Breeders' Cup Track Report
by Tim Clauss
10/30/98
Thursday, 10/29/98
This morning was eerie as I headed into the backside. Louisville was shrouded in the thickest fog I've ever seen here, more like a light mist than a fog. Anyway, I arrived on track fairly late, which wasn't such a bad thing considering any earlier and I would not have been able to even see my way through the barns.Churchill Downs has opened up the Jim Bolus Memorial Press Center on the backside and had coffee and doughnuts available to ward off the morning chill. Up to trackside, and visibility was about a furlong in each direction. The only hint that the famous twin spires lay only quarter mile away was the barley visible glow of florescent lights in the third floor of the clubhouse. Also, I must say that I would be skeptical of any of the workout times for this day. I just don't think that the clockers could be terribly accurate when they have to rely on spotter calling out on walkie-talkies to stop their watches.
With these conditions, and the fact that it was only 25 minutes before the freshening break, there weren't many runners out on the track. It gave me some time to contemplate the track conditions I had seen over the past few days. Tuesday's track where I saw the brilliant work by Silver Charm occurred on a fast, light drying out track. Track Superintendent Butch Lehr has been keeping the surface wet, but the dry air and steady breeze had dried the track enough to provide a cushion of loose top soil above the base. Essentially the track was less cuppy than usual, and the driest track of the week.
As far as the turf course goes, they've been keeping it fairly wet all week long. The concern here has been to have a track ready to stand up to the entire fall meet. Unless we have some wet weather, I would suspect that the turf course would be slightly firmer than the yielding surface the horses have faced thus far. Also, all of the morning works on the turf have been around the "dogs". Orange cones placed about 15 feet out from the rail, which is already placed 10 feet out from the hedge. The result, horses on the turf course have been running further than their workouts may suggest. I would suggest that the 1:16's that we've been seeing for 6 furlongs has less to do with horses training in the European style and more to do with the fact that they're running almost 6 1/2 furlongs.
I did not make it to the track on Wednesday, I thought about it, but when the alarm clock went off, we were having strong intermittent thunderstorms. I was not about to go out in that kind of weather. However, I knew that it would alter the track surface and slow down the times somewhat. A wet Churchill Downs is about as good as a dry track, but a damp Churchill tends to be cuppy and sting a horse's feet. That was the sort of track that we had today. The damp fog hadn't allowed for any of the water to evaporate out of the track surface. It would probably be labeled good if they were going to rate it for racing.
This day did turn out to be a fairly light day for works. Shortly before the break, Baffert had Silverbulletday out on track to take a turn in the paddock. She didn't gallop, just walked around slowly. She did give one of the assistant trainers a scare as she reared up on her back legs as she came off of the track. She was hoping that Baffert didn't see it. Presumably because those fragile two-year-old legs shouldn't be subjected to that kind of stress.
Silverbulletday looks every bit like the potential favorite for the Juvenile Fillies race. She's a beautiful bay horse with four black socks. She has a very nicely muscled shoulder and some of the strongest muscles on her front legs that I've ever seen on a filly. Her rear end is rather average, but has good muscle tone and definition. A well-built horse that has shown her ability to stretch out to two turns in her last at Keeneland. The Groom is Red was on track also taking a paddock turn and an easy gallop. He really looks nice, with excellent muscle tone. He has really been getting the local attention with his Rick Pitino connections, but he deserves some scrutiny following his victory in New York last out where he closed so strongly against the sloppy track bias. He does have a fairly high leg action with his fore, but does seem to be getting across the track smoothly. Nick Zito also had Cryptodiplomacy out for a gallop. This is a good looking horse who they hope will draw into the Juvenile.
At the break, I headed back to the barn areas, where I witnessed both the Groom is Red and Cryptodiplomacy getting personal rubdowns from Nicky Z himself. Nick Zito has a deep bond with his horses, and one of the most personal touches of any trainer. It was a nice thing to see.
Following the break, Baffert had Silver Charm on track to gallop about a mile, and personally took his lead shank as he rode beside him on the lead pony. I thought he had ulterior motives however, as his gallop with the Charm placed him perfectly on the front stretch to witness the workout of another of his promising two year olds, Exploit. Not yet ready for the two turns of the BC Juvenile, Exploit will be in the field for the Grade II Iroquois on the undercard Breeder's Cup day. Judging from his work, I would expect him to take some serious money.
A dark bay with 3 white socks, Exploit is a VERY good-looking juvi. Really nicely developed hind muscles that are really large for his age, they are strapped to a large framed colt with thick legs all around. He worked 5 in 59 and change and came back in very good shape. He got across the track very well and came back blowing only slightly following his cool down. This is one you should put on the to watch list for Bob Baffert. Exploit has the breeding for a Derby Contender.
I also spotted Victory Gallop out for a brief turn around the track. Nothing really new to report on him. He's still looking good. Joyeaux Dancer was also out on the track for a gallop. From the brief look I got of Joyeaux Dancer, I'm happy to report that he looks very good. He has a huge, wide rear end that is just bulging with muscles. Despite the fact that it is not his usual surface, he did seem to be moving very smoothly under his rider and really wanting to get loose and do some real running. Finally, I saw Escena out on track for a gallop. She's a long legged horse with a longish body. She has a clean, delicate body line. Graceful is the word that comes to mind. She has the look of a horse that wants a bit of distance, and will get the chance to prove it in a little over a week.
Friday, 10/30/98
This morning was a quick in and out. I will admit it, when the alarm clock went off at 5:45 am, I rolled over and hit the snooze bar. I've been nursing a cold this week, and the need for sleep outweighed the chance to see Awesome Again go out and work at 6 am. Sorry folks, that's just the way it goes sometimes. I did make it to the track during the renovation break and as a result saw both Bag Lady Jane and Touch Gold work for Pat Byrne.The first horse he brought to the track was Bag Lady Jane. She's a fine looking dark bay almost black filly with a white blaze that runs from above her eyes to the center of her head. I would guess she stands about 16 hands and has a very light frame. Her chest is not very deep or wide. The whithers are slightly higher than the point of her rump and are very prominent. She has a good muscle tone all around, just not a great deal of muscle volume.
The one slightly scary thing that I saw earlier in the week was a heavy set of wraps on Bag Lady Jane's left foreleg. She had one around the knee and one covering most of the cannon bone. I've not heard any rumors of injury, but these wraps were unusual because they were on only one leg. You will often see preventative wraps on most horses, but those wraps are balanced, not so with this one.
Once on the track, Bag Lady Jane calmed some of my fears about a potential injury by going 5 in 1:01 and 1. For the move, she had Pat Day aboard as they were looking to give him a feel for her abilities before the big race. He seemed comfortable enough and didn't have to do too much urging for Bag Lady Jane to go through her paces. She was restrained and moved very smoothly and efficiently.
Next to the track for Byrne was Touch Gold. I made my comments about his physical stature a couple of days ago, and nothing much has changed. He is still a big bull of a horse. They put him on the track with a workout partner, Austrian Derby champ, Oakhurst. Both horses warmed up with lead ponies who let them loose about halfway through the first turn. As soon as he was let go from the lead pony, Touch Gold started running, despite the very hard hold from his exercise rider. It appeared they wanted to give Oakhurst about a 4 or 5 length lead. Instead, when they hit the 6f pole, Oakhurst only had about a 2-length margin. Down the backside the jock continued trying to restrain Touch Gold, but he just kept bearing down on his work partner. By the time they had covered 2 furlongs, and were headed into the turn, Touch Gold had pulled along side Oakhurst, and put him away through the turn. Touch Gold finished the work in 1:12 and beat out Oakhurst by about 5 lengths. Cooling out Touch Gold looked on his toes, but was blowing some. On the other hand, Oakhurst looked completely pooped. He had his head down, tongue out, and sweat dripping.
Many of the reporters on track remarked on how strong Touch Gold had been down the backstretch. However, from my point of view it was a little unsettling. This is a large, powerful horse that didn't appear to pay any heed to the directions his jock was attempting to give to him. I think his downfall in the Fayette came from not laying back and rating off the pace that Arch set. His history shows he runs best when reserved early and comes flying at the end. The workout I saw on Friday didn't show a horse preparing for that kind of race. Instead, he seemed to only have one speed. If that speed isn't fast enough, this lack of ratability might destroy Touch Gold's chances in the classic.
The only other horses I recognized on track were Cape Cross and Fly the Stars. The two are nearly identical dark bays. Both went in 1:03 for five furlongs, and the slow time did not surprise me much. Neither one looked like they were making any real exertion in their works. At first I thought they were just out for a strong gallop, that's how easy they were getting across the track. Both had good clean lines and very finely defined muscle tone. Cape Cross is slightly larger than Fly the Stars, but when you get the matching jackets and hats that all the Goldolphin exercise riders wear, it gets very difficult to pick between the two. In any case, both came off the track on their toes, clearly happy to be in Kentucky on a beautiful morning.
From Louisville, KY
©1998, Tim Clauss
Tim's other Breeders' Cup workout articles
Breeders' Cup logo courtesy of the Breeders' Cup and used with permission, photographs by Cindy Pierson except Time Bandit which is by Tom Sporney
