Breeders Cup Chat : Benny the Bull

Poll - Who Will Win the BC Classic?

jshandler — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:56:00 GMT

Welcome to Breeders' Cup Chat and the second half of the Thoroughbred racing season. The Breeders' Cup Challenge "Win and You're In" races are well underway and Del Mar and Saratoga are right around the corner. Because of the various divisions and these premier racing meets, in many ways I look forward to the Breeders' Cup more than the Triple Crown.

Though there have many unfortunate injuries that have taken several of our stars away from us in the first half of the season, the 2009 Breeders' Cup promises to be an exciting one. All of the divisions are beginning to take shape thanks to 62 "Win and You're In" races from around the world.

During the next several months we will take an in-depth look at many of the divisions. Just off the top of my head, the Turf with Gio Ponti and Presious Passion, and the Sprint, which could include Fabulous Strike, Benny the Bull, Zenzational and Munnings, have the potential to be very exciting. And European stars such as Goldikova and Sea the Stars will surely thicken the plot at Santa Anita.

As for the Classic, the absence of the nation's best 3-year-old, Rachel Alexandra, will be a downer, but from the looks of things at this moment there are more than a dozen horses with a legitimate shot winning, including undefeated mare Zenyatta, sensational older male Einstein, 3-year-old stars Mine That Bird and Summer Bird, and aforementioned European superstar Sea the Stars.

Since we are still almost four months away and anything can happen, the Classic field is still largely unsettled. But all things remaining equal, I am curious who the consensus pick would be if we had to make a selection today. It's a tough call since we don't know which Europeans will be here and whether horses like Quality Road will round back into form. But it's still fun too where everyones mind is right now.

If I had to pick, right now I would go with Einstein. He fires every time and is already proven over the course. If he stays healthy, he will be tough. I'm interested in seeing who everyone else likes.

In the meantime, if there are any topics you would like to see discussed or any trainers you would like to see interviewed over the next four months please let me know. I'm looking forward to lively discussion and interesting comments from you all.

Who do you think will win the 2009 Breeders' Cup Classic?(survey software)

Top 10 Performances of 2008

jshandler — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 16:56:00 GMT

Although the Eclipse Awards are six weeks away and the best horses in each division will be decided then, I thought it would be a fun to do some voting of our own.

Since I still haven't decided on some of the divisions and I don't expect you guys/gals to do all that research, we'll keep this simple. This is a vote for the Top 10 Performances of 2008. It can be for any division, in any single race.

Obviously, there are many to choose from, that's what makes this so tough and fun. After reading mine, I'd love to see what everyone agrees and disagrees with. Feel free to post your own Top 10.

10. Commentator, Whitney Handicap - This was the highlight of the remarkable gelding's fabulous year. He not only won the event for the second straight year by nearly five lengths, but posted a 120 Beyer, which was by far the highest number of any dirt horse going more than a mile this season. Of course, he also recorded the best Beyer at less than a mile in 2008 as well. Not a bad year for a 7-year-old.

9. Benny The Bull, Dubai Golden Shaheen - All four of Benny's wins came in spectacular, come-from-behind fashion, so it was tough to choose between them. I nearly picked the True North Handicap at Belmont because it looked like he had no chance to win in deep stretch but somehow got up with a devastating late charge. However, you can't overlook his performance in Dubai, which was against better. It was breathtaking.

8. Proud Spell, Kentucky Oaks - The Larry Jones trainee not only beat a solid field of 3-year-old fillies, she destroyed them. The five-length victory gives her the edge over Music Note for divisional championship honors.

7. Red Giant, Clement Hirsch Turf Championship - Not only did the 4-year-old colt show grit in edging Out of Control by a head, but he set a new North American 1 1/4-mile turf record in 1:57.16, breaking a mark that had stood since 1977. That's impressive. Out of Control's effort should not be overlooked either.

6. Curlin, Dubai World Cup - His 7 3/4-length romp wasn't against the best of fields, but it was still a tremendous effort. It also solidified him as one of the best horses since the turn of the century.

5. Goldikova, Breeders' Cup Mile - The French invader knocked off a talented group of boys, including last year's winner Kip Deville, in spectacular fashion. Her turn of foot in the final sixteenth was eye-popping, and a highlight of the weekend.

4. Midnight Lute, Breeders' Cup Sprint - Speaking of BC highlights, the 5-year-old Real Quiet horse may have provided the weekend's best performance with his amazing 1 3/4-length score, in which he set the BC record of 1:07.77 for six furlongs. It was his second straight BC Sprint win and amazingly, came in only his second start of the year.

3. Stardom Bound, Oak Leaf - Her BC Juvenile Fillies win was great too, but the Oak Leaf was even more dazzling. The Tapit filly rallied from the clouds to mow down rivals in the stretch in a scintillating 3 1/2-length score, doing it in a time of 1:42.44.

2. Zenyatta, Apple Blossom Handicap - It's difficult to choose her best performance of the year since she went undefeated. Obviously, her Ladies Classic triumph was special and locked up divisional honors. But the Apple Blossom was scary good. The 4 1/2-length victory was against a very good group, including champion Ginger Punch, and it proved she was just as good on dirt as synthetics, if not better.

1. Big Brown, Kentucky Derby - Many of us have gone on record as saying Big Brown was not our favorite horse, but you cannot discount what he did in the Derby. It was one of the best performances since Secretariat, considering he did it from the 20-post and in only his fourth career start, and it was so dominating. It may be a long time before we see a 3-year-old do that again under those circumstances.

Some of the great performances I reluctantly left out of my Top 10 were Old Fashioned in the Remsen, Pyro in the Risen Star, Big Brown in the Florida Derby and Preakness, Da' Tara in the Belmont, Raven's Pass in the BC Classic and Eight Belles in the Derby.

Let the debating begin!!

Curlin Retirement Leaves a Huge Void For 2009

jshandler — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:06:00 GMT

The announcement earlier this week that Curlin would not race in 2009 was not a surprise, but the reality of it made me come to one disappointing realization:

Other than Zenyatta, there really aren't many top-tier older horses I am looking forward to watching next year.

With Big Brown and Curlin now out of the mix, we now have the two most popular, and arguably, the two best North American-based dirt horses retired. And that's just the beginning of it.

Some of the notable older horses who have either already been retired or will likely be retired after 2008 are Student Council, Ginger Punch, Hystericalady, Benny the Bull, Midnight Lute, Red Rocks, Evening Attire, Zanjero, Perfect Drift, Lava Man, Red Giant, Tough Tiz's Sis, Zaftig, Alwajeeha, Sealy Hill, Lewis Michael, Dreaming of Anna, Mauralakana, Heatseeker, as well as European stars Zarkava, Raven's Pass and Henrythenavigator. There is also probably a decent chance that Commentator and/or Kip Deville will be gone after their final races this year.

Kind of depressing, isn't it?

At least we have the top 3-year-olds to look forward to. Well, some of them anyway. That's because two of the top Kentucky Derby hopefuls, Vineyard Haven and Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Midshipman will winter in Dubai for Sheikh Mohammed, as well as BC Juvenile Turf winner Donativum likely going to England for Princess Haya.

Again, thank our lucky stars for Zenyatta.

Before I paint too bleak of a picture, there are still some exciting horses that should return in 2009, most of them females - Ventura, Cocoa Beach, Music Note, Proud Spell, Forever Together and Indian Blessing (Baffert's long range goal for her is the Dubai World Cup Sprint) to name a few. And, of course, there is Stardom Bound, who should only get better as a 3-year-old.

As far as the males, 3-year-olds like Colonel John, Mambo in Seattle and Denis of Cork should improve, and sprinter Fatal Bullet looks like he'll be a force. Perhaps the one older horse I am looking forward to seeing more than any other is BC Dirt Mile winner Albertus Maximus, who is set up for a big 5-year-old campaign.

l should also point out that this year is not unlike any other. The reality of horse racing today is that this is time of year when horses retire. It's the nature of the sport and we have to accept it. It's time for the new stars to make their mark.

However, it doesn't take away from the fact that the departure of Curlin, Big Brown and many of our other favorites leaves a huge void for 2009.

Sprint Championship Could Be a Bunch of Bull

jshandler — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 16:41:00 GMT

As we have seen during our heated debates regarding Horse of the Year and 3-year-old filly champion, the Eclipse Awards voting certainly brings out some strong opinions in all of us. On this blog especially, people voice their opinions loud and clear, and without much consensus. It's the same way in the Blood-Horse office, as even us writers have vastly differing outlooks on many of the upcoming awards.

Take the Sprint championship for example. To me, there is only one deserving winner of this award: Benny the Bull. The 5-year-old was spectacular is all four of his races this season, including the Dubai Golden Shaheen in which he beat a deep field of world-class sprinters. Although his season and career were ultimately cut short due to injury and he was forced to miss the Breeders' Cup, I strongly believe his four stakes wins (three of them graded) were more than enough to earn the award.

To my surprise, when discussing this division with my co-workers Lenny Shulman and Evan Hammonds, they had vastly different opinions. The conversation went something like this:

JS: At least, we can all agree that Benny wins the sprint championship, right?

LS: No way. It has to go to Midnight Lute. Did you not see the Breeders' Cup? He ran six furlongs in 1:07!

JS: Yeah, but he only raced twice this year and only won once!

LS: It doesn't matter. He is the defending champion and somebody had to knock him off in the Breeders' Cup to take it away.

JS: Evan, please be the voice of reason here. Tell him Benny wins it. You can't give a horse an award based on ONE win!

EH: What about Ventura? She deserves strong consideration too. She won three graded stakes this year, including the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, and she beat Kip Deville and all but one of the boys in the Woodbine Mile.

JS: C'mon guys. Look at the entire body of work for the year, not just the last couple months. Benny won three graded stakes and probably beat the deepest sprint field this year.

LS: Midnight Lute, hands down. He's been the best for the last two years. You can't take it away from him. His Breeders' Cup was phenomenal.

EH: I don't know who I'm voting for yet, but I will bet you anything Lenny is right; Midnight Lute will win. I've seen too many of these. That's the way the voters will go.

JS: You guys are nuts. Did you watch the Dubai race, the Tru North or the Smile Sprint? He was absolutely spectacular with that closing kick! Why does the first half of the year always seem to get forgotten about in these awards? It's like all anyone cares about is the Breeders' Cup and the rest of the year doesn't matter.

LS: You've got a lot to learn kid.

JS: You guys are getting so old that you're losing your minds...

As you can see, us bloggers are not the only ones who argue about these awards. It happens everywhere. And, as always, we never settle anything.

So, what do you say? Benny, Lute or Ventura?

Sprint Division Becomes Wide-Open

jshandler — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:01:00 GMT

With so many divisions seemingly wide-open for the Breeders' Cup, there was at least one that we thought we had a pretty good grasp on. The Sprint.

Not anymore.

In the last seven days the Sprint went from being a division with two clear-cut favorites, to one with more questions than perhaps any other division.

First, defending champ Midnight Lute's comeback was derailed last weekend at Del Mar, as he finished a disappointing 10^th in the Pat O'Brien Handicap. It left serious questions as to whether he is the same horse who won the 2007 BC Sprint and Eclipse Award, and if he is suited for running well on synthetics. Stay tuned there.

More stunningly, we learned on Wednesday that Benny the Bull has been retired. We were all looking forward to watching him in the Forego and pointing towards the Breeders' Cup, where he was going to attend to some unfinished business. But now the best sprinter in the world, who had won five straight, is no longer in the mix and it has left a gaping hole in the division.

So where does this leave the sprint division? Well, I guess the new favorite becomes Street Boss, who has also won five straight and is a synthetic specialist. His closing style is very much like Benny the Bull's and now the Bruce Headley trainee looks to have the edge on the rest.

Lucky Island also becomes a major contender. The Argentine-bred has won four in a row, including two in graded company and may have more talent than Street Boss. But will he like the surface? Same goes for the undefeated Bustin Stones, who has gone gate-to-wire in all five dirt starts. But he hasn't run since April.

One horse it would be wise not to forget about is Fabulous Strike, who when healthy, might be faster than any of these. I talked to trainer Todd Beattie about the 5-year-old Smart Strike gelding today, and he said all systems are go.

Fabulous Strike, who has won 10 of 15 starts but has raced just once this year, has been scratched from his last two starts, including the Vanderbilt. Beattie said Fabulous Strike had a bad foot bruise that required work and some rest, but he is now on target for the Sept. 27 Vosburgh, a race that he won by nearly six lengths last year. The Breeders' Cup is definitely the goal.

"He's training fantastic," said Beattie, who is based out of Pennsylvania and has Fabulous Strike stabled at Presque Isle Downs. "He's right on schedule for the Vosburgh. We've had some bumps in the road, but the good news is that we'll have a real fresh horse for the Breeders' Cup. I have a lot of confidence in him and now it seems like the division is open to anybody."

One other we must not forget is J Be K. The 3-year-old faltered in the King's Bishop but he is still a force with his electric speed.

It should be an interesting two months.

Division Leaders

jshandler — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 21:26:00 GMT

We're now a little more than five weeks into the Breeders' Cup season and the divisions are beginning to take shape. The continuing story thus far is how the male division seemingly gets more ordinary every day while the female division continues to get more exciting. Unless this Big Brown-Curlin thing actually happens, there is no doubt the Ladies Classic will be much more interesting come late October. I forget, what day is the Ladies Classic being run? Never mind.

Anyway, with about two more months of Breeders' Challenge events left to go, I thought it would be a good idea to take a look at a few of the divisions. Let's do our best to rank the top 3 American-based horses in each one. Here goes:

Classic

1. Curlin - You still have to give him the edge even though we have no idea if Jess Jackson will send him to Santa Anita.

2. Big Brown - Looking forward to seeing the spot they pick for him. Something tells me it will be the Pennsylvania Derby.

3. Commentator - He ran the year's top Beyer (119) so you have to respect him. Looks like he'll go to the Mass Cap next month and point towards the Classic. But can he get 1 1/4 miles?

Don't forget about: Henrythenavigator - He's won four consecutive group I races and some say he is the best horse in the world. Aidan O'Brian says he will point towards this race, which should spice things up.

Ladies Classic

1. Ginger Punch - She's the champ. Until someone proves otherwise, I'm ranking her above Zenyatta.

2 . Zenyatta - Undefeated and getting better. Has a huge advantage because of the synthetics.

3. Music Note - Looking forward to this weekend's Alabama. She might be the best of them all.

Don't forget about: Hystericalady. She lost by a nose in the '07 Distaff and is even better this year.

Tough for me to leave out Proud Spell and Little Belle, but what can you do?

Turf

1. Red Rocks - Won the best U.S. turf race this year.

2. Gio Ponti - Hasn't faced grade I company yet, but a star in the making.

3. Einstein - Had a poor start in the Million, but the loss was more than just that.

Don't forget about: Any European. The Americans will have their hands full against all of them. All three that took money in Arlington Million might be back for BC.

Filly & Mare Turf

1. Mauralakana - Gotta love her. She just knows how to get it done.

2. Forever Together - Diana was no fluke.

3. Black Mamba - Not BC nominated, but owners will probably fork over the cash.

Don't forget about: J'ray: She narrowly lost to Mauralakana twice.

Sprint

1. Benny the Bull: All he does is win. The way he powers down the stretch is breathtaking.

2. J Be K - Has never lost at less than a mile.

3. Street Boss - That's five in a row for the synthetic specialist.

Don't forget about: Kodiak Kowboy: Highly-touted as a 2-year-old, he might be coming into his own.

Mile

1. Kip Deville: Pure miler is lightly-raced this year, but will be primed and ready for Santa Anita.

2. Daytona -Tired in American Handicap. A mile might be his best distance.

3. Monzante - Just beginning to hit his best stride.

Don't forget about: Red Giant: Very impressive off a 10-month layoff. Not sure what his best distance is, but Pletcher will figure it out.

More division rankings to come later...

Win or Lose, Curlin is a Rock Star

jshandler — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 20:25:00 GMT

I wasn't at Belmont Park on Saturday to witness Curlin's turf debut, but I sure wish I was. Based on my conversations with friends who were, it was a very special atmosphere - one that doesn't come around too often this day and age.

The 2007 Horse of the Year was applauded by adoring fans in the paddock, when he came onto the track, throughout the Man o' War and even after he came up short to Red Rocks. Not that I wasn't aware of this before yesterday, but he truly is a beloved figure across the country. I first realized that when he was brought out for fans at this year's Kentucky Derby and given a standing ovation. It was a great moment.

Curlin is racing's version of a rock star. And we haven't had one of those for a while - at least one who raced beyond the age of three.

The fact that Curlin did not win in his first test on turf didn't matter all that much. Sure it was disappointing to fans, but the important thing was that we got to see him run, and he generated excitement. How much do we need this after the year we've had?

I've been preaching this for a while, just as many of you have been too, but the single biggest problem we have in racing right now is that we don't get to see our superstars run as older horses. I am confident that new medication rules will be in place soon and we will figure out how to keep our horses safer. That part of racing is headed in the right direction. What I don't think we'll have an answer for any time soon is how to solve the dilemma of retiring our superstars after their 3-year-old season. It is absolutely killing our sport.

Point Given, War Emblem, Smarty Jones, Afleet Alex, Bernardini, Street Sense, Hard Spun, and pretty soon, Big Brown. Just off the top of my head, these are horses that the public would have flocked to the track to see as older horses, but were, or will be retired, after their 3-year-old season. Of course, this list does not count Barbaro and Rags to Riches, whose injuries robbed all of us of what was sure to be more greatness.

Don't get me wrong: There are plenty of older horses who are doing great things this year. This past weekend alone got see 5-year-olds Benny the Bull and Kip Deville win big races. Both of them are very fun to watch and seem to be getting better with age. Later today we get to see exciting mares Hystericalady and Unbridled Belle square off in the Delaware Handicap. In fact, there are a lot of older horses - especially those that race on the turf - that generate excitement around the country.

But in America we love our Classic horses. They are the ones that captivate us. The ones that we give standing ovations to in the paddock. That actually get air time on Sportscenter when they race. We need them.

The question is, how can we get more of them to race as older horses? The solution remains unclear. As a writer, I'm not about to criticize an owner for retiring a horse when they are being offered $40-50 million. How can you walk away from that kind of money?

One suggestion which has been bandied about is for racing to pass a rule that says no horse can be bred until age 5. It will solve the racing problem and also help to strengthen horses from a breeding aspect, which has also come under fire recently. On paper, it sounds great. Realistically, it has little chance of happening. We would need a unified governing body to even start thinking about it. Let's not go down that road...

So until then, we're just going to have to enjoy Curlin for the rest of his career, which will most likely be only three or four more races. From a selfish standpoint, I hope they move him back to the dirt so we can all see his last race here, not in Japan or France. After all, it might be a long time before we see another rock star.

Handicapping the July 12-13 Races

jshandler — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 20:16:00 GMT

As racing fans, we can't ask for much more than what's on tap this weekend. We get Curlin in his first turf start in the Man o' War, a full day of stakes at Calder, a full weekend of stakes at Delaware, great turf racing at Arlington and the Swaps at Hollywood. What a stellar card!

For our purposes we will focus on the Breeders' Cup Challenge events - the Smile Sprint and Princess Rooney Saturday at Calder, and the Delaware Handicap on Sunday.

Don't forget to join the Breeders' Cup Fantasy Challenge on breederscup.com and email me your handle. To be eligible for my contest, I'll need your handle by July 14. Also, in event of a tie there will be a tiebreaker contest that will be explained at a later date.

Also, here is the first edition of "That Handicapping Show," a new video that I do with Tom LaMarra. Let me know what you think.

Let's get handicapping!

Princess Rooney

This is a very interesting and challenging race. The way I see it, five of the seven starters have a decent chance of winning. My decision came down to Dream Rush, Mistical Plan and Miraculous Miss.

I think Dream Rush is the class of the field and will improve a lot in her second start of the season. Looky Yonder, who beat Dream Rush in the Vagrancy, will regress. Mistical Plan tries six furlongs for the first time since breaking her maiden in 2006 and with her early speed, she looks very appetizing. Miraculous Miss hasn't won since 2006 but has been improving while racing in grade I company and has thrown in a pair of bullet works the last two weeks.

The pick: Because Dream Rush will be bet down to nothing, I have to take a shot at a bigger price. I'm going to take a chance with Miraculous Miss. She was less than four lengths back of Benny the Bull when taking on the boys two races ago in the Frank De Francis Memorial Dash in November, finishing a respectable third. Then, trainer Steve Klesaris threw her into the grade I Humana Distaff after a more than six month layoff May 3 on Derby Day and she finished strong despite being fourth. With a quick pace in here, I think this race will set up well for a closer like Miraculous Miss. And the price should be right.

Smile Sprint

Speaking of Benny the Bull, how do you bet against this monster? I'll tell you how, you go for a price. Even if he wins it won't cost you much in the contest. He'll probably be odds-on and pay about $4 to win. It's the perfect spot to try to beat him.

The question is, with who? I took the hardest looks at Man of Danger, Indian Chant, Ravalo and Rockerfeller. Man of Danger has been runner-up in his last four events, three of them in graded company. He'll be on or near the lead again, but will he hold up? Indian Chant is a tough customer. This 5-year-old gelding isn't as tested as many of these, but he is always right there and six furlongs is his specialty. Ravalo has won three in a row and six of seven against lesser. The 4-year-old will likely battle Man of Danger for the lead and is probably a little bit faster. Rockerfeller seems to be hitting his best stride since Marty Wolfson took over this year, and he loves Calder.

The Pick: I'm going with Rockerfeller. This 4-year-old was stuck in allowance company while running on the Woodbine Polytrack nearly all of last year, without great success. He started off poorly when shipped to Fair Grounds late last year, but seems to have found a home on the Calder dirt. He won by six in optional claiming company in May and by seven in his stakes debut last month. He has posted two straight 100-plus Beyers. He has also tossed in two tremendous works. I love betting horses in top form.

Delaware Handicap

Great race here. Hystericalady and Unbridled Belle are at their best and the class of this field. But what price will we get on them?

Unbridled Belle won last year's Delaware ‘Cap and two of her graded stakes three wins have come at this track. But for me Hystericalady is the better horse. She has fared better in graded company throughout her career and enters off a 7 1/2-length romp in the Fleur de Lis. And she should have won the Humana Distaff.

The only other horse I considered here was Spring Waltz, who is a lightly-raced 5-year-old mare but has been dominating in winning her last four. She was much the best in her stakes debut - the Rampart Handicap at Oaklawn. But that was more than four months ago.

The Pick: With a quality field in here I don't think anyone will get hit too hard at the window. I can't pick against Hystericalady. She is 3-1 on the morning line and if I get anything close to that I'll be satisfied. Jerry Hollendorfer always has his horses ready. She is a five-time graded stakes winner, is in top form, threw in a bullet work a few days ago, and will probably appreciate the added distance.

Your picks?