A Weekend at Santa Anita - Part One

Photo ©Tom Hyland

Being a racing fan living in Chicago in January can be a bit depressing. The wintry conditions don't allow for a local meet, so you have to watch races on the internet (or at an OTB). Or you can do what I did and get out of the cold and snow and head to Santa Anita in beautiful Arcadia, California.

Anyone who follows thoroughbred racing knows Santa Anita, so there's no need for me to write much. I'll just let my images do the talking.

Mike Smith in the paddock before Sunday's 5th race (Photo ©Tom Hyland)

Final few strides of Saturday's 7th race (Photo ©Tom Hyland)

Bob Baffert in the paddock before Saturday's 5th race (Photo ©Tom Hyland)

 Is there a more beautiful setting for a thoroughbred track? (Photo ©Tom Hyland)

A special thank you to Mike Willman and Debbie Olsen at Santa Anita for their cooperation and courtesy.

Baffert's Latest Star

Midnight Hawk, Mike Smith up, on the track before the Sham Stakes (Photo ©Tom Hyland)

Now that the calendar has turned a page and we're in January, Derby fever has begun in earnest. At Santa Anita this past weekend, the first in a series of Derby trials - the Sham Stakes at a distance of one mile on the main track - was held. 

Of course, you can't have a Derby trail in Southern California without Bob Baffert, who routinely seems to have three or four valid candidates for an appointment at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May. That's true again this year, even after Baffert's best young horse, the Breeders' Cup-winning New Year's Day had to be retired due to injury. 

He's got a few colts lined up; Chitu, who is 2 for 2, Tap It Rich (who has been acting up in his races), The Admiral and Icy Ride, who are both 0 for 2, but have run in two very tough maiden races (The Admiral was third to Chitu in his debut, while both horses were defeated by Cool Samurai from the John Shirreffs barn in a December 27 maiden race), and now, Midnight Hawk. The son of Midnight Lute, who won the Breeders' Cup Sprint twice for Baffert and owner Mike Pegram (Pegram is co-owner and breeder of Midnight Hawk), Midnight Hawk is out of the Wolf Power mare Miss Wineshine. Other co-owners of the horse include Mike Tice, currently offensive line coach of the Atlanta Falcone, Joel Queneville, head coach of the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks and his assistant coach Mike Kitchen.

Trainer Bob Baffert with co-owner Mike Tice in the paddock (Photo ©Tom Hyland)

This was the second race for Midnight Hawk; his first was impressive, to say the least. On December 13 at Hollywood Park, he broke slowly, but soon gained momentum and swept by the other five horses in the field, winning this 7 and 1/2 furlong race by a resounding 6 and1/4 lengths in 1:29.1. Baffert had fitted the horse with blinkers for that race, but removed them for the Sham, as he believed the horse wanted to show speed. His decision was a wise one, as Midnight Hawk went with Kristo, a John Sadler-trained colt to the front in this two-turn mile. The horses stayed on even ground for much of the race, with each taking the lead at some point, but when Mike Smith asked Midnight Hawk for more at the top of the lane, the horse took command, charging home for a 1 and 3/4 lengths victory. 

Photos ©Tom Hyland

So Midnight Hawk is on the Derby trail, but before anyone gets too excited, let's note that he only beat three maiden winners in this race; also the final time of 1:36.48 was hardly earth-shattering. Still the horse has done everything asked of him in his brief career to date and given that Baffert is his conditioner (he has won the Kentucky Derby three times), you certainly has to like his chances on the road to Louisville.

Ten Memorable Moments from Thoroughbred Racing in America in 2013

The start of the 7th race at Hollywood Park on December 21, the next-to-last day of racing ever at this historic track. (Photo ©Tom Hyland)

Here are my ten most memorable moments in thoroughbred racing in 2013. Most happened on the track, but not all.

1) Wise Dan wins the Breeders' Cup Mile - OK, this was hardly an upset as I'm sure that most bettors who played the Pick Six on Breeders' Cup Saturday probably singled Wise Dan on their tickets. After all, he had won this same turf race at the same track (Santa Anita) the previous year. So why is this number one for me in 2013? Well, it's the way he won the race, stumbling out of the gate and them getting fanned four or five-wide in the stretch before finally rallying to defeat a stubborn ZA Approval and eight others. Great athletes perform at their finest in the biggest moments, and Wise Dan did so brilliantly at the past two runnings of this race. He is a cinch as Horse of the Year.

2) Mucho Macho Man wins the Breeders' Cup Classic - You could certainly make an argument for this being the number one moment of 2013; it was undeniably the most heartwarming. How nice to see Mucho Macho Man win this race after doing everything but win the 2012 revival; he was defeated by a half-length by Fort Larned in that race. But he made up that distance in this year's classic - plus a nose, by narrowly holding off Will Take Charge, who made a furious run in the final eighth of a mile. In so doing, Mucho Macho Man made Kathy Ritvo the first woman trainer to win the Breeders' Cup Classic. It was also the first winning ride by Gary Stevens in this race; Stevens also won the Distaff the previous day in the Breeders' Cup.

3) Oxbow wins the Preakness - This was not just about the horse, winning this second leg of the Triple Crown in front-running style. No, this was also about two great veterans - trainer D. Wayne Lukas and jockey Gary Stevens recapturing some previous glory in this race. Oxbow would be retired before year's end, but on this day, he was in superb form thanks to a great job of training by Lukas, who won his sixth Preakness; Stevens who rode a flawless race, captured his third Preakness. This was a treat for anyone who's followed thoroughbred racing for even just a few years.

4) Palace Malice wins the Belmont - This is a tribute to three individuals: the horse itself, jockey Mike Smith and owner Cot Campbell. Palace Malice had shown a lot of promise previously, but had never been able to put everything together until this race. He had just missed capturing the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland in April when he ran a bit green in deep stretch; in the Kentucky Derby, Smith took him to the lead, running suicidal fractions. Trainer Todd Pletcher equipped the colt with blinkers in that race, but never again. Palace Malice and Smith were ready for the Belmont, as he laid just off the pace and then swept by Oxbow at the top of the stretch in most convincing fashion. As for Campbell, the founder of Dogwood Stables and the man that revolutionized partnerships for owing thoroughbreds, this was his first classic victory since Summer Squall captured the Preakness in 1990. The fact that Campbell is slowing down his daily work tag at Dogwood after all these years no doubt made this victory that much sweeter.

5) Will Take Charge wins the Travers - When this colt closed stoutly to finish second to Palace Malice in the Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga on July 27, you had a feeling that he would be a major factor in the Travers a month later at the Spa. Boy, was he ever! He again put on a furious rally in this race, just beating out front-running Moreno by a nose to capture the mid-Summer Derby. Luis Saez stamped his name as a top rider with this win (trainer D. Wayne Lukas noted the effort put forth by Saez). Lukas did a marvelous job with this horse, barely getting edged out from the win in the Breeders' Cup Classic and then just four weeks later to narrowly defeat Game on Dude in the Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs. The three-year old colt of 2013, no question.

6) Hollywood Park closes - Here was one of the saddest stories in American thoroughbred racing not just in 2013, but over the past several decades. One of the country's most history-rich tracks (it opened in 1938) with a list of winners ranging from Seabiscuit to Native Diver to Swaps, Affirmed, Cigar and of course, Zenyatta, this was the home of so many great races over the past seventy-five years. I might have ranked this higher on this list, but Southern California racing will survive just fine thanks to Santa Anita and Del Mar picking up most of the racing dates of Hollywood. So this may not be a disaster, but it is a heartbreaking moment for thoroughbred racing in America and it's something that never should have happened.

7) Mike Smith wins three Breeders' Cup races - At age 48, Smith gets better and better with time. Already the leading rider as far as Breeders' Cup victories coming into this year's event, he captured three more wins in the 2013 races with London Bridge in the Marathon and Outstrip in the Juvenile Fillies Turf on Friday and then Mizdirection in the Turf Sprint on Saturday. That brings his total of wins in Breeders' Cup races to 20; if anyone breaks that record, it won't be for a long time. Just a big-time money rider and in reality, one of the most consistent jockeys of the past twenty-five years; on top of that, he's also a great guy!

8) Orb wins the Kentucky Derby - Everyone remembers the winner of the Kentucky Derby, even if that horse doesn't go on to become the three year-old colt of the year or even if he doesn't win another race, as was the case with Orb in 2013. In fact, I might not have even mentioned this is it wasn't for his trainer, Shug McGaughey, one of America's most respected and beloved trainers of the past quarter century. This win was a long overdue one for Shug- congratulations!

9) Javier Castellano sets North American money earnings mark in a single season - Congratulations to Castellano, one of the game's finest riders, for breaking the record set by Ramon Dominquez just last year. Castellano quickly noted that a main reason for him setting the record was the fact that he rides in New York, where the purses are tremendous; classy move by this terrific reinsman.

10) Repeat Winners at the Breeders' Cup - Winning a Breeders' Cup race is a tremendous achievement for a horse or trainer, so what does that say about repeating? 2013 saw repeat wins from Wise Dan in the Mile (mentioned above at #1) as well as Groupie Doll in the Filly and Mare Sprint and in an incredible effort, Mizdirection in the Turf Sprint, a win made even more remarkable by the fact that the horse was coming off a layoff of nearly five months. Also quite notable was the three-peat performance of trainer Aidan O'Brien, who captured the Juvenile Turf for the third consecutive year, this time with Giovanni Boldini.