Opening Day at the Spa

If there is one thing I've learned it's that I have a talent for picking horses. No dear reader, I cannot make you wealthy because my talent lies in figuring out which horse will finish first at the quarter-pole.

I arrived at the "graveyard of favorites" around 1:10- so I missed the first race. I put 20 to win on the Johnny Velazquez horse in the second race and keyed him over some of the other horses. Now here is the thing with John- John can telepathically sense when I have wagered money on him and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory!

The man was sitting in second through some really soft fractions. He then made a bid for the lead at the three-eights pole, got it, then relinquished said lead with 100 yards to go in the race. Needless to say, betting-wise, I knew that it was going to be a long day.

I wasn't too successful at handicapping, but it didn't really matter. Saratoga is the epitome of classiness and charm. To say that the place lives up to the hype is an understatement. My friends skipped out on me so I used the occasion to get some brownie points from my parents by taking them; and my mom basically summed it up when she said "this really feels like a racetrack."

Between the trumpet players, friendly staff and even friendlier crowd, you don't really mind that you're losing money. It also doesn't hurt that they bring the horses through the crowd. You could go all day at your typical track and never see an actual horse.

I can't wait to visit Saratoga again for it's an incredible example of all that is good about thoroughbred racing. I really wish my friends had decided to come with me because this place can turn even the biggest haters of thoroughbred racing into the cheering faithful.

Prado not of the Edgar Variety

Like actors and musicians, you never really realize how great Thoroughbred stallions were until they have passed away. Such is the case with El Prado.

Though the son of Sadler's Wells may get a ton of respect from those who study pedigrees for a living, the rest of the Thoroughbred racing industry never really gave this horse his due.

The great gray champion gave us Medaglia D' Oro, Artie Schiller and Borrego. However, like a musician who knows how to properly craft a setlist, he may have saved the best for last. Paddy O' Prado, who ran an impressive third in the Kentucky Derby, has just won both of the big Colonial Downs turf races with his win in the Virginia Derby. He ran against Stately Victor and Interactif and made them look like two-year olds.

I know that it's too early to say, but I think that Paddy O' Prado could be the best three-year old turf horse in the country, and a legit contender for the Breeder's Cup Mile. He will still have to face the big obstacle of staying healthy as well as the onslaught of European horses who will be ready to challenge, but if he runs in the Breeder's Cup like he has been running lately, Lure and Da Hoss- both of whom won the the Breeder's Cup Mile twice- will have some competition for the title of best modern American turf miler.

I know I bring this up way too often, but even-though the El Prado's, Cozzenes and Theatricals may not sire too many horses who can win the six furlong feature race at Aqueduct's main track, they sire horses who can win big races month in and month out and that has to count for something. Like Joni Mitchell said " Don't it all seem to go, that you don't know what you got till it's gone." Breeding horses solely to impress people at a yearling auction is truly akin to paving paradise and putting up a parking lot.

Simply Awesome

Ask 50 different people about their feelings towards thoroughbred racing and you will get 50 different answers- most of which will be quite negative. Some will debate you about whether or not jockeys are truly athletes, some will tell you that it's more a refuge for degenerate gamblers than a legitimate sport and some will ask you what horse racing is- I'm serious, that last one has actually happened to me. I'm fine with all of this, but the one thing that isn't up for debate is how unique the sport of kings truly is.

There were a series of stakes races run this week. Blind Luck won the Delaware Oaks, Gio Ponti won the Man O' War and Awesome Gem won the Hollywood Gold Cup.

That last victory is most surprising because Awesome Gem hasn't been very good lately. He always shows up, in fact he is one of the more durable horses of this era. However, Awesome Gem has lost in seemingly easy spots like the Charles Town Classic as well as the Lone Star and New Orleans Handicaps. So when his connections tried to thwart Rail Trips chance at making history, few thought he had a shot.

Of course, this is horse racing. The speed broke down, Rail Trip went wide and Awesome Gem's jockey put in a great ride. Now a horse who lost three races that he probably should have won just broke his losing streak by winning his first grade one and giving jockey David Flores his 1,000th victory at Hollywood Park.

Horses finally hitting their stride in the twilight of their careers is part of the magic that is thoroughbred racing. Baseball, Basketball and even Soccer have no equivalents to John Henry, Best Pal and Cigar. In this respect, the sport of kings stands alone.

The New Secretariat

So, last night I went to see the Tom Cruise vehicle Knight & Day. While I was going through the corridor on the way to the theatre I saw the poster for the upcoming film Secretariat. The poster made me think of two things: the first is that Diane Lane has a really, really varied filmography. The second thing is that there has never been a horse that has come close to Secretariat, and to the best of my knowledge, breeders don't really try to breed horses like him anymore.

This got me thinking.

If someone were to try to recreate Secretariat how would he go about this.

Now, it has to be said that all horses are individuals. Each one possesses his own mind, body and spirit which can never be duplicated. However, if one were to try and breed a horse comparable to Big Red, which sire and broodmare sire would he choose.

The first question to answer is this: are we trying to breed a horse that has lots of Secretariat's blood? or are we trying to breed a horse that can run like Big Red?

Personally, I think it's one in the same. You have to bring back his bloodlines to get a horse that can run like he did. So lets get started.

It is basically considered fact that Princequillo passed on his large heart to Somethingroyal, who then passed it on to Secretariat, who then passed it on to the majority of his daughters, who then passed it off to their sons. If we accept this as a fact, then the pattern for passing off the large heart is male-female-male-female. This means that the large heart of Princequillo which was passed down to Secreatriat, lives on in the daughters of sons of Secretariat broodmares. Basically, colts who have Secretariat as their broodmare sire can be good broodmare sires themselves because they can pass down this gene.

This means that A.P Indy, Storm Cat and Dehere all qualify. In fact, Dehere has already had a decent amount of success as a broodmare sire. Two of his best horses as a broodmare sire are Meisho Yoshihisa and Midnight Lute. I think that whatever basic principles were used to breed these two colts is worthy of some imitation.

Meisho has Secretariat broodmares in his third and fourth generations. This could be the reason for a great deal of his success; however he also has Norther Dancer in the fourth generation through Lyphard and of course, Vice Regent. Midnight Lute o also has Northern Dancer through Vice Regent as well as Native Dancer, the great grandsire of Northern Dancer through Natalma. I'm not sure how Sunday Silence influences Meisho Yoshihisa's pedigree, but it seems clear that Norther Dancer and Dehere cross very well.

So, what is the best version of this cross?

Well, for our purposes, the best version of this cross would be through a horse that can produce something comparable to the great Secretariat. I'll put forth three sires: Giant's Causeway, Medaglia d' Oro and Duke of Marmalade. Since we can agree that they are all great from a nicking standpoint, I will judge them purely on what types of foals they usually throw.

Giants Causeway was quite the runner back in England and some say he could've won the Breeder's Cup Classic with a little bit of luck. Most of his horses can run all day, and they seem to like both the dirt and the turf. He stands in Kentucky and led the general sire list last year. If Eskendereya's earnings help carry him through, he'll lead the list again this year. Though none of his offspring have won the Kentucky Derby, they are mainly distance types with good turn of foot. I know that all too often we play the what if game, but if Eskenderaya was healthy for the Derby, he might have given Giant's Causeway his first Derby winner.

Medaglia D' Oro has really given the racing world some gifts as of late. Between Rachel Alexandra and Champagne D' Oro, Medaglia D' Oro might just single handedly produce all of the starters for the B.C. Distaff- and therin lies the problem. As great a sire as he his- and I like him more than Giants Causeway- his fillies are miles ahead of his colts. Of course I point this out as a negative even though the two best horses in the country- Rachel and Zenyatta are both female. There is no doubt that Medaglia D' Oro is a great sire, but the fact that his colts aren't as could as his fillies concerns me.

Duke of Marmalade I'm pretty sure that his foals haven't raced as yet, but he is by Danehill and you have to admit that this horse could run. He didn't fire in the Classic, but that was probably because he doesn't travel well. He's proven on turf and the fact that he has Kingmambo in his pedigree might cause people to lose confidence in his ability to throw a dirt horse, but could you have predicted Cigar, Barbaro and Big Brown's affinity for the dirt by looking solely at their pedigrees? Of course, I DO NOT claim to be an expert, but Duke of Marmalade had a lot of natural talent so if his foals are anything like him, and he nicks well with Dehere broodmares, Duke of Marmalade could sire the closest thing we've seen to Secretariat in a long time.

What's Next?

With all three legs of the Triple Crown being won by different horses, it seems like the racing world will have to look past the three-year old division for a superstar. Luckily, in addition to Rachel and Zenyatta, there is another rivalry between older horses that could capture the racing worlds attention: Quality Road and I Want Revenge.

Like most people, I was pretty confident about I Want Revenge going into the Kentucky Derby. So after his ligament injury, I thought that this was another case of an immensely talented racehorse who would never fulfill his potential. Luckily, fate has smiled on the son of Stephen got Even and his new connection IEAH stables and he is in training once again in preparation for the Suburban Handicap at Belmont.

After recovering from the quarter-crack injury that sidelined him for the Kentucky Derby, Quality Road went to the Breeder's Cup Classic, was blinfolded much to his chagrin, forced into a starting gate and almost killed himself. Thankfully, someone who works the starting gates at Santa Anita is incredibly cool under pressure and handled the situation with minimal damage to the animal.

Now that we have the two talented thoroughbreds in training it's time to run them against one another before it is too late. I'd love to see both horses pointed to the Whitney along with Rachel Alexandra, then the Jockey Club Gold Cup and finally the Classic. Lets hope that us younger fans who didn't grow up during the age of Secretariat, Slew and Damascus get to witness a truly great season of racing full of intense rivalries.

Obligatory Rachel vs. Zenyatta Post

It seems like most Thoroughbred bloggers do at least two or three Rachel vs. Zenyatta posts before the year is over. With the two mares both winning stakes races this weekend- although in completely different fashions- it seemed appropriate to talk a bit about these two fillies and stir up an interesting but ultimately pointless debate.

It is basically a fact that Rachel Alexandra does not care for Pimlico and could've won the Preakness by four or five lengths if it was run somewhere else. The reason I bring this up is because I believe that Zenyatta is a more talented horse than Rachel Alexandra. Rachel Alexandra is a more talented horse than Mine that Bird, and if Zenyatta hadn't had health problems as a young filly she could've possibly won the Triple Crown.

Zenyatta is one of those horses who kind of seemed to come out of nowwhere. This is because in a way she actually did. Due to what I believe were problems with her shins- but don't quote me on that- Zenyatta missed her two-year old season and most of her three year-old season as well. When she finally made it to the racetrack, Zenyatta easily disposed of her rivals to finish her three year-old season a perfect 2 for 2.

Though she always runs from the back of the pack, Zenyatta doesn't necessarily need a fast pace to close in to and has closed into soft fractions numerous times. Now, the 2007 Kentucky Derby was won by Street Sense. The Strret Cry colt closed into the blistering fractions set by Hard Spun and drew off to win the Derby easily. I believe that Zenyatta could've outran Street Sense much like she did Gio Ponti because she just has an innate determination and closing kick that I haven't seen in a long time. Let's make a huge assumption and say that with the weight advantage given to fillies in the triple crown, she is always two lengths better than Street Sense.

Like Street Sense, she is by Street Cry. She is also the half-sister to Balance. I think we can safely assume based on breeding as well as the way she has ran in the past that the distance of the Belmont would've been no problem for her. So with the Derby under her belt and the Preakness under her belt as well- assuming she really is always two lengths better than Street Sense- she would have to go to the Belmont to complete what is arguably the toughest test in all of sports- the Triple Crown. I think this may have been her easiest test on some level because of the fact that her breeding is Secretariat tough and she runs like it. However, this race would've been completely different from the rest because she wouldn't have been the last horse in the field. Think back to that fateful day in 2007. Another great looking filly was in that race, and she stumbled out of the gate. So, Zenyatta would've been ahead of Rags to Riches- a style she isn't used to. However, like I said before, she loves the distance and is definitely a classier horse than the rest. I think she would've won going away.

So, what is the point of this post? The point of this post is that all of the hypotheticals and what could've beens is what makes our sport so much fun. So, even if Rachel and Zenyatta never meet, we'll still be online, at the track and at the office talking smack about the other person's horse because when it comes to the sport of kings the arguments are half of the fun.

Sorry

So, I got the Belmont 100 percent wrong. What did you expect? I tried to figure out a race that almost always seems to produce surprise winners. To make matters worse, my cousin's friend who has never been to the races before, hit the exacta.

You have to love this sport huh? Anyway, there's still plenty of racing left. Plenty of opportunities to get things right. I hope your Belmont Stakes day was more fortunate than mine