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Early Impressions: Kentucky Derby 147

LOUISVILLE, KY – With the first Saturday in May quickly approaching, TDN Senior Editor Steve Sherack caught up with the connections of leading GI Kentucky Derby contenders to get some of their 'Early Impressions.'

In this edition, we check in with: Godolphin USA President Jimmy Bell and Winter Quarter Farm Owner/General Manager Don Robinson.

Unbeaten 2-year-old champion and 'TDN Rising Star' Essential Quality (Tapit) heads to the Kentucky Derby as the one to beat. The Godolphin homebred's unblemished five-for-five record is highlighted by wins in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile, GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity and GII Toyota Blue Grass S. Essential Quality's graded stakes-placed dam Delightful Quality (Elusive Quality) is a daughter of the unraced Contrive (Storm Cat). The latter produced champion and 2005 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies heroine Folklore (Tiznow). Contrive was purchased by Sheikh Mohammed's operation for $3 million in foal to Pleasantly Perfect at the 2005 Fasig-Tipton November Sale. Essential Quality received his early education from Niall Brennan in Ocala, Florida, before heading to trainer Brad Cox.

Rock Your World (Candy Ride {Arg}) switched to dirt with aplomb, running his record to a perfect three-for-three for John Sadler with a dominating, front-running performance in the GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby. Bred in Kentucky by legendary trainer Ron McAnally and his wife Deborah, Rock Your World brought $650,000 from bloodstock agent David Ingordo on behalf of Hronis Racing and Talla Racing out of the Winter Quarter Farm consignment at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. McAnally trained the brilliant Candy Ride as well as owned/bred/trained Rock Your World's MSW & MGISP dam, Charm the Maker (Empire Maker).

ESSENTIAL QUALITY:

“From the time Essential Quality hit the ground as a foal, he's never had an awkward day or stage in his life. From every picture you look at of him–his foal, yearling and 2-year-old pictures, to right now–he's just always been a very balanced, athletic individual. And that's just rarely the case. Most of these horses go through phases and stages, and we say, 'Well, give 'em a little time. The front end will catch up with the hind end, or just wait until they fill out.'

Early on and throughout the whole [breaking-and-training] process, Niall [Brennan] said, 'He could do whatever you want him to do. Whatever you ask for, it's there.' After his first work, I remember walking back to the barn with Brad [Cox] at Keeneland and he just shook his head and said, 'This one is different than the rest of them.' He's never had that awkward stage and always had that athletic look. You know those are far and few between.

Vicky Van Camp in our office named him. Every employee on the entire farm is asked to and invited to submit names. It's kind of a neat thing. There's a lot of names that come in and she does a great job of handling all that as well. It's a good phrase–Essential Quality–and there's a pretty good tie-in to the dam's side, too. It's great that he has a nice name because it does play well.” –Jimmy Bell

ROCK YOUR WORLD:

“I had two really nice Candy Rides that sold together that day [during the fifth session at KEESEP]. One [the unraced Contango], brought a million dollars and topped the session and Rock Your World brought $650,000. It was a wild day.

Interestingly, Rock Your World, to me, really looked like the two-turn horse, without question. He wasn't going to be ready tomorrow for a 2-year-old sale, but he was really all there. Very elegant, Classic-looking horse. This whole family gets gorgeous, good-looking performing Candy Rides. Boy, Ron's family really seems to connect. And it's fascinating because Ron trained Candy Ride, so it's really cool. I've had four generations of this family for the McAnallys. That's just wildly rewarding if you're a breeder, there's nothing better. They're performers.

Rock Your World looked the part. His mother could really run, Charm the Maker. He was just a nice horse from the beginning. He was an extraordinary Candy Ride, and when the [sale] selectors came and looked at him, he was one that goes right to the top of the list. I like the sales to get going though, so I asked them to put him a little further back in the book. I thought he would be a knockout and it really worked.

Horses like that don't miss buyer's attention. They just don't. He really did well that day. David Ingordo is very shrewd and identified and wanted that horse. David was committed and ended up buying him. I've said the joke before–David found Zenyatta [$60,000 KEESEP yearling graduate from Winter Quarter Farm consignment in 2005]… this one cost him more [laughs].

I had heard about Rock Your World getting ready to run and you know there are a lot of talking horses. But I'd heard really good things about him and thought he'd run well. Ron's assistant Dan Landers was telling me, 'Boy, Sadler's horse can run.' It makes me pretty nervous that the fourth race of his life is going to be the Kentucky Derby. But it's very exciting.” –Don Robinson

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TIF: Wagering Insecurity – Part 5, Bingo

This is Part 5 of the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation's (TIF) series “Wagering Insecurity.”

After five years of contemplating possible actions to improve wagering security, nothing of significance materialized. A December 2008 conference session in Arizona served as a perfect synopsis of the failure.

One member of the panel, Kevin Mullally of Gaming Laboratories International, said:

“I came here…to learn a little bit more about why the racing industry had managed to be the only component of the gaming industry that had not implemented any serious oversight to its technology.”

Reached in 2021 for his updated thoughts, Mullally went deeper.

“The only difference (now) is that the tote systems stand out even more (without monitoring) given how technology in the rest of the gaming industry has evolved. Testing is not only ubiquitous in every other sector of gaming but is also without controversy.

“The only aspect about testing of gaming equipment that is controversial is if someone suggests that it is not needed…

“Automated bingo card devices in church basements have more independent monitoring than the tote systems.”

His frustration was shared.

Click here to read the full piece.

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Derby Diary: A Lifetime of a Chance

Being a Certified Financial Advisor, and the son of a CPA, I follow trends and calculate odds constantly. You can say it is in my blood to rationally analyze a set of variables and predict a logical outcome.

When the Kentucky Derby entries were announced, it was no surprise mathematically that those horses represented such a small amount of the overall foal crop. The 20 horses who line up in this Saturday's starting gate represent approximately 1/10 1% of the registered foals born in 2018 (20 of 19,925).

Basically, the odds of winning the Kentucky Derby is equivalent to:

– Finding a four-leaf clover on a hike – 1 in 10,000

– Being struck by lightning – 1 in 11,000

– Dating a Celebrity – 1 in 11,000

– Dying in a canoeing accident – 1 in 12,000

– Having a household income of less than $200,000, and subsequently being audited by the IRS – 1 in 18,000. (As the son of an accountant, I had to include this statistic)!

Knowing the odds are EXTREMELY stacked against us to even have a Derby starter, why do I feel so emotional heading into this weekend's race? Part of the reason for the uneasy feelings are the odds themselves–the sheer unlikeness of having an undefeated starter in the Kentucky Derby is overwhelming. Add into the equation the fact that my family has been in the business for about 40 years, started in over 14,000 races, won roughly 2,300 times, and competed at about 25 different racetracks nationwide makes this pending opportunity a long time coming.

We have raced horses in various weather conditions such as snowstorms, cloud bursts, fog, wind sheers, headwinds, tail winds, heat, humidity and occasionally hail.

We have lost races because the jockey went too fast or too slow, didn't listen to the pre-race instructions, should have ignored those instructions because the race fell apart, got boxed in or “just wasn't feeling it.” Our horses have not liked the surface or the distance, engaged in a speed duel, broke through the gate, got left at the gate, washed out in the paddock, lost a shoe, didn't like dirt in its face, didn't like being pinned to the rail, went too wide, got bothered or intimidated by another horse, needed to be gelded, was “horsing,” was in too tough, didn't ship well, needed blinkers, needed to have the blinkers cut back or removed, needed the race, speed wasn't holding (if you had a front runner), couldn't run down the speed (if you had a closer), didn't see the winner passing him until it was too late, got to the front and stopped, bled, had a temperature, was popping an abscess, didn't like running at night, and my favorite-bolted away from its own shadow. I am confident that I am forgetting some excuses, but you get my point.

The good news is that all of the above horses galloped out well after the wire.

So, when you have a horse who has overcome all of those possible conditions, and still remains undefeated, you get a little excited. Because despite the odds (and racing gods) being against you, here we stand a few days away from fulfilling a dream that has been 40 years in the making.

I look forward to chronicling the events of this week with you and appreciate your support for our horse Helium (Ironicus).

Jon Green is the General Manager of DJ Stables and a co-host of the TDN Writers' Room podcast. He is writing a daily diary about his first Kentucky Derby experience as an owner.

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Hot Rod Charlie Dons Blanket Honoring Jake Panus

Jake Panus will not be at his father's side Saturday watching the GI Kentucky Derby. His life ended at an all-too-young 16 last August when he was a passenger in a car involved in a DUI accident on Block Island, just off the coast of Rhode Island. But his friends, his family and a Kentucky Derby trainer have made sure that he will not be forgotten this week at Churchill Downs.

Derby contender and GII Louisiana Derby winner Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) has been equipped with a special blanket honoring Panus, whose father, Stephen, is the president of TJC Media, which produces the America's Best Racing website and content. The blanket features a University of South Carolina logo and Jake Panus's initials on one side and a bear logo on the other, a recreation of a necklace Panus wore.

The South Carolina Gamecock logo is meant to spread awareness for The Jake Panus Walk-on Football Endowed Scholarship, which was set up by the Panus family to provide financial assistance annually for a player who walks on to the South Carolina football team. Entering his junior year in high school at the time of the accident, Panus dreamed of attending South Carolina, his father's alma mater.

“Jake was raised a Gamecock, if you will,” Stephen Panus said. “He grew up watching their games with me, no matter the sport. He certainly identified with college football, which is a big deal in our family. Jake epitomized that walk-on type mentality. He was a gritty athlete and a vocal leader. He was someone people gravitated towards and he had a lot of moxie and hustle on the field as an athlete.”

The younger Panus was visiting with his girlfriend's family when the accident occurred. Some seven months later, the family is doing its best to navigate its way through an unspeakable tragedy.

“We're surviving,” Panus said. “I do these things because it keeps me connected to Jake and it's part of my healing. It is hard, though. It is emotionally draining. I'll take a phone call with someone, talk about it and break up. I cry a lot. My wife (Kellie) is struggling. It's been very hard on her. For a mom who carried a child in the womb, it's probably the most painful thing you can go through.”

By all accounts, the teenager was exceptional in many ways.

“Jake cared about helping people,” Panus said. “He was that kind of kid. People gravitated to Jake and he was a born leader. When he walked into a room, you knew it. He was a big, bright light and always had a smile on his face. He loved to laugh and he made people feel welcome, no matter who they were, friend or stranger. He was there to listen and help.”

Hot Rod Charlie with the blanket honoring Panus | courtesy Stephen Panus

Shortly after Jake's passing, the family established the Jake Panus Memorial Scholarship in partnership with their church, Southport (CT) Congregational Church. During the summer of 2019 Panus participated in a church mission to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, where he aided and assisted Native American children. The scholarship provides educational assistance to students from the reservation's Red Cloud High School.

The Panus family also wanted to do something honoring Jake's passion for the University of South Carolina and its sports teams. In late December, the family got a call from head football coach Shane Beamer, who had heard about Jake and the accident and wanted to do something to help. It was soon thereafter that Beamer, the school's athletic department and the Panus family came up with the idea to start a scholarship for walk-on football players.

“I was a walk-on. Those guys are partial to me,” Beamer said. “We [are intent] about trying to find guys and sell them on what a fantastic opportunity this is at Carolina. That will always be a critical aspect of this program; get guys in here as walk-ons, develop them as players and student-athletes and get them on the field.”

Through his work with America's Best Racing and The Jockey Club, Panus had befriended Doug O'Neill. The trainer reached out to the family to tell them he would like to help in some way. When Hot Rod Charlie won the Louisiana Derby, O'Neill knew he had a high-profile Kentucky Derby contender on his hands, which he thought was a perfect avenue to raise awareness for The Jake Panus Walk-on Football Endowed Scholarship.

“He started talking about doing a scholarship in Jake's name and I said 'how can I help?'” O'Neill said. “I wanted to do whatever I could do to help. So we had the blanket made for 'Charlie ' to help promote the scholarship. I knew Jake through Stephen. He was a friend to everyone, whether you knew him well or whether you were a stranger. We need more Jakes in this world. I wanted to help promote the scholarship in Jake's name. I'm proud and honored to have a horse that can help spread the word.”

The bear logo is from a pendant Jake wore as a necklace that symbolized his devotion to helping Native American children. To the Lakota Indians, the bear represents courage, confidence, healing and protection.

Within the first week after the football scholarship was announced, $75,000 had been raised. Thanks to O'Neill, the blanket and the spotlight that shines on the Kentucky Derby, the hope is that they are just getting started.

“What we are seeking to do is to raise awareness and procure donations to help to grow the scholarship fund so it is fully endowed,” Panus said. “We've gotten support from coast to coast and it has been overwhelming. It has been uplifting to us as a family to see people hop on board and understand what we are trying to do, which is to allow Jake to do something in spirit that he intended to do while here with us, which was to attend the University of South Carolina.”

Donations to the scholarship fund can be made here: https://donate.sc.edu/JakePanusScholarship.

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