Book Review: Black Gold Reminds Us Why We Breed, Race, and Dream

It was an era of controversial stewards' calls, late money affecting the odds before the break, and tracks facing increasing financial pressure from government.

It was a time when criticism of short field sizes was rampant, breeding operations continued to take risks on untested sires, and when sugar horses–those who didn't run often in order to preserve their stamina–were seemingly everywhere.

If that wasn't enough, the age witnessed the rise of the Kentucky Derby as an increasingly highly commercialized party, as debates raged over when Pimlico's Preakness Stakes should run.

The year wasn't 2023; it was hundred years prior in 1923. The more things change, the more…check.

To the historically driven, it's not anachronistic to find significant pieces of the past spurning the trash heap of history. Instead, they are resting comfortably on a tuffet and teed-up nicely for all of us in the present to witness, if we are willing to listen.

That is precisely what author Avalyn Hunter's new book, Dream Derby: The Myth and Legend of Black Gold, just out from the University Press of Kentucky's Horses In History Series, does as it takes in the larger events surrounding a colt named Black Gold, his dam Useeit and their owner Rosa Hoots. This is a monograph with a complex story around their march to what was then the 50th Kentucky Derby in 1924.

Chances are you've read Marguerite Henry's famous children's book, illustrated by Dennis Wesley, about the little black colt that could. First published in 1957, it went through numerous printings, but Hunter is not looking to supplant the plucky images that were created over the generations. For her, the story behind the legend isn't just one dusty fact after another.

Dream Derby is a splendid prism in which to view key American events leading up to and after World War I, as the nation spun into the turn of the Roaring '20s. We learn that horse racing's roads in North America were traveled regularly by dreamers seeking the winner's circle prizes from Mexico to Canada and everywhere in between.

Central to the plot is Black Gold's owner, Rosa Hoots. Raised in the ways of the Osage people in Oklahoma, she was a shrewd businesswoman in Tulsa at the time. Her husband passed away and left her Useeit, along with the prophecy that she would produce a Derby winner. She did send her mare to Kentucky and the resulting colt, named Black Gold, was a reference to the booming oil deposits that many of the Osage discovered after moving to reservation land.

Colby Hernandez lays the ceremonial wreath at Black Gold's grave after his win this year's Black Gold S. at Fair Grounds | Hodges Photography

Not only does Hunter do an excellent job explaining the complexities of racial discrimination associated with the subject of David Grann's 2017 bestseller Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI (which is a major motion picture from Martin Scorsese this fall), but she also examines the impact of the Tulsa race riots of 1921. She ably helps us to understand the world that Hoots inhabited and despite advances for women in categories like suffrage, it didn't mean the road was clear. As a horsewoman and not from the Eastern establishment, Black Gold's owner entered a world that is still dominated by men to this day.

The supporting cast is just as intriguing and chock full of characters worth mentioning. We find the hard-drinking trainer, Hanley Webb, who believed that cutting a hole in the stall next to his charge was essential, so he could use it as both an office and a bedroom to sleep as close as possible to his horse. There's 20-something jockey J.D. Mooney, who scratched and clawed his way back into Webb's good graces in order to pilot the best horse he ever rode. Who can forget Colonel Edward Riley Bradley? The founder of Idle Hour Stock Farm, Bradley's timely appearance in New Orleans after a Useeit victory brought the Hoots's mare to breed with his little-known sire Black Toney.

Also figuring prominently is the story of Churchill Downs's tipping point and the role played by Matt Winn. Hunter makes no bones about the integral role played by him. The Derby nearly perished into regional obscurity before his arrival in the early 20th century, and how different would everything be if that major cultural event never happened? Winn's savvy bookkeeping and courting of everyone from the racing press to the Eastern powerhouse breeders kept Churchill from going down–their pun at that time, not mine.

With the path to the 150th Derby upon us, reflection on what this sport meant then and what it means to us today can be grounding. The case of Black Gold and his rise to fame is just as alive today as it was then. In times like these, nothing like a reason to breed, race and dream.

Dream Derby: The Myth and Legend of Black Gold by University Press of Kentucky, 221 pages, September 2023.

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Cyberknife Just Edges Howling Time in Thrilling Matt Winn

Cyberknife, who earned a spot in the GI Kentucky Derby with his win in the Apr. 2 GI Arkansas Derby, never factored on the First Saturday in May, but got a graded win under the Twin Spires with a dramatic victory in the GIII Matt Winn S. at Churchill Downs Sunday. Sent off the 1-2 favorite, the chestnut colt tucked in behind the early leaders to save ground on the first turn, but rushed up to press pacesetting Howling Time while racing keenly down the backstretch through moderate splits. Cyberknife rolled up confidently and looked set to storm clear entering the stretch, but Howling Time refused to yield. The two rivals, who floated wide into the stretch and exchanged some light bumps, drifted back to the rail as they battled toe to toe down the lane. Howling Time appeared to eke out an advantage inside the final sixteenth only to have Cyberknife claw his way back to get his nose in front on the line.

“He broke a little slow, but I was able to get him into a good position,” said winning jockey Florent Geroux. “He was traveling well and [Howling Time] was really game on my inside. We were battling the whole stretch. I couldn't tell which one of us won, but I'm glad it was Cyberknife.”

On the other side of the photo, jockey Joe Talamo, aboard Howling Time, said, “You can't get a more brutal beat than that.”

Cyberknife finished first in his debut at Churchill last September, only to be disqualified for interference and placed second. The handsome chestnut officially graduated in his third start at Fair Grounds Dec. 26 and opened 2022 with a sixth-place effort in the Jan. 22 GIII Lecomte S. He took a Fair Grounds optional claimer in February before his Apr. 2 Arkansas Derby win. Up close to the hot pace in the Kentucky Derby, he faded to 18th, beaten 42 3/4 lengths.

“He's still a developing 3-year-old and he gets that experience by running in the afternoon,” said winning trainer Brad Cox. “I think he's making good progress and ran hard today. We got on the right side of a tight photo. [Howling Time] ran a really game race. [Cyberknife] is a horse that I think we are looking to take the next step. He's a sound, happy horse and he's growing up. We're excited about him as a prospect throughout the rest of the year.”

Pedigree Notes:

Cyberknife, who became the third Grade I winner for Gun Runner with his Arkansas Derby score, was the second stakes winner on the Churchill card for the Three Chimneys stallion, who was also represented by Leslie's Lady S. winner Wicked Halo.

Multiple graded stakes placed Awesome Flower has an unraced 2-year-old colt by Tapit named Tapit Shoes who sold to BSW/Crow Colts Group for $300,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton October sale. The mare produced a colt by Authentic this year.

Well Dressed, Cyberknife's third dam, produced G1 Dubai World Cup winner Well Armed, Grade I placed Helsinki and graded winner Witty.

Sunday, Churchill Downs
MATT WINN S.-GIII, $225,000, Churchill Downs, 6-12, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:41.98, ft.
1–CYBERKNIFE, 123, c, 3, by Gun Runner
               1st Dam: Awesome Flower (MSW & MGSP, $556,593), by Flower Alley
                2nd Dam: Formalities Aside, by Awesome Again
                3rd Dam: Well Dressed, by Notebook
($400,000 Ylg '20 FTKSEL). O-Gold Square LLC; B-Kenneth L. &
Sarah K. Ramsey (KY); T-Brad H. Cox; J-Florent Geroux.
$136,520. Lifetime Record: GISW, 8-4-2-0, $996,520.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick
Rating: A+.
2–Howling Time, 118, c, 3, Not This Time–Werewolf, by Arch.
1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($200,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP).
O-Albaugh Family Stables LLC; B-Springhouse Farm (KY); T-Dale
Romans. $44,200.
3–Rattle N Roll, 123, c, 3, Connect–Jazz Tune, by Johannesburg.
($55,000 Wlg '19 KEENOV; $210,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Lucky
Seven Stable (Mackin); B-St. Simon Place (KY); T-Kenneth G.
McPeek. $22,100.
Margins: NO, 6, 8. Odds: 0.50, 4.30, 4.40.
Also Ran: Droppin G's, Camp David, Trafalgar, Tough to Tame.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Foley Considering Shorter Distances With Comeback Allowance Winner O Besos

The fifth place finisher in the 2021 Kentucky Derby, Bernard Racing, Tagg Team Racing, West Point Thoroughbreds, and Terry Stephens' O Besos made his much-anticipated return count on Sunday. The 4-year-old by Orb won the Fair Grounds' seventh race, a $47,000 allowance option claiming contest, by a hard-fought nose over Intrepid Heart.

“He had to run a little harder than we were hoping for,” trainer Greg Foley said. “He got banged around a little out of the gate. I don't know how much he loved it on the inside there.”

Now 8-3-1-1 with earnings of $320,224, all three of O Besos' wins have come at Fair Grounds with Brian Hernandez Jr. riding.

“We got that under his belt,” Foley said. “He looked great this morning, licked his tub, he didn't act like it took anything out of him. The horse looks amazing. He's put on 150 pounds of muscle in the right places. I couldn't be any happier with the way he looks.”

After the Kentucky Derby, O Besos ran second in the Matt Winn (G3) at Churchill Downs on May 29, 2021. Winning at 1 1/16 miles off the bench on Sunday, his connections are now considering their options for his next start.

“I just got to figure out what this horse really wants to do,” Foley said. “I'm not so sure he is a true long-distance horse. He might be a monster going seven-eighths or a one-turn mile.”

Speaking of past Kentucky Derby horses, Foley and his team are also weighing their options for Lloyd Madison Farms, IV's Major Fed, who was last seen finishing fifth in the locally run Tenacious Stakes the day after Christmas.

“Might be the same speech,” Foley said. “He could be great at one-turn. Other than that, all his brothers and sisters were really good turf horses, too, so we might stick him on the grass next time.”

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Saffie Joseph, Jr. Points Mischevious Alex To Forego At Saratoga

Trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. said Cash is King and LC Racing's Mischevious Alex had a good breeze back on Friday in his first timed work since an off-the-board finish in the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt on July 31 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

The 4-year-old Into Mischief bay worked a half-mile solo in :48.45 on the main track in preparation for a start in the $600,000 Grade 1 Forego at seven furlongs on the main track on Travers Day August 28.

“He's bounced out of the race good. We haven't seen anything to deter us running back in the Forego,” Joseph, Jr. said. “He got the thumps last time pretty bad. Hopefully, that was the reason for his performance.”

A multiple graded stakes winner, Mischevious Alex has won 3-of-5 starts this year, including scores in the Grade 3 Gulfstream Park Sprint at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., in February and the Grade 1 Carter Handicap in April at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y.

Joseph Jr. said Friday's breeze have him confidence that Mischevious Alex could return to form in the Forego.

“He went a good half by himself. Hopefully, the real Alex shows up and if he does, he'll have a good chance,” Joseph, Jr. said.

Slam Dunk Racing, Madaket Stables, Wonder Stables, and Michael Nentwig's Drain the Clock, a sophomore son of Maclean's Music, also breezed Friday covering a half-mile in :48.83 on the main track.

Boasting a record of six wins and two seconds from nine starts, Drain the Clock bested Jackie's Warrior by a neck on June 5 at Belmont in the Grade 1 Woody Stephens.

Last out, in the 6 1/2-furlong Grade 2 Amsterdam, Jackie's Warrior turned the tables with a romping 7 1/4-length score over a sloppy and sealed Saratoga main track.

Joseph Jr. said he is hopeful Drain the Clock will one-up his familiar foe in the $500,000 Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial on Travers Day.

“No one was beating Jackie that day. He ran dynamite. Maybe our horse didn't run his best that day but all credit to Jackie,” Joseph, Jr. said. “We have no excuse. We had a good trip. The record is one and one. He's beat us once, we beat him once. We'll try again in the Allen Jerkens.”

John Fanelli, Cash is King, LC Racing, Paul Braverman, and Team Hanley's Ny Traffic, a 4-year-old New York-bred son of Cross Traffic, breezed a half-mile in :48 flat Sunday on the main track.

The talented colt finished second in a trio of graded events last year, including the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby in March at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, La., the Grade 3 Matt Winn in May at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., and the Grade 1 Haskell at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J., in July in which he finished just a nose back of Authentic.

Ny Traffic won his seasonal debut in May at Belmont by 6 3/4-lengths sprinting seven furlongs against fellow state-breds in an optional claimer and followed with a close second in the Grade 3 Salvator Mile in June at Monmouth.

Last out, Ny Traffic faded to fourth in the nine-furlong Grade 3 Monmouth Cup on July 17.

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“He went good this morning. It was his first breeze back since Monmouth, I had him in 47 and 4. It was a good work back,” Joseph Jr. said. “There's a possibility he could go in the Forego or the Charles Town Classic.”

Joseph Jr. said Ny Traffic will breeze again next weekend before he decides on cutting back to seven furlongs for the Forego or stretching out to nine furlongs for the Grade 2 Charles Town Classic at Charles Town in Charles Town, W.Va. on August 27.

Overall, Joseph, Jr. said he has been pleased with Ny Traffic's performances this season.

“He won his debut at Belmont and in his second race at Monmouth he ran second but it was a good race,” Joseph, Jr. said. “Last time he disappointed a little bit if you just look at the running lines, but the reality is that he acted up pre-race back at the barn and I think he lost his race there. It wasn't a true run.”

Joseph, Jr. said e Five Racing Thoroughbreds' Gibberish will turn back to nine furlongs for the $120,000 Summer Colony on August 22 at the Spa.

Last out, the 4-year-old daughter of Lea was a game second to Miss Marissa in the 10-furlong Grade 2 Delaware Handicap on July 10.

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