The Dams Connected to Todd Fincher’s Breeders’ Cup

by J.N. Campbell

If you didn't know the name of New Mexico's Todd Fincher, you do now. The past few weeks solidified it. “My phone's just blown up,” he admitted.

In the GII Thoroughbred Club of America S. at Keeneland on Oct. 8, the trainer's 4-year-old filly Slammed (Marking) set the pace early. Never looking back, she torched a solid field by more than a half dozen lengths. Once supplemented for $200,000, she will race on the same track in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint on Nov. 5.

That was Fincher's second trip to the heart of the Bluegrass, and his first victory at Keeneland. It gave him a pair of tickets to next month's international event. His 4-year-old colt, Senor Buscador (Mineshaft), won the GIII Ack Ack S. at Churchill Downs on Oct. 1, and will compete on the same day as his filly in the GI Breeders' Cup Big Ass Fans Dirt Mile.

But there is more to this story.

Flash back to 2013, when Fincher was facing a predicament. Two of his top mares were headed for the same race. There wasn't any way around it; he had to enter both. Keeping them apart had worked until then, but time had run out.

The elder was the short-priced favorite, Rose's Desert (Desert God), then a 5-year-old mare owned by Joe Peacock Sr. She would face her stablemate, Barbara Coleman's 4-year-old filly Hennesey Smash (Roll Hennesey Roll) in the Peppers Pride H. at Sunland Park.

Fincher said he had no idea how it was going to shake out, except that, he said, “It was going to be a showdown.” He was right.

From the bell, Hennesey Smash snatched the lead, forcing Rose's Desert to fan to the outside before the first call. Down the backstretch, Fincher's younger entry clung to the rail in control, but it looked like her more experienced rival was gaining. By the top of the lane, though, it was clear that Coleman's mare had much more left in the tank. The upset was on, all the way to the wire.

Ironically, Slammed and Senor Buscador are out of Hennesey Smash (MSW, $252,006, winner of seven of her eight career starts) and Rose's Desert (MSW, $626,035, winner of 10 of her 15 career starts), respectively. Maybe it's more prophetic. Since he took out his trainer's license 25 years ago, it's one of those full-circle moments, as both dams are connected to his Breeders' Cup berths.

Fincher was born in Denver, Colorado to a family of horsemen. They moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1985.

“I weighed 100 lbs. and was about 5'1″ in middle school,” Fincher said with a chuckle. After he graduated from high school, he became a professional jockey in his home state, amassing $2,138,839 in earnings over some 4,100 starts. He got too big for the saddle by 1997, and the following year, he turned to training.

Despite a stellar record in New Mexico, Fincher surprised some people by ending up this October in the winner's circle with Senor Buscador and Slammed. The conditioner's success wasn't happenstance; instead, it was built on breaking and building up young runners to race. What Fincher calls, “my program,” which doesn't include claiming, is based 100% on patience. It isn't easy.

“The approach I have is slow and methodical and to let the horses dictate everything because they'll tell you when it's time,” he said.

With a crack staff, he helps choose those yearlings and 2-year-olds for his trusted clients, and then trains many of them to use early speed to an overwhelming effect. If owners decide to transfer to another barn to run elsewhere, Fincher takes pride that they were given a firm foundation.

A recent case in point, Smash Ticket (Midnight Lute), who is owned partly by Coleman, was moved to Rob Atras's barn over the summer. The half-sister to Slammed recently won the Weather Vane S. at Pimlico. Fincher said he was pleased.

“The right choices early in a horse's career mean everything, as far as I am concerned, so we start them out on the right foot,” he explained.

Managing equine form during training also requires a steady dose of forbearance. Back in early 2021, when Senor Buscador sustained an injury along the Derby trail after the GII Risen Star S. at the Fair Grounds, Fincher and owner Joey Peacock Jr., did everything in their power to give the budding star a chance to recuperate.

“There was nothing easy about that time up until this past summer, and it was supremely frustrating to see him have a couple of major setbacks, but he is the best he can be, right now.”

Fincher continues to forge strong bonds with clients. After the GIII Rancho Bernardo H. at Del Mar in August, he sold his share in Slammed to Barbara Coleman.

“She and her husband, who has now passed, sent me a number of really good horses over the years, and me and Brad King bought Hennesey Smash from her when she got out of the breeding and racing business, so it was the right thing to do,” Fincher said.

He might have missed out on the filly's future earnings, but he said he doesn't see it that way.

“I'm a trainer,” he said. “I have to pay the bills, so ownership isn't at the forefront of my mind.”

What is on Fincher's mind? Getting his filly and colt ready for the biggest races of their lives, and probably his own. As for Rose's Desert, she is currently in-foal to Authentic, while Hennesey Smash visited City of Light. The next generation of New Mexico-breds are coming.

In the meantime, another showdown looms. Luckily for Todd Fincher, Slammed and Senor Buscador don't have to race one another.

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Judge Rules New Mexico Commission Halt Use of Purses to Pay Insurance

District Court Judge Victor S. Lopez determined in his Sept. 20 order that the New Mexico Racing Commission (NMRC) improperly required horsemen, through their purse accounts, to pay half of racetracks' insurance premiums for jockeys and exercise riders, in violation of state statute.

Since 2009, more than $9 million has been taken from purse accounts at New Mexico's five racetracks to use for the insurance premiums. In late 2020, the NMHA went to court to end the practice and to get all or a portion of the purse money returned.

“[The] reality is that the practice is being questioned now; the parties presented no authority supporting the proposition that a party somehow waives a rule-making overreach by the mere passage of time,” Judge Lopez wrote. “It is neither the Commission's nor this Court's role to decide and implement policy which would essentially allow the skimming of racing revenue for the admittedly favorable purpose of protecting jockeys and exercise riders who may sustain injuries in the course of engaging in the inherently dangerous profession of horse racing.”

Judge Lopez stayed his order until at least Mar. 18, the last day of the 2023 legislative session, “to allow the parties to consider legislative intervention, if appropriate.”

Gary C. Mitchell, general counsel for the New Mexico Horsemen's Association (NMHA), added, “The battle is over the political power of the racetracks that wish to cut down on the expenses of running a racetrack and a race meet and enjoy greater income from their casinos. The great advocate standing in their way is, and has always been, the Horsemen's Association and, hopefully, the New Mexico Legislature.”

To read the complete ruling, click here.

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New Mexico Horsemen Frustrated As Zia Park Fails To Open For Training As Scheduled

According to a contract with the New Mexico Horsemen's Association, Zia Park in Hobbs, N.M. was to have opened for training on Wednesday, Sept. 15. Instead, horsemen were turned away from the racetrack due to the lack of a staffed ambulance on-site.

NMHA President Roy Manfredi told the Paulick Report that the horsemen's attorney contacted Zia Park's attorney, who relayed that the county's only EMT had been pulled away by a family emergency, thus the track was unable to provide an EMT for morning training.

Racing at Zia Park is scheduled to begin on Sept. 26, but video posted on social media showing the track's backstretch appears to demonstrate a lack of preparedness for the meet. Manure is still piled up, and large weeds have taken over much of the backstretch area.

When you see the condition of the backside, it doesn't appear they planned on running,” Manfredi said.

The contract between Zia and the NMHA dictates that trainers be allowed onto the backstretch on Sept. 9 to begin preparing their stalls, and that horses be allowed to ship in on Sept. 12 while training was to begin on Sept. 15. Now, the latest information indicates that it may not be until Saturday that the track is open for training.

In addition to the lack of an EMT, no outriders have arrived at the track to oversee safety during training hours. Both deficits are in direct violation of New Mexico Racing Commission rules.

However, the racing commission and the horsemen's association are engaged in an ongoing legal battle, with the horsemen charging the regulatory body with depriving racehorse owners and trainers of their civil rights and other violations, and thus no direct contact between the parties is allowed.

“It's my contention that this is a racing commission problem, because they're in violation of racing commission rules,” said Manfredi. “We have had our attorney send a letter to the racing commission's attorney, asking them to step in, and we're waiting to hear back.”

Another issue brought forward by Zia Park, according to Manfredi, is the rise of COVID-19 cases in New Mexico. Governor Michelle Grisham is expected to announce new mandates on Thursday, Sept. 16, and Manfredi said the NMHA will issue directives to its members to follow those mandates.

If Zia Park continues to fail to meet the directives stipulated in its contract with the horsemen, the NMHA has the option to pull the simulcast signal from the track.

“We're not there yet,” Manfredi said.

Images showing the backstretch of Zia Park on Wednesday, Sept. 15

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Grade 1 Winner We Miss Artie Dies At Age 10

We Miss Artie, a Grade 1 winner and well-traveled stallion, has died at age 10, Red Feather Equine Farm in New Mexico announced Wednesday.

The son of Artie Schiller completed his first season at Red Feather Equine Farm in Tularosa earlier this year. He'd been purchased by Zachary Burtt after the horse had previously resided at Ramsey Farm in Nicholasville, Ky.

Bred in Ontario by Richard L. Lister, We Miss Artie was a $90,000 yearling purchase by Ken and Sarah Ramsey at the 2012 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. He was put in the barn of trainer Todd Pletcher, and he made an impact early with a victory in the Grade 1 Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland, at a time when the main track was synthetic.

All-weather surfaces would become We Miss Artie's specialty over the course of his career. He qualified for the 2014 Kentucky Derby after prevailing in a blanket finish over the Polytrack at Turfway Park in the G3 Spiral Stakes. He finished 10th in the Kentucky Derby, then turned his attentions to the Canadian classics.

We Miss Artie became the favorite for the Queen's Plate after a victory in the Plate Trial Stakes at Woodbine. However, he underwhelmed in the classic race, finishing fourth to the filly Lexie Lou. An injury ended his career after the Queen's Plate, and he was retired to Colebrook Farms Stallion Station in Ontario for the 2016 breeding season. He'd later be relocated to Ramsey Farm before selling at the 2020 Keeneland November breeding stock sale for $6,500.

From three crops of racing age, We Miss Artie has sired 16 winners and accumulated progeny earnings of $1.1 million.

His best runner is Artie's Princess, who was named Canada's champion female sprinter of 2020, on a campaign that included wins in the G2 Bessarabian Stakes and listed Ruling Angel Stakes. Other stakes winners by We Miss Artie include Chasing Artie and Whatmakessammyrun.

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