Not Jus Any Horse
January 11th, 2005by Jude T. Feld
Lazaro S. Barrera
One cool March morning at Santa Anita’s Clocker’s Corner, Laz Barrera stood at the rail, his gold stopwatch in hand.
“I need to fire thees exercice boy, Gordito,” he said to me. “I need to get thees horse to run a mile and a sisteen. Thees water-melon is letting heem run off every morning.”
“Some horses can’t relax enough to stretch out,” I offered.
“Thas what they say about Bol Forbe,” Laz said. “Lemme tell you somsing Gordito, any horse can go a distance. You jus have to train them to do it.”
By then, a trainer of eight years and a student of the game for 30, I had come to the conclusion that body type and pedigree coupled with class, dictated a horse’s distance ability, not training. But the only way I would darken the doors to the Hall of Fame is if I bought a ticket, so I filed that tidbit of information away for future reference and didn’t argue with the great Barerra.
During that time, I was also fortunate to worship at the altars of Whittingham and Frankel, who held court several mornings each month. Actors often talk about “listening” as the most important factor in their craft, but horse trainers too benefit from listening. If experience is the best teacher, then listening to the trevails of Charlie and Bobby are like going to Harvard and Yale.
Whittingham was great at stretching horses out, but most of his were bred for classic distances. Frankel too has a knack for teaching horses to ration their speed but he also keeps an eye on their pedigree.
I figured Barrera was all wet with this “training” thing, but I never forgot the conversation and even quoted him on several occasions when the situation warranted it.
Then came Afleet Alex.
With an ass like a Mack truck, powerful forearms, an excellent demeanor and the acceleration of Priest Holmes, Afleet Alex was a formidable two-year-old. He was a magnificent specimen and I remember thinking after he won the Hopeful (G1) at Saratoga, “I really don’t think he’ll go two turns.”
Can someone tell me where the line for tickets to the Racing Museum starts?
I wasn’t alone however, as many turf writers felt the same way. Even after his amazing effort in the Preakness (G1), the bulk of racing columnists and selectors picked against Afleet Alex in the Belmont (G1).
Mike Brunker of NBCSports.com wrote the following:
“He can do it, but he’s a lousy bet if he goes off anywhere near his 6-5 morning line odds. That’s because while Afleet Alex appears to outclass his 10 equine rivals, he won’t encounter his most formidable foe until he is barreling down the long sandy stretch of the 1½-mile Belmont Stakes. That enemy is the exhausting final quarter mile of a race that is accurately known as “The Test of a Champion.”
With a Dosage Index of 2.11 and center of Distribution of .71, Afleet Alex’s pedigree certainly cleared him for the Derby distance of a mile and a quarter but his Quarterhorse good looks made him very suspect at any distance over seven furlongs and a huge question mark at a mile and a half.
Tim Richey, who certainly deserves an Eclipse Award for his training job, was equal to the task.
“My whole progression in his training, starting in December, was to get through the Triple Crown with the Belmont as the last of the three,” Ritchey said. “This is why he started his two-a-day training, to get plenty of miles underneath him so he had a lot of endurance. He’s physically as fit as he could be.
“He’s the most agile and athletic horse I’ve ever been around. He had to be extremely athletic not to fall on his head, let alone get up and win [the Preakness].”
Maybe Barrera was right.
“Any horse can go a distance. You jus have to train them to do it.”
But then again, Afleet Alex is not jus any horse.
