American Pharoah and the Travers Stakes

This past Saturday afternoon, Saratoga Race Course once again earned it's nickname, "The Graveyard of Champions."  American Pharoah tried to become only the second horse to win the Travers Stakes after earning the Triple Crown Championship.  Like many other great race horses, he failed, leaving Whirlaway (in 1941) as the only Triple Crown Travers winner.  I greatly appreciate the fact that owner Ahmed Zayat decided to run the colt in the Mid-Summer Derby after winning the Haskell Invitational on 2 August.  Most owners and trainers would have backed the colt off work, slightly, and allowed him to regroup and recover from the Triple Crown campaign before gearing up again for the Breeders Cup Classic.
   Mr Zayat knows that everyday people and bettors in America need a fantastic horse to help boost interest and income into thoroughbred racing in the United States.  After American Pharoah came through the Triple Crown trail looking better than ever, it was decided to run the colt in the Haskell.  With the short breaks between the Triple Crown races, perhaps the Zayat family thought that the colt would continue his unbeaten streak with a break of 27 days between the Haskell and the Travers.
   Keen Ice, a colt by Curlin, ran seventh in the Kentucky Derby; he did not run in the Preakness; and he finished third in the Belmont.  In the Haskell Invitational, Keen Ice took second place, two lengths behind American Pharoah.  In the Travers, Keen Ice won by three-quarters of one length.  Was the difference between the two colts Keen Ice's time off during the running of the Preakness?  We will never actually know, and it's certainly something that will be debated for many years to come.
   Saratoga Race Course has been known as the Graveyard of Champions since 1919, when two-year-old Man o'War met the only defeat in his career in a six furlong race.  The colt that beat him was named Upset.  And he won by three-quarters of a length.   In 1930, Gallant Fox, the Triple Crown champion was defeated by Jim Dandy, at odds of 100 to 1.  Secretariat was beaten by Onion at Saratoga in the Whitney; and Rachel Alexandra was defeated by Persistantly in the Personal Ensign.  And don't forget that while Affirmed, the 1978 Triple Crown winner crossed the wire in front of Alydar in the Travers Stakes, Affirmed was disqualified, and Alydar was proclaimed the winner.   I'll happily wager that Saratoga will continue it's tradition of kicking dirt in the faces of Triple Crown winners - it seems to be a habit.  

Rain Yesterday, Sunny Today

It poured yesterday afternoon in north Boulder - more than a half-inch in 30 minutes, and over an inch for the day.  I have to admit that yesterday's downpour took me back to memories of a couple of hurricanes in Florida during the 1960s...  Rosie and Boo sandwiched me, and I spent most of the evening with a hand on each dog.  I admit I turned on the gas fireplace last night, too - It was 38 degrees outside when I got up this morning.  And, with that cold coming down from the northwest, they even had to stop the "Ride the Rockies" bicycle race  because of a blizzard at Berthoud Pass yesterday afternoon...

Blizzard at Berthoud Pass yesterday afternoon  (8 June 2014)

I understand that co-owner and -breeder of California Chrome, Steve Coburn, is not backing away from his remarks on Saturday evening.  He feels that the Triple Crown championship was stolen from his horse because horses that did not run in all three Classic races finished ahead of him.  It has never been required that any of the horses entered to run in the Preakness or Belmont must also run in the Kentucky Derby - it's always been a wide-open contest at all three races in the past.  I'm sorry that Mr Coburn is so upset over his colt's loss - but all the previous Triple Crown champions have faced the same mixed bag of contenders in both the Preakness and the Belmont.  His colt came up short in the Belmont - the Triple Crown winners did not.

Today is my 58th birthday - I decided it was my "Regression Day" instead.  While my body continues to age, and to get rounder, my mind still thinks that I'm eleven or twelve - so:

Happy Regression Day, every one!!!!

Five Latest Triple Crown Winners

1978 - Affirmed

1977 - Seattle Slew

1973 - Secretariat

1948 - Citation

1946 - Assault

I have no photo of Assault as a stallion - he raced until the age of 7, and was found to be sterile.  He lived the rest of his life in a pasture full of quarter horse mares at King's Ranch in Texas.

Belmont Horses

So ten colts and one ridgling will be running in the Belmont Stakes on Saturday.  Every horse is a bay, except California Chrome; Commanding Curve is the ridgling.  Samraat was bred in New York state, California Chrome in California, and the other nine are Kentucky-bred.  All of the entrants are related to *Forli (my favorite thoroughbred, along with Man o'War) - eight have *Forli in both the sire and dam's pedigrees, Matterhorn has *Forli blood in his sire's pedigree, and Commanding Curve and Commissioner have *Forli blood in the dam's pedigree.
  Both Ride On Curlin and General a Rod have run in both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, along with California Chrome.  Ride On Curlin finished 7th in the Derby and in second place in the Preakness.  General a Rod was in 11th place in the Derby and 4th in the Preakness.  Four of the colts ran in the Derby: Commanding Curve ran in second place; Wicked Strong ran 4th in the Derby; Samraat was fifth;and Medal Count ran 8th.
  Four new colts are joining in the last race of the Triple Crown - Commissioner, Matterhorn, Matuszak, and Tonalist.   Matterhorn and Tonalist were sired by Tapit, a grandson of A. P. Indy; Matterhorn's dam was Winter Garden, by Roy (by Fappiano); Tonalist is out of Settling Mist by Pleasant Colony, and she is out of the Topsider mare Toll Fee.  Matuszak is by Bernardini, a son of A. P. Indy; and out of the Mr. Prospector mare Golden Sonata.  None of A. P. Indy's sons have ever won a Belmont Stakes - the stallion was pensioned in 2011, so Commissioner is his last chance to win this leg of the Triple Crown.  Commissioner is out of Flaming Heart, by Touch Gold, by Deputy Minister.
  Five of the eleven horses racing are not related to A. P. Indy - they are Medal Count, Ride On Curlin, Samraat, Wicked Strong and General a Rod.  Commissioner is the son of A. P. Indy; Matuszak and Commanding Curve are grandsons of A. P. Indy; and California Chrome, Matterhorn and Tonalist are great-grandsons of A. P. Indy.
   I would love to see another Triple Crown champion in my lifetime.  I've seen Secretariat, Seattle Slew and Affirmed all win the Triple Crown... a 35 year "dry spell" has since occurred - will we see a new champion crowned on Saturday?  It's up to the horses, the jockeys, the track, ad, most especially, racing luck.  I'll hope and I'll cheer for California Chrome - but there are ten other contenders in this one and a-half-mile race worth $1.5 million.
   My biggest hope is for a clean race, with no injuries.