jerry hollendorfer | Horse Racing Free Tips

Breeders’ Cup Talk with Jerry Bailey on the TDN Writers’ Room

The countdown is running to a close for the 2020 Breeders’ Cup World Championship and perhaps no one has more Breeders’ Cup memories to share than Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey, who made an astounding 15 trips to the Breeders’ Cup winner’s circle during his 31-year career, including a record five wins in the Classic.

Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week for Wednesday’s TDN Writers’ Room podcast presented by Keeneland, Bailey spoke on some of his favorite Breeders’ Cup moments, as well as a few of his top picks going into this weekend’s meet.

When asked which horse he would choose as his Classic mount, Bailey wavered between a few different contenders.

“I would probably choose Authentic (Into Mischief), but it’s a toss up between Improbable (City Zip) and Authentic,” he said. “If you drill down, I think Authentic is the true speed of the race and he will make the lead. I think he’s super dangerous doing that. I think it comes down to the trips. Who gets the most comfortable trip and who gets the trip that they like and they’re best at? I think it’s most likely either Authentic on the lead or Improbable in the three path stalking just a few lengths off the lead.”

This year will mark the 25^th anniversary of Bailey’s win in the Classic aboard Cigar, a race that was also the 12^th of 16 straight victories for the Hall of Fame duo. Cigar’s unforgettable career was recently relived in a TDN Look feature.

Bailey spoke on the pressure of being the regular rider for such a beloved racehorse.

“There is pressure on any rider that walks out on the heavy favorite, no matter who it is or what race it is, the first race or the last. So yeah, I felt it on him pretty much every time. But he was a horse that I knew I could get out of any trouble I ever got in. But my philosophy was, don’t get in trouble. If you think you’re on the best horse, then you put him in position to win. And if he’s good enough, he’s going to win.”

Another memorable Classic for Bailey was when he pulled off a 133-to-1 odds win aboard French import Arcangues in 1993.

“I knew nothing about the horse,” he said. “I didn’t even get the mount until about five days before the race. So I thought okay, I’ll talk to the trainer when I walk in the paddock. He’ll kind of clue me in. But I couldn’t find [trainer] Andre Fabre and I didn’t know what he looked like. Actually, I had never met him. There were a thousand people in the paddock, so I couldn’t find him. So my next thought was during the rider’s up, I would talk to the groom. And the groom told me everything I needed to know- in French. And I didn’t understand it. So I left the paddock on the horse not knowing anything other than what I could glean from the racing form.

Now serving as a spokesperson for the industry as a leading racing analyst for NBC Sports, Bailey gets a unique perspective from a fan’s point of view on a day-to-day basis.

“The biggest complaint I get from fringe fans is that it’s too boring. It’s too slow,” he said. “I mean, we’re in a world that if it takes 30 seconds to download something, we’re frustrated. So the time between races is kind of a drag to a lot of people. We go to a lot of Heat games and you’re entertained at every time out, from the moment the whistle blows until they start again. It’s a little different, obviously, but I think if we could provide some entertainment as informational vignettes about the jockeys, the horses, the trainers and the owners, we have to step it up a little bit because we’re playing catch up from a long time ago.”

Elsewhere on the show, in the West Point Thoroughbreds news segment, the writers shared their hottest tips looking ahead to this weekend’s racing. Is Princess Noor (Not This Time) unbeatable in the Juvenile Filles? Will the European invaders dominate in the Mile or can a U.S.-based runner get the win? And will the Distaff turn out to be a match race between Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) and Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil)? The writers examine these questions and more. Click here to listen to the audio version.

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Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: Stomach Cancer Can’t Keep Melen Down

“This isn't a sad cancer story,” warned Steve Melen, part-owner of Horologist ahead of the filly's upcoming engagement in the Breeders' Cup Distaff. “It's about five different stories in one that started with the purchase of a racehorse.”

The trajectory of Melen's life first shifted when he was diagnosed with Stage 3 stomach cancer in his late 30s. Melen went from having everything he'd wanted in life—a great job, a house on a hill, a newborn daughter, and a beautiful wife—to undergoing surgery to remove his stomach, spleen, and half of his pancreas, followed by chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

Melen became addicted to the painkillers during his recovery. He required two stints in rehab to get back on track, but the multiple health issues eventually led to the breakdown of his first marriage. There were days Melen wasn't sure where to turn.

He desperately needed something to be excited about again.

In 2011, two years after his initial diagnosis, Melen took a leap of faith and reached out to trainer Jerry Hollendorfer to inquire about racehorse ownership. Melen had traveled to the Kentucky Derby in 2006 with a friend who was a co-owner in the Hollendorfer-trained Derby contender Cause to Believe.

“I was kind of, well, not kind of down, I was really down,” Melen explained. “Racing was such an exciting, motivational thing, I just felt like I needed to be a part of it.”

A few weeks later, Melen got the call and agreed to purchase part of filly named Killer Graces. She broke her maiden in a stakes race in her second career start, and she wound up winning the Grade 1 Hollywood Starlet in December of her juvenile season.

Through Killer Graces and subsequent racehorses, Melen reconnected with his childhood sweetheart and later married her. The long-time financial advisor was able to step out of the office and work for his own clients from home, and he felt like his life really started to get back on track.

“Being a financial advisor was not a motivating factor for me to stay alive,” Melen admitted. “I used to have fun out drinking with friends, now I've been sober for 7 years so I'm not the party guy anymore. But these horses, these are exciting, and we all need that sort of exciting.”

Melen kept horses with Hollendorfer for seven years and expanded out to other ownership groups. He later hooked up with several other partners, including Bing Bush's Abbondanza Racing for horses like the multiple graded stakes-placed Excellent Sunset and Motion Emotion.

“It's expensive but I want to be part of it, and I still get excitement when I own 10 percent,” Melen said. “I'm really into it for the excitement, not for any financial return.”

Several years into his racing journey, Melen decided to write a book about the way the sport has impacted his life. Titled Killer Graces: My Path From Pain To Power And Breakthrough Living, the book is described as “a story of both weakness and strength as Steve navigates a world of pain, drugs, alcohol, marital problems, and anxiety, all rooted in his earliest days as a child of adoption. Join Steve on his journey of self-discovery as he shares that it took a life-threatening illness to bring these issues to light so the true healing process could begin.”

The book has only been out for a month but has already sold about 500 copies, and has been exclusively rated “5 stars” on Amazon.

“I wrote the book because I wanted to spread the positive energy,” Melen explained. “Horses sure sparked a lot of really good things in my life. Something about what I'm doing, the energy and the support, the horse racing and everything has given me life that is super unique, and I've got a very happy, awesome, loving situation.”

Of course, life without a stomach isn't easy. He must give himself B12 shots once a month, since that vitamin is absorbed in the stomach, and meals are eaten in much smaller portions. Melen's esophagus has significant scarring, and he was in the hospital as recently as last Friday to have it stretched so that he can breathe more easily.

His weight has also been difficult to maintain: Melen is 6'1”, but weighs just 135 lbs.

“My friends all call me a unicorn,” Melen said, laughing good-naturedly. “I should have been dead twice, maybe three times. I had a 12 to 14 percent chance of living, but here I am. I really believe that following the races has a lot to do with that.”

Over the past several months, Melen has been especially thrilled to follow the progress of Horologist. He leapt at the chance to buy into the graded stakes winner via Abbondanza in late 2019, and the 4-year-old daughter of Gemologist has added wins in the G3 Molly Pitcher and G2 Beldame to her resume this season. Now trained by Bill Mott, the filly also ran third in the G1 La Troienne at Churchill Downs two starts back.

Up next, Horologist will start in the Breeders' Cup Distaff at Keeneland on Nov. 7. It will be Melen's first starter in the Breeders' Cup, and despite the challenges of COVID-19, the owner won't miss the opportunity to watch the race live.

“The journey won't be easy, but I'm not gonna miss out,” said Melen. “You think the COVID is gonna stop me from going to the Breeders' Cup? I've cheated death already, so I'm going to the Breeders' Cup this year!”

The post Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: Stomach Cancer Can’t Keep Melen Down appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Hollendorfer Planning To Return To Monmouth Park In 2021

After four successful months having a string of horses at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J., for the first time, Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer has been so satisfied with the results that he intends to make the Shore track part of his regular racing rotation going forward.

That was plan revealed by Dan Ward, Hollendorfer's longtime assistant, after the stable continued its strong Monmouth Park presence when heavily-favored Croatian cruised to victory in Saturday's featured $52,500 allowance optional claimer.

Ward, who has been with Hollendorfer the past 14 years after spending the previous 22 as an assistant to the late Bobby Frankel, has overseen the Hollendorfer runners at Monmouth while his boss kept tabs from California.

With two victories on Saturday's 10-race card, the Hollendorfer stable has won with three of seven starters during the abbreviated Meadowlands-at-Monmouth Park meet after going 14-for-50 during the regular Monmouth Park meet.

“We could not be happier about the way things have gone at Monmouth Park this year,” Ward said. “After this meet ends (Oct. 24) we're going to go to Churchill Downs for two months and then to Oaklawn through April and then we'll be back here.

“It's been fantastic. It's a safe track. You get all kinds of weather and the track was always safe. It has been a pleasure to train and race here this year.”

Ward was assigned 27 horses for Monmouth Park this year, and said the goal is to grow those numbers for next season.

“We're trying to build things up, so we intend to have even more horses when we come back here next year. We hope next year is even better here,” he said, “All I can tell you is that we're very pleased with the entire operation here. Jerry is very happy. So we hope to keep coming back and keep this as part of our regular routine every year.

Ward had not been to Monmouth Park since 1991, when he was an assistant to Frankel and Marquetry won the Philip H. Iselin Stakes that year.

The final week of the Thoroughbred season in New Jersey kicks off Wednesday, Oct. 21, with a nine-race card that features five turf races. Post time is 12:50 p.m. ET.

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Streaking ‘Sneaking’ to Beat in TCA

KMN Racing’s Sneaking Out (Indian Evening), winner of back-to-back graded stakes on the west coast, will try to punch her ticket to the Breeders’ Cup in Saturday’s GII Thoroughbred Club of America S. at Keeneland, a “Win and You’re In” qualifier for the Filly & Mare Sprint.

Winning three of four to start her career, the California-bred was disqualified out of a score in the Angel’s Flight S. last spring and finished a narrow second in both the GII Summertime Oaks and state-bred Fleet Treat S. Last but one in the GIII Torrey Pines S., the bay was benched for over eight months, returning with a neck allowance triumph Apr. 25 at Oaklawn. Fifth in the GIII Winning Colors S. May 30 at Churchill, the homebred returned home to the Golden State to annex the GII Great Lady M. S. July 4 at Los Alamitos and GIII Rancho Bernardo H. Aug. 21 at Del Mar.

Speedball Lady’s Island (Greatness) figures to go as fast as she can for as far as she can. Last winter’s GIII Sugar Swirl S. romper, the 6-year-old added victories in the Minaret S. and Florida-bred Musical Romance S. this season. Shipped up to Saratoga by Danny Gargan last out, the dark bay set a blistering pace of :21.64 and :43.81 in the GII Honorable Miss H. before settling for second behind MGISW Come Dancing (Malibu Moon).

Tom Durant’s Dos Vinos (Twirling Candy), a winner of three of five in her young career, gets the acid test after a pair of allowance triumphs May 24 at Churchill and over track and trip July 9.

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