Shanghai Bobby, last year’s champion two-year-old male, received the high
weight assignment of 126 pounds on The Jockey Club’s 2012 Experimental Free
Handicap, released Wednesday by The Jockey Club.
Beholder, the champion two-year-old filly, was the high weight filly with
123.
All Experimental Free Handicap weight assignments, as well as past
performances for those horses, are available within the Publications and
Resources section of
jockeyclub.com at
jockeyclub.com/experimental.asp.
The Jockey Club Experimental Free Handicap, published annually since 1935, is
a weight-based assessment of the previous year’s leading two-year-olds, with the
weights compiled for a hypothetical race at 1 1/16 miles on dirt.
The weighting committee of racing secretaries was once again composed of P.J.
Campo of the New York Racing Association, Ben Huffman of Churchill Downs and
Keeneland, and Thomas S. Robbins of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club.
The committee weighted a total of 125 males and 117 fillies. Eligible for
weighting were all two-year-olds of 2012 that finished among the top four in
graded or listed stakes races run in the continental United States. Listed
stakes in 2012 were those with a value of $75,000 or more available to all
starters, and no restrictions other than age or sex.
Shanghai Bobby won all five of his starts last year by a combined 14 lengths
and earned $1,687,000. In addition to a maiden race and the Grade 1 Breeders’
Cup Juvenile, Shanghai Bobby won the Grade 1 Champagne Stakes, the Grade 2
Hopeful, and the Track Barron. He was bred in Kentucky by Stonehaven Steadings
and is owned by Starlight Racing, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael B. Tabor, Michael
B. and Derrick Smith, Derrick.
Beholder won three of her five starts, including the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup
Juvenile Fillies, and was second by a nose in the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante with
total earnings of $1,215,000. She was bred in Kentucky by Clarkland Farm and is
owned by Spendthrift Farm.
Among sires of Experimental horses, Harlan’s Holiday leads the list of colts
and geldings with five representatives; Any Given Saturday and Street Hero have
four each.
City Zip and Malibu Moon head the fillies’ list with five representatives
each. Broken Vow and Kitten’s Joy have four each.
Combining the two lists, Harlan’s Holiday, Kitten’s Joy and Malibu Moon are
the leading sires with six each, followed by Broken Vow, City Zip, Henny Hughes
and Unbridled’s Song with five each.
Kentucky, Florida, New York and Pennsylvania produced the largest number of
horses in the 2012 Experimental Free Handicap. Of the 242 juveniles weighted,
152 were bred in Kentucky, 31 in Florida, 11 in New York and nine in
Pennsylvania.
Following are trends and statistics gathered from the Experimental Free
Handicap over the past 10 years:
Pass at 127 pounds, seven more than Dixie Chatter, Into Mischief and Pyro at
120.
assignment was 119.2 pounds.
a Triple Crown race (Union Rags, Lookin at Lucky, Street Sense), three
others won graded stakes, and three others were Grade 1-placed.
for the male division account for 48 horses. That group of 48 has produced
seven winners of Triple Crown races — Union Rags, Lookin at Lucky, Super
Saver, Street Sense, Afleet Alex, Giacomo, Birdstone — and eight other
Grade 1 winners, including 2004 Kentucky Derby runner-up Lion Heart.
winners, including Creative Cause, who was third in the 2012 Preakness.
year’s high weight, 27 won graded stakes as three-year-olds. Only 10 of the
48 did not at least place in a graded race at three.
were not rated on the Experimental Free Handicap.
years: Rags to Riches, the 2007 Belmont Stakes winner, was not rated among
females in 2006 and Rachel Alexandra, the 2009 Preakness winner, was rated
at 116 pounds in 2008.
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