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Letters to the Editor: Benard Chatters

Benard Chatters, Louisiana Owner-Breeder-Trainer, President, Louisiana HBPA

Bill Finley, in his Mar. 17th TDN opinion piece–“Horsemen's Groups Turn Their Backs on Honest Trainers, Owners”–criticizes the National HBPA for challenging the legality of a private non-governmental regulatory scheme for the horse industry, established by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (“HISA”). He wrote, “It's hard to imagine that there is one horseman anywhere who cares one bit whether or not HISA is unconstitutional or not.” Well, it doesn't require any imagination to understand why horsemen believe rules governing their livelihood and the well-being of their horses should be lawfully written and enforced by a responsible government agency.

Mr. Finley makes claims that are completely false. The statement that the “only reason to have HISA overturned would be that they prefer the status quo…that rewards cheats at the expense of the very people who make up the majority of their membership” is absolutely absurd. That particular claim is not true and it does a disservice to the thousands of honest trainers and owners represented by the National HBPA and its affiliates who are not among the 150 or so members of The Jockey Club, the principal lobbyist for HISA.

Mr. Finley, of course, is free to voice his opinion, but as someone once said, “you are entitled to your opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts.”

Is there cheating in our industry? Yes. Is it widespread? No. Unfortunately, Finley's fact-free opinion urging support for HISA ignores the objective evidence.

In the past five years, hundreds of thousands of pre-race and post-race drug tests throughout the country by professional accredited testing laboratories found that less than 0.06% were positive for drugs having no business being in a horse other than cheating. That is a far cry from the rampant corruption asserted by Mr. Finley in his support of HISA.

Let me end by saying the National HBPA has always condemned cheaters and believes they should be kicked out of the industry. And we support uniform medication and safety rules along with their strict enforcement. No doubt improvements can be made to the status quo, but an unconstitutional HISA is not the answer.

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Maiden Winner With ‘Un’-Tapped Potential

The GI Kentucky Derby-bound Helium (Ironicus) wasn't the only 3-year-old colt to impress on the GII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby card Mar. 6.

Untreated (Nyquist) put on a show earlier that day as well, graduating by a pole for Todd Pletcher at second asking with a flashy, come-from-behind maiden tally in his two-turn debut (video). He earned a very solid 86 Beyer Speed Figure.

A well-beaten sixth as the 4-5 favorite behind next out GIII Sam F. Davis S. winner Candy Man Rocket (Candy Ride {Arg}) going six furlongs in his unveiling for the late Paul Pompa, Jr. and trainer Chad Brown at Gulfstream Jan. 9, Untreated brought $300,000 from bloodstock agent Steve Young on behalf of Team Valor just five days later at the Keeneland January Sale. He was previously a $550,000 Keeneland September Yearling purchase, the most expensive of 44 yearlings from the first crop of promising young sire Nyquist to switch hands.

“The bottom line is, we got lucky,” Team Valor head Barry Irwin said. “Everybody knew about the horse before he ran. I was prepared to go to what he cost as a yearling, $550,000, and we got him for $300,000. Steve Young, who I've known pretty well for years, is the one who pushed me to buy the horse.”

That must have been one heck of a push considering Irwin's recent words regarding the current state of affairs for racing in this country and his plans for his longtime partnership to compete predominantly abroad going forward.

“I do not like racing in America anymore at this time,” Irwin said. “I am sick of it. The only horse I bought the previous year to stay here was [GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity and GI Arkansas Derby second and 'TDN Rising Star'] Gouverneur Morris [by Constitution]. I can't stand this crap that's going on. But this horse was very intriguing.”

Untreated came out firing once joining Pletcher's Palm Beach Downs string, highlighted by a trio of bullet workouts. He did, however, have a gap between his Jan. 30 and Feb. 20 breezes.

“His first work was a bullet work, but the guy had to tap him on the shoulder to get him to gallop out,” Irwin said. “The next work, another bullet work, but he can't even gallop out a furlong this time. He gets back [to the barn] and he's got an entrapped epiglottis. Now, I would be willing to bet, based on my experience with that, that this horse was already starting to do this when Chad him, but didn't show enough evidence of it yet. So, we got lucky. We had Dr. Yarborough do the procedure in his stall.”

Irwin continued, “It worked and his next two works were just unbelievable. Especially the last one. We knew we had something.”

Drawn wide in post eight in his first try for Team Valor and Pletcher, Untreated was about three deep while rounding the clubhouse turn and raced near the rear heading into the backstretch. The bay traveled nicely from there and launched an eye-catching, four-wide move leaving the four-furlong marker into third. He took over with ease approaching the top of the stretch and increased his margin to the wire, scoring by 8 3/4 lengths. The final time of 1:39.17 was just a few ticks off the Tampa track record of 1:38 3/5 for a mile and 40 yards.

“We were thrilled to see how he did it,” Irwin said.

Untreated is out of the graded-stakes placed Unbridled's Song mare Fully Living and is from the same family of champion Halfbridled (Unbridled). He was co-bred in Kentucky by Ashview Farm and Old Oak Farm.

Untreated is scheduled to return to the worktab Saturday, per Irwin.

Will we see him in a Derby prep next time out?

“I'll quote Mr. Todd Pletcher, 'We're gonna let the horse lead us to that decision,'” Irwin responded. “If we do the conservative thing, we'll look to run him in a small race somewhere. If we want to go crazy, we'll look at either the [GII Toyota] Blue Grass [at Keeneland Apr. 3] or [GII] Wood [Memorial at Aqueduct Apr. 3].”

Irwin concluded, “The problem is, he was ready to run in a prep race for the Tampa Bay Derby. If we had gotten that prep race in, then we'd be in a nice spot. Now, we have to be Big Brown in order to pull off something like that [make the Kentucky Derby]. My clients, by in large, are all dreamers and the Derby is the ultimate lure.”

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Mandaloun Looks to Solidify Claim in Louisiana Derby

Juddmonte Farms' TDN Rising Star Mandaloun (Into Mischief) attempts to follow up on a professional last-out score in the GII Risen Star S. in Saturday's GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds.

Earning Rising Star status first time out going six panels at Keeneland last October, the bay followed up with another solid win while adding an additional furlong in a Churchill Downs optional claimer the following month. Heavily supported for his seasonal reappearance in the Jan. 16 GIII Lecomte S. in New Orleans, he had to settle for third, beaten two lengths, behind the re-opposing Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow) and Proxy (Tapit), a length behind the winner. For his latest success in the nine-furlong Risen Star, the colt was fitted with blinkers for the first time, a move which likely helped move the colt forward, according to Brad Cox. As in the Lecomte, Proxy finished behind the winner.

“He got a lot out of the Lecomte and I think the blinkers propelled him forward as well in his second start [of the season],” explained Cox. “He got a lot out of his first two races, but the first time going two turns in the Lecomte, you can train as much as you want but there is nothing like the experience of going two turns. He also just got more experience. It was only the fourth start of his career. He is very accomplished horse with only four starts.”

Asked about the timeline in the run-up to the First Saturday in May, Cox said, “It was four weeks back to the Risen Star off the Lecomte. He is five weeks now to the Louisiana Derby, and if all goes well, we'll have six weeks to the [May 1] Kentucky Derby. He has continued to move forward in every start. I'm good with the six weeks in between [the Louisiana and Kentucky Derbies], because he's a good work horse because he gives you what you need in the morning. At the end of the day, I think he's cut out to be a mile-and-a-half horse with the Empire Maker on the bottom side. I am very confident we can show up and do what we need to do [in the Louisiana Derby]. Hopefully, we can move forward to the Kentucky Derby.”

Hoping to repeat his winning effort in the Lecomte, Midnight Bourbon, who drew one outside of Mandaloun in the seven-hole, will be reunited with Joe Talamo, aboard for the Winchell Thoroughbreds runner's two latest starts, including his Risen Star third.

“In the Lecomte we had a really good trip and got out to a pretty easy lead that day and were able to wire them,” recalled Talamo. “Last time, even when Mandaloun and Proxy went by, if you watch that race again, he was kind of coming on again in the gallop out. I think the added distance [of the Louisiana Derby] is only going to help him.”

Asked how he expects Saturday's race to unfold, Talamo said, “The race looks like it can almost be the exact same setup as the Risen Star. Rightandjust [Awesome Again] is a quick horse and I'm sure he's going to be in front, and unless something happens and nobody goes to the front, I'll go up and take it. If not, I'll be content to just track him.”

He continued, “I also really love his post because, if somebody goes out there, he is content to settle in second or third, too. Hopefully, we can just get a good trip. I think it'll be one of those races that, whoever gets the right trip, and from the quarter-pole home, we'll see who is the best. I really think the trip is going to suit Midnight Bourbon.”

A winner second time out going a mile at Ellis last August, the $525,000 KEESEP yearling purchase was runner-up in Churchill's GIII Iroquois S. before rounding out 2020 with a third in the GI Champagne S. Oct. 10.

“He's a big horse, but very athletic,” said Talamo. “Normally, a horse like that, it takes him a stride or two to get going. It's really amazing how good of a gate horse he is. He breaks very sharp for a horse that big. He's really smooth to ride. And he's one of those horses that you just try to be a good passenger and let him do the rest.”

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This Side Up: Seconds Out for the Next Round

No getting away from it: even 107 previous runnings, a million bucks and 170 starting points can't dress up the recent misfortunes of the GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby as a springboard to the first Saturday in May.

Maybe that's because it falls between stools, in terms of scheduling, the previous cycle of rehearsals having left trainers scope for one more start before the GI Kentucky Derby. Not many around, nowadays, who'd even be thinking about running again with just six weeks to go. Credit to the Fair Grounds team, then, for their initiative in stretching out all three legs of their trial series last year. If the old school liked to give these adolescent horses a deeper racetrack grounding, that was largely because of the extreme test awaiting them against 19 rivals going flat out through 10 furlongs at Churchill. Now that the Louisiana Derby falls only a few strides short of that distance, however, trainers have the chance to draw on a deeper seam while remaining on the lighter race schedule that's now so fashionable.

Following the postponement of the main event last year, of course, this will be the first test of the new bridge over the gap. As such, the opportunity is there to open out a four-cornered Derby–following a nearly mechanical sequence of spectacular auditions by Greatest Honour (Tapit), Essential Quality (Tapit), Life Is Good (Into Mischief) and Concert Tour (Street Sense)–into a pentagon.

The three local protagonists, having filled the podium in both the GIII Lecomte S. and GII Risen Star S., have left each other the door ajar for a breakout performance. True, they have a Californian shipper to deal with this time. And we've seen those wipe out the Oaklawn horses with a 1-2 in the GII Rebel S. last weekend, and also chase home Essential Quality before that.

That is exactly what Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) did at the Breeders' Cup. He was 94-1, but there was no fluke about that performance and I retain plenty of hope for the “Chuck” fairytale–he was the last horse sold by the late Edward A. Cox Jr., remember, pinhooked for $17,000 before his half-brother became Mitole (Eskendereya)–even if his reappearance form has meanwhile come to appear a little porous.

In terms of the hometown horses, there's a nice symmetry: on the one hand, Proxy (Tapit) could give his sire three of the top five chances in his quest for the Derby that would crown his resume; on the other, here's Mandaloun (Into Mischief) bidding to consolidate the emergence of a no-less-remarkable stallion as a Classic influence, following Authentic (Into Mischief) last year and now Life Is Good.

Obviously this evolution, with the improvement of Into Mischief's books, has long been a pretty blatant trend. The real straw in the wind was Audible, out of Gilded Time mare and conceived at $20,000, when a strong-finishing third to Justify (Scat Daddy) in the 2018 Derby. Mandaloun obviously has a lot more to work with, in the seeding of his Juddmonte family.

The question now is whether Into Mischief might even keep building in the manner of Danehill and Mr. Prospector, breed-shaping stallions who wildly diversified what started out as a speed brand. Even as it is, however, there are valuable lessons in what he's doing.

Because if Into Mischief is getting stock to carry their speed, that is not necessarily simply down to classy two-turn mares. The dam of Audible, remember, won a few sprints running for $4,000 or $5,000 at Mountaineer and Finger Lakes. So really, if we recognize Into Mischief as an extremely important horse, we also have to take on board an extremely important message–and that's to view pedigrees in the round, as a composite of diverse, entwined strands.

Where are these horses finding their stamina? Well, just in back-of-an-envelope terms, let's remind ourselves that the first three dams of Into Mischief's sire Harlan's Holiday are by Affirmed, Honest Pleasure and Princequillo. The latter, obviously a welcome linchpin in any pedigree, also surfaces behind Into Mischief's dam, the celebrated Leslie's Lady (Tricky Creek): her granddam is by One For All, whose damsire was Princequillo. (And moreover out of a very gifted mare by a monster European staying influence in Sea-Bird (Fr). And while her own sire never gets enough credit, Tricky Creek's first three dams, similarly, were by His Majesty, Nijinsky and Swaps. (The latter, moreover, enters the equation through none other than the Darby Dan foundation mare Soaring.)

Obviously, there are plenty of people who will persist in telling you that Leslie's Lady has produced Into Mischief, Mendelssohn (Scat Daddy) and Beholder (Henny Hughes) through some occult alchemy with the Storm Cat line. We still await a coherent explanation why we should disregard all the other illustrious names across the pedigree. Happily, the $8.2 million given in 2019 for a yearling filly out of Leslie's Lady by American Pharoah, obviously an entirely different sire-line, confirms that Leslie's Lady–by a sire who ended up standing at $2,500 in New Mexico, and a mare once claimed for $5,000–is getting due credit where it counts.

The way things are going, nobody could be too surprised if Into Mischief were to end up someday siring a Belmont winner. For now, that remains Tapit's preserve, and the pair of them meanwhile are closing on the Derby in a gripping contest of styles and status. The Louisiana Derby, then, is a skirmish within that wider battle, with Proxy borrowing Mandaloun's Risen Star trick by trying blinkers. It's another round in two separate bouts: one between the leading New Orleans sophomores; the other between two of their sires.

However things play out, let's absorb the rebuke of Into Mischief against all simplistic systemization. Pedigrees are not interstate highways. They're complex city grids, and we can only hope to reach our destination by ensuring that all possible routes maintain the quality regardless.

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