Stories of the Year, 2008 Edition

Performance of the Year: Zarkava Simply the best. Imagine what she could have accomplished at 4 - oh well. The Reigning Champ: Curlin An easy Dubai World Cup win, a turf experiment, a broken earnings record - it was great to see him running at four. Most Underrated Horse Out There: Einstein Einstein has been forced to carry a lot more than most horses for the past few years - his complicated legal situation kept him running in some races for which he was ready to go, he was forced to switch from turf to dirt a few times and he even took on former stablemate Curlin. Each time, he gave it his all and proved a consistent threat - and often a winner. Here's hoping we see him back as a 7-year-old - but with better owners (although still with trainer Helen Pitts, please). Breeders' Cup: Zenyatta and the Euros Zenyatta's easy victory only added to her illustrious year; Goldikova showed everyone what she's capable of when Zarkava isn't in front of her and the European contenders spanked their American counterparts at almost every opportunity. While the surface was the source of much griping by the defeated American contingent, I think the no-drug policy played nearly as a large a role - and that's a good thing. I would also suggest that 'Zenyatta and the Euros' could be a great name for a Katrina and the Waves cover band. Most Column Inches Generated: Big Brown Way back in early 2008, when newspapers still covered racing, they knew they had a story. You may recall the heartwarming tale of a horse with sore feet from the wrong side of the tracks who was discovered by some Wall Street errand boys; after turning him over to am unknown trainer desperately trying to overcome his inglorious, drug-filled past, they won the Triple Crown. Or something like that. I can't quite remember at this far remove. So, there you have it - I recommend breaking out an Avery Ale to the Chief or Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale (if you can snag one) for your New Year's celebration - here's to a great racing year in 2009!

Sprinters A-Go-Go

Apologies for the lack of updates over the holidays - things will be back to normal starting next week. While Indian Blessing's win in the La Brea was necessarily subdued in light of Indyanne's injury (which, so far, looks as though it will not require surgery - ones hopes that is an encouraging sign), she does have an interesting campaign in the works. Trainer Bob Baffert is pointing the filly to the Dubai Golden Shaheen; the race is already shaping up as one with a very interesting cast (and that's just including the American contingent). Fabulous Strike, also victorious over the weekend in the Gravesend Handicap, looks to figure in the race and erstwhile Derby contender Gayego was recently purchased with a view toward running in Dubai. Malibu winner Bob Black Jack is also aiming for the Golden Shaheen if all goes well - it seems everybody's doing it. While it's a long way until March, it's certainly something to look forward to - I have no strong feelings thus far about those two-year-olds turning three on Thursday...

An Historical Interlude

With the holidays upon us, there is not a huge amount going on in the racing world for the next few weeks. With that in mind, I will most likely spend the next few weeks ruminating on matters historical. An article on the Belair Stables Museum in Maryland got me wondering about the earliest thoroughbreds imported to the US (or, more accurately, the Maryland and Virginia colonies as they were at that time). While horses in general were obviously imported to the Americas from the 16th century (initially by the Spanish) and the 17th century by English settlers, the first horses imported with a view toward racing arrived in the mid-18th century. Governor Samuel Ogle imported stallion Spark and mare Queen Mab in 1747; the horses were a gift of Charles Calvert, the fifth Lord Baltimore – he was simply re-gifting the pair (a gesture which seems appropriate at this time of year), having received them from Frederick, Prince of Wales (perhaps best known as the father of George III). Benjamin Tasker, Jr. added to the reputation of what had become known as Belair Stud with the importation of Selima in the early 1750s. You may recall that the Selima Stakes for 2-year-old fillies on grass was named in her honor (and it seems a shame that a former G1 event, won by the likes of La Prevoyante and Shuvee, was so unceremoniously retired - see Brooklyn Backstretch for a similar sentiment about the Ladies Handicap at Aqueduct). Virginia got into the game early as well; Jolly Roger (pictured here) was imported in 1751 and became an important broodmare sire; the speedy Janus came in 1756 and produced many quarter-mile specialists (although he himself had had success at the four-mile distance). Janus, by a sire also named Janus, went by a number of names to differentiate himself from the older horse (on the rare occasions when anyone seemed to care about that; early record-keeping was not entirely scrupulous) - he was also know as Little Janus or, for some reason, Stiff Dick – one imagines the Jockey Club would have many litters of kittens about such a moniker today). Size and stamina were imported to Virginia in the form of Fearnaught (imported 1764), a four-mile specialist; five of his daughters are considered American foundation mares. The four-mile distance was seen as somewhat unique to what was becoming American racing at that point: "While there were contests at four miles and even at four miles and repeat in England, such events were not considered the true test of merit in a horse; that kind of racing became really American, since for seventy-five years the four-mile-heat horse was the king of his day." It's rather a change from today. Virginia was also responsible for importing the great Diomed (pictured) in 1798, aged about 21 at the time – he would become the pre-eminent sire of early American racing. But it wasn't just the South doing all the early importation; James De Lancey in New York was at work somewhat later, but with no less influential horses. Wildair and Lath (imported in the mid-to-late 1760s) were both useful stallions, but the Cub Mare, know as 'the Selima of the Northern turf' had perhaps the biggest impact. Her daughter with Wildair, Maria Slamerkin (aka Old Slamerkin) became one of the first great racing stars in New York. Their descendants include Black Gold and Nearco. Wildair was sold and sent back to Britain where he continued his stud career when Tory De Lancey dispersed his stock. Some very interesting, if not entirely accurate, information on early American racing and breeding can be found in The American Thoroughbred, by Charles E. Trevathan, published in 1905 - now available on Google Books. Enjoy!

Odds and Ends

Controversial Aussie jockey Chris Munce officially made his comeback, riding two winners, but the Hong Kong Jockey Club is still aiming to keep him grounded (even in Australia) until next September, as per their ban. Dan Liebman argues in The Blood-Horse that he should not have been allowed to ride (and I agree). However, if we're going to uphold bans from other jurisdictions, one wonders why Patrick 'King Cobra' Biancone was ever allowed to train in the US - or why trainers with multiple drug violations can train just about anywhere in the US. One might wonder if the lack of drugs (now that some people notice them) contributed to Kip Deville's lackluster placing in the Hong Kong Mile - although Good Ba Ba's record-setting win (pictured) was impressive in its own right. It's equally possible that current US milers are simply not in the same class as those in the rest of the world - and that's even in the absence of a powerhouse like Zarkava or Goldikova. In any case, well done to Good Ba Ba - it was another great ride by Christophe Soumillon. Finally, Jess Jackson has penned a farewell to Curlin's fans; calling for a league and a commissioner of racing; while he doesn't specifically highlight the drugs issue, it is implied in his championing 'pure sport.' While I cannot say I agree with Jackson in every regard, it's good to see an owner at least attempting to keep something of an open dialogue.

A Few of My Favorite Things

Inspired by the news that a palomino filly would be offered for sale at Keeneland (and she is a nice color, although her family would not inspire awe from a racing perspective), I began looking into the origins of the color in thoroughbreds. But just as I was about to start digging more deeply into whether Darcy's Yellow Turk was really an Akhal-Teke (or Turkoman), I got sidetracked – I wondered what had become of the lovely white Zabeel filly born in 2006. It emerges that she was sold at auction earlier this year, and for quite a tidy sum, too - AUS $270,000. While her unexpected color (the result of a chestnut dam and a famously bay sire) no doubt provoked more interest than your average yearling might have garnered, her bloodlines are no novelty – she's a ¾ sister to two-time Australian Horse of the Year Might and Power. (Incidentally, Might and Power now resides at Living Legends – it's a bit like our own Old Friends). This article suggests that the white gene expressed in the filly descends from the dam of Hyperion, Selene (and Selene, in turn is by Chaucer - making her part of one of my favorite families), and eventually traces it back to the Darley Arabian. (I would submit that she has so much of the other foundation sires showing up in her pedigree as well, though, that it would take more than a little hard-core research to pin the color on any one of them - if, indeed, they were one of the carriers). But enough about genetics and historical research (actually, I'm of the opinion you can never have too much of either pursuit, but time is short today) - what is the filly up to now? She was purchased by John Singleton (and a few friends), who also part-owns the Magic Millions horse sales firm, and she will be taking part in one of his more recent business ventures - promoting Australian craft-beer brewers Bluetongue - now her namesake: Singleton and Johns plan to use the filly in a marketing campaign for Bluetongue beer in the Newcastle and Hunter Valley areas. Singleton's bloodstock manager Duncan Grimley confirmed that the name 'Bluetongue' was being sought for the filly, and proceeds associated with her career will be donated to charity. Indeed, she seems a filly after my own heart - she even enjoyed the beer, according to 'Singo': "She actually didn't like the Bluetongue early and I thought 'well I hope she's not a (Tooheys) New drinker," he said, "but then, 'boom', she took that big swallow and I knew she was one of us." A small aside - while in general I am not a huge fan of Australian beer (even of the craft variety), it seems Bluetongue (the brewery, not the horse) is aiming to follow the Coopers model, and I do recommend Coopers Dark Ale or Coopers Sparkling Ale on a hot day). Of course, if it's great Antipodean beer you are after, I suggest looking across the Tasman Sea for a Moa Noir - or you can ignore the Southern Hemisphere distinction entirely and just enjoy one of these, regardless of origin. But back to the horse -- Bluetongue is now in training and seems to be coming along nicely so far. There are plans to involve some racing clubs in her career and I would be very curious to see if overseas fans could get in on the action. In any case, I'll be keeping an eye out for her - and for 'her' beer.

Bringing Order Out of Chaos

The Paulick Report's recent suggestion to ban trainers with drug violations from Eclipse Award contention is a very interesting idea, but as many have pointed out, the fact that medication rules (currently) vary from state to state makes it difficult (in some cases) to determine whether something was an honest mistake with a therapeutic medicine versus something rather more sinister. While other countries may solve the drug problem by simply not allowing them, there is still plenty of inconsistency to go around that can confuse owners, jockeys and trainers at the highest level. Australian racing authorities have found themselves in uncomfortable positions over international rules inconsistencies in the past few weeks: Racing New South Wales Ltd (Racing NSW), the Queensland Racing Board (QRL) and the Hong Kong Jockey Club have been at odds over jockey Chris Munce (more on that below), while Racing Victoria Ltd (RVL) finds itself very awkwardly placed after its ruling over the Melbourne Cup result. First, the Munce Problem: Chris Munce was the winning jockey aboard Jezabeel in the 1998 Melbourne Cup, but was later caught and sent to jail in a Hong Kong bribery scandal - and one that was specifically racing-related, as he provided betting tips in exchange for cash. He was released from prison in October and the Hong Kong Jockey Club disqualified him for 30 months. QRL followed suit due to its 'commitment to reciprocate penalties imposed by other racing authorities' and denied Munce a license to ride there - but Racing NSW gave him one anyway. The Hong Kong Jockey Club was not best pleased, according to executive director of racing Bill Nader: "It is not so much that relations with Racing NSW are in disrepair but they will certainly be under review," he told the Herald. "We look at Article 10 of the International Agreement between racing jurisdictions as being one of the 10 commandments and it is unprecedented for reciprocity not to be applied when a penalty is handed down." QRL described its neighbor's license-granting decision as 'near anarchy.' Of course, the same characterization could be made of international racing rules in general - which leads us to the Bauer Problem. You may recall British invader Bauer was second to longshot Viewed by a nostril in the Melbourne Cup - but the controversy that has since arisen has not been a big story Stateside. After the race, it emerged that Bauer had undergone extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) five days before the race; this type of ultrasound procedure to treat soreness is allowed in most jurisdictions until the day before a race - but it must be given at least seven days out in Australia. On the surface, it seems like a clear violation of the rules, albeit an unwitting one - and in that instance the horse should have been disqualified, as Craig Young argues in the Sydney Morning Herald. But it's not so straightforward - the treatment had be recommended by a vet employed by RVL - one who surely should have known the rules of his own local racing authority. Given that it was quite clear a ruling against trainer Luca Cumani would have led to an entirely justified lawsuit against RVL, the result was allowed to stand. Back in Britain, Greg Wood suggests that these issues point to the need for a single rule book for worldwide racing: The mere fact that trainers from Ireland or Britain can now take horses to Melbourne or America and offer serious competition suggests that many of the practical issues involved in travelling horses over long distances have been overcome. Ten years ago, the first question to a European trainer on arrival at the Breeders' Cup meeting was: how did the horse travel? Now, it is almost taken as read that the trip went well. The legal issues, though, will be another matter entirely. Football could never have achieved its global dominance and prosperity with a different offside rule on every continent. There seems to be little prospect that there will be even a framework for an international rule book for racing in the foreseeable future (in America, remember, every state has its own rules on everything from medication to the racing surface). ... Europeans have enjoyed such regular success around the world in recent years, not least at the Breeders' Cup in California in October, that it is almost taken for granted. What the furore over Bauer demonstrates, though, is that the process of internationalising the sport has, in many important respects, barely begun. He's entirely correct that the sport is a long way from where it needs to be and he is also clearly aware of the challenge that would be presented in trying to standardize the rules around the world - but if we could make a start at home by getting the pharmacy in order, it would be a good first step.

Returns and Farewells

I spent most of the holiday weekend traveling up and down the Eastern seaboard, and as a result only got the news about Saturday's somber day at Aqueduct after the fact. I'd seen the Cigar Mile results in brief and saw a few 'what a shame' comments, but initially thought the shame was the difficult DQ situation between Harlem Rocker and Tale of Ekati (the eventual official winner) - and the fact that Wanderin Boy (right) had finished at the back. Unable to really investigate at the time, I assumed initially it was going to be something of a throwout like his Woodward effort in 2007, or his earlier New Orleans Handicap last-place finish - no doubt he had another injury, but he'd be back again in good form, as ever. Obviously, I was wrong. If you have not already read Steve Haskin's response to Wanderin Boy's death, be sure you do; despite seemingly endless physical problems, the