Hangin' With Haskin

Rachel vs. Zenyatta - How to Make it Happen

2009-07-01T13:32:00Z

Everyone wants to see a showdown between Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta. Although people do change their minds, as Jess Jackson did last year with Curlin, there are issues involved here that make it improbable it's going to happen.

But there is a way to overcome those issues, which we'll get to later.

Let's first discuss the principals involved. The owners of both horses have proven to be sportsmen and would love to see them square off. But, when it comes to meeting in either New York or California they each have their reasons for going their separate ways.

Jess Jackson, majority owner of Rachel Alexandra, has stated emphatically he does not like "plastics," as he refers to synthetic surfaces, and will not send Rachel to the Breeders' Cup, run for the second year in a row on Santa Anita's Pro-Ride surface. John Shirreffs, trainer of Zenyatta, does not like detention barns, based on his two previous experiences.

Jackson has bad memories of Curlin's defeat in last year's Classic, which he blames on the surface, whether you agree or not. And Shirreffs has bad memories of Giacomo and Tiago boiling over and losing their composure in the detention prior to their respective appearances in the Belmont Stakes. Even though none of these issues has anything to do with the Rachel (who has already won impressively on a synthetic surface) and Zenyatta (who has never been in a detention barn), you can't blame the parties involved for the way they feel. It's just the way it is. Neither is ducking the other.

As for Jackson, many believe Curlin, who worked brilliantly over the Pro-Ride surface between races before last year's Breeders' Cup, simply was over the top by race day. He made an explosive move around the turn to challenge for the lead, but tired in the stretch. Did he really not care for the track on that day or did his long stay in Dubai and four subsequent starts, three of which were far from strolls in the park, finally catch up with him at the three-sixteenths pole of the Classic? No one can say with certainty whether his two struggles against questionable opponents in the Woodward and Jockey Club Gold were a hint that he was heading in the wrong direction or whether he indeed was compromised by the track at Santa Anita. The one thing few can argue with is that the Curlin of last year's Woodward and JC Gold Cup was not the Curlin of the 2007 Breeders' Cup Classic or Dubai World Cup. But bad memories make people apprehensive about repeating the incidents that caused them, and Jackson does not want to experiment with another superstar and risk damaging their reputation after having been burned once already. Whether Jackson is right or wrong in his dismissal of the Breeders' Cup, he is not willing to find out this time. Some will agree with his decision; many will not. All that matters as far as Rachel Alexandra is concerned is what he believes and how strongly he believes it.

In the case of Shirreffs and the Mosses, it is the same principal. They also have bad memories. They saw two placid colts lose their composure in the detention barn, and do not want to risk Zenyatta's undefeated record and jeopardize her chances in the Breeders' Cup, and then regret their decision if she suffers the same fate. We've already witnessed how intense Zenyatta often gets before a race, and the detention barn, following a 3,000-mile trip, could very well prove to be a bad experience for a mare who has basically spent her entire career running out of her own barn and going through the same relaxed routine. Shirreffs may feel it is kind of late now to disrupt that routine in such dramatic fashion and then have another cross-country trip back home. Once again, whether we agree or not, we have to respect his and the Mosses' decision.

So, we could move on and concentrate on the races in which Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra will run. They are pretty ambitious as it is, with Rachel heading for another date with the boys in either the Haskell or Travers, and Zenyatta looking at the Breeders' Cup Classic. Those races alone should provide us with enough thrills to last for a long time.

Most owners would not have even kept Zenyatta in training at age 5 after all she accomplished last year. Most owners would not have run Rachel in the Preakness. So, although it looks at this point as if we won't be getting the main course we've all been craving for, you can't dismiss all the exquisite dishes we've already been treated to and the ones still to come.

Now, comes the possible solution; one option that hasn't been discussed, but is worth mentioning, just for the heck of it. But if the two parties involved really...I mean really...want a showdown, what if Monmouth Park, which does not require horses to go into a detention barn, moves the date of the Molly Pitcher back a week to Sept. 5, giving Zenyatta four weeks from the Clement Hirsch, instead of three? If the 1 1/16 miles is too short, Monmouth has proven to be one of the more accommodating tracks and can easily move it to 1 1/8 miles. If the $300,000 purse is not lucrative enough, Monmouth, despite not being in the greatest financial situation, has provided enough incentives in the past to raise it to at least $500,000 if that's what it is required to get it done, although the feeling here is that the purse would not be that relative to sportsmen like Jackson and the Mosses. Under normal circumstances, Jackson likely wouldn't think of running Rachel in a grade II race, but this would far transcend the grade of the race.

Monmouth, after suffering horrible luck with the weather in the 2007 Breeder' Cup, brings back good memories for Jackson, who saw Curlin nail down Horse of the Year in the Classic. You can bet track management would go overboard in promoting this race, which would be a rousing close to the summer season at the Jersey Shore. What a way for the thousands of college kids who rent homes in nearby Belmar and other towns to celebrate one last time before heading back to school.

So, you would have Rachel and Zenyatta meeting on the dirt at a neutral track in front of young, enthusiastic fans who are known for giving equine stars a rousing welcome in the Haskell Invitational. Just ask the connections of Big Brown or Point Given or Funny Cide or War Emblem or Curlin.

Now, here's the kicker. If Rachel defeats Zenyatta, she likely would be voted Horse of the Year, and could then prepare for her 4-year-old campaign if Jackson and Asmussen decide to end the year on a high note. She would have nothing more to prove. If, however, Zenyatta defeats Rachel, don't you think there's a good chance that Jackson, despite his feelings for synthetic surfaces, would feel he has nothing to lose and everything to gain by seeking out Zenyatta for a revenge match in the Breeders' Cup?

As a side note, a meeting between the two fillies in the Ladies Classic would have negative repercussions, but we certainly could live with it. Imagine the number of disgruntled fans and the complaints directed at the Breeders' Cup for having a race of that magnitude on a Friday with 20,000 fewer fans in attendance and one-third the TV audience. Imagine having to settle Horse of the Year on a weekday when people on the West Coast are working and people in the Midwest and East are either coming home from work or eating dinner? It worked out well last year, because a dominant Zenyatta was given her own spotlight, befitting a star of her stature, even if there were fewer people in attendance and watching on TV. But when you have the sport's two biggest superstars clashing for Horse of the Year honors, you want that to be the main attraction on the biggest day of racing. But even if they do meet in a rematch in the Ladies Classic instead of the real Classic, we'll take it.

So, let Monmouth Park start putting the gears in motion. Crazier things have happened. I realize I'm grasping at straws. But what's the alternative?

Da Hoss' Miracle Mile

2009-06-30T16:41:00Z

I was looking at some photos of Da Hoss taken recently at the Kentucky Horse Park and was happy to see how physically well and seemingly content he looked, much like he did when he was at Michael Dickinson's Tapeta Farm in Maryland, where he lived a blissful life in that scenic and pastoral environment.

Looking at Da Hoss in these photos brought back memories of 1998 and one of the most amazing performances and training feats anyone will ever see. Having visited Tapeta several times that year I was able to get a first-hand look at what Dickinson and his staff were up against trying to get Da Hoss back to the Breeders' Cup Mile, two years after his victory at Churchill Downs.

Before we get to the events of 1998, it's best to start with Da Hoss himself and the numerous physical ailments that plagued him his entire life. As a foal, he developed an infection in his hoof and it rotted away a quarter of his coffin bone. As a yearling, he developed two bone spurs in his hocks, which eventually became arthritic. Those two problems were the root of most of Da Hoss' future problems.

As a yearling, he sold for a mere $6,000 and wound up at Turf Paradise as a 2-year-old. He showed right from the start he had tremendous speed, blazing six furlongs in 1:07 1/5 in the ATBA Stakes, the fastest time ever recorded by a 2-year-old. At 3, he won graded stakes on dirt and turf on both coasts from six furlongs to 1 1/8 miles, while making three separate trips to California.

As a 4-year-old, he won stakes at Saratoga and Penn National before capturing the Breeders' Cup Mile at Woodbine, defeating the top-class Spinning World, who would win the BC Mile the following year at Hollywood Park. Then, while at the top of his game, Da Hoss disappeared from the racetrack for two years. All the while the gelding was away battling physical problems, Dickinson had dreams of a second Breeders' Cup Mile victory, but this seemed more of a pipedream. Dickinson was known throughout the racing world as "The Mad Genius," and it would take a bit of madness and lot of genius to make it come true.

In 1997, Da Hoss developed a problem with his tendon in March, then ankle problems in June. In September, he went lame behind for two to three weeks. Before Dickinson knew it, the entire year was lost, and it wasn't about to get better. In February, 1998, Da Hoss developed some heat in his tendon, the result of a tear, and Dickinson had to stop on him. He walked him for a month and then jogged him for a month, but when he was just about ready to begin serious training, Dickinson noticed he was moving horribly and had to give him more time let him work his way through it.

All the while, Da Hoss was frolicking about with his best friend Boomer, known in racing circles as Business is Boomin, a 9-year-old horse. Dickinson had already performed a miracle with Boomer, which gave him hope he could duplicate it with Da Hoss. All the Mad Genius did with Boomer was get him to win three straight races in 1997...off a five-year layoff. That was unheard of. On May 8, 1997, exactly five years to the day since his last start, Boomer won a $15,000 claiming race at Garden State Park by 6 3/4 lengths. Boomer and Da Hoss had become so inseparable, Dickinson couldn't afford to risk losing Boomer in a claiming race, so he jumped him up to allowance company and he won both, at Monmouth and Laurel. After a second and a fourth, Boomer went lame again and was on the shelf for another 10 months. Dickinson finally got him back the following June, and Boomer proceeded once again to win his first three races back, all at Delaware Park.

Boomer had such as phenomenal disposition, Michael would let my then 14-year-old daughter ride him whenever we visited. A great deal of the credit for Boomer's remarkable comeback went to Michael's partner in life Joan Wakefield. The horse had such soft bones that every time he'd train over the dirt he went lame. Wakefield turned him into a pony and would ride him to a friend's barn each morning for her coffee break. She began to notice him feeling stronger by the day, and that's when it was decided to try to bring him back to the races.

In April 1998, Dickinson, who patented the first synthetic surface, calling it Tapeta, opened his state-of-the-art, 200-acre Tapeta Farm in North East, Md. for training. Boomer and Da Hoss were stabled next to each other and shared the same paddock. My daughter would go into the paddock and just lie on the grass picking flowers and clover while Da Hoss and Boomer grazed within inches of her. Da Hoss would often come right up to her and check out the floral arrangements in her hand. But one thing was certain, wherever Boomer was, Da Hoss was close by.

"Da Hoss worships Boomer," Wakefield said during one of our visits. "He follows him around like a little dog."

All during 1998, Dickinson kept thinking Breeders' Cup for Da Hoss. The other devoted members of Dickinson's crew who worked feverishly on Da Hoss' aches and pains were groom Miguel Piedra and exercise rider Jon (Jon Boy) Ferriday.

Dickinson has always been a perfectionist and not even the smallest detail escapes him. His vast network of brain cells always seems to be active, and he runs around like a revved up a machine where the gears are in constant motion. No matter how many times Dickinson was told Da Hoss had little chance of making it to the Breeders' Cup, he never gave up hope. This is a man who made it into the Guinness Book of World Records for saddling the first five finishers in the Cheltenham Gold Cup and for sending out 12 winners in a single day.

On April 29, Dickinson had an ultrasound taken of Da Hoss' tendon and did little with him for a week, eventually walking him each day for almost an hour along the tree-lined paths with Ferriday on his back. On May 30, Da Hoss began jogging, and after a week, the jogs were increased to two a day. He finally began light gallops on June 21. Four days later, Dickinson faxed a letter to owners Art, Jack, and J.R. Preston of Prestonwood Farm, which read:

"Da Hoss' tendon was scanned last week and our vet was unable to find any problem...The technician at New Bolton Center says Da Hoss' tendons heal very quickly...I've worked out a plan to get him to the Breeders' Cup with just one race before. I have time in hand if nothing goes wrong."

But those final words "if nothing goes wrong" came back to haunt him. It didn't take long for something to go wrong. On July 10, Dickinson sent the Prestons another fax:

"Dr. Ross examined Da Hoss today, and he thought he had muscle atrophy on the left hind and was moving worse than he had ever seen him...It is disappointing to us all...My goal is still the Breeders' Cup."

All the while, Piedra rarely left Da Hoss' side, working on him constantly, especially the arthritis in his joints, which required extensive massaging. Then there was the hosing of the horse's hocks. Plastic tubes were attached to his knees, allowing for a continuous trickle of water to down his legs. Piedra spent six hours a day in the stall with the horse, rubbing him, giving him physiotherapy, massage treatments, ice treatments, and laser treatments.

Wakefield was the one who was able to get into Da Hoss' head. Like with Boomer, she could read him like no one else and would know if something was going to go wrong two days before anyone else. Ferriday would walk the course every night before Da Hoss breezed, looking for the perfect ground. Once he found it, he would move the cones to the spot where he wanted Da Hoss to be. Also instrumental was farrier Gary Reynolds, who shod Da Hoss and worked on his feet.

Despite all this, the vet reports weren't encouraging, and no one except for Dickinson and his team felt Da Hoss had any shot of making the Breeders' Cup.

One of Da Hoss' problems was that he often was too willing and would do more than he was supposed to. He was competitive in his gallops even to the point where he would try to pass Wakefield's car as she drove alongside the track.

It wasn't until August that Da Hoss was able to begin breezing. It was only three months to the Breeders' Cup. But the breezes continued on a regular basis. He just might make it after all. On Sept. 15, Dickinson faxed the Prestons:

"Da Hoss breezed quite well on Saturday. He has now had seven breezes and probably will require three more...I feel he's moving as well as he did when he won the Breeders' Cup or maybe even better. He remains as competitive as ever...We all know that he does have aches and pains, and on a nuclear scan he lights up like a Christmas tree...We're all holding our breath at the moment, and it will indeed be a miracle if he wins the Breeders' Cup again this year. But miracles do happen."

Those aches and pains Dickinson referred to would flare up following every breeze and the horse would become stiff. Dickinson was afraid to work Da Hoss long because of his fragility. To get the horse back in a racetrack mode, he sent him to the Meadowlands, where Da Hoss breezed a slow seven furlongs in 1:30. Between the tendon injury and all his other maladies, Dickinson had no way of knowing how fit Da Hoss was. He only knew one thing: he needed to find a prep race before the Breeders' Cup.

He had two races in mind, the Cliff Hanger Stakes at the Meadowlands on Oct. 8 or an allowance race at Belmont two days later. But rain that weekend washed out those plans, as Dickinson did not want to subject Da Hoss to a soft grass course. And even if he wanted to run, there was a good chance both races would be taken off the turf. The only alternative was to go straight into the Breeders' Cup, but Da Hoss had no Breeders' Cup points and no wins. With so many accomplished horses pointing the race, the selection committee was not about to include a horse who had not raced for two years.

A Desperate Dickinson turned to Lenny Hale, racing secretary at the new Colonial Downs in Virginia and asked him to write a race for Da Hoss, which he gladly did, a nine-furlong allowance race on Oct. 11. The race filled and remained on the turf. Da Hoss, after nearly two years, finally made it back to the races. Sent off at 3-5 against five opponents, Da Hoss stalked the early pace under Carlos Marquez Jr. and won by three-quarters of a length.

On Oct. 21, Dickinson, after observing Da Hoss carefully for 10 days, sent a final fax to the Prestons:

"I'm happy to say he came out of his last race as good as we could have expected...Two weeks ago I felt we had a 50-50 chance to make the Breeders' Cup. Now I think we have a 65% chance of being there fit and well on that day."

After two breezes at Tapeta, Da Hoss shipped to Churchill Downs. The Breeders' Cup was eight days away. But Dickinson realized that training at Churchill and training at Tapeta were like night and day. At home, Da Hoss was used to going out at the crack of dawn, but the grass course at Churchill did not open until about 9 o'clock. So, for three hours, an anxious Da Hoss had to remain in his stall, unable to train. Dickinson was not happy and was sorry he had brought the horse so early.

Once on the track, Da Hoss had to wait for others to train first, and Dickinson was worried about the horse having to train over a course that had already been chewed up. When he worked him on the Monday before the race, he realized to his dismay that his two-way radio wasn't working and he was unable to convey instructions to Ferriday. Dickinson came upstairs to the press box porch, where we watched the work together. I could tell he was upset and distressed over the turn of events. After all the work he had put in to get Da Hoss here, he was now in danger of having it all blow up a week before the race. He had no way of communicating with Jon Boy and Da Hoss would have to work over a less-than-ideal turf course.

His worries were for nothing. Da Hoss glided over the course, breezing five furlongs in 1:03 1/5 and did it in hand, striding out beautifully. Dickinson was thrilled with the way Da Hoss went, but fearing he still wasn't 100% fit, he had Ferriday blow him out a bit down the stretch on Thursday.

The night following the Monday work, Dickinson, for the time in weeks, slept through the night.

As he said, "It's been an emotional roller coaster, especially the last six weeks. There were times he was working so well I couldn't sleep with excitement. Then there were times when things weren't going very well and I couldn't sleep with worry."

In 1996, Dickinson had used Wakefield's stiletto heels to measure the softness and depth of the course. This time, he brought a penetrometer as well and was seen out on the course, walking it and testing it on six different occasions, looking for the best ground. As he did with Gary Stevens in ‘96, Dickinson drew a map of the turf course, using different colors for the different paths, designating where he wanted Da Hoss to be at each stage of the race. He brought the map to the jock's room the morning of the race and showed it to jockey John Velazquez.

After the horses were saddled, the Da Hoss team lost track of each other and dispersed in different directions. Dickinson wound up in a small office in the tunnel, Piedra and Ferriday found a place on the apron, and imagine my surprise seeing Wakefield, who took the wrong elevator, standing in front of a TV monitor in the press box.

Of course, we all know what happened after that. Velazquez, unable to follow Dickinson's directions, was forced to move early on the far turn after getting bumped and having to check on the first turn. Rallying four wide, Da Hoss, sent off at 11-1, hit the front at around the three-sixteenths pole. This was too early, and Dickinson was upset, fearing the horse had moved too soon. Da Hoss was on the lead with more than a furlong still to run.

From out of the pack came the Neil Drysdale closer Hawksley Hill, who charged up alongside Da Hoss inside the eighth pole and actually got his head, then neck in front at the sixteenth pole. Da Hoss, with only one allowance race under him in two years, had made a gallant effort, but he was a beaten horse. With no one in the 14-horse field threatening from behind, it appeared obvious Da Hoss would settle for second, a tremendous achievement in itself.

But then the improbable happened. Da Hoss dug in and came battling back, his neck fully stretched. No one could believe it. He could actually come back and win it. Da Hoss kept reaching for more and with one final surge he stuck his head in front right before the wire. A stunned Tom Durkin, calling the race, bellowed: "Oh, my! This is the greatest comeback since Lazarus!" NBC host Tom Hammond was just as excited and surprised. "We said Michael Dickinson was a mad genius," he stated. "How in the world can they have this horse ready with one race in two years to come back and win his second Breeders' Cup?"

A head-on photo of the finish shows the dogged determination of Da Hoss as he crosses the finish line with his teeth tightly clenched. Da comeback was complete.

Dickinson stood on the track as if in a daze, trying, but not succeeding, to hold back the tears. Wakefield rushed down from the press box and she and Dickinson embraced, both now weeping uncontrollably. Nearby, Ferriday could barely get a word out and had to walk off by himself to regain his composure.

"I can't believe it," a teary-eyed Ferriday said. "I can't believe he's done it. He's a machine. Michael, Joan, and Miguel deserve all the credit. I'm just a passenger on him."

With all the pandemonium arround them, all four had to be thinking back to a much quieter time and place at Tapeta Farm where the miracle of Da Hoss' fairy-tale comeback was born. All the frustrations, sleepless nights, and feelings of hopelessness they endured had erupted into one euphoric and emotional moment that will be forever frozen in time in Breeders' Cup history.

Sir Michael Stoute, trainer of also-ran Among Men, walked up to Dickinson, patted him on the back, and said it all with one word: "Maestro."

Dickinson later reflected back to when it seemed all the work would prove fruitless: "I remember saying to everyone after he was so stiff this fall that we're going to have to stop on him; we can't carry on. There were a lot of tears. Miguel has four children and he was crying. Joan was crying. Jon Boy was crying."

Two months later, in the Churchill Downs winner's circle, they all were crying once again.

For more information on Da Hoss, you may be interested in the following video features: Da Hoss and Michael Dickinson and Da Hoss at the Kentucky Horse Park.

The Mighty Forego

2009-06-21T23:28:00Z

It was May 18, 1974, the day of the Carter Handicap at Belmont Park. As I looked at the tote board, I couldn't believe the odds. Favored at 7-5 was Forego, who obviously was running in the Carter strictly as a prep for the Metropolitan Handicap, having come off back-to-back victories at 1 1/4 miles in the Widener and Gulfstream Park Handicaps.

Forego was riding a five-race winning streak, but those two handicaps were his breakout races, and at the time he did not have anywhere near the reputation he would later command. As a bettor, it was illogical to think trainer Sherrill Ward and owner Martha Gerry had great expectations of victory, with Forego dropping back to seven furlongs off five consecutive two-turn races, the last two at 1 1/4 miles, in which he was all out to defeat Darby Dan's plucky little stretch runner True Knight.

To make his task even more difficult, his Carter foes included arguably the fastest horse in the country, Mr. Prospector, who had already set a track record of 1:07 4/5 at Gulfstream in 1973, a track record of 1:08 3/5 at Garden State Park in ‘74, and had won two other races in '74 in 1:08 1/5 at Gulfstream and 1:09 flat at Aqueduct. And he won each time by big margins.

Also in the field was Tartan Stable's Lonetree, who had defeated Mr. Prospector that year in the seven-furlong Poinciana Handicap at Hialeah in a blazing 1:21 flat, breaking the track record by almost three-fifths of a second. Add to those two speedballs, Timeless Moment, who had equaled the six-furlong track record of 1:08 3/5 at Aqueduct the year before, just missed the 6 1/2-furlong track record at Belmont by two-fifths of a second, and had won a pair of seven-furlong allowance races at Aqueduct that spring in 1:22 1/5 and 1:22 2/5. Still another in the field was William Haggin Perry's Forage, who was coming off a second-place finish (disqualified to third) in the seven-furlong San Simeon Handicap at Santa Anita in 1:21 1/5. He would go on to break the track record for a mile at Aqueduct two months later, winning an allowance race in 1:33 1/5 before capturing the Du Pont and Atlantic City Handicaps.

So, why should the stretch-running Forego beat so many brilliant horses in his first sprint in six months, carrying topweight of 129 pounds? Well, as I was about to find out, because he's Forego.

Mr. Prospector, as expected, shot to the lead and led by 1 1/2 lengths over Lonetree through fractions of :22 1/5 and :45 flat. Forego was back in last, nine lengths off the pace, and looked to have an impossible task. A sucker bet if I ever saw one. Then he began making up ground steadily under Heliodoro Gustines, circling his field and closing in on the leaders. At this moment, I first came to the realization that we were looking at something special.

Mr. Prospector was being pushed along by Walter Blum, as was Lonetree. But here was Forego in an out-and-out gallop, with his ears up and Gustines sitting motionless in the saddle, his hands tucked up near his chest. Without the slightest bit of encouragement, Forego blew by Mr. Prospector with more than a quarter of a mile still to run. He opened up by 1 1/2 lengths at the eighth pole and was still under wraps as he coasted to the wire 2 1/4 lengths ahead of Mr. Prospector in 1:22 1/5.

This to me was the beginning of the Forego dynasty, when we first realized this was no ordinary horse. Normally, statistics do not play a major role in these blogs, but Forego's stats over the course of his career were so remarkable they must be mentioned before anything else. And they must be prefaced by saying that Forego was one of the most unsound horses you're likely to see, with sesamoid problems that plagued him throughout his career, as well as calcium deposits. When Frank Whiteley took over his training in 1976, he told owner Martha Gerry that Forego had the worst legs he'd ever seen on a horse. It was said about Forego that he had one good leg. Whiteley would sit outside his barn every day hosing down Forego's legs for several hours. The resulting puddle was so large it was known as Lake Whiteley.

As Whiteley said two years ago, "Everybody laughed at me when I took him, even Doc (Alex) Harthill, who X-rayed him and told me, ‘Frank, you haven't got a chance with this horse.' It was the constant hosing of his legs that helped get him to the races. I got a picture of in my bedroom of me and two other guys runnin' three hoses on him at the same time. We'd hose him twice a day for two to three hours each time. We also did a lot of massaging. His ankles were horrible to look at from so much wear and tear. He was an amazing horse to do the things he did."

Forego's performance in the Carter was indicative of how versatile he was. But we found out for sure later that year. Just imagine, in a span of only six weeks, a horse winning the 1 1/2-mile Woodward Stakes, then the seven-furlong Vosburgh Handicap (in 1:21 3/5 under 131 pounds), and finally the two-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup. At the end of the year, he became the only horse in history to win the two-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup and be voted champion sprinter the same year.

To further demonstrate his versatility, he won four of his five starts, with one second, at distances of 1 1/2 miles or longer, and won eight of his 12 starts, with two seconds and two thirds, at seven furlongs.

In his first start as an 8-year-old, a seven-furlong allowance dash, he defeated that year's co-champion sprinter Dr. Patches in 1:21 3/5.

Then we come to consistency, likely Forego's most amazing attribute, considering how unsound he was.

From May 30, 1973 until Aug. 6, 1977, Forego went an incredible 45 consecutive races without finishing worse than fourth. In fact, he finished third or better in 43 of those races. During this streak, Forego ran in 31 handicaps, was highweighted in all but one, winning 19 of them.

Which brings us to weight-carrying ability. Forego finished in the money in 21 of the 24 races in which he carried 130 pounds or more, including 13 wins, five seconds, and three thirds. In these 24 starts, the average weight he carried was just under 134 pounds. In the 14 races in which he carried 134 or more, he finished in the money in 12 of them, with six wins, four seconds, and two thirds. He was fourth in another, and the only time he was off the board was over a very sloppy track in the Whitney, a race that will be discussed later.

Forego's most memorable victory was the 1976 Marlboro Cup, in which he turned in a spectacular stretch run from way out in the middle of the track to nip Travers winner Honest Pleasure at the wire under a staggering 137 pounds in the slop, missing the track record by a fifth of a second.

In his previous start, he defeated Dance Spell and Honest Pleasure by 1 1/4 lengths in the Woodward Handicap with another furious stretch run. In one of the great exhibitions of speed and weight-carrying ability, he ran the 1 1/8 miles in a near-track-record 1:45 4/5, carrying 135 pounds.

After winning five straight races (four of them carrying 135 pounds, 137 pounds, 133 pounds, and 136 pounds), he finally was stopped by the weight at age 7, missing by a neck in the Suburban Handicap under 138 pounds.

After finishing second by 11 lengths in the 1 1/2-mile Brooklyn under 137 and being virtually eased in the Whitney Handicap over a slippery track he could never get hold of under 136 pounds, it looked as if the Mighty Forego finally was nearing the end of the line. Mrs. Gerry and Whiteley wanted to scratch him in the Whitney, but because so many people had shown up to see Forego, Mrs. Gerry didn't want to disappoint them and decided to let him run. Whiteley told Bill Shoemaker before the race if he saw Forego wasn't handling the track after the first few strides to just sit on him and let him run around there and bring him back safe.

Forego returned to Belmont to point for the Woodward. This would be the big test to see whether he had any more to give. Unfortunately, the track came up sloppy again, leaving Whiteley and Mrs. Gerry with another tough decision. Unlike the slick conditions in the Whitney, this was more of a drying out slop. Forego would have to run over the wet surface carrying 133 pounds, giving 18 pounds to Great Contractor, the horse who beat him by 11 lengths in the Brooklyn; 12 pounds to J.O. Tobin, who was making his first start since annihilating Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew in the Swaps Stakes in a blazing 1:58 3/5 for the 1 1/4 miles; and 19 pounds to Silver Series, winner of the Ohio, American, and Hawthorne Derbys and third in the Travers.

Whiteley, Mrs. Gerry, Shoemaker, and Frank's son David, a successful trainer in his own right, met in the tunnel several hours before the race to discuss the situation. David said he didn't want any part of it and left. Mrs. Gerry, having learned from the Saratoga experience, this time wanted to scratch and wait for the Marlboro Cup two weeks later. Shoemaker had ridden in one of the early races and said he thought the track was too bad to take a chance. Whiteley, who wanted to scratch in the Whitney, said the horse was at the top of his game and ready to run. He knew he had Forego in the best shape he could possibly get him and felt he couldn't keep him that good for another two weeks. Whiteley was convinced Forego was ready for a big effort when the horse bit two people in the barn that morning. So, all day, fans waited for the inevitable announcement that Forego had been scratched. It never came.

As a huge fan of Forego's, I was extremely apprehensive like everyone else and hung out by Whiteley's barn, waiting to walk with him and Forego to the paddock. Forego emerged from the barn looking fantastic and it was apparent he was in the zone. The only question was the track, which still was listed as sloppy.

The fans had their doubts as well, making Forego the 9-5 favorite, his highest odds in more than two years. J.O. Tobin, who was bet down to 5-2, set most of the early pace along with Proud Birdie. They cut out swift fractions, with Forego in eighth, about 10 lengths back.

As they hit the far turn, all eyes were on Forego. Would he make his patented sweeping run or were we watching the end of an era? No one had any idea how he was handling the track, so we waited and hoped. Then it happened. In a flash, Forego kicked in and began picking off horses one by one with that big sweeping move, just as he had done so many times before. Track announcer Chic Anderson bellowed to the crowd, "He's gonna run today, folks."

And run he did; just like the Forego of old. He was still fourth at the eighth pole, but only a half-length off the new battling leaders Cinteelo, Silver Series, and Great Contractor. Forego, as usual, was well out in the middle of track, and it was obvious he had the others measured. He charged to the front and drew off to win by 1 1/2 lengths in 1:48 flat. I found myself screaming with everyone else. As he crossed the finish line, the goose bumps emerged in full force. Forego was back. The 1977 Woodward to this day remains one of the most emotional and satisfying races I've ever experienced.

But, as it turned out, Forego was back only for this one brief moment. His ankles caught up to him after the race and he was put away for the year. He came back the following June to defeat Dr. Patches, and then beat only one horse, finishing fifth, in the Suburban Handicap. His ankles had finally betrayed him. It was time to call it quits.

Looking back at Forego's career, it is amazing how consistently fast he came home in his races, despite his unsoundness and the massive weights he had to carry. In the Met Mile, Marlboro Cup, and Gulfstream Park Handicap, he closed his final quarter in :23 and change. In five other grade I stakes he came home in :24 and change. In the Vosburgh and Woodward, he closed his final eighth in :11 and change, and :12 flat in the Carter and :12 2/5 in the aforementioned '77 Woodward.

In all, he defeated eight champions or classic winners - Foolish Pleasure (Kentucky Derby winner and champion 2-year-old male), Honest Pleasure (champion 2-year-old male and winner of the Travers), Avatar (Belmont Stakes winner), Wajima (champion 3-year-old male and winner of the Travers), Dr. Patches (co-champion sprinter), J.O. Tobin (co-champion sprinter and champion 2-year-old in England), Master Derby (Preakness winner), and Summer Guest (Coaching Club American Oaks winner).

I visited Forego with my wife shortly after his retirement when he was residing at John Ward's farm overlooking Keeneland Racetrack. John told us he still loved the cheers and would start running around his paddock whenever he'd here the roar of the crowd.

Forego was standing in the middle of his paddock grazing, paying little attention to us. In a feeble and seemingly moronic attempt to see if he did indeed react to the applause and to get a good photo of him, we decided: ‘What the heck, let's start clapping.' Well, it wasn't exactly the sound of the Keeneland crowd during the races, but sure enough, ol' Forego picked his head up and began running around his paddock, ultimately stopping by the fence where we were able to get great head shots and a few pats on the forehead.

Several other visits followed over the years at the Kentucky Horse Park, this time with our daughter.

Forego always had a larger-than-life presence and knew what he liked and didn't like. I can remember mornings at the barn when former trainer Eddie Hayward, who took care of Sherrill Ward's barn when the trainer was ill, would come to visit carrying a brown paper bag filled with apples. One morning, he arrived when Forego was out grazing. The big horse took one look at Hayward, saw the bag, and dragged his hotwalker over to him. He knew Hayward meant apples. It was quite a sight seeing him polish off one apple after another while Hayward conversed with Mrs. Gerry, who visited the barn often.

It was after Forego was turned over to Whiteley in early 1976 that I became good friends with Frank, having only previously spoken to him on occasion. During my first visit to Frank's barn, we were sitting on a tack box in the shed row when a huge dark bay horse walked by, just as we were talking about Forego.

"There's ‘ol Forego there," Whiteley said. Well, I not only knew that wasn't Forego, I knew it was Ruffian's brother Buckfinder, who was almost the same size and color as Forego, but not quite as big and massive. I didn't have a clue how to respond. Why would Whiteley make such a comment? I had to say something, so I replied, "That kinda looks like Buckfinder to me." Whiteley shot back, "It is." He was testing me, and from then on we became good friends until the day he died.

It seems as if people don't quite know where to rank Forego on the list of great horses, just as they are uncertain about other great geldings such as Kelso and John Henry.

I will say this: for all he had to overcome, for all the incredible feats he accomplished, and for all the heart-pounding thrills he provided, he was as unique a Thoroughbred as ever set foot on a racetrack. That uniqueness, combined with his extraordinary talent, made him in my opinion one of the truly great horses of all time.

For additional information on the great gelding and three-time Horse of the Year, you may be interested in Forego: Thoroughbred Legend.

All Hail Yeats

2009-06-18T17:26:00Z

For 32 years I was able to say I was at Royal Ascot to witness history. Well, it’s history no more. It was 1977, my first trip to Ascot, and I was privileged to see the great stayer Sagaro become the first horse in the 170-year history of the Ascot Gold Cup to win the 2 1/2-mile race three times. To do it in successive years made the feat all the more impressive.

Watching Yeats this morning break Sagaro’s record, storming to victory in the Gold Cup for the fourth consecutive year, it brought a sense of purity and timelessness to the Sport of Kings that has been lost in this country. To hear the Ascot crowd salute the Ballydoyle-trained 8-year-old with an ovation worthy only of true champions, it showed there still is a place in the heart for the long-distance runner.

The purity and timelessness I refer to is stamina, an inherent trait of the Thoroughbred that has been so consumed by speed over the past several decades it has all but disappeared. What trickle of stamina, or at least what resembles stamina, that does remain is frowned upon by owners, trainers, and especially breeders.

There certainly is nothing wrong with speed, which is the premise on which the sport was born. But there is more to speed than five- and six-furlong races or even eight- and nine-furlong races. As was written about Sagaro: “Sagaro despite being an out and out stayer had a blistering turn of foot and could give an electrifying burst of a rocket propelling in the air, at the end of two and a half miles.”

What has made this year’s Ascot meet so memorable and significant is that we saw history made at 2 1/2 miles by a European horse -- I emphasize horse (not a gelding), by Sadler's Wells -- and at five furlongs by American horses -- two distinct worlds coming together to form a magnificent tapestry of the turf. In addition to Yeats, we had General Wesley Ward lead an unprecedented army of 2-year-old sprinters across the Atlantic to put on a spectacular display of American speed in front of The Queen and everyone else hoping to establish Royal Ascot as a true international event. By winning the listed Windsor Castle Stakes on Tuesday, Strike the Tiger became the first American-trained horse ever to win a race at Royal Ascot. By winning Wednesday’s group II Queen Mary Stakes, Jealous Again became the first American horse to win a group race at Royal Ascot.

To then have Yeats win his fourth consecutive Gold Cup the following day, it not only inscribed two new chapters in racing lore it burned this year’s Royal Ascot meet into the hearts and minds of racing fans in Europe and America.

The resounding ovation given Yeats is what this sport is all about. We even had a slight hint of it in this country last year when the 10-year-old Evening Attire was given a hearty round of applause by the Belmont Park fans after finishing second in a gallant effort in the 1 1/2-mile Brooklyn Handicap. There is just something about watching a horse, especially an old horse like Evening Attire or Yeats, run his heart out at the end of a long-distance race that strikes an emotional chord.

I heard those same cheers in 1977 when Sagaro defeated the top-class stayer Buckskin, despite having fallen victim to his rival on three occasions that year. Also in the field was the previous year’s St. Leger winner Bruni. Buckskin not only had beaten Sagaro in three major stakes in France prior to the Gold Cup, he had annihilated him by 20 lengths in the Prix Jean Prat. But in France’s top stamina test, the Prix du Cadran, Sagaro had cut that margin to three-quarters of a length.

In the Gold Cup, Sagaro burst to the lead and opened up to the cheers of the crowd who were looking to witness history. It was if Sagaro knew the Gold Cup was his race, just as Yeats appears to know it. He drew off from Buckskin to win by five lengths, establishing a record that would last for more than three decades.

In a bit of irony, the horse Yeats defeated today, Patkai, had won one race this year…the Sagaro Stakes at Ascot.

I remember standing and cheering Sagaro with everyone else that day as the grand-looking chestnut with the attractive stripe down his face was led into the winner’s enclosure.

I couldn’t help but relive those memories and emotions watching Yeats charge to victory today and march into the winner’s enclosure to those same cheers.

So, here is a toast to longevity, perseverance, courage, and stamina.

As William Butler Yeats himself wrote: “Every trial endured and weathered in the right spirit makes a soul nobler and stronger than it was before.”

Secretariat Movie Will be Great

2009-06-16T18:24:00Z

As someone who usually is critical of racing movies, because of their constant inaccuracies, sappy scripts, ludicrous staging of races (excluding "Seabiscuit"), and liberties with the truth, I am going to go out on a limb and write a review preview (or is it preview review?), saying that "Secretariat" the movie is going to be right up there with "Phar Lap" and "Champions (excluding the never-ending hospital scenes)" as one of the top horse racing movies of all time.

I can't help but think back to the premiere of "Seabiscuit," at the Palace Theater in Louisville. I had mixed feelings about the movie, due to the number of times they skirted around Laura Hillenbrand's fantastic book and fabricated the truth for the sake of "Hollywood." War Admiral, 18 hands? Yes, it's trivial in the main scheme of things, but that was just one of many examples. Seabiscuit being a small horse wasn't good enough. They had to portray War Admiral, who was the same size as Seabiscuit, as this big, bad Goliath of a horse, making their confrontation equivalent of Mickey Rooney wrestling Andre the Giant.

As the audience cleared out of the theater and onto Fourth Avenue, one of the first people I saw was Penny Chenery, who proceeded to list all the things about the movie she didn't like, mainly the inaccuracies. This pan came not as a movie critic, but as the "First Lady of the Turf," who had little tolerance for such Hollywood antics. Everything she said was correct, and I knew right then and there that any movie about Secretariat would be based on accuracy, and would let racing shine through on its own and not be blinded by Hollywood's glaring spotlight.

With the Secretariat movie focusing on Penny, I am even more convinced it will be done with class, accuracy, and intelligence. It will be everything the recent Ruffian movie wasn't.

I do have to admit to a certain amount of prejudice, having had a "crush" on Diane Lane since seeing her in "A Little Romance" and then "Lonesome Dove." Don't get the wrong idea; I know she was only about 14 when she made A Little Romance. I use the word crush in an innocuous way. Yes, she is strikingly beautiful and a terrific actress, but she has the class needed to portray someone like Penny Chenery (then Penny Tweedy). And don't forget, parts of A Little Romance were filmed at Longchamp Race Course, so she was thrust into racing right from the start.

I have interviewed numerous celebrities over the years, including Bo Derek, and I am not one to get starstruck or fawn over some beautiful actress. My blasé attitude often drives my wife and daughter up the wall. But I have to admit I'm almost glad I wasn't aware that Diane Lane was in the paddock on Belmont Stakes day, because I probably would have turned into a bumbling idiot.

Getting back to the Secretariat movie, the story of Chenery is a compelling one and does not need much tweaking from Disney. Hers is the quintessential story of girl leaves old established horse farm to start her own life; girl returns to dying father to help save the farm; super horse comes along to win the Kentucky Derby, saves farm and becomes a national hero. Only this time, it was two horses who came along to save the farm. Let's not forget Riva Ridge. This is right out of the mother of all racing movies, "Kentucky," released in 1938, with Loretta Young pretty much playing Penny Chenery. Other movies with basically the same plot, such as "Glory," (this time with the Chenery character played by Margaret O'Brien) followed over the years. Only now, it's going to be a true story, with the best technical adviser anyone could ask for - Chenery herself.

The main question is how they are going to film Secretariat's races. I guess it's not too hard to stage a race where the winner wins by 31 lengths. And wait until you see the riders strangling their horses as Secretariat blows by them on the first turn of the Preakness. Will they gloss over the losses to Onion and Prove Out? Will they be able to find a skinny, lop-eared horse to play the lovable Riva Ridge? Will they dramatize the now infamous mouth abscess before the Wood Memorial that no one knew about at the time? Will we see Diane Lane get heated after the Wood Memorial loss to stablemate Angle Light? Maybe they need a turf writer (ahem) to ask her before the Kentucky Derby: "So, Penny, do have any concerns about a Bold Ruler getting a mile and a quarter?" I don't mind looking like an idiot. I've asked dumber questions than that.

Will they be able to make a horse, or horses, look like Secretariat as well as they made the equine actor/actors look like Phar Lap? What this movie also has going for it is that there are now several generations of racing fans who only know Secretariat as some Pegasus-like creature from racing folklore. To actually get a chance to see and feel what it was like to have witnessed this magnificent Thoroughbred in person, you can be sure it will bring them out in droves. And, unlike the Ruffian and Seabiscuit movies, no one gets hurt.

Of course, the technical questions still need to be answered. But at this point, I can state unequivocally that with Penny Chenery, Diane Lane, and Disney, "Secretariat" will be a smash success.

The Journey of Medaglia d'Oro

2009-06-15T17:05:00Z

From 2002, when he was one of the top-ranked 3-year-olds in the country, to his current status as one of the hottest and most sought after stallions in the world, Medaglia d'Oro has captivated people with his magnificent physical presence.

He was sensational looking then and he's sensational looking now, his coat still gleaming and dappled and his conformation near flawless.

He has become so popular and successful a sire, he was purchased by Darley earlier this month for a price only one can speculate.

But despite his reign high atop the equine monarchy, Medaglia d'Oro was not "to the manor born." He in fact spent his youth on a farm in Montana and later did his early training literally in the middle of the Arizona desert.

Born at Katalpa Farm in Paris, Ky., Medaglia d'Oro was sent to the farm of his owner/breeder, Joyce and Albert Bell, who have a 110-acre spread outside Great Falls, Montana. After being broken, he was about to return to Kentucky for his early training when the Bells' trainer, Kent Jensen, suggested they send him to a small ranch in Arizona, which was located pretty much in the middle of nowhere, between Cave Creek and Carefree.

Running the ranch was Jensen's exercise rider at Turf Paradise, Raland (Ral) Ayers, who worked there with his brother Lance. Jensen had helped them get started, lining up a few yearlings for them to break, and he and Ral would divide their time between the ranch and the racetrack. Lance also galloped horses for trainer Jeff Mullins, and broke eventual Santa Anita Derby (gr. I) winner Buddy Gil.

The Bells agreed to send Medaglia d'Oro to the Arizona ranch, shipping the big, strapping yearling down just after Thanksgiving. "The day he arrived, he had dapples on him you wouldn't believe," Jensen recalled.

Over the next five months, Medaglia d'Oro grew into a racehorse, but it certainly wasn't the conventional early training one would expect for a future star, who would win the Travers, Whitney, Oaklawn Handicap, Donn Handicap, Strub Stakes, Jim Dandy, and San Felipe Stakes and finish second twice in the Breeders' Cup Classic, as well as the Belmont Stakes, Dubai World Cup, Wood Memorial, and Pacific Classic.

"It was just a little training track out in the middle of nowhere," Jensen recalled. "It didn't even have a rail. When I first saw the place I didn't like it, but it was close enough to Turf Paradise. Ral would take Medaglia d'Oro out and go riding off through the desert, out there with the cactus."

"I can't even remember the name of the place," Ayers said. "It was just a little cowboy ranch."

But Ayers and Jensen certainly got more than they bargained for with Medaglia d'Oro. "He stood out right from the beginning," Ayers recalled. "He had size and was well put together, and was very athletic. People would come to look at the young horses, and they'd always ask, 'Who's that one?'"

Jensen and Ayers began to think that maybe they had something special on their hands; certainly something you wouldn't expect to find running out in the middle of the Arizona desert.

"The first day I had him out on the track for a jog, he bowed his neck and knew exactly what he was supposed to do," Ayers said. "I had to back him up in order to slow him down. He was never intimidated by other horses. He was just a pro from day one. The first time I galloped him, he went between two horses like he'd been doing it all his life. I've never been around a horse with that much class."

As Medaglia d'Oro's training picked up, he continued to amaze Ayers and Jensen. "He'd go two miles with rings on, then breeze three furlongs in :35 1/5," Jensen recalled. "You just didn't see young horses breeze in :35 1/5 after going two miles. It was nothing to him. He had an unbelievable stride. I trained him like I would a 3-year-old. The first time Ral got on him, he told me, 'This colt is something.' I never train a 2-year-old two miles, but from the first day he stepped foot on the track he wanted to train. You live your life to be around a horse like this. He was something special."

The following April, Medaglia d'Oro was ready to be shipped to the racetrack, and the Bells sent him to trainer Dave Vance. While training at Churchill Downs that fall, he caught the eye of former trainer-turned bloodstock agent Mark Reid, who had just bought a 2-year-old named Labamta Babe for Bobby Frankel and owner Edmund Gann. Reid wasn't in the market for another young horse at the time, having just bought a potential classic prospect for Frankel.

Medaglia d'Oro made his first start on Dec. 7 at Turfway Park and finished second, breaking from the 12 post. Shortly after the race, Vance packed up shop and headed for Oaklawn Park. In February, Reid showed up looking for a new Derby horse for Frankel after Labamta Babe suffered an injury following an impressive victory in the Santa Catalina Stakes (gr. II).

When Reid ran into Vance at the rail one morning, he told him to keep an eye out for any good-looking 3-year-olds.

"Well, remember that colt you watched train at Churchill last fall?" Vance said. "There's no horse on the grounds who can beat him. He was second first time out, and I'm gonna run him again pretty soon. Watch him and let me know what you think."

When he was entered on Feb. 9, Reid called Frankel and told him to watch this colt. With Reid watching from Philadelphia Park, Medaglia d'Oro won by 4 1/4 lengths in 1:10 4/5 for the six furlongs, earning a sensational 101 Beyer Speed Figure. Frankel was unable to get to a TV and missed the race, but Reid told him this was a horse they definitely wanted to pursue. Frankel saw the huge speed figures the colt posted and gave Reid the green light.

The Bells told Jensen about the offer, and he felt the price they were offering was too good to pass up. "If I had known he had run a 101 Beyer in that race, I would have told them not to sell," Jensen said, "When they told me it was Frankel who had bought him, I said, 'Well, at least we'll find out how good he really is.'"

And that they did, as Medaglia d'Oro developed into one of the leading horses in the country, winning grade I stakes at 3, 4, and 5, while earning over $5.7 million.

Recently, when his daughter Rachel Alexandra won the Kentucky Oaks and Preakness Stakes, and Gabby's Golden Gal and Payton d'Oro, captured the Acorn Stakes and Black-Eyed Susan Stakes, all within a five-week period, Medaglia's d'Oro's stock soared and he joined the elite band of Sheikh Mohammed's stallions at Darley Stud. He currently is the leading second-crop sire in North America.

And it all began on a little ranch in the middle of the Arizona desert.

Goodbye, Triple Crown; Hello, Breeders' Cup

2009-06-12T16:48:00Z

As one final thought regarding Calvin Borel, in my Triple Crown wrapup I said it was learned that Borel attempted to get mounts during Belmont week, but was unable to secure any. I qualified that by adding, “If that is true…” Just for the record, this is what I was told by someone close to Borel. Although, as I also wrote, “It’s hard to believe,” I felt, because of all the criticism directed at Borel, I owed it to him to mention it in case it was true. Conflicting comments made earlier from the Borel camp recently came to light, so, it is up to the reader (if anyone still cares) to decide what they want to believe.

OK, enough of Borel; it’s time to move on to more important things and leave this wacky Triple Crown in the rear-view mirror. There’s a long road ahead of us, and we can already faintly see the tops of the San Gabriel Mountains way off in the distance.

To show how much the sport is changing, look at the results of last year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic, with European invaders Raven’s Pass and Henry the Navigator running one-two on the synthetic surface. Look at the switch from dirt to synthetic for the new Meydan track set to open next year in Dubai. Despite having no breakdowns over the dirt at Nad al Sheba and the races being run a fast track each year, even on the rare occasions when the monsoons roll in, it seems odd that they would switch surfaces. They do so knowing there is a good chance the majority of big-name American horses who have excelled only on the dirt likely will pass on the World Cup, despite its big bucks.

Could it be they have had enough of Americans dominating the World Cup and are looking to lure more big-name Europeans like Raven’s Pass and Henry the Navigator? That wouldn’t make much sense, considering it is the Americans and the Dubai-based horses who have been in training and are able to prep for the World Cup, while European racing is just getting started in mid-March, and their horses would have to travel to Dubai in February (not likely) in order to find a suitable prep race.

This is not to insinuate the switch of surfaces is a good one or a bad one, just an odd one under the circumstances. Obviously the powers that be felt this was the way to go. Would Curlin have gone all the way there to run on a synthetic surface? Who knows, maybe a $10-million purse would lure anyone, especially with the luxuries that await all the participants, both human and equine.

Speaking of the new wave of Europeans that have been and will be washing up on our synthetic tracks, John Oxx, trainer of Two Thousand Guineas and English Derby winner Sea the Stars has already said the Breeders’ Cup Classic is a possibility for the son of Cape Cross.

“The Breeders' Cup this year and last year is slightly different to previous years because it's run on a Polytrack-type surface,” Oxx said. “I would never ask a 3-year-old to run on the traditional American dirt, but obviously the new surface is a bit more tempting.”

After last year’s European coup, we’d better start producing more quality older horses and keep our 3-year-olds in training longer if we want to avoid the ignominious turn of events that befell us in the 2008 Classic.

European bookmakers Stan James and Coral have already shown their lack of respect for the American horses by installing Sea the Stars as the favorite, at 5-1 and 6-1, respectively, for the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra are the second and third choices, ranging from 7-1 to 9-1. Well Armed, who destroyed his field in this year’s Dubai World Cup is listed at 12-1 and 10-1, respectively, while Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird is 14-1 with Corals and Belmont Stakes winner Summer Bird is 20-1 with Stan James, as is Einstein, who many consider to be America’s main hope for the Classic, having already won the Santa Anita Handicap over the Pro-Ride surface. Imagine, a European 3-year-old in June at 5-1 and Einstein at 20-1. And it also shows how wide a chasm the Europeans feel exists between their Derby winner and our Derby winner.

Having been overwhelmed by the Europeans on the grass (Conduit, Goldikova, Donativum, Eagle Mountain, and Westphalia) last year, as well as in the Classic, it is imperative that we stop the onslaught this year by finding enough quality synthetic horses or accept this rude wake-up call and just wait until next year when the Classic returns to the friendly confines of dirt, and we can once again showcase our best horses or the best of whatever is still around.

It is a shame that Fabulous Strike, arguably the fastest sprinter in the country, has to either run once again on a surface over which he is not as effective or wait until next year, at age 7, to have a legitimate shot at a Breeders' Cup victory. And he's not alone. Until then we'll have to make the best of another turf/synthetic Breeders' Cup. I actually enjoyed seeing two classy Europeans run so well in the Classic to give the race more international meaning, but I would rather see them run well on dirt against our best horses on their best surface. The Euros are entitled to have the playing field leveled on occasion, just not two years in a row. It's not fair to our best horses.

On the Friday front, good luck to the Europeans trying to find a filly to stop the Zenyatta Express. And if for some reason Rachel Alexandra finds her way to Santa Anita…forget it, I’m not even going there. Whether she runs in the Ladies or the good old fashioned Classic, it is too mouth-watering a proposition to even mention this early.

And how about a supporting cast of Music Note, Cocoa Beach (synthetic or turf), Seattle Smooth, Seventh Street, Life is Sweet, Acoma, and 3-year-olds
Justwhistledixie, Four Gifts, and Stardom Bound (who is doing well on the farm and expected back to the track in several weeks).

Next week’s Royal Ascot meet, always one of the great weeks of racing anywhere, should produce several additional Breeders’ Cup prospects, including Aidan O’Brien’s Irish Two Thousand Guineas winner Mastercraftsman, who runs in the St. James’s Palace Stakes. It was quite a sight seeing four O’Brien horses finish in a photo for second in the Epsom Derby. You can bet O’Brien will be back at Santa Anita in full force with 3-year-old colts Mastercraftsman, Fame and Glory (second in the Derby), Masterofthehorse (third), Rip Van Winkle (fourth), and Golden Sword (fifth) to choose from.

Bird of Prey

2009-06-10T20:07:00Z

As a tribute to Birdstone’s remarkable feat of siring two different winners of a Triple Crown race in the same year (the first stallion to do so since Count Fleet in 1951), and from his first crop no less, I am re-printing my 2004 Belmont Stakes recap from the Blood-Horse. (Sorry, it’s pretty long).

This was to be the year. You could feel it. Divine forces were guiding Smarty Jones up the sacred slopes of Mt. Olympus. Only a quarter mile away, the pantheon was in sight. Every step to this point had been perfectly orchestrated, and Smarty's ascent to immortality seemed written in the stars.

The vast majority of the record 120,139 in attendance for the June 5 Belmont Stakes (gr. I) rose to their feet, cheering wildly and pumping their fists in the air. Nothing left now but the Secretariat-like procession to the wire.

But the cruelty of the Triple Crown gods knows no boundaries. Like the sirens, their song is sweet, and their lure is irresistible, but in the end, only heartbreak awaits those who follow. Now, the gods have hurled down their thunderbolts on one of racing's most beloved heroes ever. And so, the magical Triple Crown journey of Smarty Jones sadly ends in defeat, as adults ask how and young children ask why.

The legendary Hall of Fame trainer Woody Stephens, who won an unprecedented five consecutive Belmonts, used to say about those seemingly invincible titans invading his Belmont Park turf, "The buildings get a lot taller once you cross the Hudson River."

As it turned out, not even Thoroughbred racing's Superman could leap those buildings. And it was only appropriate that the person chosen to derail the "Smarty Express" was New York's favorite son, Nick Zito, whose towering presence in the Big Apple over the past 15 years has proven an obstacle for many an invader.

But despite all his victories in classics and major stakes, the Belmont has been the proverbial thorn in Zito's side. Five times he had finished second in "the test of the champion," with Thirty Six Red, Strike the Gold, Go for Gin, Star Standard, and A P Valentine. Now, with the racing world watching and hoping to witness history, it was Zito's pint-sized Birdstone who denied Smarty Jones the Triple Crown and provided Zito with his first Belmont victory to go along with his 1991 and '94 Kentucky Derby and 1996 Preakness triumphs.

The horse assistant trainer Reynaldo Abreu dubbed "Little Man" turned into "Little Big Man," as he wore down a courageous, but rubber-legged Smarty Jones in the final sixteenth to win the 136th Belmont by a length, with Smarty finishing eight lengths ahead of another Zito-trained horse, Royal Assault. The final time for the 1 1/2 miles was 2:27 2/5. (Birdstone’s son, Summer Bird, won this year’s Belmont in 2:27 2/5).

If anyone deserved this Belmont victory more than Zito it was Birdstone, who failed to grow at all from two to three and became the most maligned 3-year-old on the Derby trail. No one respected him, even though he won the prestigious Champagne Stakes at Belmont last fall. Other trainers scoffed at him. No one wanted to ride him. Only jockey Edgar Prado and his agent, Bob Frieze, believed in him, and even they drew criticism from one trainer back in April who couldn't believe they would choose to ride "a pony" over his horse.

But the colt's biggest supporter was Abreu, who was bawling after the race, tears streaming down his face. Birdstone's owner, Marylou Whitney, went over to him after the race and gave him a hug. "You were right," she said.

Abreu kept telling Zito, Whitney, and her husband, John Hendrickson, "Don't lose faith in Little Man. No matter what, don't ever lose faith."

Now, here he was leading Birdstone, all 900 pounds of him, back to the test barn in front of a stunned and deflated crowd, too drained to pay any attention. Still shaking, Abreu said to the Belmont winner, "You deserve this, little one, you deserve it." He then gave the colt a big slap on the rump. "They said you were too little, but they didn't know how big your heart is."

Neither did anyone know quite how big Smarty Jones' heart is. But they do now. With stamina always a nagging question in the back of people's minds, Smarty was asked to do the near-impossible. After sitting in perfect position behind a legitimate :48 3/5 half, jockey Stewart Elliott sent him to the lead on the backstretch, while putting in a gut-wrenching third quarter in :22 4/5, unheard of in a mile and a half race. That was followed by another testing quarter in :23 3/5. By the time he neared the quarter pole, he was rolling on the lead, increasing his margin with every stride. The crowd, now in a frenzy, never noticed the mile and a quarter fraction of 2:00 2/5, which would have won every Kentucky Derby but four. And this was a horse who had had only one slow seven-furlong work in 1:29 1/5 since April 24.

Turning for home, it was already obvious Smarty was shortening stride, but still he battled on, leading past the eighth pole. He tried to fight back when Birdstone came to him, but he had no more to give. Had the 36-1 Birdstone not been in the race, Smarty Jones would have won the Belmont by eight lengths, become a part of history, and be mentioned among the sport's all-time greats. But it was not meant to be. Back at the test barn, Abreu was saddened when he saw Smarty's legs literally trembling from exhaustion.

This is a horse who drew nearly 10,000 people of all ages to his home track of Philadelphia Park the Saturday after the Preakness just to watch him gallop, some arriving as early as 5 a.m. As the doors leading to the apron opened, there was a mad dash to secure a spot by the rail that looked as if Bloomingdales was running a 75%-off sale.

The morning Smarty vanned to Belmont was a scene that transcended anything Thoroughbred racing has ever seen. At 9:30, with three helicopters disrupting the morning silence, two motorcycle police officers arrived, ready to escort Smarty on the first leg of his journey. Officer John Gladu removed his helmet, put on a Smarty Jones hat, then took out his camera and began taking pictures of the horse standing in a grassy paddock adjacent to the loading ramp. "Hey, I'm just a fan." he said.

Soon they were off, as people all along neighboring Galloway Road stood in front of their homes photographing and videotaping the van as it went by. Others just gave a double thumbs-up, several shouting, "Go get 'em, Smarty." Two Bensalem police cars blocked traffic on busy Street Rd., while an unmarked police car tucked in behind the van. At the tollbooth for the Pennsylvania Turnpike, everyone gathered outside the booths, applauding and cheering for Smarty Jones as he moved through. Shortly after getting on the turnpike, the van passed a billboard that read, "Look out New York, Smarty's Coming!" After leaving Pennsylvania, the van was picked up by New Jersey state troopers, who eventually turned it over to the New York police for the final leg of the trip.

This was just a sample of how rampant Smarty Fever had become, especially in the Philadelphia area. Meanwhile, Zito was quietly preparing Birdstone for the Belmont in the tranquil confines of his barn in Saratoga.

Zito had no idea what to expect after a winter and spring that had been mostly a nightmare, despite several highs along the way. It all started last fall when Zito unleashed a mighty trio of 2-year-olds in Birdstone; Buckram Oak Farm's Eurosilver, winner of the Lane's End Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland; and Robert LaPenta's The Cliff's Edge, winner of the Kentucky Jockey Club and Iroquois Stakes at Churchill Downs.

Suddenly, Zito, although ecstatic over his powerful arsenal of Triple Crown candidates, was burdened with the pressure of being expected to make a major impact on the Derby, while dealing with three owners, all of whom were already having visions of roses dancing in their heads.

Zito packed his bags in Kentucky last November and headed for the Palm Meadows training center in Boynton Beach, Fla. Although the first Saturday in May was still some six months away, the presence of the Derby pervaded Zito's life almost on a daily basis. "I'm superstitious, and there's just too much Derby talk," Zito said back in January. "I want everyone talking Derby to me in the spring, not now."

All winter and early spring, Zito kept thinking, "Great expectations bring great disappointment." Those words came back to haunt him when April rolled around and Zito had all but fallen off the Derby trail. The Cliff's Edge had been beaten in the Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay as the overwhelming favorite, and then finished a troubled third in the Florida Derby, a race Zito felt he should have won. Eurosilver, after winning a soft allowance race, was defeated in the Swale Stakes the same day as the Florida Derby. After being forced to miss the Blue Grass Stakes because of a swollen gland, the colt was taken away from Zito by Buckram Oak owner Mahmoud Fustok, who turned him over to Carl Nafzger. Zito was hurt over the move, but accepted it and moved on.

Birdstone had also won an easy allowance race before floundering over a sealed track at Turfway Park in the Lane's End Stakes, finishing fifth as the 3-5 favorite. Zito and jockey Jerry Bailey voiced their displeasure on national TV over the decision to seal a dry track. Another setback followed when an elevated white blood cell count forced Zito to scratch Birdstone from the Blue Grass and train him up to the Derby off a six-week layoff.

All of a sudden it was April 10, and Zito had to make some fast decisions. He could see the Derby crumbling before his eyes. "It's unbelievable this year," he said at the time. "We're getting down to the one-shot area. I cannot wait for the madness to stop. Hopefully, I can have any kind of starter in the Derby."

With The Cliff's Edge now his one big horse, Zito decided to run him in the Blue Grass and send the lightly-raced and improving Royal Assault, owned by Tracy Farmer, to the Wood Memorial. Just when Zito thought the curtain had come down on his Derby chances, The Cliff's Edge won the Blue Grass over Lion Heart, earning a huge Beyer Speed Figure. Royal Assault ran a credible fifth in the Wood, and Zito felt like he had found a legitimate Belmont horse.

But Zito's good fortune didn't last long. Over another sealed track in the Kentucky Derby, The Cliff's Edge finished fifth after losing both his front shoes, while Birdstone, who also lost a shoe, again floundered, although his eighth-place finish, while being bounced around along the inside, kept Zito's hopes alive for the Belmont. When The Cliff's Edge suffered a bruised foot at Pimlico that would keep him out of the Preakness and Belmont, it left Birdstone and Royal Assault (who won the Sir Barton Stakes on Preakness day) as Zito's two hopes against the mighty Smarty Jones in the Belmont. Also thrown into Zito's Triple Crown mix was Sir Shackleton, who developed quickly to win the Derby Trial before faltering in the Preakness.

With Smarty Mania sweeping the country, there was little talk of anyone else, although some felt Preakness runner-up Rock Hard Ten and Peter Pan winner Purge had the potential to threaten Smarty Jones in the Belmont. Zito sent Birdstone to Saratoga to train, while keeping Royal Assault at Belmont. When Birdstone turned in a strong six-furlong work over the deep Oklahoma training track, Whitney, despite wanting Smarty Jones to sweep the Triple Crown and feeling Birdstone was unable to beat him, nevertheless said to Zito, "Go for it."

For Zito, it had been a frustrating year, especially with Birdstone. The half-brother to last year's champion 3-year-old filly, Bird Town, was a late foal, being born on May 16, and had not grown much. "I just can't understand it," he said. "This poor horse has never gained a pound, and has never grown an inch. But he's got guts and he has a right to run in the Belmont Stakes."

Few agreed, and there was little or nothing good said or written about the horse. "Everybody's been knocking this horse all along, and even (Jerry) Bailey deserted him," Abreu said. "All because he's little. I don't want to hear it. I know he's little; what can you do about it? There's nothing wrong with being small. All I know is that I love this horse. He's a running s.o.b. and he tries so hard. His only two bad races were on a sealed track. I'm telling you, they better have their running shoes on."

Birdstone has been suffering indignities ever since he was a young horse. When he was sent to Padua Stables in Ocala, Fla., to be broken, it was learned after he arrived that he had been sent by mistake. The horse that was supposed to be shipped was a Storm Cat colt, who Overbrook Farm and Whitney owned in a foal-sharing partnership. Farm trainer Randy Bradshaw was asked to check the newly arrived colt's papers, which indicated he had a good deal of white on him. Bradshaw informed the parties involved that this was just "a plain little old bay."

The colt nevertheless remained at Padua, and Bradshaw wound up breaking a future Belmont winner. He recalls calling Zito and telling him, "He's not very big, but he does everything right, he's training well, and he's very professional."

Birdstone shipped down to Belmont from Saratoga the Wednesday before the Belmont, the same day Smarty Jones arrived. No one noticed. The next day, with a massive throng gathered outside Smarty's barn, and Zito’s horses having to walk right by there to get to the track, Zito elected to keep Birdstone away from the madness and sent him and Royal Assault to the training track. No one noticed.

"I can't believe it over there," Zito said, referring to Smarty's barn. "I'm just going to the training track; it's nice and calm there."

Smarty, meanwhile, went to the track just after 5:30. Owner Roy Chapman arrived in a mini-van, and was wheeled to the gap where he watched his colt gallop, with trainer John Servis alongside aboard the pony Butterscotch, who had been kicked by Smarty the morning before as they were returning from the track.

Zito, like Whitney, had no grandiose visions of upsetting Smarty Jones. "I don't see how Smarty is going to get beat, unless he beats himself," Zito said. "But what's wrong with finishing second to a hero? If someone is going to beat him, they're going to have to have a very good day and move way forward, while he has to move way back. But we're looking at it positively. You have to."

Zito took some comfort in knowing that if he did manage to pull off the upset, he, as a New York hero himself, might have a better chance of escaping the wrath of the crowd than if someone else perpetrated the dastardly deed.

"The one thing I have going for me is that I do have the New York deal going, so maybe I'll get a little break. They'll only throw one beer can at me instead of the whole six pack," he said.

The morning of the race, Frieze stopped by the barn, which as usual was devoid of reporters or photographers. "Don't worry," Frieze told Zito. "We want the press here tomorrow, not today."

The ominous weather forecast of a cold rain all day and heavy winds never materialized, with only a few light sprinkles falling on Belmont during the day. The crowd, as expected, came pouring in early and continued to arrive until late in the afternoon, shattering the old record of 103,222 set two years ago.

Smarty Jones broke sharply from the outside post in the field of nine and outran Eddington to the first turn. Elliott tried to take a hold of him and get position but Alex Solis on Rock Hard Ten floated him out going into the first turn. Purge, breaking from post 2, showed good speed and held a slight advantage over Rock Hard Ten, with Smarty Jones in good position just outside those two.

Prado was content to settle Birdstone in seventh, then eased him up into fifth, while racing about five paths off the rail. The opening two fractions over the fast track were tame enough, but the tempo picked up noticeably when Bailey surprisingly sent Eddington up to challenge outside Smarty Jones. Rock Hard Ten then made another move at him from the inside. Servis could tell Smarty was not as relaxed as he had been in the Derby and Preakness.

Earlier in the week, Servis said Elliott was going to have to shine in the Belmont. "Let's face it, we got a bullseye on our back," he said. Apparently he was right.

"When he was dragging Stewie out of the saddle on the backside, I had a bad feeling," Servis said. "You can't do that and win going a mile and a half. That was one of the things that helped us in the Derby and the Preakness; he relaxed so well. He just didn't relax today."

Prado eased Birdstone out off the rail, and was able to get him to settle nicely, about four lengths off the lead. Elliott, feeling the pressure from Eddington on his outside and Rock Hard Ten and Purge on his inside, decided he'd have a better shot of getting Smarty to relax if he put him on the lead. But it took a brutal quarter to get him there, and another testing quarter to keep him there. By the three-eighths pole, he had managed to run his three pursuers into the ground and quickly opened a clear lead as the crowd went crazy. The three big contenders were cooked.

But Prado still had a ton of horse, and it was time to pick up the pieces. "I knew I had a good chance to win at the three-eighths pole, when my horse kept coming slowly and Smarty wasn't able to open up any more," he said. "I knew all he had to do was maintain his speed and his pace and he was going to get there."

Prado and Birdstone went after Smarty out in the middle of the track and suddenly the dream started evaporating right before everyone's eyes. Each one of Birdstone's little strides brought him closer to Smarty. Everyone knew by then that Smarty would have no ammunition left with which to fight back, and the wire was not coming up nearly fast enough for him to hang on.

Then came the familiar hush from the crowd, as it realized all was lost. Smarty was beaten for the first time in his career. Another body had joined the five recent ones (Silver Charm, Real Quiet, Charismatic, War Emblem, and Funny Cide) strewn just below the summit of racing's most elusive peak.

In the stands, people were crying. Even Whitney was near tears, not for her victory, but for depriving Smarty his chance for immortality and for what a victory would have done for the sport. "I feel so awful for Smarty Jones," she said. "We were hoping we'd be second. I love Smarty. He's done more for racing than anyone I've ever known."

When congratulated on his victory, all Hendrickson could say was, "No, that was bad."

Servis came over to Zito, who was more restrained in his emotions than usual, and offered his congratulations. When Zito apologized, Servis said, "What do you mean? You did a great job."

But for Birdstone, there still was one final indignity. Just as Abreu was about to lead the horse into the tunnel to return to the backstretch, he was instructed by the outrider to walk back along the track to the backstretch gate by the main gap. When he arrived, however, the gate was locked, with the locks held together by plastic cords. Abreu went from feelings of ecstasy to anger as he found himself stranded with a horse that needed water and to relax after his grueling trip.

Fortunately, he had a pair of scissors in his pocket and was able cut through the plastic. But his problems were far from over. By now, cars were piling out of the track, and as Abreu, Birdstone, and several others from Zito's crew tried to make their way through the traffic, a stretch limo nearly ran into Birdstone. A number of patrons helped stop traffic while an incensed Abreu finally was able to lead Birdstone to the test barn.

While Birdstone's safety was totally ignored, Zito was given an escort to the backstretch by New York Racing Association investigator Juan Dominguez, who ironically is a nephew of the late Laz Barrera, trainer of racing's last Triple Crown winner in 1978, Affirmed. Zito stopped along the way to sign autographs before going back to check on his horse. "Well, they're not booing," he said.

Outside his barn, he was greeted by Gloria Sussman, who claims to be Zito's number one fan, and who had just been released from the hospital. Her incentive was to get to see the Belmont and meet her favorite trainer. In a final bit of irony, Zito later pointed out that his birthday, Feb. 6, is the same as that of former President Ronald Reagan, who died earlier Belmont day.

It was Reagan's death that actually was the first foreboding sign for Smarty Jones, as it meant for the first time during the Triple Crown, Smarty would be kept off the front pages of newspapers and covers of magazines. Had he won, he would have been on the cover of Time magazine.

Also, the weather front, which was supposed to dump a good deal of rain on Belmont all day, split just south of New York and passed harmlessly by to the east and west. If that front had not split and instead hit New York as predicted, they would have sealed the track, and Birdstone would have been scratched, according to Zito.

If there was one thing that Zito was proud of it was the perseverance shown by his entire crew, Whitney and Hendrickson, and of course the little big horse, Birdstone, who perhaps now will be given the respect he has proven he deserves.

"We took a lot of punches in the Triple Crown and we just kept fighting and fighting and fighting," Zito said. "At times, it didn't seem fair, but there was a reason for everything. It was just an incredible turn of events."

For Servis and the entire Smarty Jones crew, there was no reason to hold their heads down. They brought an electricity to Thoroughbred racing rarely seen before. The tidal wave of media coverage they generated swept across the country, picking up everyone in its path and depositing them on a magical, enchanted island.

Some day, some horse will come along and be anointed as the racing’s 12th Triple Crown winner. And with it will come the immortality so many have sought over the past 26 years. But the journey getting there will never equal that of the Smarty Jones odyssey, and for that the Pennsylvania-bred will indeed achieve immortality. Not in the record books, but in the hearts of everyone who came along for the ride.

Belmont Wrapup: Avian Adventures

2009-06-09T17:26:00Z

One of the strangest Triple Crowns in memory has come to an end, leaving being a flood of memories and wild and wacky moments.

Read the full column here.

Preakness recap: Remarkable Rachel

2009-05-19T19:15:00Z

Following Rachel Alexandra’s magnificent victory in the Preakness Stakes (gr. I), comparisons to the great Ruffian are bound to surface. No filly likely will ever attain as lofty a status as racing’s ill-fated “Black Beauty.” But Rachel, like Ruffian, has raised the equine genus up a notch and left minds wondering to what level of greatness she can climb.

Read the full column here.

Haskin's Derby Recap: Rare Bird Sightings

2009-05-05T12:53:00Z

Well, we saw one bird fly over the rainbow. The vast majority of experts and racing fans were astounded, aghast, and amazed at Mine That Bird’s otherworldly performance in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), in which he took off on a demonic dash as if he were being chased by a swarm of angry hornets.

Read the full column here.

Haskin's Derby Report: The Picks

2009-05-02T02:30:00Z

To start, this is as tough a Derby as I have ever had to decipher, with a case to be made for at least dozen of the horses. I will break the race down in several categories and then put it all together and come up with something that resembles a wagering strategy.

Read the full column here..

Haskin's Derby Report: 48 Hours and Counting

2009-04-30T19:06:00Z

The big day is almost here. No, not the Derby; having to make selections, which will be in Friday's column. In the meantime, he are a few late odds and ends.

Read the full column here.

Haskin's Derby Report: Day for Revenge

2009-04-29T16:19:00Z

Following Monday’s flurry of workouts, it was all about I Want Revenge on Tuesday, as the likely Kentucky Derby favorite had the center stage all to himself.

Read full column here.

Haskin's Derby Report: Monday Madness

2009-04-28T01:01:00Z

There’s lots to catch up on, with several works of interest over the weekend and a star-studded array of works this morning.

Read full column here.