Letter to the Editor: C’mon, Bill

Years ago, a dear friend, Joe Spadaro, a veteran turf writer who coined the phrase “get with the program!”, and I were at a bar one evening up on Jericho Turnpike after the races at beautiful Belmont Park. We were commiserating with the Eclipse Award-winning writer Paul Moran about racing. I was always a pretty opinionated guy (still am) and Joe could hear my tone of voice elevating to rebut something that Paul said. Joe turned to me and said “Tom, never get into it with somebody who buys ink by the barrel”. I've always listened to that advice so I'm not going to get into it but: Come on, Bill.

In reference to yesterday's article about the Metropolitan Handicap not being on Memorial Day, when it was traditionally held, yes, I totally agree with you. I am very much a traditionalist also. However, you know what the trend is, right? The bean counters think that apparently big championship racing days generate the most handle. I guess that might be a trend for the future.

But that's not my issue with the article. You referred to this Memorial Day as “it will be just another day at the track”. Come on Bill!!

It's New York-bred Showcase Day, the biggest day of racing for New York-breds in the spring at beautiful Belmont Park. We showcase the best New York-breds in stake race after stake race. New York breeders spend a ton of money all over the country including Kentucky. We just passed a rule whereby you can buy a mare at any auction in Kentucky and other states, ship the mare back within 15 days and take advantage of everything the program has to offer. New York-breds race with up to a 30% advantage over non-New York-breds at New York tracks for some of the biggest purses in the country.

Times are tough. We went from an annual 50,000 foal crop nationally when I got into the business back in the 70s to around an 18,000 foal crop presently. Let's go easy on each other and try and be supportive of all the state programs, including New York's.
And go easy on me with all that ink in your barrel!

Respectfully,
Tom Gallo
President, New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc.

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The Week in Review: The Met Mile Belongs on Memorial Day

A New York racing tradition began in 1971, the first time that Memorial Day was officially celebrated each year on the last Monday in May. A crowd of 61,147 showed up that Monday at Belmont Park to watch Tunex win the $121,600 Metropolitan Mile for trainer Allen Jerkens and owner Hobeau Farm. For the next 42 years, New York racing fans circled Memorial Day on their calendars, knowing that it would be one of the biggest days of the year, thanks to the GI Metropolitan H.

In 1976 and 1977, they saw the mighty Forego win the race. In 1982, the 3-year-old Conquistador Cielo won by 7 1/4 lengths, five days before he would return to win the GI Belmont S. In 1990, Criminal Type beat Easy Goer and Housebuster. In 1994, Holy Bull won the Met, rebounding from his lackluster performance in the GI Kentucky Derby. Ghostzapper won in 2005. The winner in 2010 was Quality Road.

Fast forward to Memorial Day 2022 and the Belmont card not only won't include the Met Mile, but there are no graded stakes on the program. The highlight on this afternoon will be five stakes races for New York-breds. There were supposed to be six, but one, the Commentator H., did not fill. It will be just another day at the track.

During the three-day holiday weekend, Belmont offered just one graded stakes, Saturday's GIII Soaring Softly S. The weekend was crying out for a big race, and there is no better way to fill the void than returning the Met Mile to its traditional place on the calendar.

The Met Mile was last run on Memorial Day in 2013. The following year, it was moved to Belmont Day and it has remained there ever since. The idea was to create a blockbuster card that went beyond just the Belmont Stakes. This year, there will be nine graded stakes on the card, eight of them Grade I's. It's working. With the exception of the Saturday Breeders' Cup program, the Belmont Stakes card might be the best in the sport. Last year's handle for the card was $112 million, a record for a non-Triple Crown year.

But there's been a price to pay. The weekend racing leading up to and following the Belmont has absolutely no sizzle. That might be fine for some of the weeks, but it shouldn't be ok for Memorial Day.

You can make a case that the Met is the third most important, most prestigious race run each year in New York, behind only the GI Travers S. and the Belmont. Put it along side eight claiming races if you have to and it can carry a day. But on Belmont Day it tends to get lost.

The solution is to go back to Memorial Day. To do so wouldn't affect Belmont Day one bit. A Met Mile-less card that still had eight stakes, seven of them Grade I's, and a Triple Crown event would get by just fine without the Met. And moving the Met back to Memorial Day would instantly make the Monday holiday program the special type of occasion that it was for 42 years but is no longer.

Repole-Viola Partnership Off To Good Start

It comes as no surprise that the first two-year-old to earn 'TDN Rising Star' status this year in New York is owned by the partnership of Mike Repole and Vinnie Viola. The feat was accomplished Friday at Belmont when Forte (Violence) romped by 7 3/4 lengths, paying $2.40 to win. Forte was purchased for $110,000 last year at Keeneland September.

On the same day, Repole and Viola finished third in a 2-year-old maiden at Churchill Downs with Summonyourcourage (Practical Joke). Summonyourcourage and Forte were their first two 2-year-old starters on the year.

Viola and Repole have assembled a stable of 2-year-olds that is so large and so potent that it is unlike anything ever seen in racing before. They bought 43 yearlings last year at Keeneland September, paying a combined $16.045 million. They also bought three yearlings at Fasig-Tipton sales for an aggregate cost of $1.725 million. The vast majority of the horses are colts.

“Vinnie and I have at least 50 2-year-olds together,” Repole said via text. “Plus, we probably have at least 25 each alone. I'm extremely excited about these 2-year-olds. Forte looked great in his debut, winning by almost eight lengths and getting an 81 Beyer. Vinnie and I are excited about unleashing some potential future stars at Saratoga. Building this stable has been 15 years in the making for me and the great team I have managing the stable.”

While awaiting the debut of more 2-year-olds, Repole can turn his attention to the GI Belmont S. He has a confirmed starter in Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo) and says that he is “leaning heavily” toward running the filly Nest (Curlin) in the race.

“If we run her, it will be because she deserves to be in this race,” Repole said. “She is just as fast as the 3-year-old colts. She is a daughter of Curlin and will relish the distance.”

Piggott in the North America

Equibase stats on Lestor Piggott's rides in North America go back only to 1976. Starting with that time, Piggott, who passed away Sunday at age 86, had seven winners in North America from 68 mounts. That includes two stakes wins, with Royal Academy in the 1990 GI Breeders' Cup Mile, and with Argument (Fr) in the 1980 GI Washington D.C. International.

Piggott's last-ever mount in the U.S. was one he probably would have liked to forget. He rode Mr. Brooks (GB) in the 1992 GI Breeders' Cup Sprint, where the horse broke down and had to be euthanized.

In 1979, the Meadowlands brought him over to take part in an international jockey challenge pitting U.S. versus European riders. Steve Cauthen captained the victorious U.S. team. Piggott did not win a race that night.

Before the advent of the Breeders' Cup, the Washington D.C. International at Laurel led the way when it came to attracting star horses and riders from Europe. With three wins in the International, Piggott is tied with Manny Ycaza for most wins in the race by a jockey. Piggott also won the International in 1968 with Sir Ivor and in 1969 with Karabas. He also won the 1974 Canadian International aboard Dahlia.

After riding in the 1967 D.C. International, Piggott stayed in the U.S and tried to break in at Aqueduct during a time of year when flat racing is shutdown in the U.K. According to a New York Times report, he was 2-for-his-first-18 over the course of seven days. He said his intention was to finish the Aqueduct meet, which ended Dec. 15. When asked why he had made a detour at Aqueduct before returning to the U.K., Piggott said: “because I enjoy riding. Why not ride here?” He admitted he wasn't getting on the best mounts. “I wouldn't be riding these bad ones in England,” he said. “But I guess there's nothing else I can do here.”

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Silver Gleams With Hard Spun Polish

If his most important legacy to our community was the example of his own conduct, it was nonetheless apt that a more tangible bequest made by Rick Porter to the breed itself was measured afresh even as he left us. For while the owner of Fox Hill Farms devoted more attention to the welfare of those horses that had failed to extend their usefulness, into a breeding program, he also measured out for our benefit some precious genetic ore–none deeper than that mined by the winner of the GI Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan H. on the very eve of Porter's loss.

Silver State is the 11th domestic Grade I winner (besides three in Australia) by Hard Spun, who carried Porter's silks in a GI Kentucky Derby that truly served its purpose as a signpost to merit for breeders. Only Street Sense managed to overhaul him, with Curlin well held in third. Those two have given us seven and 14 Grade I winners, respectively, taking the 2007 podium aggregate to 32, in the process earning themselves fees of $60,000 and $175,000. In that context, $35,000 for Hard Spun–especially as one of the last direct links to his breed-shaping sire Danzig–transparently represents some of the best value around at that level of the market.

In fairness, the genetic seam that has proved so fertile was first opened up by Hard Spun's breeders, Michael Moran and Brushwood Stable. But Porter and his team certainly showcased the breadth of his talent, trainer Larry Jones developing him from the company of Pennsylvania-breds to become a key player in the Classics before dropping back to seven furlongs to win his Grade I in the King's Bishop S. Hard Spun then disclosed the kind of versatility we associate with Danzig, as a global influence, by subsequently beating Street Sense on a synthetic surface and then chasing home Curlin in that ghastly mudbath at the Monmouth Breeders' Cup.

As luck should have it, Hard Spun's sophomore campaign coincided with a conspicuous determination by Sheikh Mohammed that his Turf empire needed to upgrade its seeding by in-house stallions. A deal was duly done with Porter to include Hard Spun among a series of expensive recruits made that year for Godolphin's feeder farms around the world: in Europe, champion juvenile Teofilo (Ire) and G1 Epsom Derby winner Authorized (Ire) gave the Sheikh precious access to the blood of two titans, Galileo (Ire) and Montjeu (Ire), revealing their potency for his great rivals at Coolmore; G1 Japan Cup winner Admire Moon (Jpn) joined the Hokkaido roster; while both Street Sense and Hard Spun arrived at Jonabell Farm in Kentucky, at $75,000 and $50,000 respectively, alongside fellow rookies Any Given Saturday and Discreet Cat.

Both Street Sense and Hard Spun would soon be asked to risk their early domestic momentum with a year in Japan. That mission might not have been entertained on a purely commercial farm, but they belong to a global program and, besides, were always guaranteed swift rehabilitation in the Bluegrass by the quality of the herd on their home farm.

Nor would external clients forget Hard Spun during his absence. His first crop ultimately yielded a record 17 stakes winners, while the fourth-crop table of 2014–the year of his absence–put Hard Spun clear (whether by prizemoney, winners or graded stakes success) of no less a trio than Street Sense, English Channel and Scat Daddy. One way or another, then, he has routinely maintained books of around 150, which amounts to full subscription on a wholesome farm like this.

Sure enough, having had no 2017 U.S. juveniles/2018  sophomores, Hard Spun didn't miss a beat on his return. Indeed, the prizemoney banked by his comeback 3-year-olds in 2019 was exceeded only by those of champion Into Mischief.

Moreover he had been helped through his blank year by a useful propensity in his stock to keep thriving with maturity. That, in turn, reflects the soundness that underpinned Hard Spun's own career, which spanned 13 starts in barely a year, repeatedly giving everything he had in stretching his speed.

The chances are that Hard Spun might have reached still greater heights at four–he would surely have been an ideal type for the Met Mile himself–but his services were impatiently awaited at Jonabell. So while he can also produce a romping GII Saratoga Special winner, in Green Light Go, we often see the benefits of maturity in his stock. Silver State himself is one such case, having seamlessly regrouped since his comeback last fall, while Smooth Roller only surfaced at four before thrashing Hoppertunity and Bayern in the GI Awesome Again S. Moreover, American breeders may not be aware of the durability exhibited by some of Hard Spun's high achievers overseas, Le Romain (Aus) and Moviesta having each soaked up six campaigns in Australia and Europe, respectively.

Both also operated not just on turf but in sprints. Moviesta's biggest win, in fact, came over five furlongs on the downhill ramp at Goodwood–and he's out of an A.P. Indy mare. That versatility is the trademark of a sire who has shown a Danzig serviceability on turf (see Hard Not To Like) but has proved no less adept on dirt (see Hard Not To Love!). And his speed is very often carried through a second turn: as, for instance, by runaway GI Alabama S. winner Questing (GB), GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Spun To Run, or GI Wood Memorial winner Wicked Strong.

A flair for dirt gives Hard Spun priceless distinction, of course, in an environment that might otherwise be wary of the strong grass flavor to Danzig's dynasty, notably through Danehill (in both Australia and Europe) and Green Desert (in Europe). But “priceless” is only a figure of speech, when he trades at a rate so much more affordable than another of Danzig's later sons, War Front, whose career fits that international/grass branding so closely.

Regardless of any surface prejudices, it is rare in this day and age to retain such proximate access to such a hallowed influence on the modern breed. Danzig was 26 when he conceived Hard Spun (a mere youngster of 24 when he came up with War Front). We've often remarked on the self-fulfilling nature of commercial prejudice against older sires. With Danzig, admittedly, we're rolling back the years to an era of much smaller books, one somewhat evoked by the conservative management of War Front himself. But even today it's funny how those horses unchallenged by fashion, like Galileo, maintain into the evening of their careers a mechanical output that is duly presented as an exception to the perceived “rule”.

Be that as it may, it certainly feels special to have a stallion in his prime, at 17, who not only provides a direct tap into Danzig but also brings in names like Roberto and My Babu (Fr) as close up as his second and third dams. The only chink in Hard Spun's genetic armor was always his damsire Turkoman, a son of Alydar who won an Eclipse Award as an older horse but made little impact at stud, excepting another daughter who became dam of Horse of the Year Point Given (Thunder Gulch). Turkoman can perhaps be credited for the physical immensity of that horse–and Hard Spun is another imposing specimen, who has stamped Silver State in much the same way–but he did not recycle his acceleration consistently enough and ended up wandering round California.

Incidentally, Turkoman lived to 34 and was lovingly tended to the end. But I remember being incredulous on reading that there had been problems getting full syndicate support for his upkeep, once pensioned, with an ordinary race fan from Michigan among those who stepped up to the plate. I can just imagine what Rick Porter might have had to say about that situation.

Turkoman had started his stud career in a noble setting at Darby Dan and it was his daughter out of a Roberto half-sister to farm champion Little Current that was alertly bought by Michael Moran as a yearling for just $39,000 in 1992. Named Turkish Tryst, she won four times and made the podium on the only occasion she was tried in graded company (GII Matchmaker S.). It was her yearling son by Danzig that Porter acquired privately after he failed at $485,000 to meet what was evidently a pretty ambitious reserve (necessarily, given the cost of access even to the ageing Danzig; and quite rightly, as things would turn out) at the Keeneland September Sale of 2005.

It is not just Danzig, then, who gives old-school luster to Hard Spun. Since his granddam was a half-sister to Little Current, remember, then that meant she was out of a half-sister (by My Babu, as noted) to two other Darby Dan legends (both by Swaps) in Chateaugay and Primonetta. The former was notoriously denied the Triple Crown only by a runner-up finish in the Preakness, five days after an unscheduled crack at the Pimlico track record in his final gallop; the latter, a 17-for-25 champion on the track, produced two Grade I winners (plus one at Grade II level).

So while Turkish Tryst did not have a straightforward breeding career, she was certainly working with the right stuff. Five of her seven foals won and, though Hard Spun was much the most accomplished, her stakes-placed daughter Our Rite Of Spring (Stravinsky) has since brought the family new distinction as second dam of multiple Grade I winner Improbable (City Zip).

Hard Spun, then, really represents the full package and, given the inaccessibility of War Front, is surely a more important resource for breeders than is implied by his fee.

His one omission for now remains a proven heir to maintain that abbreviated link to Danzig. War Front already has Declaration Of War and The Factor doing well, with a number of younger sons now making their way either side of the ocean, not least a wonderful parting gift from Porter in Omaha Beach.     But several of Hard Spun's best sons have been geldings, while Wicked Strong is down to just $3,500 as he seeks a reboot at a smaller farm. Spun To Run will be given every chance at Gainesway, but the opportunity is plainly there for Silver State to stake his claim.

Silver State's family, after all, introduces complementary Classic influences of its own. His dam Supreme (Empire Maker) was acquired by Stonestreet for $800,000 at Keeneland in January 2013 when carrying her first foal. She owed that valuation partly to her own merit, as a Grade II-placed stakes winner, but also to the fact that her mother was a sister to Kentucky Derby winner Monarchos. Supreme's mating with Hard Spun meanwhile consolidated his trademark toughness with a second strand of that redoubtable influence, Roberto–already noted as sire of Hard Spun's granddam–being responsible for her third dam.

A $450,000 Keeneland September purchase by Winchell Thoroughbreds, Silver State (who is raced in partnership with Wills Horton Racing LLC) has been expertly brought back through the ranks by Steve Asmussen, who gained due reward with a third Met Mile in four years. That stands the trainer up to all comers since Eddie Neloy won the great race three years straight with Gun Bow, Bold Lad and Buckpasser.

The traditionalists among us love this race as a stallion showcase because that sweeping, one-turn mile permits no hiding place in the honest, big-hearted carrying of speed. That's an asset in every environment, and the key to Danzig's international success. It is also the hallmark of a stallion who, above all through the hardiness implicit in his name, covers all bases. At his intermediate fee, Hard Spun can prove a young mare; he gives you a margin to work with, at market; and he can introduce old-school class to any aspiring track program.

The fact is that Hard Spun, already fairly priced before taking his pandemic trim, has been returning the yield of an elite stallion from the moment he could again count on two consecutive domestic crops. A fine ninth in the general sires' list in 2020, he had done even better the preceding campaign, finishing behind only Into Mischief (now $225,000), Curlin ($175,000) and Tapit ($185,000). So while Rick Porter reminded us to respect all horses, regardless of their ability, it seems that sometimes we don't show quite enough even to those who do make the grade.

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Fiske Pondering Next Step For Silver State

After running his win streak to six with a conquest of the Grade 1, $1 million Hill 'N' Dale Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., Silver State has plenty of options on the table said co-owner Ron Winchell's racing and bloodstock advisor David Fiske.

Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, the son of Hard Spun carried five straight triumphs into the prestigious one-turn mile event, including three stakes wins at Oaklawn Park. He made his seasonal bow with a narrow victory in the Fifth Season on January 23 going a two-turn mile before notching wins in the Essex on March 13 and the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap on April 17.

Silver State began his six-race tear off a seven-month layoff when defeating winners going seven furlongs on October 22 at Keeneland. He produced a career-best 101 Beyer when traveling the same distance next out at Churchill Downs.

Given Silver State's versatility, Fiske said he is still determining a target for the 4-year-old bay colt, who earned an automatic entry into the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile in capturing the Met Mile.

“He's in that spot where we could stretch him out again, or we could shorten him up,” Fiske said. “He seems to be effective at seven [furlongs], a mile, a mile and a sixteenth and a mile and an eighth, He can go just about anywhere. We'll probably talk about whether we want to go in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile and keep him at a middle distance or if we want to stretch him out again.”

Campaigned on the Fair Grounds division of the Kentucky Derby trail last year, Silver State was put on the shelf following a distant seventh in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby. Fiske said his mental maturity has been highly instrumental.

“He's always had a lot of talent and we always thought a lot of him,” Fiske said. “We had him on the Triple Crown trail last year and maybe he was a little immature for that. We did some body work on him and sent him to the sidelines after the Louisiana Derby. With the pandemic, there was a lot of uncertainty as to when. We brought him back in the fall. He was a bigger, stronger version of himself.

“He's always been a large extremely good-looking horse,” he added. “He probably would have gotten good sooner with a more consistent pattern of racing. He may have been victimized by the pandemic a bit.”

Additionally, Fiske expressed delight in seeing Tapit, who was campaigned by Winchell, sire a fourth Belmont Stakes winner. The influential stallion put himself on even terms with Lexington, who sired General Duke [1868], Kingfisher [1870], Harry Basset [1871] and Duke of Magenta [1878].

“Ron and I joke that he hasn't gotten a Derby win because it's too short,” Fiske quipped. “No one has done that in the modern era. We were hoping he would get a Derby winner this year, if not for a slightly troubled trip for Essential Quality.”

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