his way to finishing fifth. He broke out and bumped with Northern Giant, then he dropped back to last. Noble’s Promise advanced around the first turn, only to be checked, and then he still tried to rally, but his tank was empty in deep stretch. He deserves a spot where he can win, and that won’t be at 10 furlongs in the Kentucky Derby.

As for the Blue Grass at Keeneland, I no longer consider it much of a prep for the Triple Crown. The last three Blue Grass winners – General Quarters, Monba and Dominican – have finished 10th, 20th and 11th in the Derby. In Keeneland’s last three Polytrack years, 13 horses have used the Blue Grass to prepare for the Derby. Their average finish: 12th. Yes, the Blue Grass money is significant because of the earnings-in-graded-stakes process that limits the Derby field to 20, but the Blue Grass itself isn’t.

This year should alert Churchill officials to the need to revise the criterion for limiting the field. The Derby starting gate will probably be crowded with several dubious types, such as Dean’s Kitten, the Lane’s End winner who was beaten 33 lengths in his only race on dirt, and Homeboykris, who hasn’t won this year and who was beaten nearly 10 lengths in his only race beyond a mile.

With Mine That Bird’s 50-1 shocker last year, some people seem to think you only have to get into the gate to have a chance to win this most famous of America’s races. It’s as if they think the Derby’s a lottery; all you need is a ticket. But what kind of chance will Dean’s Kitten and Homeboykris have on May 1? About as much chance as a marshmallow at a Boy Scout campfire. But they could impede a contender. And that’s the problem.

Anyway, as good as the Arkansas Derby was, they’re all still chasing the big horse, who more conspicuously than ever is leading the way on the road to the Triple Crown:

1. Eskendereya – The clear leader, but does he have the versatility and athleticism to deal with the pace and traffic of the Derby?

2. Lookin At Lucky – His troubled trip in the Santa Anita Derby did nothing to diminish his reputation or status.

3. Endorsement – The Sunland winner appears to be peaking at the right moment, but the lightly raced colt will face a huge challenge at Churchill.

4. Sidney’s Candy – The Santa Anita horses have done well moving to dirt, but he won’t be allowed to lope on an easy lead at Churchill.

5. Awesome Act – He showed his talent in the Gotham, and his Wood was probably better than it appeared.

6. Super Saver – After his race Saturday, he should be ready for a good effort.

7. Dublin – D. Wayne Lukas has him ready for a top effort on Derby Day.

8. Ice Box – He’s just the sort that runs late and picks up a piece of the Derby purse.

9. Rule – He’s another who could have a pace problem in Kentucky, but he runs the turns well, and the Derby is usually won in the second turn.

10. Line Of David – He could be quickest among a quick group, but how far can he go?

Also eligible: Conveyance, Uh Oh Bango, Mission Impazible, Noble’s Promise, Setsuko, Jackson Bend, Pleasant Prince, Drosselmeyer, Discreetly Mine, American Lion, Stately Victor.