Cazadero was a good horse when he went through the ring at the 2022 Keeneland April Horse of Racing Age Sale, but it was clear he could use a change of surroundings.
The son of Street Sense got off to a blazing start as a 2-year-old, winning on debut by 8 3/4 lengths in May at Churchill Downs, then running off with the Grade 3 Bashford Manor Stakes at the same track a month later for owner/breeder Stonestreet Farm and trainer Steve Asmussen.
Cazadero remained competitive as a 3-year-old in 2021, but he never quite found the same shine as he entered his 4-year-old season.
Intentions for a racehorse can vary from horse to horse, and from owner to owner, and sometimes, a horse with plenty of run left in him is entered in a racing age sale because he no longer fits the perceived window for certain time-sensitive races or to make a likely stallion prospect.
For $50,000, Fergus Galvin, acting as agent for owner Marc Detampel, was willing to take that bet at the Keeneland April sale that Cazadero still had some run left in him. After some time off, Cazadero was placed in the barn of trainer Brendan Walsh.
“If they've got some back form, it's always good, and you want to find a horse that's relatively sound and relatively fresh,” Walsh said. “The horse was still lightly raced.”
Whether it's a new 2-year-old or a horse from another barn, there is always an adjustment period when a horse enters a new trainer's program. When it comes to learning a horse with prior racing history, Walsh said knowing the barn they came from helps, but ultimately, each horse has their own discovery process.
“You've just got to try to figure him out yourself,” he said. “He came from a top barn, and you see if there's a way that you can bring him back to his old form, and thankfully, we did initially.”
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If you appreciate our work, you can support us by subscribing to our Patreon stream. Learn more.Cazadero reemerged at Saratoga Race Course the summer after going through the ring at Keeneland, finishing third in an allowance optional claiming race.
Then, Cazadero headed north to contest the G2 Nearctic Stakes at Woodbine – his first graded stakes start since his 2-year-old season.
After holding back to last from the outside post, jockey Patrick Husbands kept Cazadero at the back of the pack while still several lengths wide heading into the turn of the six-furlong turf race. He was still well behind the rest of the field heading into the stretch, but Husbands swung his mount eight wide and rocketed down the straightaway to win by 2 1/4 lengths.
“He was a nice horse,” Walsh said. “He had some good back form, which is always good to see when you're trying to buy a horse that's moving along in age. We decided we'd take a shot on him, and thankfully it paid off in the Nearctic.”
After the victory at Woodbine, Detampel took on new partners on the horse – Galvin, Qatar Racing, and Barry Clohessy – and pointed toward the G1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. Then, the horse took his game to a global scale, starting his 2023 campaign with a start in the G1 Al Quoz Sprint on the Dubai World Cup card.
“We went to the Breeders' Cup with him, we went to Dubai with him, and we didn't do too good in either, but when you've got a horse that can legitimately show up to those kind of races, it's fun for everybody, and that's what it's all about,” Walsh said.
A year after selling at the Keeneland April sale, Cazadero is once again entered in this year's Keeneland April sale, set to take place Sunday, April 30. He is cataloged as Hip 14.
Walsh said the horse might not necessarily go through the ring on Sunday, but if his team decides another change of surroundings would be beneficial, an opportunity is on the table.
“We haven't totally committed to it yet, but we put him in there as an option,” he said. “He's still a very nice horse and a very sound horse, so we'll make a final decision closer to the time.”
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