Culprit, Notability part of Romans’ strong juvenile team
After an uncharacteristically slow start following his first Eclipse Award
season as a trainer, Dale Romans gained momentum in the second half of 2013
largely on the strength of promising young horses in his barn.
The Louisville native hopes to expand
on that success when he saddles Donegal Racing’s Culprit in Saturday’s 87th
running of the Grade 2, $150,000 Kentucky Jockey Club. The 1
1/16-mile race for two-year-olds is the co-feature with the Grade 2, $150,000 Golden
Rod for two-year-old fillies on the “Stars of Tomorrow II” program that
closes out the 25-day Fall Meet.
Culprit, a son of 2007 Kentucky Derby
winner Street Sense, comes into the Kentucky Jockey Club off a one-mile maiden
victory at Churchill Downs on October 27. He defeated a pair of Kentucky Jockey
Club rivals in that race in runner-up Notability, a Romans trainee for Calumet
Farm who runs in Saturday’s race off that lone start, and Tapiture, who had
finished a close third to the Romans-trained, Donegal-owned Cleburne in
Churchill Downs’ Iroquois in his previous start.
“The beginning of the year at
Gulfstream was normal as we were getting ready for the spring and summer, but as
soon as we got up here a lot of horses got sick and it really put a damper on
the year,” Romans said. “But the fall has been good and the two-year-olds have
stepped up.
“Last year at the yearling sales we
bought a bunch of big, strong colts that looked like they could go a route of
ground and looked like they could be (Kentucky) Derby contenders. Now we’re just
sorting them out and seeing where they end up.”
Romans said that Culprit is a colt
that represents the trainer’s year in a microcosm. His win came in his third
start, following a third-place finish behind the Anita Cauley’s
well-regarded Wry in a September maiden race at Churchill Downs and a
seventh-place finish to Poker Player in the off-the-turf Bourbon Stakes at Keeneland.
“He came into us a little bit weedy
and not quite as developed as we thought he would be when we bought him as a
yearling,” Romans said. “We thought he was one of our best, but it took him a
while to get his feet under him. But by the time late summer rolled around he
had really rounded into form. He’s one of my best and a horse that I think has a
huge future if he just continues to improve.”
Notability, a son of English Channel
bred by Calumet Farm owner Brad Kelley’s Bluegrass Hall LLC, finished just a
half-length behind Culprit in their October 27 race.
“If he’d finished two jumps ahead and
beat Culprit, he’d look like a real contender and not a maiden,” Romans said.
“We decided to take a shot with him. He’s the first horse I’ve had for Mr.
Kelley, but he seems to be the type of guy who likes to take a shot if you think
you’ve got a chance.”
Romans expects big things in
Donegal’s Cleburne and Smart Cover, who were separated by a neck in their
one-two
finish in the 1 1/16-mile Iroquois on September 7. Cleburne shipped to Santa Anita
for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile after securing the “Win and You’re In” bid
available in the Iroquois, but a shin issue forced Romans to scratch the Dixie
Union colt on the eve of the race.
Smart Cover, a son of Any Given
Saturday, has not run since the Iroquois because of similar issues.
“They both came up with shins,”
Romans said. “Smart Cover returns to training next week, and Cleburne won’t be
far behind.”
Another 2-year-old that remains high
of Romans’ list of possible future stars is Spendthrift Farm’s Medal Count, a
son of Dynaformer that, like Cleburne and Smart Cover, scored his first career
win at Ellis Park. Medal Count won in his racing debut, then finished fifth in
the Bourbon. Romans thought so highly of the colt
that he sent him to Santa Anita for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, where he
finished 11th of 13 behind the victorious New Year’s Day.
He has no explanation for Medal
Count’s dull effort in the Breeders’ Cup — a race he calls a “head-scratcher”
—
but Romans has lost no faith in the colt.
“If Medal Count doesn’t turn out to
be a good horse, it’ll be the most wrong I’ve ever been about a horse,” Romans
said. “He just does everything so easy. It doesn’t matter what it is — his works
or his gallops. He’s got the pedigree, the looks and the size — he’s the total
package for a good horse.”
Medal Count has had one work at
Churchill Downs since the Breeders’ Cup, but he was not nominated to the
Kentucky Jockey Club and Romans said he never considered the colt for the race.
“I thought I’d take it easy with
him,” Romans said. “I’ll take him to Florida and maybe run him on the grass, and
kind of start over with him down there.”
Along with his pair in the Kentucky
Jockey Club, Romans has 15 2-year-olds entered on Saturday’s “Stars of Tomorrow
II” closing day card.
“I feel pretty good about moving
forward,” he said.
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