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Should the Triple Crown Be Changed? We Ask Trainers to Weigh In

After the connections of GI Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike (Keen Ice) opted to skip the GI Preakness S. and instead prepare for the GI Belmont S., the structure of the Triple Crown races has been a subject of debate leading up to the second leg of the historic series. Should the timing between the races be adjusted? We asked a few veteran trainers here.

Mark Casse:

I think it has to stay the same. I think it's nonsense to talk any different. This is history, this is what our game has been about for over a hundred years. The Triple Crown is not supposed to be easy. A horse can handle the racing, especially now where we aren't doing as much prior to the Kentucky Derby.

In the Kentucky Derby, we run at a neutral surface. There has been no racing there all spring. Some horses may have ran there in the fall, but the Churchill Downs racetrack is very different in the fall compared to the spring so I don't feel like there's any home field advantage there. Then we go to Pimlico, where it is definitely a neutral playing field. We see a lot of horses run well in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. War of Will (War Front) is a perfect example of that. He was very much hindered in the Derby and he came back and won the Preakness, but he didn't show up in the Belmont. A lot of people would say he was tired, but I would say it had more to do with the fact that they call it Big Sandy for a reason. The surface is very loose and a lot of horses won't handle it.

It's my feeling that anyone stabled at Belmont has a big advantage. The Kentucky Derby and Preakness are run on a neutral battlefield, but the Belmont is not. I think if you look over the last 20 years, a lot of it has to do with there being a home field advantage rather than horses being tired.

That was my reasoning in doing what I did with [2019 Belmont S. winner] Sir Winston (Awesome Again). I ran him in the GIII Peter Pan S., where he ran second, and I thought going into the Belmont that he had a big chance because he was running over a racetrack he had already ran on. There's no question that Belmont is entirely a different world. A lot of times these horses are doing well in the Derby and the Preakness and then are getting beat in the Belmont. They'll say it's because the horse is tired, but I don't think it's that.

I'm always looking for new ideas and new reasons to make things better, but I don't think the Triple Crown should be changed.

Doug O'Neill:

I think it is time for a change. Everything evolves. We have made a lot of other positive changes in the best interests of the horse. I like the concept of putting four weeks between each of the races and having it be the first Saturday in May, the first Saturday in June and the first Saturday in July. It would work well, too, from a marketing standpoint. My gut says that's the way to go.

I completely disagree with the idea that it would diminish the accomplishment. Sometimes, coming out of the Derby and going into the Preakness, you really don't have to do a lot. As long as there are no injuries, you can kind of coast in between. If you put a month in between, that would require some good horsemanship. Man and horse will have to work together to maintain that level of brilliance in between the races. It could even make it a tad more challenging. I hate being a contrarian, but I think changing it would be a good thing.

Shug McGaughey:

I don't think it should be changed. It's very traditional and one of the reasons why it is so difficult to win is the way the races are spaced.

If they went to three weeks, I wouldn't complain about that. But I think the way it is structured right now adds to the mystique of the Triple Crown. You have to run and you have to have the horse and the knowledge to be able to get the horse from the Derby to the Preakness and then from the Preakness to the Belmont. If I had a horse that ran second or third in the Derby, would I come back in the two weeks? I would think about it.

The Preakness is a race that stands on its own and I would love to win it. If I had a horse that was capable of coming back in two weeks, I would run. If I didn't think the horse was capable of coming back in two weeks, I wouldn't run.

Check in tomorrow for more responses from industry participants.

The post Should the Triple Crown Be Changed? We Ask Trainers to Weigh In appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Janney Homebred Posts Flashy Keeneland Allowance Win

5th-Keeneland, $109,450, Alw, 4-16, (NW1X), 3yo, 1 1/16mT, 1:43.75, gd, neck.
LIMITED LIABILITY (c, 3, Kitten's Joy–Hold Harmless, by Blame) had just one rival beat for the opening six furlongs of his July 31 debut over the Saratoga turf, only to shoot past the rest of his rivals to graduate by 2 3/4 good-looking lengths. A pace-compromised third as the odds-on choice behind Coinage (Tapit) in the Sept. 1 GIII With Anticipation S. at the Spa, the homebred raced handier to the speed in the Oct. 3 GII Pilgrim S. at Belmont, but could do no better than third. Adding Lasix for this 3-year-old unveiling, Limited Liability was off at a very generous 4-1 and immediately dropped out the back as they went a moderate clip up front. Held together on the turn and still last as they raced inside the final quarter of a mile, the gray was switched out and covered his final 2 1/2 furlongs in a slick :28.57 per Trakus to take best 5-1 Freedom's Way (Declaration of War) by a deceptively comfortable margin. Favored Credit Event (Not This Time) saved ground for the opening six panels and was ridden for luck by Tyler Gaffalione in the stretch, but he was hopelessly locked away passing midstretch and never recovered, finishing 10th. Limited Liability is out of a winning full-sister to GSW Onus, whose daughter Gun Boat (Wait A While) was placed in the grassy Wait a While S. last year at two. The colt's third dam includes MGSW/GISP Ironicus (Distorted Humor),MGSW On Leave (War Front) and GSWs Norumbega (Tiznow), Hunting (Coronado's Quest) and Quiet Harbor (Silver Deputy). Hold Harmless is the dam of a yearling filly by Runhappy and a Ghostzapper filly that was foaled Feb. 1. Lifetime Record: MGSP, 4-2-0-2, $159,233. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
O/B-Stuart S Janney III (KY); T-Claude R McGaughey III.

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Spendarella Headlines Appalachian

Gainesway homebred Spendarella (Karakontie {Jpn}) looks to take her record to three-for-three in Saturday's GII Appalachian S. at Keeneland. A good-looking debut winner going two turns on the grass at Gulfstream Feb. 2, the $220,000 KEESEP buy wired the GIII Herecomesthebride S. in Hallandale Mar. 5, garnering a 90 Beyer Speed Figure.

Chad Brown can never be ignored in a turf stake and he enters European import Dolce Zel (Fr) (Zelzal {Fr}). Graduating at second asking in France for her former connections, the bay was privately purchased by Michael Dubb, Robert LaPenta and Sol Kumin's Madaket Stables and transferred to Brown. She won her Stateside debut in Tampa's GIII Florida Oaks Mar. 12.

Shug McGaughey saddles an interesting contender in Skims (GB) (Frankel {GB}). Off the board in her sprint debut at Belmont in October, the Andrew Rosen homebred rallied to victory in a two-turn event at Aqueduct Nov. 19 and captured a Tampa optional claimer Feb. 16. The bay fired back-to-back bullets in preparation for this event, most recently going a half-mile in :48 1/5 over the Payson Park turf Apr. 1. She gains the services of red-hot rider Flavien Prat for this step up in class.

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Kathleen O. Reigns Supreme in GP Oaks

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL–Undefeated Kathleen O. (Upstart) put on a show yet again for an appreciative crowd at Gulfstream Saturday, rallying to another good-looking score in the GII Gulfstream Park Oaks. Earning 100 points for the victory, the Winngate Stables colorbearer moves to the top of the GI Kentucky Oaks leaderboard.

Away well from the outside post in this seven-horse affair, the 1-2 chalk sat patiently at the back of pack, racing off the fence just behind second-choice Goddess of Fire (Mineshaft) as 25-1 shot Cancel This (Malibu Moon) clocked an opening quarter in :24.17. Goddess of Fire inched up a bit in the five path with Kathleen O. mirroring that move to her outside as the half was clocked in :48.27. Goddess of Fire picked it up a notch on the backstretch, surging to the lead with Kathleen O. hot on her heels and full of run as three-quarters went in 1:12.50. Goddess of Fire entered the far turn in front, but Kathleen O. was right beside her at the top of the lane and shrugged her off with ease, coasting clear to an 2 3/4-length victory. Goddess of Fire held second with Running Legacy (Gun Runner) third.

“We got an outside post going around the first turn the first time and she kind of drifted out a bit,” trainer Shug McGaughey said. “I think she wants to run a distance of ground. She

just does everything right. She laid in there and Javier [Castellano] you can see when he kind of let her run up to him, she does it pretty easy. He said from there he just kind of let her cruise.”

The Hall of Famer continued, “We'll see how she comes out of it. Obviously the Kentucky Oaks is a big spot for me. I really like the Oaks. I've won it one time. I remember the thrill and I'd like to have it again. The long stretch at Churchill Downs, maybe it will be for her.”

“This is just awesome,” said new owner Patrick Kearny of Winngate Stables. “A year ago I didn't own a horse. I told Shug, we'd known each other for a long time, 'I'd like to do something different and get some excitement in my life. Do you mind if I get a horse?' He said, 'You don't get one horse, you get two.” So long story short, in Ocala last year he picked out Kathleen O. Then there was another horse we picked out called Cloudy. This is just incredible. I know I'm living a dream. It's just wonderful.”

“I had a beautiful trip,” Castellano said. “I had no question at all that she would handle two turns. She has strong power at the finish. I like the way she did it today, nice and easy with a strong finish. She has a lot of potential. I think she's going to be fun in the future.”

An $8,000 KEENOV weanling turned $50,000 FTKOCT yearling, Kathleen O. summoned $275,000 from McGaughey, who does not typically shop juvenile sales, at last year's OBS April sale after breezing in :21 1/5. Patiently handled by that Hall of Famer, she made her career bow going seven furlongs in the mud at Aqueduct Nov. 12, where he made a strong late run to get up by a head. Stepped up to stakes company next out here at Gulfstream, the dark bay unleashed a powerful turn of foot in the lane, inhaling the field and storming clear to win the one-mile Cash Run S. by 8 1/2 lengths. Biding her time at the back again in the track-and-trip GII Davona Dale Mar. 5, Kathleen O. charged past her foes once again, rolling home to a two-length score over GII Gazelle S.-bound Classy Edition (Classic Empire).

Pedigree Notes:

Kathleen O. is one of six black-type winners and two graded scorers for her young sire Upstart. She is also one of six black-type victors and three graded winners out of a daughter of Blame. The winner hails from the family of GISW sire Cupid (Tapit) and MGSW Heart Ashley (Lion Heart). She is the first foal out of Quaver, who has since produced the juvenile colt Tap Collector (Tapwrit), who brought $65,000 at the OBS Yearling Sale, and had Tapwrit fillies in 2021 and 2022.

Saturday, Gulfstream Park
GULFSTREAM PARK OAKS-GII, $250,000, Gulfstream, 4-2, 3yo, f, 1 1/16m, 1:43.75, ft.
1–KATHLEEN O., 122, f, 3, by Upstart
                                1st Dam: Quaver (SP), by Blame
                                2nd Dam: Skipper Tale, by Tale of the Cat
                                3rd Dam: Pretty 'n Smart, by Beau Genius
($8,000 Wlg '19 KEENOV; $50,000 Ylg '20 OBSOCT; $275,000
2yo '21 OBSAPR). O-Winngate Stables, LLC; B-Gainesway
Thoroughbreds LTD & Bridlewood Farm, LLC (KY); T-Claude R.
McGaughey III; J-Javier Castellano. $153,450. Lifetime Record:
4-4-0-0, $379,730. Werk Nick Rating: A+.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Goddess of Fire, 122, f, 3, Mineshaft–Feel That Fire, by
Lightnin N Thunder. O-Red Oak Stable (Brunetti); B-Red Oak
Stable (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $49,500.
3–Running Legacy, 122, f, 3, Gun Runner–True Legacy (GB), by
A.P. Indy. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE.
O/B-Edward A. Seltzer (KY); T-Saffie A. Joseph, Jr. $24,750.
Margins: 2 3/4, 17 1/4, 3HF. Odds: 0.50, 1.60, 12.30.
Also Ran: Amani's Image, Blustery, Cancel This. Scratched: Catiche. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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