Are racing lessons never learned?
Real Writing on Racing 💯
Do you really want to hurt the Triple Crown?
The 2022 Triple Crown has been over for a week now and to be frank, it went out with barely a whimper after a massive amount of internal racing strife that plagued the Kentucky Derby trail, angst that lingered deep into March due to one man’s problems. After a bizarre Kentucky Derby result followed by a Derby-winner-less Preakness, it seemed that the collective racing world just wanted to get this Belmont day and the muddled 2022 Triple Crown over with. Mo Donegal capitalized on a good trip, a soft field, a stout pedigree (for American standards), a trainer that has a knack for the Belmont and was a satisfyingly acceptable winner. Yet, as often is the case in a racing industry that seems to have developed a chronic case of ADHD, even the final leg of the series that stands far above all else in the modern day racing paradigm, seemed a bit overshadowed. With the Belmont post position assignments as usual having little actual significance, the focus of the pre-race Tuesday draw was more tilted towards the paltry field size numbers for the usually solid to sometimes spectacular undercard stakes (a mini-Breeders Cup as it’s been described). Yes racings own Hailey’s Comet, a shooting star named Flightline was scheduled to compete in the historic and universally loved Metropolitan Mile, but only four rivals, including Uriah St. Lewis with another lottery ticket entrant, dared challenge him. The female staples of the card were particularly light on runners though the star power of those that did show up to compete in prestigious grade I events was solid. After Friday’s Bed O’ Roses (Gr II), a sprint for older fillies and mares run with four entrants, the Acorn (Gr I) also went off with only four, the race marred by the late scratch of last years 2 year old filly champion and race headliner Echo Zulu. The Just A Game (Gr I) was the very next race on the docket and rather than the usual semi-full field of distaff turf milers (average field size prior 10 years was 8.2) only five stared out of the starting gate at NYRA starter Hector Soler, 60% of whom emanated from the grass juggernaut that is the Chad Brown stable. Regal Glory, who made her third try in the race a winning one, was part of the 36% of the runners that made up the last six runnings of the Just A Game that were trained by Mr. Brown. The previous day a newly minted grade I, the New York stakes for older fillies and mares going 10 furlongs on the inner turf, had a field of seven with four Brownies including the winner, an undefeated in seven tries Bleecker Street.
The Odgen Phipps (Gr I) in keeping with the short field theme was a five runner event though it was as solid of a quintet as you will find in any division. Last years champion older dirt female, the usually indomitable Letruska was the headliner but her co-stars were big names too. Malathaat, 2021’s champion three year old filly was starting from post three, the recently resurgent Ruffian (Gr II) winner Search Results was the other entrant with tactical speed, the hard knocking but rarely victorious Bonnie South was exiting a huge effort against Malathaat at Keeneland and the emerging Curlin filly, Clairere was tabbed in the Going in Circles Digest Preview as one to beat if pace pressure was applied against Letruska, which is precisely what occurred. The big mare came to a halt after Irad Ortiz on Search Results didn’t allow his brother Jose on Letruska to get comfortable on the lead like speedy mare prefers, a rare case of Ortiz on Ortiz violence. Clairiere took advantage of the sharp pace that she thrives on to do her very best running and closed determinedly, outgaming Malathaat in deep stretch to record her second grade one win.
The big horse running on the June 11th Belmont stakes card wasn’t the controversial, 80-1 Kentucky Derby upsetter Rich Strike, who created an unseemly firestorm for skipping a Preakness that he would have had little chance of winning. (Oddly I didn’t hear a single person lament the Preakness victor, Early Voting, wasn’t in the Belmont field) No sir, the horse that everyone wanted to see was the same horse who we rarely do see, Flightline. Ever since his electrifying debut at Santa Anita in April 2021, the striking bay colt by Tapit has been a bit of an enigma. Close to fourteen months has passed since the general racing world learned of the existence of this immensely talented individual, yet we had only been graced by his presence in a starting gate on three occasions before the Met Mile. Undeterred by some early trouble in the first furlong after leaving that gate a bit awkwardly, Flightline arrogantly strutted his stuff the remaining 7 furlongs, cruising past Speakers Corner like he was a cheap pace setter not America’s most accomplished older horse of 2022 up to that point. For the fourth time in four appearances, Flightline was alone at the wire, another field laid to waste, his sheer power crumbling the will of his vanquished rivals as they helplessly watch from his prodigious wake.
It was now official, Flightline did indeed deserve the hype that had been heaped upon him despite a thin resume consisting of but a single stakes victory, as impressive as it was, in the Malibu (Gr I) back on the day after Christmas. Of course as is wont to happen these days, the platitudes got a little ridiculous on social media, no he isn’t “better than Secretariat” and no he isn’t the “greatest miler ever”, as though ever doesn’t include Dr Fager. Even so you’d be hard pressed to find any naysayers that weren’t impressed by his work in the Met, a rarity in itself within these cynical times in which we live.
That said I find it hard to warm up to Flightline, despite being fully respectful of his otherworldly talent. Barry Spears, my co-host on the Going in Circles Big Monday show stated on the post-Belmont show and again on Twitter, that he feels the same. His reasoning being that Flightline’s races are so infrequent, yet it feels like his career, which only really got started, feels close to over. These naturally are simple personal preferences, feelings and likability aren’t really measurable items and none of this is a pointed criticism. However it seems as though trainer John Sadler is somewhere between doing a superb job managing the fleet colt’s ailments and still getting him to run a peak performance every time out but also being overly conservative as the horse seems to be taken out of training so to speak after every race. He is a well-respected professional horseman who clearly has a great deal of pressure on his shoulders training who he feels is a once in a lifetime kinda horse so I loathe casting aspersions. I also hate that we can’t get a better sense of where Flightline fits with the recent greats (Ghostzapper anyone?) let alone the all-timers and I gotta tell you, if we start casting horse of the year votes for three race campaigns…
In human sports a well-worn saying describing oft-injured star players is “the best ability is availability”. In racing that sentiment seems to be less and less pertinent.
What did we learn so far this year?
We can indeed run the Kentucky Derby and Triple Crown series without Mr Baffert being involved, contrary to the insistence of his acolytes
We should measure the time between starts for Flightline in light years
Category one rules are going to be a tough sell on this side of the pond. Sorry Pat Cummings
Speaking of overseas, after watching the gate crew at Ascot make blunder after blunder, we should better appreciate the good work that our domestic crews do the vast majority of the time
More often than not “Pace makes race” and Rich Strike’s Derby and Belmont races should make that painful obvious
Whatever happened to the “Bob’s still calling the shots” guys?
Confession….I miss Bob lol. It will be very interesting, at least to me, to see if he can revive his crew that has mostly fallen by the wayside. (I’m still unconvinced about anything three year old related coming out of California this season) However I don’t miss his minions that have been verrrrrry quiet lately and that includes overly boisterous owners and their mouthpieces.
You don’t miss turf racing till it’s gone, isn’t that right Gulfstream and Churchill peoples?
That the magic bullet approach which virtually never works, is still favored by industry groups and organizations as indicated by the inane attempt by the CHRB to gift jockeys stallion seasons as a way to bribe them into staying to ride full time on a diminishing racing circuit. Fix the real issues and the jockeys will be glad to make California home. Five horse races, three days a week is unsustainable and is a far greater problem than not getting a season to Tripoli when he finally goes to stud in Kazakhstan or someplace like that.
The advocates of expanding the space between the Triple Crown races had the main evidence in their case refuted considering that only two entrants from this years Derby found 5 weeks sufficient rest in order to run back in the Belmont. The winner and Rich Strike. It’s hard to believe that we even have this discussion considering how wildly successful and popular the Triple Crown is and how poorly most racing changes get mangled. I can guarantee right now that negative repercussions from changing the series will be far greater than any potential and rather unlikely revenue gain. We here at the Going in Circles media group are massive advocates for change in racing and feel there are very few sacred cows that can’t be touched, but this series is one of them.
We still have too many graded stakes, with too many of our best horses in the control of too few trainers. Period. Imagine the NFL if one team had Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes? How would that benefit football if they all only got to play in one game a month, all for the same team? It wouldn’t.
Texas vs HISA - nobody wins regardless of the noise for either side
Every year there is a push for Kona Gold to be inducted into the racing Hall of Fame and every year I still don’t see it. However perusing old past performances I came across a horse that I hadn’t thought about in a while. Let me list his accomplishments: winner of Gr III - Tremont, Gr II- Saratoga Special + Bay Shore, Gr I - Hopeful + Futurity + Wood Memorial + Metropolitan Mile twice + Carter + Breeders Cup Sprint & was placed in graded events - Norfolk + Gotham + Belmont + Woodward + Whitney twice + Jamaica + Oaklawn Hdcp + Californian + Tom Fool + Iselin + Vosburgh. Won an eclipse as champion sprinter and earned in excess of three million dollars which would be double in modern dollars. Horses who defeated him in those placings? Capote, Gone West, Alysheba, Lost Code, Bet Twice, Java Gold, Polish Navy, Ferdinand, Kings Swan and Personal Ensign. If you compare him to the greats of the 70’s like was done during the following decade when he was actively racing, he doesn’t stack up nearly as well as he does now, viewing through the prism of the last thirty years. If you’d asked me in 1990 if Gulch was a Hall of Famer, I would have likely said no. After having 32 years to think about it and seeing some of the lightly credentialed nominees lately…I’d vote yes today.
Even with all the strife surrounding the game in 2022, I still look forward to the big two summer meets at Saratoga and Del Mar. Yes they are watered down versions of themselves and Saratoga runs too many turf sprints (ugh the bane of my handicapping existence) but the excitement and buzz that just aren’t there with day to day racing at other venues is still alive at the Spa and where the Turf meets the Surf.
There has never been a better time to own an horse from a financial standpoint yet the industry still doesn’t seem to feel the need to focus on sending that message or creating any new initiatives to build our ownership numbers. Instead we have the HISA posse making things more complicated and surely more expensive. Most owners aren’t billionaires, please treat them better. And before I get a diatribe sent my way about how bettors are more important than anyone, I don’t disagree with you but the importance of both segments isn’t mutually exclusive.
That said there are a lot of smaller trainers out there that do a good job that are getting fewer and fewer chances to show what they can do. I have been remiss in getting some of those guys and girls even a little bit of publicity and promise to do a better job creating awareness this summer.
Jackie’s Warrior is still super fast
Munnys Gold is a name that few heard of before 3pm on Friday but that will likely change soon. The daughter of the scorching hot sire Munnings, trained by Todd Pletcher, destroyed a MSW group at Monmouth Park by 14 lengths in 56.60 which was good for a 102 Beyer (!) speed figure.