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Making Claims: Submitting Eclipse Votes While Navigating The White-Haired Elephant In The Room

In “Making Claims,” Paulick Report bloodstock editor Joe Nevills shares his opinions on the Thoroughbred industry from the breeding and sales arenas to the racing world and beyond.

My Eclipse Awards ballot is shared publicly as a member of the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters' bloc of voters, so in the interest of transparency, I'll share how I filled it out, along with my reasoning for each category.

Let's address a big elephant in the room. I didn't vote for Bob Baffert in the trainer category. I also didn't vote for any horse that remained in Baffert's barn for the entire year, or anyone in the owner category that kept horses with him after the Derby positive, allowing for a reasonable amount of time to move horses out of his care.

Regardless of where one falls on spectrum of what he did, how much it did or didn't affect Medina Spirit's performance, and the degree to which he should be punished for it, it's clear that the lightning rod that Baffert has created for himself and the sport has been largely self-constructed. He called the press conference to announce the Derby positive himself, before any public regulatory announcement. He went on multiple national news programs on his own accord and created such bad narrative for the sport that it spun off at least two biting late-night show parodies. His drawn-out legal battles in front of boards and judges have furthered a culture in the sport that consequences can be evaded with enough lawyer power, and the cycle just seems to continue because of it.

The public's default emotion toward horse racing is distrust. One man is not solely responsible for this, but that one man's actions directly within the sport have been a driving force behind it. It's going to look really bad if Baffert hoists a trophy (or trophies) awarded by an industry vote, and I won't be the one to put it in his hands.

Furthermore, Baffert is allowed the funding and oxygen to continue this cycle in large part because his roster of owners keeps supplying him with horses, and they share in the blame for the public perception of the sport. I've written about this at length.

I've seen arguments that it's not fair to the horses to disqualify them because of their human connections, but those human connections are the ones that will receive the trophy, the acclaim, and the money that comes with having a champion. Eclipse Awards night will just be another Thursday for the horse, the same as the one next to them.

Now seems like a good time for my annual Eclipse ballot disclaimer…

If you think I'm off-base with any of my votes, just remember these two things: First, the voting is closed, so nothing I say here can swing any undecided voters. Second, back in 2011, one intrepid voter chose Drosselmeyer as champion turf male in a campaign where his lone start on grass was a seventh-place effort. No matter how much we might disagree on who should be placed where, please understand that someone out there will go further off the deep end than any of us could imagine and cancel me out.

Let's get on with it.

2-Year-Old Male
1. Jack Christopher
2. Gunite
3. Pappacap

Removing the Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner and a big chunk of the West Coast contingent due to the above restrictions made this division a lot harder to parse out. Jack Christopher got the nod here, both for the dominance of his wins and the strength of schedule. The Grade 1 Champagne Stakes boasted arguably the strongest 2-year-old field for a major race outside the Breeders' Cup, and the son of Munnings was never tested. It's a shame he got hurt before he could prove it against the best, but he might have already been the best.

The two sons of Gun Runner behind him were split by a hair, but I gave Gunite the runner-up spot based on his Grade 1 win in the Hopeful Stakes. Pappacap got close to that Grade 1 a couple times, including a runner-up in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, but I'd be hard-pressed to give an Eclipse to a horse that didn't have that win at the highest level.

2-Year-Old Female
1. Echo Zulu
2. Juju's Map
3. Pizza Bianca

One of the easier categories to sort out. Echo Zulu was the best in her class from the jump, and she was a driving force in sire Gun Runner's record-setting freshman season. Juju's Map solidified her status on the podium with her runner-up effort in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, and Pizza Bianca's strong campaign on the turf deserved a spot in the program.

3-Year-Old Male
1. Essential Quality
2. Hot Rod Charlie
3. Dr. Schivel

Essential Quality has been the cream of the crop since last year, and he continued to prove his class in 2021 with wins in the Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes, the G2 Blue Grass Stakes and Jim Dandy Stakes, and solid tries in the Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup Classic. Even in defeat, he never ran a true dud, and in victory, the Tapit colt lived up to every ounce of the hype he set up in his championship juvenile season. A deserving winner.

It was a broad division behind Essential Quality, but one that spent a lot of time beating each other up, making them hard to sort out. Hot Rod Charlie got the second spot for running a consistent campaign, getting his Grade 1 chip in the Pennsylvania Derby, and holding his own against older foes in the fall. Few contemporaries put together as complete a season as Hot Rod Charlie. You'll see why Dr. Schivel made the top three in a bit.

Where's Life Is Good? He had two graded wins against older rivals – the G2 Kelso and the G1 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile – but even if we remove the Baffert starts from his record, I didn't feel like his wins stood up against the top three. The Kelso win came against a depleted field of three rivals and the Dirt Mile wasn't loaded with killers, either. I couldn't get there with him on strength of schedule.

3-Year-Old Female
1. Malathaat
2. Clairiere
3. Search Results

Malathaat had this one pretty much in the bag before the Breeders' Cup Distaff, but finishing within a half-length of the winner in a blanket finish sealed the deal for the three-time Grade 1 winner. All five of the Curlin filly's starts last year were in Grade 1 contests, and none were shorter than 1 1/16 miles. The definition of class.

Clairiere's campaign was perhaps a little less consistent than that of Search Results, but she got the head up for second based on having a slightly more impressive graded stakes record, and for bringing her shoes to every dance. If Search Results had managed to get the better of Malathaat in their tight Kentucky Oaks battle, this list might look very different.

Older Dirt Male
1. Knicks Go
2. Maxfield
3. Art Collector

A slam dunk on top. Knicks Go set himself up as a potential division leader when he won the G1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational, and he overcame a mid-season swoon to secure that position with a fall campaign that saw the son of Paynter improve with every start on his way to an authoritative Breeders' Cup Classic triumph.

With one clear horse on top, figuring out the next ones in line proved challenging. Maxfield was something of a horse-for-course in 2021, going three-for-three at Churchill Downs including the G1 Clark Stakes, and one-for-four away from Louisville. However, he faced strong fields throughout the year and was never worse than a competitive third. Few in the division could hang their hat on a resume like that. Art Collector came to life once he was moved to the Bill Mott barn, and a win in a stacked G1 Woodward Stakes field helped him secure the third spot.

Older Dirt Female
1. Letruska
2. Shedaresthedevil
3. Ce Ce

Heading into the Breeders' Cup Distaff, the only way Letruska was in danger of being knocked off her perch was if Shedaresthedevil won with flair. Neither had their best day at Del Mar, so the order stayed the same.

As it stands, Letruska beat practically every serious horse in her division during a campaign that saw her win four Grade 1 races at four different tracks. Had the daughter of Super Saver won the Distaff with aplomb and a few other races were taken by outsiders, she could have ended up with the Horse of the Year trophy.

Shedaresthedevil won a pair of Grade 1s last year, and her lone defeat came against Letruska in the G1 Ogden Phipps Stakes, two starts after she beat Letruska in the G2 Azeri Stakes. She didn't entirely control her own Eclipse destiny heading into the Breeders' Cup, but she could have put herself in the hunt with a win. Like Dr. Schivel, you'll see why Ce Ce made the podium in a little while.

Male Sprinter
1. Dr. Schivel
2. Golden Pal
3. Jackie's Warrior

The kids are alright. All three of my finalists were 3-year-olds with a legitimate case at the top spot. Dr. Schivel ended up on top because of his ability to stand up to older foes throughout the season. Four of his five starts came against older opponents, including wins in the G1 Bing Crosby Stakes and G2 Santa Anita Sprint Championship Stakes, and a second by a nose in the Breeders' Cup Sprint where he looked like he had it won until the last half-jump. The Violence colt would have been the top contender as an older horse, but the fact that he did it when he didn't necessarily have to leave his division makes it all the more impressive.

The only dud Dr. Schivel threw came in the G1 Malibu Stakes, where he ran into a freak in Flightline, and he was wrapped up after a nightmare trip made it clear he wasn't going to receive a serious check. Nothing wrong with protecting the horse.

Golden Pal was by far the best turf sprinter in the country last year (and perhaps a bit more. Stick around), and his freak performance in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint might have been the most impressive effort of the weekend. If he'd have had one more start somewhere along the way, I'd have had to seriously consider putting him on top. It surprised me a bit that Jackie's Warrior ended up third on my ballot, considering he'd have been a fringe Horse of the Year contender with a win in the Breeders' Cup Sprint, but he lacked the bona fides against older horses like Dr. Schivel after finishing sixth at the Breeders' Cup, and Golden Pal got himself up to second with his own Breeders' Cup effort.

Female Sprinter
1. Ce Ce
2. Bella Sofia
3. Bell's the One

This one will probably end up going to Gamine, but Ce Ce toppling her in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint certainly made this process easier for my purposes. The Elusive Quality mare ran a consistently solid campaign through the season, and she took her show on the road, winning graded stakes races at Gulfstream Park, Santa Anita, and Del Mar, with a solid effort in Saratoga sandwiched in between.

Bell's the One could have improved her position with a strong Breeders' Cup, but in her absence, Bella Sofia had a Grade 1 win where he rival didn't in the Test.

Turf Male
1. Golden Pal
2. Colonel Liam
3. Smooth Like Strait

International horses took turns eating the turf male division's collective lunch throughout the year, but I tend to resist runners from outside our borders on top unless we truly have no better option. Fortunately, Golden Pal came through for us. The Uncle Mo colt's freakish Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint might have been the most dominant performance of the weekend, and he was just as disruptive facing older competition in the G2 Woodford Stakes a start earlier. I'd have liked his campaign to be a little longer, but when he did run on U.S. soil, he had no peer.

Colonel Liam was the best of the rest. Though his campaign was cut short, he won the division's first major heat in the G1 Pegasus World Cup Turf, and dead-heated for another Grade 1 score in the Turf Classic. Smooth Like Strait lost a lot more races than he won last year, but he was never more than a half-length behind the winner and never worse than third. Add in a Grade 1 win in the Shoemaker Mile, and the hard-luck horse did enough to deserve recognition.

Turf Female
1. War Like Goddess
2, Santa Barbara
3. Althiqa

Another one where the global horses cherrypicked a lot of the big races. War Like Goddess stayed hot from March to November, and if the English Channel filly had gotten the better of a blanket finish in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf, there would have been no question at all. That effort was enough to give her the duke, if by a slim margin.

The two horses behind her each came from overseas to win a pair of Grade 1 races as part of greater international campaigns. Santa Barbara and Althiqa had mirror-like domestic campaigns, but Santa Barbara got the nod for second for doing just a little more, both here and abroad.

Loves Only You seems to have been a popular choice in this division, but with just one U.S. start won by a slim margin, and several other viable candidates on the ballot, I didn't feel the need to flip the emergency “Goldikova” switch.

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Steeplechase
1. Abstain
2. Abstain
3. Abstain

I can already feel the performative social media fury bubbling up. Listen, I watched more jai-alai matches this year than steeplechase races (the Langhans brothers are the future of jai-alai in America, especially Benny).

My reasoning remains the same as last year: I abstain out of respect. Nothing in my job requires me to take even a passive interest in the steeplechase races. I know none of the players, the races are often held at venues I'm not familiar with in terms of geography or esteem, and I'm not aware of the unwritten class system that can separate one Grade 1 race from another (like how winning the Kentucky Derby means more than winning the Malibu Stakes). It's an entirely different culture.

If a group of basketball writers were brought in to decide the Eclipse Awards, people would erupt, and rightfully so. It would be disrespectful to the hard work done by an entire industry to have someone outside the circle decide who among them was the best. That's why I leave the steeplechase division to the people who know what they're doing, and don't let my uninformed vote interfere with that. Someone will get a trophy whether I vote or not.

Owner
1. Godolphin
2. Klaravich Stables
3. Peter Brant

Godolphin earned more than twice as much as next-closest Klaravich Stables last year, and its 11 Grade 1 victories was nearly as many as the next three contenders combined. The blue team went bonkers during the Breeders' Cup, and Essential Quality brought home the Belmont Stakes and the Travers.

Klaravich Stables was often the next-closest rival in the big statistical categories, driven by its usual dominance of the East Coast turf races. If Klaravich didn't win those races, Peter Brant often did.

Breeder
1. Godolphin
2. Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings
3. Angie Moore

Godolphin obliterated the breeder standings with many of the same horses that helped it obliterate the owner standings. They won with local-born heroes like Essential Quality and Mystic Guide, while their foreign-born horses ran roughshod over the Breeders' Cup. An international powerhouse operating at full strength.

Stonestreet had the kind of year that would have won the trophy in a lot of other seasons, led by top sophomore fillies Malathaat and Clairiere. Angie Moore, the breeder of Knicks Go, makes the list for doing the most with the least, posting only six starters this season as a breeder, and having one of them happen to be the best horse in training.

Jockey
1. Joel Rosario
2. Flavien Prat
3. Luis Saez

Joel Rosario has been overdue for one of these for a long time, and he probably should have won it back in 2013 when he seemed to be winning everything he entered during the first half of the year. As it stands, he rode the best older horse in the game (Knicks Go), the best 2-year-old filly in the game (Echo Zulu), and the best 3-year-old filly in the game (Malathaat). He led all North American jockeys by earnings and graded wins, he won a pair of Breeders' Cup races, and he had over 1,000 starts, meaning he got on more than just the elite stock. Give the man his flowers.

Flavien Prat's 11 Grade 1 wins were the most of any North American rider in 2021, and his herculean effort to win with a broken rein aboard Dr. Schivel in the G1 Bing Crosby Stakes was the kind of showcase effort that proves it was more than just compiling stats on the West Coast. Luis Saez was the first-call rider for Godolphin's top domestic-born runners, helped turn Art Collector into a top-tier horse in the handicap division, and with over 1,500 starts, he put in the kind of schedule most of his peers at the top of the jockey pecking order couldn't come close to matching.

Apprentice Jockey
1. Jessica Pyfer
2. Alexis Centeno
3. Joree Scriver

It's not easy for a young rider to stand out on the ultra-competitive Southern California circuit, but this year's class had two that made an impact.

Jessica Pyfer led all apprentice jockeys by earnings in 2021, and she was second by wins. She was always on the fringe of the top ten by wins at each of the circuit's major meets, highlighted by a sixth-place finish during Santa Anita's elite winter/spring meet, where she rode against some of the best in the country. She also made noise at the highest levels, earning a Grade 2 placing aboard Road Rager in the Great Lady M Stakes at Los Alamitos.

Alexis Centeno lost his bug in mid-August, but he made his time count, finishing 12th in the standings during Santa Anita's winter/spring meet, and riding well in California and the Midwest. He also hooked an incredibly live mount in Brickyard Ride, who he guided to a win in the G2 San Carlos Stakes and a second in the G3 Kona Gold Stakes. Joree Scriver is a little off the beaten path, but she won meet titles at Grants Pass Downs and the Elko County Fair, finished in the top 10 during a long meet at Turf Paradise, and won four stakes races last year. It's hard for an apprentice rack up wins and earn a meet title anywhere, but to do it against the wily veterans of the bullring circuit requires a special kind of toughness.

Trainer
1. Brad Cox
2. Todd Pletcher
3. Chad Brown

Brad Cox's barn continued to get bigger and better in 2021, leading all trainers by earnings, tying for the lead by Grade 1 wins, and finishing fourth by total wins. He took home the Breeders' Cup Classic, the Belmont Stakes, the Travers, the Haskell and the Pegasus World Cup Invitational, among many others. Heck, he might even end up with last year's Kentucky Derby trophy on his mantle sometime in the distant future.

Todd Pletcher nosed out Chad Brown for the most graded wins in 2021, he saddled Life Is Good to a win in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, and he'll have the likely 3-year-old champion filly in Malathaat. Chad Brown did what Chad Brown does best and dominated the East Coast's turf races.

Horse of the Year
1. Knicks Go
2. Essential Quality
3. Letruska

There was only one true choice here. Knicks Go won when it mattered, beat everyone he needed to beat, and even his quasi-slump in the middle of the year only saw him finish fourth at worst. Once he ran off in the Breeders' Cup Classic, it was all over.

Essential Quality was consistently elite throughout the year in the biggest races, and if Knicks Go had been erased from the face of the earth, I'd feel confident giving him the Horse of the Year trophy.

Oh, what could have been for Letruska. If she'd have won the Distaff and chaos reigned in the Classic, she could have very well ended up with the golden statue after a dominant campaign up to that point in arguably the deepest division we've got. Unfortunately, a white-hot pace fizzled her chances in the Distaff and any hope of the top spot here. Still, the conversation of racing in 2021 involves this mare, and she belongs at the table.

The post Making Claims: Submitting Eclipse Votes While Navigating The White-Haired Elephant In The Room appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The A-B-C’s – As In Ce Ce – Of An Eventful Year For Victor Espinoza

Not long after 2021 got started, Victor Espinoza chose to take a hiatus from his Hall of Fame riding career to be with his ailing mother in Mexico.

He returned, about two months later, to the realization that “I had no business, basically.”

Six years after guiding American Pharoah to a Triple Crown sweep that ended a 37-year span without such a champion, Espinoza found himself sitting out the entire series, watching from Santa Anita or his homes in Arcadia and Del Mar, while riding “two or three horses a week.”

He managed six wins from only 33 mounts at Del Mar's summer meeting – a far cry from the 51, 53 and 64 in winning riding titles here in 2000, 2006 and 2007. Half the number of victories he recorded in winning the title for the track's inaugural Bing Crosby Season in 2014.

Summer turned to fall and his mother, Gloria, who had suffered back fractures in a fall in late 2020, passed away.

“She was 92 and had a good, long life, but you're never ready for something like that,” Espinoza said. “Mentally, I thought I was ready, but I was not. It was very hard for me, like it is for anyone who loses a parent.

“But life has to go on. So I focused on my job, knowing the Breeders' Cup was coming up.”

And the 38th Breeders' Cup World Championships, the second to be hosted by Del Mar, would provide Espinoza an opportunity to roar in what had, to that point, the look of a “Lion In Winter,” year for him.

Espinoza, 49, guided Ce Ce, a 5-year-old Bo Hirsch homebred daughter of Elusive Quality trained by Michael McCarthy, to a 2 ½-length victory in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, upsetting 2/5 favorite Gamine. It was the fourth Breeders' Cup win for Espinoza, his first since completing American Pharoah's 2015 tour de force in the Breeders' Cup Classic.

Espinoza said he woke up the morning of the race feeling prepared, just like he has many times before on big race days in his 30-year-career. “(Ready to) show what I've learned over the years …that I can still ride and that I'm still one of the best at what I do.”

He's not one to study past performances hard and long, but said he looked at the other four entrants in the paddock and considered Ce Ce to be a standout. And at the end of the seven-furlong run she had proven him correct.

“The first quarter it's kind of hard to judge how fast the horses were going,” Espinoza said. “I thought the pace was decent, but not what I wanted. So, I wanted to be a little closer to the front and I moved my hands just a little, not much, to encourage Ce Ce forward.

“I figured if I hit the three-eighths within two or three lengths, Ce Ce was going to have plenty of energy coming home. From watching races earlier I figured the track was a little better in the middle than on the rail and went there (five paths wide) turning into the stretch.

“Ce Ce was so quick and full of energy that in no time we were in front and I was like, 'Wow, keep going, this is fun.' ”

Espinoza had been aboard the mare for 10 of her last 12 starts before the Filly & Mare Sprint, five on each side of trips to Kentucky in September and November of 2020, where John Velazquez took over fourth and fifth-place finishes in Grade I events, the latter to champion Monomoy Girl in the Breeders' Cup Distaff at Keeneland.

“We got sidetracked last year at the end of the summer and Victor missed a couple rides on her,” McCarthy said. “She still ran reputably, she still ran well. But Victor gets along with her the best of any and it was a fantastic ride in the Breeders' Cup.”

Espinoza reflects on his eventful 2021 with a perspective forged from three decades at his chosen profession and – through last Sunday according to Equibase statistics – 22,647 mounts, 3,458 wins and purse earnings of more than $206 million.

“(Being) down at the first of the year was not a big deal because I've been there before,” he said. “There are a lot of ups and downs being a jockey. When things are going right, it's easy to motivate yourself. When they're not, you still have to think big – then if you accomplish even half of your goal, you're doing well.

“I knew (coming back) I have a group of trainers and owners who have always supported me, who continue to support me and I'll always be there for them.”

All with good reason. Espinoza has been on the backs of many, many good horses. He won a Kentucky Derby and Preakness on War Emblem in 2002. He did it again a dozen years later on the mercurial California Chrome, who he partnered with through two Horse of the Year campaigns. Then he was on top of the world in the wake of American Pharoah in 2015. He was a guest on major network daytime and late night shows and did a mercifully brief stint on “Dancing With The Stars” among many appearances.

Did he enjoy his time as a celebrity outside racing?

“Yes and no,” Espinoza said. “Being in the public eye and getting the attention is fun. But it's hard because it's not really much of a life. Your schedule is completely broken there's so much to do. For a while, I didn't have a full day to be at home and relax. I barely had time to get home and take a nap. Sometimes it's nice to have a life and do whatever you want.”

Would he do it all again?

“It would be a challenge, but if I found the right horse, absolutely. I know it would only last for a short time, not years and years in my case.”

Three years after American Pharoah, Espinoza came perilously close to a paralyzing injury in a workout spill at Del Mar. He made a remarkable comeback and within seven months was winning races again. Stakes victories aboard Astronaut for John Shirreffs in the Del Mar Handicap during the summer meeting and Ce Ce in the Breeders' Cup were Nos. 106 and 107 for Espinoza, third on the track's all-time list, and only one behind second-place Corey Nakatani. Ten of the stakes victories have been achieved since returning from injury in 2019.

He once was the youngster in a Del Mar jockey colony that featured veterans Laffit Pincay, Jr., Chris McCarron and Eddie Delahoussaye. Hall of Famers all, who retired from racing at ages 57, 47 and 52, respectively. Only McCarron did so of his own volition, not upon doctors' advice after an injury.

Next summer at Del Mar, Espinoza will be 50 and sharing a room with Hall of Famers Mike Smith, 57, Kent Desormeaux, 52, and a bunch of riders who are, more or less, half their age.

“For sure they (young riders) remind me of myself when I first came up here with the big goals and trying to be the best and beat the best I could,” Espinoza said. “Nobody knows what's in the future, so I don't know how long I'm going to ride. When I was doing the (TV circuit) I talked to some retired baseball players about (ending) careers and they said the time comes and there's a feeling you get inside.

“But right now, I feel great, I'm excited and I'm still looking forward to riding horses that have a chance to win. That's what I'm here for.”

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Ce Ce’s Success the Perfect Memorial

It had looked as though she had missed her cue. If the notoriously random behaviors of the Thoroughbred were really governed by some benign destiny, Ce Ce (Elusive Quality) would surely have recognized her prompt last year in the Grade I race named for the father of her owner-breeder Bo Hirsch. As it was, she was jostled leaving the gate in the Clement L. Hirsch S., took a wide trip and had to make do with third. So there you had it. We couldn't deceive ourselves that anybody up there was peering down with a Hollywood script in his hands.

How wrong we were, how gloriously wrong. For it turned out that Ce Ce's defining moment had been reserved for the arrival at the same track of the Breeders' Cup itself, when her shock success in the GI Filly & Mare Sprint saluted the memory of the man who bred her dam–and remains cherished as the modern architect of our sport in California. So it's no different from the movies: the best scripts aren't glib and schmaltzy, but true to life. Without moments of disappointment on the way, there would be no true fulfilment in the denouement.

“I do admit that to have won the Clement L. Hirsch would, for me, have been like winning the Kentucky Derby,” Hirsch says. “And I hope someday I'm lucky enough to win that race. But this was as good a day as I ever had in my life, one I'll never forget, and it's still soaking in. I can't tell you the amount of calls and emails I've had since. The whole experience was just wonderful: all these people coming up and rooting for you, Chris the barber at the track wearing a Ce Ce hat. Like most people, I thought no one was going to beat Gamine (Into Mischief) if she ran her race. But you know, it's a horse race. And I was full of hope that it might set up for Ce Ce to give her best shot.”

Whether by happy accident or thoughtful design, Hirsch found himself observing the race in a box adjacent to his trainer Mike McCarthy. Afterwards, McCarthy said that down the stretch he had “watched” Ce Ce's finish through his patron's expression, and judging from its growing euphoria what must be happening out there.

And if the celebrations brought together other joyous strands, notably the comeback of veteran rider Victor Espinoza, then there was no mistaking the principal toast. For Del Mar would not be Del Mar without the selfless dynamism and integrity of Hirsch's father, who was also the rock on which was founded the Oak Tree meet at Santa Anita.

“I felt his presence there,” admitted Hirsch. “I'm 72 years old, and I've been coming here for 72 years. My father would always rent a house on the beach, we'd come down during the summer and I loved it. It was my second home, and it still is.”

Among the messages of congratulations received by Hirsch, few moved him more than one from a stalwart of the Californian Turf, Alan Balch, who recalled the time he was going to leave Oak Tree. It felt like they had achieved everything they could hope for: the Breeders' Cup for 1984; 86,000 people at the Big 'Cap; the Olympics. Balch felt it was time to move on.

But then Hirsch's father found out, and there was his head around his office door one day: very serious, shuts the door, asks if he might sit down. What kind of pay hike, he asked, would change his mind? “I'll get it for you,” he said. “You're worth it.”

“That's the kind of guy he was,” reflects Hirsch. “I remember him starting the Oak Tree meet, back in '69, and he had to go and get approval by the Governor. And the late Dr. Jack Robbins told me one day how they went in to see [Santa Anita chairman] Robert Strub to try and get this thing finalized. And at the end of the meeting Strub says, 'You know, we could lose $2 million, $3 million, $4 million if this doesn't work out.' And those were 1969 dollars! And my father looked at him and says, 'You're covered.' And Strub says, 'Let's do it.' No contract. That's just the reputation my father had. His word was golden.”

What makes Ce Ce so special, then, is that she represents such a direct legacy to this cherished patriarch.

“My father was at the track one day when they had the [2-year-old] sale on,” Hirsch explains. “And he just walked in and there was Mel Stute, whose brother Warren was his trainer for 48 years. And he said, 'Clement, bid on this colt–he's out of my range, but bid on him, he's worth the money!' So my father turned around and bid, and 30 seconds later he owned this colt.”

Named Magical Mile (J O Tobin), the $190,000 acquisition broke the Hollywood Park track record on debut and then won a Grade II at the same track. Thereafter Hirsch Sr. went back time and again for siblings out of the same mare. The next foal won five of eight starts, including a stake at Del Mar; and then came Magical Maiden, who cost just $26,000 but won the GI Hollywood Starlet and GI Las Virgenes S.

This family has been developed elsewhere to produce champion Good Magic (Curlin) among others, but Magical Maiden had made an unpromising start to her second career when her owner died in 2000. Nonetheless the filly she had delivered a few weeks previously would find her way into a group of five horses picked out from the dispersal by Kathy Berkey (who had worked for his father) for Hirsch to maintain a residue of the program.

“I gave Kathy a budget,” recalls Hirsch. “And if I remember right, this filly took probably about half of it. I said, 'Boy, I'm not too interested in doing that. I'd rather get a few more mares to breed than start with a baby. My father bred to A.P. Indy with Magical Maiden and got nothing.' But Kathy said: 'This one is different.' So I said, 'You're the pro, let's go.'”

Warren Stute didn't think much of Miss Houdini, either, at first. “I hope you didn't pay too much for that!” he exclaimed. But she won the GI Del Mar Debutante S. and, while her track career was curtailed, went on to give Hirsch and his family a memorable ride with her second foal Papa Clem (Smart Strike), named for the affectionate way Hirsch's children had addressed his father. Papa Clem, aptly conditioned by Gary Stute, won the GII Arkansas Derby in 2009 and was just nosed out of the frame on the first Saturday in May.

“All my life, whenever friends asked did I ever go to the Derby, I had said: 'No, and I'm not going until I get a horse in there',” Hirsch recalls. “Expecting that never to happen. What an experience that week was! We took a big gang down there and just had a wonderful time. And we would have run second but for those two [Musket Man and Pioneerof the Nile] bumping us back and forth all the way down. By that time, I knew enough about the business to know that if you get a good one, you enjoy the moment–because it's going to be a long time, if ever, before you get another.”

And yet Papa Clem turned out only to be a pathfinder: Ce Ce, his half-sister, had already given their dynasty a rare distinction with her two Grade I wins last year, becoming the third consecutive elite winner along the bottom line. Hirsch stresses that he's fully alive both to the rarity of that achievement, and to its source in the combined perspiration and inspiration of his team: Berkey herself; Columbiana Farm, where he boards half a dozen mares; and, of course, the horsemen who produced her on the day.

“If you think of what Victor Espinoza has gone through, that there was a time he wasn't even sure he'd be able to lift a cup of coffee again, and now he's come back riding as good as ever,” Hirsch says. “And, like I said after the race, if there's a trainer out there who works harder than Mike McCarthy, they're working on a day that's longer than 24 hours. He is so dedicated, he eats and sleeps horses–yet also finds the time to be a wonderful family man.

“I realize how lucky I am to have that Magical Maiden line. I'm no expert, first to admit it, but Kathy spends so much time studying what sires to breed to these mares. Sires that keep us just the right size: they all look alike in the family, a little mean, a little light-bodied. I realize we're always rolling the dice, with horses, but these people have done a pretty darned good job.”

They don't have far to seek for a model. In fact, the more we look at the problems besetting our industry today, the more we need to invoke the spirit of Clement L. Hirsch. With leaders of his caliber, perhaps, we would be able to avoid the kind of trauma lately endured at Arlington.

“I agree,” says his son. “I'd love to see more people coming to the plate and doing things like that. It's not easy, of course. Both [Oak Tree and Del Mar] were done without owning the land. It would be wonderful if racetracks could be purchased by states, and leased back so that it can be profitable both for them and the industry. I can't think anything's better than the way they ran Oak Tree, and the way they run Del Mar now. How do you compete against an organization that's not doing it for profit: some of the money going to charity, the rest back into the horse business?”

As it is, the community often finds its most public-spirited, far-sighted endeavors sabotaged by factional self-interest. Do we still have leaders of this caliber? Clement Hirsch fought with the Marines on Guadalcanal. He started his sporting career when buying a greyhound threatened with euthanasia, for $2.50, and nursing him back to health and success–an experience that led incidentally to selling pet food door-to-door. Here was a man, right from the beginning, who always walked the walk.

“Well, my father was the most honorable man I've ever known,” Hirsch reflects. “And that's what he tried to teach his children, that honesty is the only policy. Be up front. And listen. Don't make decisions until you've heard both sides of the story. He was a very generous, very thoughtful man. The bottom line was always to ask what was the right thing to do?”

Whether or not our community as a whole can measure up to that legacy, at least the Hirsch equine program remains in the best of hands. Miss Houdini is entering the evening of her breeding career, but her daughter will probably have only one more season on the track before embarking on the quest for a fourth-generation Grade I winner.

“Well, Ce Ce is five years old,” Hirsch notes. “If she can produce as long as her mother, that would take us forward 15 years. And I'm 72. So who knows? We could just finish this thing off together! But whatever happens, I look forward to breeding Ce Ce to some top sires over the coming years. There's a lot more fun ahead.”

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Breeders’ Cup Pledge Raises Over $140,000 For New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program

New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program announced today that early estimate of funds raised during its Breeders' Cup Pledge will be more than $140,000. This year's total was driven by a record eight horses with pledging connections—Knicks Go, Aloha West, Life Is Good, Golden Pal, Ce Ce, Corniche, Pizza Bianca and Twilight Gleaming (IRE)—winning their races on Future Stars Friday and Championship Saturday.

Additional pledges are still coming in and final donations are still being tallied. Now in its 12th year, the Pledge has raised more than $940,000, with 100 percent of funds going directly to support the program's rehabilitation, retraining and rehoming efforts.

“Eclipse and our partners consider Thoroughbred aftercare of paramount importance and it is our duty and pleasure to support New Vocations,” said Aron Wellman of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners. “It is with great pride that we're able to send a portion of Aloha West's purse winnings from his Breeders' Cup Sprint victory to support an organization that's always ready to help a rehoming or retraining prospect.

“The partnership that owns Aloha West is comprised of a healthy blend of veteran owners who understand the importance of aftercare and newcomers, as well,” he added. “To see these newcomers learning about aftercare and supporting the cause is gratifying and good for the sport.”

In addition to Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, winning connections include Brad H. Cox (Knicks Go); China Horse Club, WinStar Farm and Todd Pletcher (Life Is Good); Coolmore (Golden Pal); Michael W. McCarthy (Ce Ce); Speedway Stables and Bob Baffert (Corniche); Bobby Flay (Pizza Bianca); and Stonestreet Stables (Twilight Gleaming). This year's pledge participants also include Al Shaqab Racing, Albaugh Family Stables, Jim Bakke, Richard Baltas, Bonne Chance Farm, Bing Bush & the Abbondanza Racing Partners, Cannon Thoroughbreds, Bradley Thoroughbreds, DJ Stable, Michael Dubb, Brad Grady, Hat Creek Racing, LNJ Foxwoods, Paulo H. Lobo, Madaket Stables, Kenny McPeek, Elizabeth M. Merryman, Peter Miller, MyRacehorse, Patricia's Hope LLC, Richard Ravin, Larry Rivelli, J. Kirk & Judy Robison, Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, SF Racing, Joe Sharp, Siena Farm, Spendthrift Farm, St. Elias Stable, Starlight Racing, Stud RDI, Three Diamonds Farm, Treadway Racing Stable, West Point Thoroughbreds and White Birch Farm.

“It was truly amazing to have eight pledged contenders win this year,” said Anna Ford, New Vocations Program Thoroughbred Program Director. “We were thrilled with the number of owners and trainers who joined the Pledge to support our aftercare efforts and mission to rehab, retrain and rehome these incredible equine athletes.”

For more information on the Pledge, please visit www.newvocations.org or e-mail Anna@horseadoption.com.

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