John Oxley's Catch Magic (Curlin) is unveiled here on the rail for trainer Norm Casse. The eye-catching half to Checkered Past (Smart Strike), MSW & MSP, $334,284 and three other multiple-winners of over $140,000 cost her connections $600,000 after breezing a quick :10 flat at OBSAPR last year. Right to her inside, Juddmonte will send out Patna (Into Mischief), the half-sister to Ducale (Twirling Candy) who is twice a winner and never off the board in five lifetime starts. Rounding out the field are the golden silks of Claiborne Farm, who send homebred Misread (Blame) to post for her sire's trainer Al Stall Jr. She is the first foal out of a daughter of multiple-graded stakes winner, Wend (Pulpit). TJCIS PPs
4th-FG, $65k, Msw, 3yo, f, 1mT, 2:31p.m. ET
Qatar Racing sends out $625,000 KEESEP procurement Forgotten Realm (Curlin) under the tutelage of Brad Cox. The half to two earners of over $165,000 will try her hooves on the turf for a career debut, breaking from the far outside of an experienced field. This is the family of their GI Longines Kentucky Oaks winner, and $5 million FTKNOV purchase Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil) and MGISP Crafty C. T. (Crafty Prospector). TJCIS PPs
Grandview Equine, Cheyenne Stable and LNJ Foxwoods' Olympiad (Speightstown) announced himself as a player in the handicap division with a fast-finishing score in the GIII Mineshaft S. last out at Fair Grounds, and will look for an encore as the favorite in Saturday's GII New Orleans Classic S. on the GII TwinSpires.com Louisiana Derby undercard.
Graduating at second asking in September of 2020 at Saratoga while besting future stakes winners Caddo River (Hard Spun) and Greatest Honour (Tapit), the $700,000 Keeneland September buy was laid up for 364 days and returned with a runner-up effort at the Spa Sept. 4 that earned him a 105 Beyer. Clearing his one-other-than allowance condition next out at Keeneland Oct. 14, he was a sneaky-good fourth with a wide trip in the GI Cigar Mile H. Dec. 4 at Aqueduct before running away with a Gulfstream allowance/optional claimer by 7 1/4 lengths Jan. 15. Returning to stake company in the Mineshaft, he kicked away to a 2 1/4-length score, clicking off his final five-sixteenths in a scorching :29.53 and setting a new track record for 1 1/16 miles.
Stretching out to nine furlongs for the first time, Olympiad's chief competition appears to come from Godolphin homebred Proxy (Tapit) and Woodford Thoroughbreds, WinStar Farm and Rock Ridge Racing's Promise Keeper (Constitution). Proxy appeared to be a GI Kentucky Derby contender last winter when running second in the local GIII Lecomte S. and GII Risen Star S., but was shelved following somewhat disappointing fourth-place runs in the Louisiana Derby and GIII Stonestreet Lexington S. Making his first start in over 10 months in a local allowance/optional claimer Feb. 25 and rallied from off the pace to triumph going away by 3 3/4 lengths.
“I couldn't be happier,” trainer Mike Stidham said. “He's had three really good works since his last race. He ran against top quality horses last year as a 3-year-old. It's just a matter of seeing if he's good enough to compete with the top horses this year, but he's given me every indication that he can. Given the way he ran in his last race, nine furlongs should absolutely be better than 1 1/16 miles for him. He was very relaxed and came home finishing nicely. I'm very much looking forward to the added distance with him.”
Promise Keeper recorded three open-lengths wins in his first five starts last year, culminating with a 2 1/4-length success in the GIII Peter Pan S. at Belmont before finishing a close fourth in the GIII Ohio Derby in his 3-year-old finale June 26 at Thistledown. Returning off the bench in the GIII Razorback H. Feb. 12 at Oaklawn, the chestnut overcame a troubled start and a wide trip, closing well to be fourth.
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.
Taylor Made has occasionally partnered with other farms in stallion ventures, most notably with WinStar on Speightstown and Tiznow. However, they are dipping their toes into the California stallion market for the first time with Grade I winner Mo Forza (Uncle Mo–Inflamed, by Unusual Heat) in partnership with Tom and Nancy Clark's Rancho San Miguel. The millionaire turf star–whose name roughly means “strength” in Italian–was retired for 2022 to the 210-acre farm in San Miguel, a sleepy and small Spanish mission town in the famed Paso Robles wine region of Central California.
The picturesque Rancho San Miguel is well known in California racing, with a current roster of nine stallions including Sir Prancealot (Ire) (Tamayuz {GB}) and Danzing Candy (Twirling Candy).
“We're really trying to focus on quality over quantity,” said Tom Clark, “and that's really been our strategy from day one. Just to try to have the best stallions we can afford and buy specifically for this market and hope and pray that other people who have mares will bring better and better mares to the state of California to breed to us. And we really learned from a very early stage that you want to try to achieve the highest quality possible.”
With a grandfather who was a trainer and a father who owned racehorses, Clark is the third generation of his family in the racing business. Growing up on a dairy farm in Pennsylvania, he got his own start as a hotwalker at Timonium while in high school. His love of and involvement in racing was wrapped around a finance career for many years until he bought the property that would become Rancho San Miguel just over two decades ago.
“I've really been involved in the game for a long, long time, but I did go off to school and got involved in finance,” said Clark. “I always said the reason I did that was so I could buy a good horse some day. I was fortunate enough to do well in the investment business and was able to transfer that to Rancho San Miguel and into being involved in the racing game in a big way.”
Clark has owned a number of racehorses, including 2007 GI Humana Distaff winner and GI Breeders' Cup Distaff runner-up by a neck Hystericalady (Distorted Humor) in partnership, has had a number of big sales scores, and has bred a number of horses in the commonwealth of Kentucky. The purchase and growth of Rancho San Miguel has reshaped his concentration.
“I've really focused my resources here on the on the farm over the last few years,” said Clark. “I'm so immersed in what we're trying to do here that it's this is just as rewarding–and sometimes even more rewarding– than ever being involved in a racehorse. The breeding business brings a whole different level of reward to it as a sport.”
Clark has been associated with the Taylor family of Taylor Made for “25-30 years,” so it was an easy transition to partner on the stallion career of Mo Forza, who was foaled and raised at Taylor Made.
“We've done a lot of deals together over the years and they've always represented me in selling my horses at the September or the November sales, so I have a great affinity for the entire organization. Great respect. I called Ben Taylor and said, 'What do you think of [Mo Forza]? Do you think this is the kind of horse that could stay in California?'”
Taylor Made has two new young stallions in their own stallion barn this year–Horse of the Year Knicks Go (Paynter) and MGSW & MGISP Tacitus (Tapit)–and Clark thought perhaps Mo Forza, in spite of his wins in the 2019 GI Hollywood Derby and six Grade II stakes, might get overshadowed.
“And, you know, we just don't have enough commercial horses here in California,” said Clark. “So there's a lot of things that we talked about and we still think that down the road, this is a horse that could end up in Kentucky.
“It was really great [for us] that he broke poorly in the [2021 GI] Breeders' Cup [Mile] and got beat five or so lengths for first. That allowed him to be here. Otherwise, had he won the Breeders' Cup, I know he'd be in Kentucky. I think this is a big coup for the state of California, having one of the leading stallion farms and breeders of the state of Kentucky putting their name on a horse here. They've never had a venture in California before. They are tremendous, great partners and incredibly knowledgeable and very, very easy to work with. They're supporting the stallion in an important way. And I'm going to give him every chance to succeed here in California.”
Mo Forza stands for $9,000, an unusual amount for a stud fee. Clark had a reason behind the unique number.
“Californians are always looking for a bargain,” he said with a laugh. “And at $10,000, we thought it was just mentally hard for people to pay for, but $9,000 shows that we were very serious about delivering high value for a horse like this. We're offering a Grade I winner by Uncle Mo for just $9,000 here in California. And I just think that's just outstanding value. We also really wanted to try to attract the best mares we could in the state of California, and this was one way to do that.”
Tom Clark | Jill Williams
Clark also said there have been more than a dozen mares shipped from Kentucky to breed to Mo Forza, who has proved to have great libido. Earlier this week, at least 15 mares had already been pronounced in foal to the bay, who checks all the boxes Clark looks for in a sire.
“I think you really have to look at all aspects when you think about a good stallion,” said Clark. “He has to have a great race record. He has to have great conformation and he has to have a good pedigree. And in California, historically, we have had to give up on at least one of those. So you'd have a great pedigree and good looks, but a horse who didn't race very well. What's unique about Mo Forza is he's got all three [attributes]. He really has the entire package. And I think that's what people need to understand and realize that we don't only have a Grade I winner, but a horse that really is good looking and he's by Uncle Mo. What else can you ask for?”
Six of Mo Forza's eight career wins came at a mile and Clark was quick to point out the adage that milers often make the best sires. The 6-year-old was a fierce competitor, with two four-race win streaks interrupted only by an off-the-board stint in the GI Pegasus World Cup Turf that sent him to the bench for seven months. He raced exclusively on the turf.
“It wasn't because they thought he was necessarily a grass horse,” commented Clark. “But once you have something going for you, why change it? The reality is that he was doing so well on the grass, so they really didn't want to risk or change up what was working. Don't fix something that's not broke, as they say. He worked great on the dirt. There was no reason why he couldn't run on the dirt. We think this is a horse that can throw both a dirt horse as well as a grass horse here in California.”
As seen in the entire North American breeding industry, the number of mares bred have contracted over the last few years in California. Clark is an optimist.
“I think this is a challenging time for everybody, and this is the most challenging time I've ever seen in the industry here in California. But, you know, we're always hoping. We always think about the glass half full. We think that the only way to approach that is to try to bring quality horses, quality stallions, and quality measures to this marketplace and look to try to attract people from outside the state and bring new, fresh blood into the state and do what we can to support the industry. So that's our approach. And we may be crazy, but we are going to stick to it.”
