HANDICAPPING INSIGHTS
NOVEMBER 30, 2007
by Dick Powell
Did we witness the upset of a great horse or the emergence of one in the
Cigar Mile H. (G1) at Aqueduct last Saturday? Going in, Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) winner
Midnight Lute (Real Quiet) looked to be any kind off two straight Grade 1
victories. His exciting, come-from-behind running style had his trainer, Bob Baffert, tossing superlatives his way every chance he got. The betting public
went along and Midnight Lute was installed as the 1-2 favorite.
But, DAAHER (Awesome Again) was close behind in the betting at 23-10 in the
field of five. A late arrival on the graded stakes scene, Daaher was thought
highly enough to contest the Queen’s Plate at Woodbine off only a maiden win and
then stayed in Canada to run in the Prince of Wales S. at Fort Erie. Despite his
inexperience and lack of seasoning, he ran fourth and third in those two stakes
so it was no surprise that he then romped against first-level allowance foes at
Saratoga going nine furlongs.
Daaher did more than romp as he demolished his Spa foes by nearly 14 lengths
and his blowout, gate-to-wire victory earned him a terrific 110 BRIS Speed
rating. Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin added blinkers that day based on Mike Luzzi’s
feedback from the Prince of Wales race and coupled with a wet track, he won in
hand. His BRIS Pace figures were 103, 103 and 107, highly unusual for a main
track race going two turns.
A bit late in the year to join the fray against the sensational class of 2007
sophomores, McLaughlin found a smart spot to run Daaher back six weeks later in
the Jerome H. (G2) — a mile on the dirt at Belmont against straight
three-year-olds. In his first start against graded stakes foes, Daaher, after
stumbling at the start, made a huge middle move into a blazing pace and won by 2
1/4 lengths in 1:34.28. To show that his Saratoga tour-de-force was no fluke, Daaher earned a 109 Speed rating.
In the Cigar Mile, Daaher went to the front against his four rivals and
settled nicely for Luzzi. After a first quarter in :23.10, he was allowed to
cruise to the far turn with a second quarter in :23.22 while maintaining an open
lead. With no help up front in the short field, Garrett Gomez was forced to run
closer to the pace than he probably wanted. Daaher was dictating the terms of
the race, Midnight Lute was forced to respond and abandon his one-run game plan.
Around the far turn, Daaher threw in a :23.50 third quarter and hit the top
of the stretch two lengths in front of Midnight Lute. When Luzzi asked him for
more, Daaher poured it on with a final quarter of :23.97 and held off Midnight
Lute throughout the stretch; winning by 2 1/2 lengths. His final time of 1:33.79
earned a career-best BRIS Speed Rating of 115.
You would be hard pressed to find a mile race on the dirt where the winner
ran each quarter-mile in :23 and change. With his final three Speed ratings of
the year at 110, 109 and 115, Daaher has joined the elite Grade 1 dirt horses of
the season. Being by Awesome Again, who is having another
sensational year at stud, he has a high-class cruising speed and with only seven
lifetime starts, has room to improve even more.
Midnight Lute ran well through the stretch and he should have given Baffert enough confidence to stay with plans to stretch him back out to two
turns. It’s possible that the two could meet again in the Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1)
at the end of March where he will not have to concede nine pounds to Daaher like
he did on Saturday. Root for these horses in their first starts of 2008 and we
could see a memorable race in the desert.
***
The Kentucky Derby (G1) is about the roughest race that any horse will ever
compete in. Until they encounter as many as 19 rivals and all the bumping that
occurs, you never know how they will handle it. Some horses will give in
willingly; others will respond and overcome it.
Even with only a field of six in Saturday’s Remsen S. (G2), COURT VISION
(Gulch) encountered, or, created, Derby-like running conditions. He raced in
behind horses with dirt kicked in his face, then, had to bully his way to the
outside to find clear running room. He soundly bumped Big Truck (Hook and
Ladder) at the top of the stretch and then broad-sided Trust N Dustan (Trust N
Luck) right after that as Eibar Coa was clearing his own path to the wire.
Dogwood Stables’ Atoned (Repent) had overcome a rough trip on the first turn
and took the lead while all this was going on. But, Court Vision had him in his
sights and ran him down by a measured neck as Coa turned the stick down even
before he took the lead in the shadow of the wire. His final time of 1:52.48 for
nine furlongs only earned him a Speed rating of 90, but he showed he has the
intangibles needed to succeed on the first Saturday of May.
Court Vision has prospered since stretching out and is three for three at
races at a mile or longer. He is by Gulch, who has already
sired a Derby winner in Thunder Gulch. The juvenile colt’s unraced dam, Weekend
Storm (Storm Bird), is a full sister to Preakness (G1) winner Summer Squall and
a half-sister to A.P. Indy (Seattle Slew), who not only won the Belmont S. (G1)
and Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), but is a leading sire in the world today.
Bill Mott has done a lot in his Hall of Fame career but has never won a
classic race. He came close with Vision and Verse in the 1999 Belmont when he
just missed catching Lemon Drop Kid, but he usually gives his young horses lots
of time to grow and develop — a luxury that the Triple Crown trail does not
afford. It will be fascinating to watch how Mott prepares Court Vision and
Hopeful (G1) winner Majestic Warrior (A.P. Indy) for the classics next year.
***
The death of Bill Hartack was shocking. A friend of mine talked to him at the
University of Louisville’s stewards school two weeks ago and Bill was his usual
self — and then, gone.
Not only did Hartack win the Kentucky Derby a record-tying five times, he did
it with only 12 mounts. In fact, he won the 1960 Derby with Venetian Way, did
not have a mount in 1961, won the 1962 Derby with Decidedly, did not have a
mount in 1963, and won the 1964 Derby with Northern Dancer.
You would think that a rider that won the Derby one year would have a mount
the next year. Not Hartack. Get out your dictionary and start with obstreperous.
That was Hartack; resisting control or restraint in a difficult manner; unruly.
Synonyms for obstreperous are bad-tempered, defiant, quarrelsome, fractious and
confrontational. Hartack was all of them, and more.
Hartack didn’t march to the beat of a different drummer, he didn’t march to
the beat of an entire orchestra. Think of Ohio State University’s marching band.
Their beat would have no effect on him. In an age where athletes were polite to
a fault, Hartack would be considered rude even by today’s standards. Yet, it was
why he was as great as he was.
Hartack hated to lose; probably more than any athlete ever. He won America’s
greatest race five times, but you didn’t want to interview him after the seven
he lost. Just like Ted Williams wasn’t satisfied by making an out six of every
10 times at bat, Hartack couldn’t deal with losing of any kind regardless of the
race.
There will be a lot written about Bill Hartack and much of it will explain
why one of the greatest riders is not on the tip of our tongues when discussing
the greatest riders of all time. After his career ended in Hong Kong, he faded
from the scene for most people. But he stayed in the game as a steward and
worked as recently as the last Louisiana Downs meet that ended in October. Just
like the best umpires are the ones who remain anonymous, Hartack plied his trade
behind the scenes like he should have. He did not like the spotlight and did
everything he could to avoid it.
But just like Popeye’s motto, “I am who I am,” Hartack lived his life without
ever changing. He did what he wanted, how he wanted, when he wanted.
I’m not going to tell you that I knew Bill Hartack, but I did get to spend
some time with him in New Orleans when I worked for Fair Grounds Race Course and
Bill was a steward there. The advantage I had was that I met him through Mervin
Muniz, the late racing secretary, so I passed some sort of muster with him.
I had heard all the stories about Bill here in Saratoga, including one where
he drove a courtesy car, loaned to Hall of Fame members for an event, back to
Chicago instead of asking where to drop it off in town. Many were told to me by
the late Joe Duell of Saratoga fame who used to host a jockey bowling tournament
at his bowling alley. I was prepared for the worst but Bill was always civil to
me.
My fondest memory of Bill was one summer I was in New Orleans during the
off season and Hartack was visiting in Mervin’s office with his usual assortment
of hunting stories. Mervin drawled, “Bill likes to live off the land,” and
Hartack cracked up.
Bill was going around Fair Grounds’ offices with an audio cassette of someone
calling a horse race and it had to be the worst race call of all time. Bill
would make you sit down, listen to the whole thing and laugh his head off. He
would then proceed to the next person and say, “You got to hear this,” play the
tape again and laugh like he heard it for the first time. With all the stories
about him being written now, that’s the one I’ll remember.