Australian sprinting king Nature Strip (Aus) (Nicconi {Aus}) won the G1 T J Smith S. in Australia recently and moves to the top of the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings with a mark of 124 shared with GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. hero Life Is Good (Into Mischief).
Next on the rankings list is Speaker's Corner (Street Sense), the 4 1/2-length victor of the GI Carter H. at 123. Hong Kong superhorse Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro) returned to the winner's circle in the G2 Chairman's Trophy S., and was given a mark of 122. A pair of U.S. runners sit just one point lower-G1 Dubai World Cup hero Country Grammer (Tonalist) and Saturday's GII Shakertown S. hero Golden Pal (Uncle Mo).
Five horses are a joint-seventh in the rankings at a mark of 120: $20-million G1 Saudi Cup hero Emblem Road (Quality Road), G1 Lightning S. hero Home Affairs (Aus) (I Am Invincible {Aus}), G1 Dubai Sheema Classic victor Shahryar (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), G1 Queen Elizabeth S. scorer Think It Over (Aus) (So You Think {NZ}) and Zaaki (GB) (Leroidesanimaux {Brz}), who was second in the Queen Elizabeth. For the complete Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings, please visit the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities' website.
Following their performances in the GI Dubai World Cup, beaten favorite Life Is Good (Into Mischief) and race winner Country Grammer (Tonalist) are on their way to WinStar Farm for a freshening before they return to serious training. WinStar President and CEO Elliott Walden estimated that their stay at the farm will last from 30 to 45 days.
WinStar is the co-owner of both horses.
Colonel Liam (Liam's Map), who finished ninth in the GI Dubai Turf, is also being sent to WinStar.
The heavy favorite in the wagering, Life Is Good, who is also owned by the China Horse Club, suffered just the second defeat in his career. He led for most of the way but weakened in the final sixteenth of a mile, which suggests that the mile-and-a-quarter distance was not to his liking. He finished fourth, beaten 2 1/4 lengths.
“I thought he ran well,” Walden said. “We were obviously disappointed that he didn't win, but it's not like he laid down and threw in the towel. He ran hard. I think the track was not quite to his liking. They ran a mile-and-a-quarter in 2:04.97. In the Shaheen sprint they went in 1:11 and change. Those horses should have gone in 1:09. The mile-and-a-quarter on this type of track was a big factor.”
Before the Dubai World Cup, the GI Metropolitan S. had been mentioned as a possible starting spot for Life Is Good, but Walden said it was too early to make any plans so far as his future racing schedule.
Closing relentlessly in the final furlong, Country Grammer, also owned by Zedan Racing, drew clear to win by 1 3/4 lengths over Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow). He is trained by Bob Baffert, the former trainer of Life Is Good.
“Country Grammer ran super,” Walden said. “We felt like that if Life is Good stubbed his toe he could be a horse that could win and that's what happened.”
Walden said that no races had been picked out as of yet for Country Grammer but listed the GI Pacific Classic as a possibility.
As for Hot Rod Charlie, trainer Doug O'Neill said some time off at a farm is also a possibility for the four-year-old.
“He came back in good shape and I can tell you that we have no idea where we are going with him,” O'Neill said. “He'll come back to my barn and then we will go over him and talk with the owners. He may get a couple weeks at a local farm to graze and get some sun on his back. He's earned it. I was elated with how well he ran. We were so optimistic going into the gate and then mid-race it looked like it wasn't going to be his day. Then turning for him, he came running down the inside and I got to the point where I thought he might win. It was a whirlwind of emotions.”
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES — On paper, it was horseracing's version of the 'Dream Team.'
Trainer Bob Baffert, a three-time winner of the G1 Dubai World Cup, and the charismatic Frankie Dettori, still riding at the peak of his powers into his early 50s, also with three World Cup trophies to his name. Each of those victories was achieved as the retained rider for Godolphin and Saeed bin Suroor, but the Italian maestro hadn't hoisted the hardware since Electrocutionist (Red Ransom) took the 2006 renewal at old Nad Al Sheba Racecourse.
Flavien Prat was in the irons when Country Grammer (Tonalist), winner of last year's GI Hollywood Gold Cup, came home a gallant second to Emblem Road (Quality Road) in the Feb. 26 G1 Saudi Cup first off a May absence. With Prat committed to G2 Al Maktoum Challenge R2 winner Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) and with other top-drawer riders having been snapped up, Baffert reached out to Dettori.
Strange bedfellows? Maybe so, but an effective combination it was, as Dettori gave the 5-year-old entire a positive ride and Country Grammer did the rest, running past a tiring 'TDN Rising Star' Life Is Good (Into Mischief) before holding off a resurgent Hot Rod Charlie to score by 1 3/4 lengths. Chuwa Wizard (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}) couldn't quite add an incredible sixth victory on the program for his country, but covered himself in glory once again, finishing third after filling the runner-up spot 12 months ago. Life Is Good failed to see out the trip after setting a strong early pace and settled for fourth.
The World Cup win was especially sweet for Amr Zedan, who has experienced the highest of highs and lowest of lows the Thoroughbred business can throw at an owner, all in the space of nine months. Having lost GI Kentucky Derby first-past-the-post Medina Spirit (Protonico) to a fatal incident last December, Zedan bought into Country Grammer with an eye on the 5-year-old's participation in the Saudi Cup in his homeland. On Saturday four weeks removed from the Saudi Cup and 600 miles of desert to the east in Dubai, all his emotions came to the surface.
“This win reminds me of Medina Spirit,” Zedan said. “He was a champion and these horses are all heart. I hope Medina Spirit is reinstalled as the Kentucky Derby winner, God willing. I can't believe I'm sitting here and my silks are here!”
An Inside Ride…
Heading into Saturday's race, the majority opinion was that if Life Is Good was to be stymied in adding the World Cup to the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile and GI Pegasus World Cup, it would be because he beat himself. Gate one was potentially a fly in the ointment, but the burly 4-year-old pinged the gates and was allowed to make the running from off the rail, with Saudi Cup third Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow) his bay shadow. Hot Rod Charlie was momentarily closest to the dueling leaders, but Dettori had made a key decision from the start to be positive with Country Grammer, hustling him along before railing through underneath Hot Rod Charlie to sit the box-seat trip.
There were no significant changes in the plot as they raced down the Meydan backstretch, as Life Is Good looked to be bowling along comfortably, still in the two or three path and going apparently better than Midnight Bourbon. Country Grammer was shaken up a touch with about a half-mile to race so as not to lose touch, while Hot Rod Charlie hit a flat spot at the three-eighths and looked to have run his race.
Life Is Good turned them in with a touch more than 400 meters to race, having once and for all turned away Midnight Bourbon. But as they entered the final furlong, it was clear that the favorite was running on fumes and was there to be had. Back into the bit, Hot Rod Charlie made ominous headway up the fence to loom a danger, but Country Grammer–a bit one-paced in upper stretch–did the best work and was along in time. Chuwa Wizard, near the tail early on, slalomed his way home to cash another good check.
“When the draw came out, I had just wanted to put him on the fence,” said Dettori, who treated the many fans on hand to one of his patented flying dismounts. “At the half-mile, I wasn't able to keep on with the front two, but in the end they came back to me. At the furlong pole, it was surreal as I knew I was going to win. It's just unbelievable. It's like a dream!”
Dettori won his first World Cup in 2000 aboard Dubai Millennium (GB) (Seeking the Gold) and added the 2003 renewal aboard Moon Ballad (Ire) (Singspiel {Ire}). He is now tied with Jerry Bailey for most World Cup wins by a jockey.
Longtime Baffert assistant Jimmy Barnes oversaw Country Grammer's preparation into the World Cup, having also been along for the ride with Arrogate (Unbridled's Song) five years ago.
“It's been a long trip, Frankie just rode him awesome,” said Barnes. “He couldn't have done any better. The speed worked out just as we thought it would, he put him in a close enough spot that when he called upon him, he's a true mile-and-a-quarter horse and it kicked in.”
He added, “I give a lot of credit to Bob Baffert for his ability to come back and perform, it's what we do, we're great off a lay-off. I'm just so excited. This is my second with Bob and it is very, very special.”
Trainer Doug O'Neill suggested that some equipment changes might be in the offing for the runner-up.
“I think maybe blinkers might need to go back on–he broke okay, but then when he got behind horses, maybe that was it,” he said. “[Jockey] Flavien [Prat] said he took the kickback pretty well though, so we'll re-group and we'll give him plenty of time now and we'll huddle up and think of a game plan.”
Life Is Good's rider Irad Ortiz, Jr. put the defeat down to his mount's stamina.
“We led like we wanted. It was just the distance. The extra distance told,” he said.
The Finished Product…
A $60,000 Keeneland September graduate, Country Grammer fetched $450,000 as an OBS April breezer and would go on to win the GIII Peter Pan S. for Paul Pompa and Chad Brown in the summer of 2020. Following Pompa's sad passing late that year, Country Grammer changed hands for $110,000 at the dispersal of the owner's racing and breeding stock at Keeneland January in 2021, a number WinStar's Elliott Walden called 'surprising.' Second while racing handier to the pace than he had before in the GII Californian S., he stretched out nicely to 10 furlongs and struck from close up to take out the Hollywood Gold Cup before hitting the shelf. So well was he training that the decision was made to send him to Saudi without a prep and that approach has been richly rewarded.
Pedigree Notes:
Country Grammer's dam Arabian Song has a connection to the Emirates, as she was purchased by the Dubai-affiliated Rabbah Bloodstock for $40,000 at Keeneland September in 2009. Country Grammer is the fifth foal from the mare, who is also responsible for the 4-year-old filly Joyful Cadence (Runhappy), third in last year's GIII Miss Preakness S. and the three-length winner of a Mar. 20 Oaklawn allowance for owner William Simon's WSS Racing and trainer John Ortiz. Arabian Song was sold for $5,000 to Abdul Aziz Al-Ateeqi at Keeneland November in 2018 and foaled a filly in Saudi Arabia in 2019. Now named Gharz (KSA), she is twice placed from four starts at King Abdulaziz.
Country Grammer's third dam includes such Juddmonte standouts as GISW Etoile Montante (Miswaki); her MGSW daughter Starformer (Dynformer); recent GIII Hurricane Bertie S. winner Obligatory (Curlin); and MGSW Bonny South (Munnings).
Saturday, Meydan, Dubai DUBAI WORLD CUP SPONSORED BY EMIRATES AIRLINE-G1, $12,000,000, Meydan, 3-26, 3yo/up, 10f, 2:04.97, fs.
1–COUNTRY GRAMMER, 126, h, 5, by Tonalist                1st Dam: Arabian Song, by Forestry                2nd Dam: Prima Centauri, by Distant View                3rd Dam: Willstar, by Nureyev
($60,000 Ylg '18 KEESEP; $450,000 2yo '19 OBSAPR; $110,000
'21 KEEJAN). O-Zedan Racing Stables, WinStar Farm &
Commonwealth TBreds; B-Scott & Debbie Pierce (KY); T-Bob
Baffert; J-Frankie Dettori. $6,960,000. Lifetime Record:
GISW-US, 10-4-2-1, $10,851,685. *1/2 to Joyful Cadence
(Runhappy), GSP-US, $242,167. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Hot Rod Charlie, 126, c, 4, Oxbow–Indian Miss, by Indian
Charlie. ($17,000 Ylg '19 FTKFEB; $110,000 Ylg '19 FTKOCT).
O-Roadrunner, Boat Racing, Strauss & Gainesway; B-Edward A.
Cox (KY); T-Doug F. O'Neill. $2,400,000.
3–Chuwa Wizard (Jpn), 126, h, 7, King Kamehameha (Jpn)–
Chuwa Blossom (Jpn), by Durandal (Jpn). O-Shinobu Nakanishi;
B-Northern Racing (JPN); T-Ryuji Okubo. $1,200,000.
Margins: 1 3/4, HF, SHD.
Also Ran: Life Is Good, Midnight Bourbon, Remorse (Ire), Hypothetical (Ire), Aero Trem (Brz), Real World (Ire), Magny Cours. Scratched: Grocer Jack (Ger). Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
First things first: let's give their chance to the guys off the bench.
Okay, so there are going to be plenty of eyeballs rolled now that three of Bob Baffert's four Derby migrants are joining a former assistant, on the same circuit, with a total of 38 starters to his name this year—especially as it was the handling of another Baffert medication violation that reportedly caused the scuffle between this same gentleman and a fellow trainer at Clocker's Corner one morning last April. (Both were fined $500.)
The wiseguys will doubtless be finding a mischievous prompt in the name of one of these horses, Doppelganger (Into Mischief). But let's remember that Tim Yakteen learned the ropes not from one Hall of Famer, but two; and that the racing gods owe him, big time, after the harrowing loss of his breakout horse, Points Offthebench (Benchmark), in his final work before the Breeders' Cup. What might have been can be judged from that horse's posthumous Eclipse Award, while Yakteen has more recently reiterated what he can do, from modest resources, with Cal-bred Horse of the Year Mucho Unusual (Mucho Macho Man).
So while these four horses are hardly following Life Is Good (Into Mischief) to a big rival on the East Coast, we should respect whatever combination of principle and pragmatism has governed their departure from Baffert's barn. You (and he) can argue about the level of his culpability, in piling so many storm clouds over his community, but Baffert deserves its gratitude in at least stating that his own interests—even where coinciding with precepts as critical to the functioning of our society as fairness in the workplace and the courtroom—are transcended by those of the sport, his investors and their horses.
In claiming personal credit as the impetus for their transfer, then, Baffert definitely gets some here. After all, we've repeatedly urged that the real test of decency in this situation was faced by Baffert himself—and not the friends and patrons who found their good fortune, in having a Derby horse, haplessly turned into some kind of public examination of character or fidelity. All parties had to remember that these horses are only passing through their stewardship, and that many, many others have had a stake in breeding and raising them.
To that extent, in fact, one hopes that the grooms who have been tending these horses have been given the opportunity of sharing their loan to other trainers. But it's edifying, regardless, that their boss and his patrons have in effect acknowledged that the Derby is bigger even than Bob Baffert; and not persevered in a stance that implied things to be the other way round.
First and foremost, no doubt, that represents sound business. Certainly it feels way too much to hope that a similar breadth of perspective might now also prompt Baffert just to accept that it would be far better for everybody—perhaps even for his own sanity—to call off his lawyers, without having to cede an inch in terms of his grievances; to take his sanctions on the chin; and to reset.
As it is, he has already lost the services (and permanently, one imagines) of the G1 Dubai World Cup favorite; and must instead rely on a less theatrical but splendidly stubborn animal to draw the sting of Life Is Good.
Country Grammer (Tonalist) will be carrying the same silks as poor Medina Spirit (Protonico), who has posthumous representation in this field through two of his principal crop antagonists. For if it's the “Black Gold” beneath the surface that has effectively summoned Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) and Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow) to the desert, then you might say they are on pretty familiar ground. True, in helping to make the GII Louisiana Derby the strongest trial last year, they left undisturbed the status of the champion bearing that name, whose remains are interred in the Fair Grounds infield, as one of only two horses to win both that race and the Run for the Roses. Because Mandaloun (Into Mischief) gave no indication, that day at least, that he would be the one to benefit when Medina Spirit was effaced from the record.
The picturesque tale of Black Gold, named for the discovery of oil in Oklahoma, is much cherished among those who took local pride in the revival last year of the New Orleans road to Churchill. How poignant, then, is the loss this very week of the only other horse to do the double, Grindstone (Unbridled), just days after acceding (from Go For Gin) as the oldest living Derby winner.
That distinction has now passed to the 28-year-old Silver Charm (Silver Buck), as it happens in the same week that he was joined at Old Friends by his old rival Swain (Nashwan). Those two sure have a few memories to mull over together, notably the gray's photo-finish success in the 1998 Dubai World Cup.
In carving his name below that of Grindstone in the Derby roll of honor, Silver Charm represented something of a baton switch between Wayne Lukas and Baffert, albeit the senior of the two came back a couple of years later with his fourth winner in Charismatic (Summer Squall)—and could yet redeem this whole mess if Secret Oath (Arrogate) can become his fifth.
Incidentally, both Charismatic and Grindstone were out of mares by Drone, who as a son of Secretariat's sibling Sir Gaylord, duly magnified the Somethingroyal distaff brand. Somethingroyal's replication (twice) in the famous family of Summer Squall made Charismatic's failure at stud a dismal disappointment, though he was typical of the old-school priorities driving the Japanese investment that has ultimately produced 22 starters on the World Cup card.
There are never any guarantees with these animals, as we know. Black Gold's one and only foal was killed by lightning. On the other hand, the Derby trail is this spring celebrating the dynasty founded by Storm Cat, himself of course out of a Secretariat mare, through one of the final foals of Giant's Causeway and at least a couple of colts by Not This Time, including Louisiana Derby favorite Epicenter.
One of my more wearily familiar complaints is that the starting points system has stripped the sprint speed out of the first Saturday in May, and Epicenter certainly looks eligible to emulate Medina Spirit and several others to have lately controlled, pretty much at their leisure, what was previously just about the most extreme test of all for a maturing Thoroughbred. As we've discussed before, Epicenter has some copper-bottomed European stayers seeding his bottom line and somebody, somehow, is going to have to press him hard and long if he is to be softened up sufficiently for Call Me Midnight (Midnight Lute) to pounce late again.
Funnily enough, Call Me Midnight himself represents a very similar blend of American dirt speed and European grass stamina, his third dam Slightly Dangerous having produced an Epsom Derby winner among several other Classic protagonists. Someday, perhaps, people will notice how often this kind of formula, once standard but now sadly neglected, still pays off when given a chance.
In the meantime let's hope that the Louisiana Derby, in tribute to the passing of Grindstone, consolidates a revival also underlined by the return to the card, in an excellent race for the GII New Orleans Classic, of last year's fourth Proxy (Tapit).
Proxy! Now there's a word that nobody should be misusing over the coming weeks, as the Baffert exiles make a belated bid to get on the Derby trail. Why shouldn't Baffert and his supporters give an opportunity to people who are on his side, people he respects and wants to do well? It will be much easier to root for these horses, this way; and they know they will never win the cynics round anyway.
If not everybody is going to love the solution, that's tough. At least the Baffert team has resolved the impasse and, if only in one regard, finally started to move things on a little. And that deserves reciprocation. So let's give Yakteen and Brisset due respect. And—quaint, crazy notion—let's restore our attention, and that of the fans, from the flaws inevitable with any and all human judgement, our own included, and back onto these beautiful horses.
