Hangin' With Haskin : Lava Man

Classic Rip Tide

Blood-Horse Staff — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 17:36:00 GMT

Europe fired off its first salvo at the Breeders’ Cup Classic (gr. I) when the heavy favorite Rip Van Winkle captured Saturday’s Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (Eng-I) at Ascot, which served as a launching pad for Raven’s Pass’ Classic victory last year.

After the race, trainer Aidan O’Brien confirmed that Rip Van Winkle indeed will be pointed for the Classic, and may be accompanied by Ballydoyle’s other top-class miler Mastercraftsman. O’Brien said that decision will be made by the Coolmore brain trust.

Rip Van Winkle, favored at 8-13, was expected to make all the pace in the talented four-horse field, but it was the Prix du Moulin (Fra-I) winner Aqlaam, the only older horse in the race, who took up the running, with Rip Van Winkle, under Johnny Murtagh, tracking him every step of the way.

As they turned for home, Rip Van Winkle had no trouble disposing of Aqlaam. Second choice, Delegator, from the hot Godolphin stable, launched his run, but made only little headway down the stretch before fading. Rip Van Winkle battled on, only to face another challenge from the vastly improved Michael Stoute-trained Zacinto, who pulled to within a neck of the favorite and appeared to have all the momentum. But Murtagh, down on the rail, switched his whip to his right-hand and brought Rip Van Winkle out to meet his challenger. He responded by finding another gear and actually was drawing away at the end to win by 1 1/4 lengths, with Delegator another 3 1/2 lengths back in third.

The victory was a major relief for O’Brien, who has had to deal with Rip Van Winkle’s physical issues. The colt suffered infections in all four heels that spread to his feet. But he showed vast improvement over the past several weeks and trained in top form, indicating he was ready for a big effort.

Although Rip Van Winkle, a son of Galileo, has won two of most prestigious mile races in England, the Queen Elizabeth II and Sussex Stakes (Eng-I), he also put quite a scare in superstar Sea the Stars in the 1 1/4-mile Eclipse Stakes (Eng-I), pulling on near even terms in deep stretch only to fall a length short. In the 1 1/2-mile English Derby (Eng-I), he ran one well to finish fourth to Sea the Stars, beaten 2 1/2 lengths. Those performances certainly were good enough to suggest he will be extremely tough at 1 1/4 miles over the Pro-Ride surface at Santa Anita. When you can stay on like that and find something more down that long, testing Ascot stretch, staying 10 furlongs over a fast artificial surface should be a piece of cake, as it was for Raven’s Pass and Henry the Navigator last year.

As of now, Sea the Stars is questionable for the Classic, and we’ll have to see if he runs in next Sunday’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Fra-I) – depending on the ground -- and how he does before we have an idea whether Santa Anita will be a target. Even if it is, Rip Van Winkle will have an extra week to prepare for the race and will be sharper coming off a mile race. There is no doubt Sea the Stars is one of the great horses of this era, but there isn’t a lot separating him from Rip Van Winkle, and O’Brien would welcome another crack at him in the Classic should he wind up making the trip.

Coolmore has been trying to win the Classic since Giant’s Causeway’s heartbreaking neck defeat to Tiznow in 2000. Since then, they have launched an all-out assault on the race, aiming almost every one of their big guns in that direction, including Rip Van Winkle’s sire, Galileo, only to fall short each time. They almost pulled it off last year and could go one better this time around with Rip Van Winkle. They realize, with the Breeders’ Cup run at Santa Anita for an unprecedented two years in a row, this likely is their last chance to take advantage of an artificial surface, which has proven advantageous to the Europeans.

“Phantom” foul

Well, we have a decision on the appeal by Andrew Lloyd-Webber regarding the Prix Vermeille disqualification of his 3-year-old filly Dar Re Mi, who ran down the heavily favored French filly Stacelita at the wire, but was placed fifth for bothering the German filly Soberania.

Despite the controversy surrounding the initial stewards’ decision and the booing of the winning connections after the race by the normally provincial French fans, the France-Galop stewards rejected the appeal Friday afternoon.

According to the Racing Post, Lloyd-Webber's wife Madeleine, who co-owns the filly, and trainer John Gosden attended the two-hour hearing Thursday and left feeling optimistic, with Gosden saying he was “extremely hopeful the injustice will be undone.”

No Englishman should ever feel optimistic in that situation, which many outside of France feel is like pleading your case to Robespierre and the Committee of Public Safety. In this case, however, the only head that was lost was the one that separated Dar Re Mi from Stacelita.

In the Racing Post report, appeal board chairman Dr. Jean-Pierre Colombu, chief steward of France-Galop, stated they had upheld the Longchamp stewards’ decision that Dar Re Mi caused Soberania at least one, maybe two placings.

In a statement issued by the board: “Soberania...regained ground on her rivals after the incident and was only beaten a short neck for fourth place, and it should also be noted that a short head separated the filly who finished fourth from the third-placed filly.”

Now that the appeal has been rejected, it will be interesting to see if the Lloyd-Webbers send Dar Re Mi back to Longchamp for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe or go elsewhere in protest.

She has been quoted at 10-1 for the Arc with Totesport.

From a personal viewpoint, I did not see a head-on view of the incident, but from the regular race camera, it looked as if Dar Re Mi and Soberania went for the same opening – Dar Re Mi perhaps a bit more aggressively. But at no point did it look as if Soberania’s jockey had to stop riding his horse or even check slightly. It’s not every day that you can get French racing fans to boo the disqualification of an English horse, in which the heavy French favorite is placed first. You can form your own conclusions from that.

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It will be also be interesting to see how the California stewards deal with jockey Joel Rosario and his agent Vic Stauffer following a rather unusual and ill-timed series of events that brought about a complaint by the California Horse Racing Board that Rosario failed “to put forth his best effort” in a ride at Del Mar on Sept. 6. Rosario is scheduled to appear before the stewards in early October. One of the rules Rosario is accused of violating is the one that reads in part: “No jockey shall take his horse back without reasonable cause ... or otherwise ride in a manner which is inconsistent with using the best efforts of the horse he is riding,”

Rather than comment before any rulings are issued, the advice here is to go watch Rosario’s ride on Cedros after reading the stories detailing the events that preceded and followed (especially followed) it and form your own conclusions. Just listen to track announcer Trevor Denman’s call of Cedros’ abrupt retreat. The incident was spurred on when Stauffer contacted Cedros’ owner and trainer John Glenney following the horse’s questionable fourth-place finish, in which he still was beaten only 3 1/2 lengths, and asked him whether the horse was for sale. That sent up the proverbial red flare and made Glenney suspicious enough to bring it to the attention of the stewards. They obviously saw and heard enough to take action and call for a hearing.

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A group is forming on Facebook called “We Want Lava Man to Stay Retired.” Comments on MySpace echoed those sentiments, many in harsher terms. Those community outlets and several blunt columns posted on major racing websites suggest the decision to bring Lava Man to the races could prove to be an unpopular one. All we can do is hope the potential for a great story in the end overcomes the potential for a bad one. At this point, there is no right or wrong.

Lava Man’s owners and trainer realize there is a great deal of pressure on them, especially in this post-Eight Belles era, and yet they stand by their decision. They have monitored Lava Man’s progress since his retirement with microscopic scrutiny and we can only place our trust in their judgment.

As we all know, accidents, whether serious or not, can happen at any time and any place and could have absolutely nothing to do with a horse’s soundness. That is why Doug O’Neill, the Kenly family, and Jason Wood will face pressure on a daily basis once Lava Man returns to serious training and even more once he starts racing. So, it is apparent they believe strongly what they are doing is the right thing. But the term “right thing” has yet to be defined other than to say the horse is telling them this is what he wants to do. But horses are like children in that the things they want to do are not always the “right thing” for them. It is up to the good judgment of the parents or owners to make that decision for them.

O’Neill and the veterinarians insist Lava Man is as sound as he’s ever been and is showing them all the right signs. People can agree or disagree and make their feelings known via the various outlets, but in the long run it is no one’s decision to make other than the owners. All anyone can do after voicing their opinion is to wish them well for Lava Man’s sake. At least we know O'Neill is the kind of trainer who will make all the right moves to try to get the horse back to top form without pushing him beyond his limitations.

You know there are going to be a number of dissenters who are already loading their weapons in case they feel compelled to fire them. But this is not an occasion where anyone wants to be proven right, so people should just wait and see what transpires and hope the fairy tale has a happy ending.

In the meantime, Michael Blowen will have a nice big paddock waiting for him at Old Friends once he does arrive. Unlike at his previous home, he will be inundated with groups of adoring fans several times each day, and like all the other equine residents at Old Friends, will be treated like a member of Blowen’s family.

A New Friend at Old Friends

Blood-Horse Staff — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:18:00 GMT

It's a little before 6 a.m. Although the sun is beginning to rise back home, Lexington, Ky. is still dark.

Outside my window at Old Friends, there is a sprawling network of paddocks, housing a number of top-class stakes winners and champions and some not not-so-well-known horses.

My host, Michael Blowen, still bubbling with the unbridled enthusiasm of a school boy over the imminent arrival next week of Lava Man, will be up and about shortly, ready to take care of business at Old Friends at Dream Chase Farm, located between Lexington and Georgetown.

Did I say business? Forget that. Although, there obviously is business involved taking care of an extensive operation such as Old Friends, to Blowen, he has chased his own dream and is now living it. Every moment with his horses is pure joy, whether it is giving a tour armed with a bag of carrots and his wife Diane with a box of ginger snap cookies, racing Will's Way and Awad along their paddock fence (the only time he wins is when they let him), playing soccer with his Shetland/miniature horse named Silver Charm (a slaughter house survivor), having Sunshine Forever nod in the affirmative at his questions, or getting the 25-year-old Ogygian to rare up like a frisky youngster. He talks to each horse like he would one of his many cats, and they all seem to respond to him. You may get the point by now that this Dr. Dolittle of the equine set has a unqiue way with horses, and all animals for that matter.

Blowen has nursed many horses back to health after an injury or mistreatment, and he has as much affection for the old beat-up claimers as he does his graded stakes winners and champions.

For all you Lava Man fans out there, this is the environment to where your hero is headed. If any of you have any concerns or apprehension about the horse leaving California for the Bluegrass state, I can alleviate them by stating emphatically that Lava Man is headed to a wonderful life and a great number of new friends, both human and equine. He will be cared for, not only as a horse, but as a family member. Many of the horses residing at Old Friends have bonded with each other, and all 30 of them have bonded with Blowen, who gets particular joy in watching old rivals Kiri's Clown and Awad (one-two in the Sword Dancer Stakes) racing each other.

Each "stallion" has his own spacious paddock, as large as any paddock at the major breeding farms. The geldings frolic about in their own sprawling field, as do the few mares, including Bonnie's Poker, dam of the "real" Silver Charm. Just hearing the sound of Blowen's voice calling them (usually by nickname or shortened version), the horses will raise their head and amble over to the fence to see their friend.

Blowen's charm and boyish enthusiasm have endeared him to many celebrities. On his specially made "Old Friends" wine bottles are drawings sketched for him by Jack Nicholson, Angelica Huston, and Albert Brooks. Next to them is a bust of the Maltese Falcon, given to him by the film's director John Huston, made from a mold of the original falcon that was used in the film. Also in the guest house is a vast collection of racing books and memorabilia, including a newly acquired Forego halter, which will go in the new museum Blowen is planning.

I am about to head down to breakfast now and then partake in more magical moments at Old Friends, but I thought I'd take a minute out to assure all you Lava Man fans that this horse haven that Blowen has built is a home worthy of a star of his stature. Judging from the number of e-mails and phone calls Blowen has received already there will be a steady stream of visitors to see Lava Man. And judging from what I've seen, those visitors are in for a quite a show. And so is Lava Man.

For more on Old Friends, view HRTV's Inside Information Episode about the facility.

Lava Man to the Rescue

Blood-Horse Staff — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 16:45:00 GMT

Because I’ll be away in Kentucky until late next week, and with the announcement that Lava Man will be going to Old Friends, I’m putting this look back at the Lava Man story (from last year) on here, in good part just to get this latest Curlin vs. Big Brown feud off. Just the mere mention of either of them in any context turns the blog into the blob – a creature that keeps growing and consumes everything in its path.

Anyway, for something a tad more innocent and innocuous:

June 19, 2003 was a warm, humid day in Stockton, California, with a brisk 20 mile-an-hour-wind. Those that attended the races at the San Joaquin Fair were there just for fun and certainly were not looking for any future superstars. The fourth race on the card, a $12,500 maiden claiming race for 2-year-olds, had no particular meaning, and you can bet no one paid any attention whatsoever to the fourth-place finisher – a 35-1 shot named Lava Man, who was racing for his owner, breeder, and trainer Lonnie Arterburn, along with several partners.

Following three more defeats, at Santa Rosa Fair and Bay Meadows, Lava Man finally broke his maiden by four lengths on the turf at Golden Gate under jockey Francisco Duran. Even then, the son of Slew City Slew had character and charisma, and made people notice him.

“I felt he was a special horse in his own way,” Duran said. “He was an incredible horse to ride, and he had a special demeanor about him. He also had a wonderful attitude toward everything he did. We all thought he was a good horse, but obviously we had no idea how far up the ladder he was going to climb. I don’t know how to explain how he got this good, but he’s evolved into an amazing horse.”

Lava Man followed up his maiden win with a starter allowance victory, but lost his next four starts before winning an allowance race on the grass at Bay Meadows by a nose. Arterburn had removed his blinkers for the race, and Lava Man showed tremendous courage to win after a stretch-long duel. It was that same tenacity and courage under fire that would enable to him to win back-to-back gut-wrenchers in the Hollywood Gold Cup (gr. I).

On July 28, 2004, Lava Man was entered in a $62,500 claiming race on the grass at Del Mar. One person who had his eye on the horse was Steve Kenly, who wanted to claim him, but was talked out of it by his trainer Doug O’Neill.

“On the form and on the Sheets, I just felt $62,500 was too much money,” O’Neill said.

Kenly, who had been looking specifically for 3-year-old Cal-breds, because of the state’s lucrative program, had his eye on several horses and Lava Man was one of them.

“Doug said there were more negatives than positives, and I told him, ‘Well, let’s watch him,’ Kenly recalled. “He was coming from Bay Meadows, and for whatever reason, I decided to wait. I watched the race with interest anyway and took notes.”

Lava Man finished sixth in the race, but had a ton of trouble, getting squeezed and trapped between horses. Kenly remembered that and stored it in the back of his head in case the horse showed up again for a price.

Meanwhile, Arterburn hadn’t realized what kind of a bullet he had dodged. Would he tempt fate again?

“The Claim”

The answer, sadly for him, was yes. On August 13, Lava Man was back at Del Mar, this time for a $50,000 tag.

“I never should have run him back down there,” Arterburn said. “You go down to that claiming pit at Del Mar and you’re asking for trouble. They claim crazy down there, and I never should have taken him there. I really liked the horse. He had a great personality; almost a clown. He was like a big kid, always wanting attention. He was a one of a kind character, and we tried to protect him the best we could.”

Arterburn’s friend, veterinarian Kim Kuhlmann, who was co-owner and is co-breeder of Lava Man, was friends with trainer Mike Puype, so instead of shipping Lava Man back to Northern California, they decided to leave him with Puype at Hollywood Park and let him train down there for a couple of weeks. When a $50,000 claiming race showed up in the book, Puype told Arterburn about it. Arterburn had Puype enter the horse and saddle him in his absence. It was a decision he has regretted every day since.

“He had gotten beat for $62,500 and was 9-1 in that race,” Arterburn said. “The bettors there didn’t give him any respect, and I thought the trainers wouldn’t give him any respect either.”

He was right about the trainers, but didn’t count on an owner.

“I actually was seriously thinking about scratching him right before the race, because I started to feel afraid that we might lose the horse,” Arterburn said. “For some reason, I didn’t, and now I’m sick as a dog that I didn’t go by my gut and scratch him. We paid the price.”

Kenly, meanwhile, had been on the lookout for Lava Man, and was delighted to see him show up for $50,000. This time, there was no stopping him. When he saw him entered, he called O’Neill and told him, “Well, you just saved us $12,500.” As it turned out, Kenly’s was the only claim.

But O’Neill and his brother Dennis still were less than enamored with the horse. “Doug actually was even more negative than he was the first time,” Kenly recalled. “He just didn’t like the horse. His running line was bad, and Doug thought he might be unsound. But he had a horrible run, and it was a typical Del Mar turf race where horses get steadied and never get out. He was trapped in there the entire race.”

“The beauty of Steve is that when he gets locked in on a horse he goes after it,” O’Neill said. “He had seen all the trouble he had gotten into in his previous race. So, we felt as long as the horse looked good in the paddock we were going to claim him. Lonnie had him looking great, and we put in the claim. I definitely feel bad for him, because I’ve lost a few grade I horses myself and it does get to you. This can be a brutal game at times. There are a lot more disappointments and heartaches than there are high-fives.”

It was decided to point him for the Pomona Derby at Fairplex, and Lava Man won the Derby Trial by 6 1/4 lengths in his first start for his new connections. He then finished a well-beaten third in the Pomona Derby and proceeded to lose his next six races. But he did finish second in the California Cup Classic and On Trust Handicap for Cal-breds before finishing a game second to Rock Hard Ten in the grade I Malibu Stakes.

Just when it looked as if his career was about take off, he lost his form that winter, turning in three poor performances in state-bred stakes, including the aforementioned Sunshine Millions at Gulfstream.

Then it was O’Neill’s and Kenly's turn to flirt with destiny. Arterburn, still upset over losing the horse, waited patiently, hoping to see Lava Man back in for a price. He was determined to get the horse back. It took a year, but there he was, on May 14, 2005, entered for a $100,000 claiming price.

Unfortunately for Arterburn, he was in the process of moving to Florida in an attempt to upgrade his stock and was unable to come up with the money. It was that move that precipitated his putting Lava Man in for $50,000. And now it was that same move that prevented him from getting him back.

“I was in the middle of real estate deals trying to get a farm bought,” Arterburn said. “I couldn’t find any partners who were interested in claiming him for that price, and I couldn’t afford to claim him back myself. It was bad timing for me and good timing for them. It was ironic, in a bad way, that that we let him slip through our fingers because at the time we were in the pursuit of getting better horses some day.

“After that, it all went rosy for them. When he started running so good, I said to myself, ‘That’s it, I’ll never see him again. Game over.”

As Lava Man developed into a grade I winner and then a legend, becoming the first horse to sweep the grade I Santa Anita Handicap, Hollywood Gold Cup, and Pacific Classic in the same year, Arterburn became more distressed over his misfortune. Now he’s had to watch Lava Man make more history by emulating Native Diver’s feat of winning three consecutive runnings of the Hollywood Gold Cup.

“It’s almost killed me,” he said. “It’s not even the money, because I earn breeders awards every time the horse runs. I would give all the money back if I could do everything over. It just tears me up, but what can I do? You hope for a horse like that some day, and there’s no way I’ll ever get something like that again. I’ve always been a claiming trainer and this has made me hate claiming. All I can do is keep trying, but it’s hard to swallow. That’s why I’ll be glad the day Lava Man retires, because it still hurts.”

Kenly had lucked out getting Lava Man, as all the forces seemed to be working in his favor. So, why in the world did he and O’Neill decide to tempt fate and put a grade I-placed horse in a claiming race, albeit for $100,000?

“Doug is a gambler and a pretty aggressive trainer when it comes to claiming races, and the horse had two bad outs and he thought he could get away with it,” Kenly said. “I was against it and just kind of went along with him. I remember telling him, ‘We can’t replace this horse for $100,000; no chance in hell.’ I stayed in Phoenix and watched the horse win in fast time with blinkers on, and was nervous as hell until I got a hold of Doug. I said, ‘Please tell me we didn’t lose him,’ and he said, ‘That (expletive) Hollendorfer.’ When he said that my stomach just fell out; I turned from a nice tan to white. Then he told me he was kidding. I said I’d get him back if it’s the last thing I do. He really got me with Hollendorfer, because he’s the kind of guy who would claim a horse like this. He’s famous for coming down from Northern California and taking high-priced claimers.”

So, that pretty much is the story of Lava Man and the contrasting fortunes of two men. Kenly, as well as his father, Wood, and O’Neill, gives thanks every day for the fortunes that smiled down on him. But, he still never takes anything for granted.

“In this game, the minute you start getting cocky and think you know it all, the racing gods will strike you down with a thundering blow,” Kenly said. “It’s been a fairy tale, and we’re living right in the middle of it. You have to ask, ‘Where is this book going to go?’ It’s been like a great novel already and you just hope it doesn’t end. You know it will some day, and when it does, you just have to say, ‘Look what he’s done for us. He’s put us in the spotlight; he can’t do any more.’ If it ended today, sure we’d be upset and depressed. It would be a sad day. But on the flip side, we’re so appreciative to have been involved with a horse like this. No matter what happens, it’s in the books, and you can never take that way. It’s history.”

Last fall, Kenly was looking for an appropriate slogan for Lava Man. He inadvertently came up with a perfect one when he said about owning a horse like this: “We’re having a blast.”

Lava Man never showed his greatness outside of California. For one reason or another he ran poorly in all his forays outside the Golden State. But he still was the king of California. He still was a racing treasure. He still was a legend. In short, he still was Lava Man. And that’s enough in anyone’s lifetime.