Jennie Rees | Horse Racing Free Tips

‘We’ve Found His Game’: Gear Jockey Comes Into Turf Sprint Off Career Best

It took a few races — OK, 12 — to figure out what Calumet Farm's 4-year-old colt Gear Jockey really wanted to do. But the wait and perseverance paid off this summer and fall, with Kentucky Downs' $1 million FanDuel Turf Sprint winner a leading contender for Saturday's $1 million, Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar.

A year ago, when the Breeders' Cup was at trainer Rusty Arnold's hometown track of Keeneland, Gear Jockey was awaiting his first victory. That didn't come until this past January in the colt's first start as a 4-year-old.

Even though he started off 0 for 8, Gear Jockey has uncorked only two truly bad races, the first being his debut at six furlongs on dirt at Saratoga by almost 23 lengths. Stretched out to a mile on grass, the winless colt still ran very well, including finishing a close third at 67-1 odds in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita in 2019.

In fact, his tantalizing talent was such that Gear Jockey made a fleeting appearance on last year's Kentucky Derby trail. That ended in his second poor race in Gulfstream Park's Grade 2 Fountain of Youth, his last race on dirt. He subsequently was sidelined for six months with a repairable leg fracture.

Back on grass, Gear Jockey won maiden and allowance races and came very close to winning a graded turf stakes. Still, Arnold thought there was more the horse could do.

“We sat down and said, 'Let's sprint the horse. He's just not finishing off, and he shows a lot of talent,'” Arnold said. “We've sprinted him three times on turf, and I think we've found his game.”

Gear Jockey earned a second-level allowance victory, was a rallying third after breaking slowly in Saratoga's Grade 3 Troy and then captured the Grade 3, six-furlong FanDuel Turf Sprint. That victory not only proved worth $576,600 to Calumet Farm but with the added perk of giving Gear Jockey a fees-paid berth in the five-furlong Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint as part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series' Win And You're In program.

Gear Jockey needed to win the FanDuel Turf Sprint to even make the Breeders' Cup. That was no small feat as Gear Jockey was the last horse to get into the overflow Kentucky Downs' race. If he lucked into the race, he made his own luck coming out with an authoritative 2 1/2-length victory over the well-regarded Diamond Oops.

“It was by far his best race,” Arnold said. “He did everything right…. (But) if one more horse had entered, we'd have been out. I can't tell you how big it was.”

The five-furlong Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint also includes third-place Bombard and Fast Boat, who beat Gear Jockey in the Troy Stakes. Sixth-place Got Stormy, who won the 2020 Ladies Sprint at Kentucky Downs, is going in the $2 million Mile on turf.

“I don't think the Breeders' Cup can be much tougher than that race,” Arnold said. “… I'm confident my horse is going to show up. It's a little shorter than I'd like, but we're hoping we've got him sharp enough.”

The Kentucky Downs victory provided a special thrill for Calumet Farm owner Brad Kelley, who grew up in Bowling Green and Franklin, Ky., started his path to billionaire status back in Bowling Green and now lives in Franklin, Tenn. Kelley also is a previous owner of Kentucky Downs, and Gear Jockey won with Calumet Farm the racing card's day sponsor.

“It was nice to win a big race for him close to his home,” Arnold said.

A third-generation horseman, Arnold is tied for No. 2 with Bill Mott in all-time victories at Keeneland at 288, trailing only D. Wayne Lukas' 296.

Arnold also is one of the most successful trainers to never have won a Breeders' Cup race. Kelley won the short-lived Breeders' Cup Juvenile Sprint in 2012 with Hightail racing the name of Kelley's old Bluegrass Hall. But Calumet Farm has never won a Breeders' Cup race.

“Disappointing is the wrong word,” Arnold said of himself being 0 for 14 in the Breeders' Cup. “But it's on your bucket list. You don't want to be one of the guys who has won the most graded races without winning the Breeders' Cup.

“I'd like to win for any of my owners. I want to win one for Calumet; I'd like to win one for myself. I'm a little bit jealous on that.”

Calumet also has its homebred Lexitonian in the $2 million Qatar Racing Breeders' Cup Sprint. The 5-year-old horse, trained by the farm's private trainer Jack Sisterson, won Saratoga's Grade 1 Vanderbilt. Detroit City is on the also-eligible for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf and needs two scratches to run.

“If he shows up on his best effort, he'll be right there,” Sisterson said of Lexitonian, who finished second by a nose in last year's Grade 1 Bing Crosby at Del Mar. “It's great the support and the passion that Mr. Kelley has for this sport. Although he doesn't come, he watches every race. People don't know how emotional he gets after a big win.”

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‘This Is What I’d Want To Do On Vacation’: Asmussen 11 Wins From All-Time Record

Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen was at Ellis Park for a few hours Friday morning to check on his horses stabled with assistant trainer Darren Fleming. Asmussen, who started the day with 9,434 victories, took time out to talk about closing in on the late Dale Baird's North American record of 9,445 wins. He spoke with Ellis Park publicist Jennie Rees.

Last we checked you had 12 wins to go.

“We had one winner (Thursday) in the second race at Saratoga. So we're at 11 now. We have some good chances the rest of the week throughout the country. But with 11 to go, it's getting pretty exciting.”

And that's 11 to break or 11 to tie?

“Eleven to tie. A dead-heat in horse racing is a win.”

But not in your mind; I have a feeling that you won't be satisfied with a tie.

“The target is 11. If we can get 11, the rest will take care of itself.”

You're very open about being very goal-minded, and you've been thinking about this for some years.

“Absolutely. We're blessed with opportunity. We train for the greatest owners in the country and we have a lot of chances to win races. I'm not surprised by the races we win; I'm kind of surprised by the races we get beat in. I think getting to a significant milestone like this allows you an opportunity to look back and reflect on the ground you have covered.”

You've had some wonderful lines about the pursuit to be No. 1 I think one time you said, “Why aspire to be No. 2?”

“Well, if it didn't matter, why do they keep counting, right? Extremely blessed to grow up in horse racing and be a part of it my whole life. Very fortunate to still have my parents involved in it, and we have collectively enjoyed the pursuit. It will mean a lot when we get there.”

Do you recall when you took over No. 2, and who did you pass?

“Hollendorfer. And I was fortunate enough to meet him when he had a string at Arlington, I think in the early 1990s…. When we got to No. 2, he has always encouraged me, let me know that I was capable of catching him. Dale Baird — a tremendous feat, no matter where you win races. If you're in horse racing, you know how hard it is to win a horse race at any level. I think it's extremely significant to hopefully one day end up being the all-time winningest horse trainer.”

Did you ever meet Dale Baird?

“I met him when I was stabled at Hawthorne in the fall and he'd come in there to buy some horses.”

Did you ever tell him, “I'm coming after you?”

“Oh, gosh no. Back then I was just hoping to win a race. But years later, with opportunity, we've accumulated some numbers.”

Do you remember when it occurred to you that “I can be the all-time winningest trainer?” Or was it a gradual realization?

“Oh, by the time I was 12. I don't know. I was just extremely fortunate in the situation that I grew up in, of knowing and believing and being correct about what great horsemen my parents were. (Having) one older brother, out of south Texas or not, who won the Eclipse and was leading rider in New York and five-time Golden Whip award winner (in France). When you have that kind of example in front of you, what are you scared of?”

Ron Flatter of Horse Racing Nation said that you're very aware that the Baird record is just for North America, that a trainer in South America owns the overall mark. (As Flatter wrote: “At his rate this year of 1.51 wins per day, Asmussen is on pace to break Baird's record on or around July 30…. The world record is still about 1 1/2 years away for Asmussen. Peru-based trainer Juan Suárez Villarroel, who added five wins since Sunday, has 9,871 victories, according to the website Página de Turf. Since last fall Suárez Villarroel has averaged 0.75 wins per day, meaning Asmussen could close the gap by early 2023 if both maintain their current win rates.)

“Juan Suárez Villarroel. He's like 300 ahead of me, and he's still winning a couple hundred a year.”

And that's your next goal?

“Winning the Derby is my next goal. But the beautiful thing about this is we feel we're in the middle of it. It's never been better. The stable is very strong right now. We have some outstanding prospects that should continue to win.”

Does it ever wear you out being so goal-oriented? Or, because you don't get worn out from being goal-oriented, you are able to be goal-oriented? If you follow…

“This is what I'd want to do on vacation. I think the saying is extremely (apt): If you do what you love, you don't work a day in your life. We're unbelievably blessed to be given the opportunity to be in horse racing.”

When's the last time you took what most people would think of as a vacation?

“Me and Julie have taken some vacations, including the whole family went to Hawaii last year after Christmas.”

No racetracks there.

“No, (but) time with the family. I think that's my favorite part about horse racing: how involved and how much the whole family cares the whole time – from my parents to Julie to the boys to my in-laws. Easy to follow and fun to be a part of it.”

Julie told me once that you got married on a dark day. A Tuesday, maybe?

“We got married on a Tuesday. All three of our children, she was induced (into) labor on Tuesdays, on dark days. Yeah, our life has worked around horse racing.”

Now you could come up with the record-tying win, record-breaking win at any of six or seven tracks.

“Right now we're racing here at Ellis Park, Louisiana Downs, Indiana Grand, Monmouth Park and Saratoga on a regular occasion right now.”

You slipped in a couple at Colonial Downs on Monday, I noticed.

“I got a couple in at Colonial. When a horse is ready to run, you've got to find a race for them.”

What will it be like if you're not there in person when you get the record?

“You're there in person. I mean, if it happens. I'm anxious for it to happen, and I want to celebrate the accomplishment of it. But you will immediately worry about winning the next one.”

Are you sending Darren Fleming, your assistant here at Ellis, some live shots so he can maybe have a chance at being the one (when you get the record)?

“Everything you enter, you're trying to win with; that's kind of the idea.”

But there's trying to win and then there's …

“No, we have some very nice horses in this week at Ellis. But I'd be surprised if it happened before the first or second week of August. In the month of August, with meets closing and other meets just starting, we don't have as many entries as usual.”

Can you give us an update on Midnight Bourbon (the Preakness runner-up who clipped heels and fell in Monmouth Park's $1 million Haskell), since he did break his maiden last summer at Ellis?

“He's back jogging.”

That's amazing he came out of that unscathed.

“It is. Well, I don't know about the word unscathed. (You don't know) what it did to his head and stuff like that. His energy level is good. He looks good under tack. He's got a few abrasions and nicks that need attention, and we'll doctor those and keep him moving for the time being. But his energy level is very high.”

Final question, the big stakes weekends at Ellis Park are a couple of weeks off. But do you have any horses at this point targeted for Kentucky Downs Preview Weekend or the following week when we have the Ellis Park Derby and the 2-year-old stakes?

“We do. Undecided on exactly who, but we will be represented on those stakes days.”

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‘A Whole Different Ballgame’: Bellarmine Basketball Coach Enjoying First Foray Into Horse Ownership

Two Dimes Stable's Lamartine fulfilled Chancellor Dugan's life-long dream of owning (at least part of) a racehorse when the 6-year-old gelding ran at Churchill Downs on June 26.

The fact that the Juan Cano-trained Lamartine made Dugan a winner right off the bat in a $50,000 claiming race was a huge perk. On Saturday, Lamartine, claimed by Two Dimes for $32,000 on June 6, attempts another big step by running in the $75,000 Good Lord Stakes at the RUNHAPPY Meet at Ellis Park. And even though she's still a new to horse ownership, Dugan has a good idea what they're facing plunging into stakes company.

After all, Dugan is the women's basketball coach at Louisville's Bellarmine University. Last year, the Knights moved up from NCAA Division II to Division I. The team that went 18-11, losing in their conference tournament semifinals of the COVID-shortened season in 2019-2020, went 5-11 in last season's Division I debut.

“I'm going to compare this to if we go up against the University of Louisville,” said Dugan, who coached Southern Indiana's women's basketball team from 1991-1999, taking the Screaming Eagles to the 1997 Division II national championship game. “They historically are in the top five. Just to have that opportunity, to see where you are and to see what you're made of what you have in you, hopefully that's where we are on Saturday at post time.”

Growing up in Louisville, the graduate of Sacred Heart Academy (where she was a swimmer) and Eastern Kentucky University (where she walked on and earned a basketball scholarship) learned to love horse racing from her father.

“It's been a dream of mine forever,” Dugan said of horse ownership. “My dad used to take me to Churchill all the time, teaching me how to read the program and what he was looking for. I always said that if ever I had the opportunity to do it, I would. Growing up, I wanted to be a jockey. But I'm 6-3, so that didn't work out.”

She calls winning her first start as an owner “surreal.”

“I think it was 22 years to the day the last time I was with my dad, and we were actually at Churchill Downs,” Dugan said. “To fast forward and be in the winner's circle with your own horse, it was kind of cool. He got out to the lead, which he likes to do, and when he got to the top of the stretch, I was like, 'Oh my gosh, he went out too fast. There's no way. They're going to be coming rolling.' And he went to another gear. It was an awesome feeling. It was like winning a game.”

Dugan knew several members of Two Dimes, including managing partner Clint Glasscock, Brad Ray and Joe Montano, whose daughter Therese played for Dugan at Bellarmine. While she only owns a tiny fraction of Lamartine, emotions run big whether one is in for a hair or in for the whole horse.

“I went to see him the day before he raced, and he's beautiful,” she said. “A lot of times that doesn't have anything to do with it, but he looked like he could really run. I know nothing about horse racing other than trying to pick winners. But I look at his prior races and how he was doing, and I think they were smart to shorten up the distance. Because I think he's a sprinter.

“Being a coach, I kind of want to coach him. But I'm going to leave that to Juan. He's doing a fantastic job. I've asked him a couple of questions. I just love the differences of what it's like to coach an animal versus a human. It's a whole different ballgame, because they don't have any feedback for you – other than what they're telling you when they're running.”

The Brazilian-bred Lamartine is racing for a $50,000 purse, given that he's not a Kentucky-bred (for which the race purse includes $25,000 in Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Funds money). He's 15-1 in Jimmy McNerney's morning line and will be ridden by Gabriel Saez.

“There's not a lot out there for him, so we thought we'd take a shot at it,” Montano said. “It will be a tough race.”

Dugan thinks her horse and her team have one thing in common, saying, “I think they're going to surprise a few people this year.”

The field for the Good Lord Stakes, in post position, with jockey/trainer and odds: Lamartine (Gabriel Saez/Juan Cano) 15-1; Mocito Rojo (Jose Guerrero/Shane Wilson) 10-1; Bango (Marcelino Pedroza/Greg Foley) 7-5; Sir Alfred James (Colby Hernandez/Al Stall) 3-1; Dark Oak (Sonny Leon/Rey Hernandez) 20-1; Guest Suite (Emmanuel Esquivel/Cipriano Contreras) 5-1; I'm Corfu (Francisco Arrieta/Brittany Vanden Berg) 4-1. Mocito Rojo and I'm Corfu are expected to scratch.

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Long-Time Assistant Juan Cano Takes Over Late Mentor Angel Montano’s Stable

Juan Cano might not be a familiar name to Ellis Park racing enthusiasts, but he should be a familiar face.

The 31-date RUNHAPPY Meet at Ellis Park begins this Sunday and concludes Saturday Sept. 4. Racing is Friday, Saturday and Sundays, plus Thursday July 1. First post is 12:50 p.m. Central.

Cano, a married father of three (with a fourth on the way), was trainer Angel Montano Sr.'s longtime exercise rider and assistant. With health issues sidelining Montano in recent years, Cano largely ran the Louisville-based stable and was the one making the trip to Ellis Park to run its horses, including for six wins last summer. After Montano died Oct. 1 on his 80th birthday, Cano took over as trainer.

Outside the gaping absence of the Montano patriarch, Cano said not much has changed with the operation.

“I've been at Ellis Park for a lot of years. It's just a new name as the trainer,” he said at Churchill Downs. “I still have horses for Angel's kids. Joey comes out almost every day.”

The barn's trademark colors with the royal blue background and gold angel wings remain. Montano's seven sons and daughters gave Cano their dad's equipment and golf cart, saving the young trainer tens of thousands of dollars. The Montanos, their spouses and friends continue to help populate the barn, including the recent formation of Angel Wings LLC.

“Angel intended for him to take over,” said son Joe, who long has been involved in the stable and has helped Cano navigate the considerable paperwork, payroll and taxes any trainer encounters. “We've been a team together for 10 years anyways, so it just continued on.

“Juan has a couple of clients he picked up; people are interested in what he's doing. He works hard, takes good care of the horses and gives them a lot of attention. He's looking forward to a good summer.”

Cano has doubled the “six or seven” horses with which he started, including several he claimed for himself. The stable has three wins, a second and five thirds out of 19 starts at Churchill Downs' spring meet, with three days remaining. One of those wins came at 44-1 odds with Super Sol in a May 31 allowance race.

“I've had a good meet,” said Cano, who turns 36 on June 24. “Churchill Downs is a little tough to win a race. I got a little lucky this meet. I've got a couple of horses I think will do good at Ellis Park.”

Montano, a four-time meet leader at Ellis Park, paid forward his success in America with his generosity and mentorship of Cano and other young Hispanics at the track. Montano arrived from Mexico at age 17 on a Greyhound bus with a fourth-grade education, $100, six sandwiches and three words of English. He worked his way into becoming one of the very few thoroughbred trainers in Kentucky in the 1950s and '60s whose native language was Spanish, then stamped himself among the state's winningest stables in the 1970s. A trainer for 60 years, Montano was the dean of the Kentucky horsemen at the time of his death. His last wins came at Ellis Park last summer.

“With Juan, given the timing, I think Angel thought he was going to be one who could take the next step,” said Joe, a licensed assistant trainer whose full-time job is with Ford's Material Planning and Logistics team. “He turned a lot of responsibility over to Juan in the last year or so. They thought the same as far as caring and training horses, and Angel taught Juan a lot of things as far as galloping, working, how a horse feels and getting one ready to go long or short.

“Juan took a lot of what Angel taught him and incorporated it with what he learned working for other people. The family felt Juan was going to be the one to take over. It was easy for us to give him all of Angel's equipment. We knew Angel wanted him to have it. He was part of our family and still is.”

Cano grew up riding horses and cows in his native Guatemala before coming to Kentucky. He started out as a hotwalker and then groom for several trainers before pursuing a position as an exercise rider in Ocala, Fla. Upon returning to Kentucky, trainer Rick Hiles suggested Cano speak with Montano about a job. The trainer watched him gallop one horse and gave Cano a salaried job. It was the start of a 12-year relationship during which the elder Montano offered constant encouragement and assistance.

“He helped me a lot,” Cano said, adding in reference to getting the long hair off a horse's body, “One time they needed someone to clip a horse. Angel said, 'Juan, can you clip the horse?' I said, 'I don't know how, but I'll try.' I went out and bought clippers like you use for people. I clipped one. It took all day, and it looked like a cartoon. Wrong kind of clippers. Angel said, 'Juan! What are you doing?' And he went and bought me a pair of clippers for horses. After that, I clipped horses for all kinds of trainers.

“Angel gave me a chance to claim a horse. I claimed one for $5,000 and he won for $7,500. I got really lucky with my first horse. It was a three-horse field. The horse was claimed off me, but I made money off him and claimed another one. I used to always have one horse, then two. While working for Angel, I would groom and gallop my horses and do all my other work.”

In addition to the added training responsibilities, Cano continues to get on most, if not all, of his horses in morning training.

“It's not easy to run a stable, but I'm happy to do it,” he said. “All the Montano kids have helped me. Every time they come to the barn, they say, 'Keep doing what you're doing.' Miguel said, 'My daddy is happy for you.' I'm working hard. On race day, when I run a horse, I basically live with the horse all day in the barn.”

Horse owner Peter Patel, who claimed two fillies for Cano to train, said he likes knowing that the trainer sees and touches his horses every day.

“He's working hard, that's the main thing” Patel said. “I always loved small trainers. I like to help them out. He's doing wonderful, and I hope he does well. He's hands-on.”

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