Distant Smoke, Over The Horizon

This week saw the passing of Cigar, one of the greatest North American thoroughbred racehorses of all-time and not just of recent vintage.  A grandson of 1977 Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew, in 1995-96 Cigar tied the North American record for 16-consecutive wins against top-notch fields, a record shared with 1948 Triple Crown winner Citation.

Full disclosure; I was not a big fan of Cigar.  

Not that, personally, I had anything against the horse or his connections.  I've always liked his trainer, Bill Mott.  But as has been well-documented here, I was/remain a massive fan of Holy Bull who was America's super horse immediately prior to the Cigar era and when the two finally squared off, in the 1995 Donn Handicap, an historic battle was shaping up on the backstretch when Holy Bull was stopped by a career-ending - but not fatal - injury.  Cigar went on to win the '95 Donn Handicap (and so much more) and I suppose that I was always a little resentful about the adulation poured on Cigar when, I believed, Holy Bull was better.  

Silly, right?

Yet feelings aside, there was always respect for the accomplishment's Cigar achieved.  And the accomplishments were many.  Quoting my favorite equine writer Steve Haskin from his Blood-Horse blog posting titled "Farewell to Cigar:"

The world loves perfection, and in 1995, Cigar was the epitome of perfection, as he travelled some 12 miles of racetrack real estate, covering nearly 10,000 miles by van and plane, while visiting six racetracks in six states.  Whether on fast, wet-fast, or muddy tracks, all Cigar's rivals saw of him were the black and gray streaks of his tail.  Among those inhaling Cigar's smoke were the winners of the 1995 Kentucky Derby, Belmont, Travers, Santa Anita Handicap, Pacific Classic, Whitney Handicap, and the Juddmonte International and Eclipse Stakes in England, as well as past winners of the Breeders' Cup Classic, Santa Anita Handicap, Pimlico Special, Hollywood Gold Cup, and Oaklawn Handicap.

Haskin's column is quite long.  Unless you're already a fan of Cigar or have a deep interest in horse racing, you may choose to skip the piece.

When Cigar retired he was (then) the richest thoroughbred racehorse in history, having won $9,999,815.

Yet for as much digital space as I've filled here with the professional exploits of Cigar, the purpose of this posting today isn't about winning races or wagering or handicapping.  While these are things I often write about, whenever possible I also try to present the other important, significant elements of thoroughbred horse racing that don't involve making money on bets, such as; the history on the sport, breeding, calling attention to the breath-taking settings of our best racetracks, the race day experience, etc.  The purpose of today's posting is to spotlight the emotional connection that is made with individual thoroughbred racehorses and, in particular - courtesy of Amanda Duckworth's column for ESPN.com titled "Rest easy, Cigar" - the heartbreak when a loved horse passes.

Roll the credits!

Faith & Begorrah; Irish Heritage Night @ GABP

As the 2014 season for the Cincinnati Reds slipped into a death spiral and postseason dreams were dashed, an unwelcome yet sadly familiar sight from the dark days of the Griffey Junior Era greeted me on the occasion of Irish Heritage Night at the ol' ball orchard:

The concession stands nearest my section of seats were closed.  It was a veritable ghost town.  With the kiddies back in school and temperatures/humidity levels being higher than at any point all summer long, fans stayed away in droves on this muggy Friday evening:

I hated to see this, mostly for my close personal friend Robert (he let's me call him "Bob") Castellini, the honorable principle owner of the Mighty Redlegs.  The big guy is doing just about everything he can to put a winning team on the field.  The Butcher of Porkopolis (aka Doc Hollywood) is the devil in this disastrous detail of dismal disappointment.  As rough as things had gotten on the field, it did not help matters that the crew working the scoreboard had given up on the season:

It's hard to discern in the photo above, but the guys in the scoreboard paired up Brandon Phillips name/stats with a photograph of Jay Bruce.  Next they paired up Brayan Pena's data with a photo of Kristopher Negron (below):

Annnnnd then they misidentified that night's opponent - the New York Mets - as "Chicago:"

Twice:

The Promotions Department deserve their own promotion for that night's giveaway:

A Mr Redlegs moustache affixed to a strand of green Mardi Gras-style beads.  

Jiggers!  There, I said it.  I can say it because I'm half Irish.

The Savior Jay Bruuuuuce was bathed in glorious light when the game started:

Alas, his teammates were not so righteous and they soon fell behind the Metropolitans.  I should have been tipped off, earlier, that things were not going to go well for the Redlegs that night when the musical fare at Frisch's (I had the Super Big Boy and fries and a vile non-Coca-Cola soft drink) was Halloween-themed.  Among the usual "Monster Mash" and assorted ubiquitous selections - including two from the Ghostbusters soundtrack (this and this) - I was subjected to the theme from the film Halloween (Please, I'm trying to eat here!) and a bizzaro world mash-up of The Doors' "Riders on the Storm" and Blondie's "Rapture" that goes a little something like this.  It nearly made me want to push away my Super Big Boy and go out into the parking lot in frustration and eat a Mercury.  Maybe a Subaru, too.

Fortunately, the music at the ballpark was much better that night.  Of course, the players' walk up music is unfailingly horrendous, but we loyal fans were treated to multiple popular - but standard - offerings from U2 and The Cranberries between innings, as well as a two rockin' selections from THE WHO (English music on Irish Heritage Night?  Faux pas.); "WGFA" during a lengthy replay and, oddly, the not-so-family-friendly opening verse to "5:15"   Apparently, the world has forgotten about The Chieftains.

I also witnessed Irishman Jack Hannahan's first RBI of the 2014 season.  Jack is one guy who knows how to wear his uniform (playing first base, below):

The red socks with green uniform evidently caused some disagreement among the faithful.  I approve of this combination for the Redlegs.  Alone among so much awful walk-up music that Reds players inflict upon their fans these days, Jack Hannahan's choice of music is but one of two examples that I approve (the other being Ryan Ludwick's "Brass Monkey").

That Friday night game coincided with National Cheese Pizza Day.  Thus, I indulged:

A slice of Buddy LaRosa's finest.

Speaking of food.....  I savagely consumed my Super Big Boy and fries at 4pm that afternoon.  The glacial pace of pounding that the Mets applied to the Reds was deceptive to my appetite.  I found myself becoming famished during the 4th inning but, I thought to myself, it's too early for me to be this hungry again.  I then realized that it was 9pm..... with another 5 innings to slog through.  On the drive home after the Friday Night Fireworks presented by Rozzi's, I was again feeling hongray.  I checked my watch.  It was midnight already.  I hit up the Steak n' Shake drive thru for a chocolate shake.  These are the wages of interminably lopsided ball games.

14-5.  The Metropolitans pounded out nearly 20 hits.  Coulda been worse; the Mets left 13 runners on base.

Wait a minute?  Did somebody say fireworks?  I know what you're thinking;  I haven't yet figured out the night settings on my Android Galaxy S9000 and so I did not capture any decent photos of the fireworks.  Aha!  In this, you are mistaken!

Afterward, the ballpark was bathed in an ethereal half-light.

Roll the credits!

Weekend Follow-Up; The Free Money Express

In case you were too busy this weekend discovering a cure for the common cold or collecting your Nobel Peace Prize you may have missed the Free Money Express roll to victory again this past Saturday at Keeneland.  Wise Dan is a phenomenon and I hope you've taken time to appreciate how rare and exceptional he is.  You can read about his effort in the Shadwell Turf Mile here.  In all probability - and horse racing is largely about probabilities - he has one more race in him when he returns next month to Santa Anita for the Breeders' Cup Mile and then it will be off to retirement for the defending two-time Horse of the Year.

Sunday at the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe also saw history being made when the defending winner, the 4-year old filly Treve, raced to the wire for her first victory in 2014.  Finding a suitable YouTube video replay for the Arc is difficult.  This is the best I could find on short notice.  Here is the Blood-Horse report, it includes the French-language video replay.  The best jockey in the world - Frankie Dettori - finished sixth aboard Ruler of the World.  Sixth in a field of twenty is like third in a field of ten, right?  Sacre bleu!

Next stop; the Breeders' Cup.

Roll the credits!

93rd Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe

The most significant horse race that is run outside of the United States, Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, will be televised live in this Sea-to-Shining-Sea country perhaps for the first time ever but certainly for the first time here at The Ranch.  Broadcast live from Longchamp Racecourse, along the banks of the River Seine in Paris, North American coverage of the event begins at 8am Eastern and continues until Noon on a little known Qatari-owned sports network calling itself beIN sports.  Check your local listings; set your DVR.

Each year the Arc, as we refer to it here, draws a large field of the best turf horses from around the globe and this year's 93rd edition is no exception.  Similarly, each year a few of the horses which compete in the Arc will make the trip across the pond to race in the Breeders' Cup.

The field has not yet been set for the Arc, but in scanning the pool of horses for which various English websites are taking bets, a few entrants stand out:

The best-bred horse (sired by Galileo [IRE] and out of Ouija Board [GB]) in the field would have been the colt named Australia (GB), a horse I wrote about here previously.  Australia, winner of this year's Epsom and Irish Derbies, is listed at 10-1 on a few sites but is being pointed toward running in the Champion Stakes at Ascot in mid-October.  This effectively rules him out of the Arc and, most likely, this year's Breeders' Cup.

The morning line favorite, at odds of 4-1, is a 3-year old British filly name Taghrooda.  The sire of Taghrooda is Sea the Stars (IRE).  Sea the Stars, half-brother to Galileo, had 8 wins in 9 lifetime starts including the Arc in 2009. The dam sire of Taghrooda is Sadler's Wells, a legendary turf sire.

At morning line odds of 8-1 is a Japanese entrant, Harp Star.  The sire of this 3-year old filly is Deep Impact (JPN), a winner of the Japanese triple crown in 2005.  The sire of Deep Impact was the great American horse Sunday Silence.  Written about here, often, in 1989 Sunday Silence won the Kentucky Derby, won the Preakness Stakes, finished second in the Belmont Stakes but then won that year's Breeders' Cup Classic.  In 14 lifetime starts Sunday Silence won nine and placed in the other five; he was never worse than second.  Sunday Silence was a favorite of mine, in no small part because my winning bets on him in those races led me, as a high school-aged kid, to my first highly profitable year at the race track.

Last year's winner of the Arc, the French filly Treve, is currently listed at odds of 10-1.  The sire of Treve is Motivator (GB), winner of the 2005 Epsom Derby.  This 4-year old filly suffered a minor setback recently, hence the longer odds on the defending champ.

The 3-year old filly Tapestry (IRE), another Galileo-sired entrant, is currently listed at 16-1 odds.

Yes, the Arc is open to both males and females - despite the impression I may have given you so far - and one for we Yankees to cheer on is a 3-year old colt named Teletext.  Bred in Kentucky, the sire of Teletext is Empire Maker, winner in 2003 of; the Florida Derby, the Wood Memorial and the Belmont Stakes.   As the winner of the 2003 Florida Derby, Empire Maker was my pick in that year's Kentucky Derby in which he finished second to Funny Cide.  I cashed the back half of a Win-Place wager on Empire Maker and cashed a big Exacta Box on Funny Cide-Empire Maker that paid $97.00 on a $2 wager (I'll let you guess at how much I had on that Exacta).  I then cashed another winning ticket on Empire Maker in the Belmont.  There have been 14 American-bred winners of the Arc, most recently in 2001.  You can currently get Teletext at odds of 20-1.  

While my heart might pull for the Kentucky-bred Teletext, my francs and pounds sterling would be placed - in the absence of Australia -  on a 4-year old colt named Ruler of the World (IRE).  Sired by Galileo, who is a very busy sire indeed, the dam sire of Ruler of the World is Kingmambo.  Kingmambo was bred in Kentucky, but raced in France, and his progeny are known to have tremendous stamina and to have an affinity for turf.  One son of Kingmambo was Lemon Drop Kid, winner of the 1999 Belmont Stakes.  Another son is Henrythenavigator, 6-2-1 in 10 lifetime starts - mostly on the turf in Ireland and England - including finishing second on the dirt in the 2008 Breeders' Cup Classic.  The current odds on Ruler of the World are 14-1 and with that you also get the greatest jockey in all the world, the Italian-born Lanfranco "Frankie" Dettori, himself a three-time winner of the Arc.

Roll the credits!

Derby Futures & The Free Money Express

This, from the It's Never Too Early To Think About Wagering On The Kentucky Derby file: Wynn Las Vegas opens its 2015 Kentucky Derby future odds.  By my (possibly errant) count, there are over 250 horses listed in this futures wagering pool.  By my (probably less errant) estimation, maybe five will stand in the starting gate at Churchill Downs for the 141st running of the Derby on May 2, 2015.

But that won't stop people from taking a chance.  

To better understand why, read "The future is a risky proposition" by Gary West for ESPN.com in which he explains it, in part, this way;  Some have to climb Mount Everest, not despite its "death zone" but because of it.  And some have to bet the Kentucky Derby futures, not in spite of its being the foolish thing to do but because of it.  Also writing for ESPN.com, back in January, Jay Cronley offered up a similar perspective when he wrote "Owning the future" regarding the 2014 Derby future pools.

At this stage in the game - with 250+ betting interests - I'm not going to invest the time to research each of their bloodlines, connections or limited races/workouts.  While I don't bet on horses for their names or colors or saddle cloth numbers, I did scan the listing for names that might stand out which could suggest particular sires that I might have an interest in betting.  One name in particular stood out so clearly it nearly knocked me off the couch: Holy Boss (at 125-1 odds).  Sired by Street Boss, a two-time Grade I winner, himself sired by a stallion named Street Cry (Street Cry was euthanized September 17th at the age of 16 due to a neurological condition).  Other horses sired by Street Cry are 2007 Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense [who I had to WIN; he was running in 19th position down the backstretch] and the filly Zenyatta (19 wins and a second-place finish in 20 lifetime starts).  The sire of Holy Boss' mother is... wait for it... Holy Bull.  I've written often, here, about my undying love for Holy Bull.  'Nuff said.  The knock on Holy Boss is that his bloodlines suggest he doesn't want to go the Derby distance of one and one-quarter miles.  And that he might like the turf more than the dirt.

A few other names that caught my eye; Far Right and Capitalism.  The horse with the most nominal appeal to me would be Entwistle.  Far Right hails from the Blue Grass state, but Capitalism and Entwistle each stand an infinitesimally small chance of winning as they were both bred in Ontario, Canada.  I like my power trios from Ontario, not my Derby winners.   The last foreign-bred colt to win the Kentucky Derby was Tomy Lee from Great Britain in 1959.  Another Brit won in 1917.  Thus ends the list of foreign-bred winners of the Kentucky Derby.

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As an aside, many things are up for conjecture but this is not; John Entwistle was the greatest bassist of all-time.

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And because you cannot have too many asides, here is another.  

You often hear about and/or read that Lexington, Kentucky is "the heart of horse country;" the more broad implication being that the Bluegrass State is, itself, horse country.  Here are some thoroughbred breeding statistics that reinforce this conceptualization, courtesy of this article from The Blood-Horse:

With the 2014 foaling season essentially completed there have been, through September 9th, as reported to The Jockey Club:

1,629 live foals in California
1,585 in Florida
1,037 in Louisiana
1,025 in New York
531 in New Mexico
514 in Pennsylvania
455 in Oklahoma
454 in Ontario, Canada
440 in Texas where everything is bigger except the number of potential Kentucky Derby winners.

The number in Ohio is top secret but believed to be more than 1.

In Europe the statistics are recorded in metric form so they are indecipherable.

In 2014, Kentucky produced 11,089 live foals. 

Here is another look at the most historic of all horse farms.  Calumet Farm neighbors Keeneland where you will find racing as it was meant to be.

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Wise Dan, aka The Free Money Express and a great-grandson of Secretariat, returns to his home turf (pun intended) at Keeneland on October 4th to run in the (Grade I) Shadwell Turf Mile.  Since July 4, 2011 Wise Dan has won 18 of 21 races yet in that span he's lost two of his three runnings in the Shadwell (finishing 2nd in 2013 [when heavy rains forced stewards to switch the race to the main track and off of the turf], 1st in 2012 and 4th in 2011).

October 4th is part of a spectacular Saturday of racing for Keeneland as it opens its Fall Meet that weekend.  On the card that day are five, count 'em - five, graded stakes races; the (G3) Woodford, the (G2) Thoroughbred Club of America, the (G1) First Lady, the (G1) Claiborne Breeders' Futurity and, of course, the (G1) Shadwell Turf Mile.  No other day during the Fall Meet at Keeneland offers as many graded stakes races. 

If you've never seen a truly great, legendary thoroughbred racehorse in person and if you've never been to Keeneland, might I suggest you take advantage of this confluence of history and pageantry to avail yourself of a rare, memorable opportunity.

If you cannot make it to scenic Keeneland on Saturday, NBCSN will broadcast the event from 4:30pm-6pm (check your local listings), and on Sunday the NBC mothership will broadcast from Keeneland two more graded stakes races between 5pm-6pm.

Steve Haskin, writing for The Blood-Horse, recently posted a column titled "A day in the life of Wise Dan" which takes you along behind the scenes at Saratoga, beginning at 4:50am, with Wise Dan on race day.  There are pictures for those who just like to look at horses (you know who you are).

Roll the credits!