Monday Morning Quarterback
January 23rd, 2006By Jude T. Feld
Here’s a little Breeders’ Cup follow-up from this observer.
Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) – Dreaming of Anna showed guts and class in an awesome effort. She also exposed the soft side of owner Frank Calabrese, who reportedly said earlier in the week that he didn’t really like trainer Wayne Catalano. The latter was gracious when asked about their George Steinbrenner-Billy Martin relationship at the “winners’ breakfast” on Sunday morning saying, “Frank loves me.”
Dogwood Stable’s Cotton Blossom loomed up dangerously turning for home but couldn’t sustain her drive. She has had a very solid year, but my impression is that she is still unsure of her purpose in life. If she can figure it out over the winter, I’m sure Cot Campbell and partners will have a lovely spring and summer with her.
Bessemer Trust Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) – Street Sense overpowered his rivals, coasting to a 10-length victory, propelling his sire, Street Cry, to the top of the charts. He is owned by one of the nicest men in racing, James B. Tafel. Trainer Carl Nafzger was humble in victory, but already has a Derby plan mapped out for Street Sense, with his final prep scheduled for the Toyota Blue Grass (G1) at Keeneland, giving the impression that Nafzger knew all along he had a special colt.
Circular Cay got crushed leaving the gate, yet rallied for a solid second from dead last, over a very speed-favoring Churchill Downs track. He will be a major force in the three-year-old division barring any unforeseen complications.
Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1) – Ouija Board cemented her place in history with a big win, under a magnificent ride by Frankie Dettori. Her trainer Edward Dunlop is a man of few words, but her owner, Lord Derby, is an eloquent speaker and obviously loves his racemare. It would be great to see more horses racing in the famous black silks with the white cap.
TVG Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) – The Doug O’Neill-trained Thor’s Echo made it three years in-a-row that one of my former stable employees trained a Breeders’ Cup winner. Bred in California by feedman Steve Warner and partners, the son of Heinz Steinman’s Swiss Yodler completed a California-bred sweep of Thoroughbred racing’s two biggest sprints, with Proud Tower Too winning the Golden Shaheen (G1) and our “superhero” in the Superman silks of Pablo Saurez taking the TVG Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1).
Saurez, who owns Thor’s Echo in partnership with Royce Jaime, wore an “I Got Lucky In Kentucky” t-shirt to the winners’ breakfast, much to the delight of the media and NTRA/Breeders’ Cup staff in attendance.
NetJets Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) – Miesque’s Approval continued to do what he has done all year – beat great fields at a longshot price. Trainer Marty Wolfson has done a magnificent job with the pride of Live Oak Plantation and although his jockey Eddie Castro is not a great interview, he has talent galore.
Aragorn ran a super race in defeat. I still love those Ballygallon silks.
After dissing Bobby Frankel and Ken Ramsey for running Badge of Silver off a 10-month vacation, I will now eat my serving of crow.
Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) – Round Pond easily beat an excellent field, although two of the best fillies in the race, Fleet Indian and Pine Island, were injured.
Asi Siempre made a great transition from turf-to-Polytrack-to-dirt. Her disqualification from second was a travesty, as Corey Nakatani, aboard Balletto, initiated the contact in the stretch run, turning his filly’s head inward, trying to keep Asi Siempre from acquiring running room.
John Deere Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1) – Trainer Brian Meehan really impressed me. He had about five reasons Red Rocks would win this race when we spoke at the Breeders’ Cup press party Thursday night. Meehan was so confident, it was contagious. Under another great ride from Frankie Dettori, the Irish-bred son of the great Galileo was ultra-game holding off Better Talk Now, who is a top Grade 1 marathoner, proving his trainer correct. If I was a rich guy, I’d send him some horses to train.
Breeders’ Cup Classic – Powered by Dodge (G1) – Shadwell Farm’s Invasor is a stone runner and young jockey Fernando Jara is on his way to stardom. What a magnificent race the ‘Classic was. When Bernardini made the lead turning for home, the roaring crowd was reminiscent of Smarty Jones Belmont (G1). The result was similar too, as the much ballyhooed Bernardini was run down in the final furlong by Invasor, a Grade 1 winning machine, overlooked by the fans at almost 7-1.
Take nothing away from Darley Stable’s Bernardini, he ran a winning race, and despite the conventional wisdom that jockey Javier Castellano asked him for run a tad too soon, he got beat on the square by a very good older horse.
