What's Going On Here : eoin harty

Special Moments - by Dan Liebman

Blood-Horse Staff — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 14:19:00 GMT

The recent passing of Kentucky Derby (gr. I) winners Lil E. Tee and Alysheba and Well Armed’s major victory have caused memories to come flooding back, from the world’s richest race in Dubai to the world’s most famous race in Louisville, Ky. Not only that, but of publications worked for in a life of covering Thoroughbred racing and breeding.

My pick in the 1987 Derby was Bet Twice, who, had he finished first in the race, assuredly would not have been declared the winner. Bet Twice bumped Alysheba in the stretch and by all accounts would have been disqualified had Alysheba not gone on to win.

That night a large group from Daily Racing Form was discussing the race while settling down for dinner at a well-known Louisville restaurant. Another large table sat unoccupied a few feet away, but after just a few minutes, in walked the group that was to dine adjacent to us.

Leading the way was Alysheba’s trainer, Jack Van Berg, who was followed closely by Clarence, Dorothy, and Pam Scharbauer, the latter two the mother/daughter team that raced the son of Alydar. Ken Carson and Jay Pumphrey, who advised the Scharbauers, were also in the mix, and took pleasure in discussing the pedigree and recalling the Keene-land sale where the colt was purchased.

Winding up seated next to the winning connections of a Kentucky Derby winner makes for a special evening with special memories.

I have always considered myself the tiniest of footnotes in the story of the horse that won the Derby five years later. The Racing Times was short-lived, but a highlight for this editor was the day trainer Lynn Whiting called to inquire about obtaining the speed figure of a colt that just moments earlier had broken his maiden impressively at Calder Race Course.

“You should call Chuck Streva,” I told Whiting. “Chuck does his own speed figures.”

Whiting did call Streva, and did buy the colt. And about 20 minutes after Lil E. Tee won the 1992 Derby, Whiting had his hand outstretched and recalled that conversation seven months earlier.

I picked Lil E. Tee to win that day, but not just because I happened to answer the phone the day his trainer called seeking information. Rather because in a year in which the Derby seemed to be wide open, Lil E. Tee could not only put Whiting in the winner’s circle, but do the same for the jockey who had won more races than any other at the track, except for the feature race on the first Saturday in May.

As a longtime handicapper of the Kentucky circuit, I found it hard not to appreciate the talents of Pat Day. Watching him glide under the wire first on Lil E. Tee was another memorable occasion.

In March 2000, a trip for The Blood-Horse sent this writer across the world for the fifth running of the Dubai World Cup (UAE-I). A pair of friendly faces appeared in the desert in the form of Eoin and Kathy Harty, who showed me where to eat, where to shop, and where to sightsee.

Eoin Harty, formerly an assistant to Bob Baffert, was living in Dubai and working for Sheikh Mohammed, the man who conceived the race in his native land.

The day prior to the race, Sheikh Mohammed invited the media to a press conference where he sounded quite certain his colt Dubai Millennium would win the World Cup.

“This is a very special horse,” Sheikh Mohammed said. And, he was right.

Dubai Millennium toyed with his competition in the World Cup much the same way this year’s winner, Well Armed, did. Well Armed just happens to be trained by Eoin Harty, who now has a public stable based in Southern California.

This game leaves one with special memories.

Dear John - by Dan Liebman

Blood-Horse Staff — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 14:09:00 GMT

One night during the 2007 Keeneland November sale, Eoin Harty was enjoying a leisurely dinner when the topic turned to horses, in particular those in his Southern California stable.
The trainer got a twinkle in his eye when he began to speak about a colt that had impressively broken his maiden the month before, in his second start, and was preparing for his first stakes outing.

“He has the look of a Derby horse,” Harty said matter-of-factly. “I see the things in him that I saw in the others we took to Louisville.”

The “we” referred to the past, when Harty was an assistant to Bob Baffert, who burst on the Derby scene and etched his name in the history books with two victories and a close second in consecutive years. They finished second in 1996 with Cavonnier, who was beaten just a nose by Grindstone, and then won the Run for the Roses in 1997 and 1998 with Silver Charm and Real Quiet, respectively. (Baffert won another Derby, in 2002 with War Emblem, after Harty had struck out on his own.)

Many a trainer has a 2-year-old he thinks has what it takes to get to Louisville, Ky., for the world’s greatest race on the first Saturday each May. But the way is lined with roadblocks, pitfalls, injuries, and, of course, the fact many horses prove to simply not be good enough.

There also is something some encounter that is every bit as contagious as the flu, but for which there is no vaccine. They call it Derby fever.

Harty doesn’t have Derby fever. From his experiences with Baffert, Harty knows what it takes to get to the Derby, and six months ago he thought he had a colt that possessed those special qualities.

Bred and owned by WinStar Farm, the Tiznow colt out of the Turkoman mare Sweet Damsel won that stakes last November, ironically named the Real Quiet. At 1 1⁄16 miles, it was his first time around two turns, and the colt showed he was bred for distance and would have no trouble getting a route of ground.

The final start in his juvenile campaign came in late December in the CashCall Futurity (gr. I), producing a second-place finish.

In four starts as a 2-year-old, he had two wins and two seconds, and in January was assigned 116 pounds by the handicappers who compile the Experimental Free Handicap. Published annually by The Jockey Club since 1935, the Experimental is a weight assignment based on juvenile accomplishments for a hypothetical race at 1 1⁄16 miles on dirt. Champion War Pass received top weight of 127 pounds.

At his Santa Anita base, Harty mapped out a plan that would have his colt make only two starts prior to the May 3 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I). That is contrary to what his former boss did in the ’90s—Cavonnier had four previous starts at 3; Silver Charm and Real Quiet each had three—but a horseman has to know his horse, and Harty believes he does.

In the March 1 Sham Stakes (gr. III), the colt’s first start at nine furlongs, he hung closer to the pace, had to duel for the first time, and won by a half-length. In the Santa Anita Derby (gr. I) five weeks later, Harty looked on as his charge appeared beaten at the quarter pole. But he found that something extra good horses need to find sometimes, getting in stride late to again post a half-length victory.

The question Harty is asked most is whether his colt, who has only started on synthetic surfaces, can win on dirt. Well, his sire won the Breeders’ Cup Classic (gr. I) twice, once at Churchill. His broodmare sire was represented last year by Hard Spun, who ran second in the Derby.

Like Harty, this writer has a twinkle in his eye when thinking about Colonel John.