Greatness Finds A Way
Wise
Dan, Reigning Horse of the Year, Prevails in G2 Firecracker
Forego, four
decades ago, time after time answered the call, conceding ridiculous weight
advantages to his opponents yet somehow almost always finding a way capture the
glory. So many incredible races and yet
one such effort, in my mind, defines his absolute magnificence. In the era prior to the Breeder’s Cup, the G1
Marlboro Cup run at 1 ¼ miles was considered to be one of the most defining
championship events on the racing calendar. In October of 1976, the marvelous gelding
Forego was asked to concede 18 pounds, 137 to 119, to the outstanding 3 year
old colt Honest Pleasure, he the
previous year’s Champion 2 year old, and winner already in 1976 of 4 Grade 1
races, including the Flamingo, Florida Derby, Bluegrass, and Travers Stakes. Furthermore the track this day was a sea of
slop, a surface that the huge and terribly arthritic Forego found very
difficult to manage. Hopelessly behind
and floundering in the mud with ¼ mile to run, this grand old warrior was moved
to the middle of the track as they entered the stretch and, somehow reaching
within to grasp that special something that defines the truly great, suddenly
exploded down the stretch, his huge strides creating waves of slop behind him, his
rider Bill Shoemaker moving with him as one, his giant nostrils thrust to the
fore one jump before the wire, victory his in the outstanding time of 2 minutes
flat…under 137 pounds! Every reason for
defeat, no stature to be lost in defeat, but he would have none of it!
Seattle Slew is
most certainly best remembered for his Triple Crown exploits, being the only
undefeated winner of this elusive crown.
As great as his Triple Crown effort was, however, his greatest and most defining moment may well have come in the Jockey Gold Cup run
at 1 ½ miles on October 14, 1978. As was
his forte he jumped quickly to the lead but was immediately and unexpectedly joined
by the most recent of our Triple Crown winners, Affirmed. The latter, it was
subsequently revealed, was running essentially out of control, the victim of
his saddle slipping. Seattle Slew too
paid the price for Affirmed’s misfortune, as the two set blistering, near
impossible, fractions for this arduous test of stamina, with the quarter and
half mile splits even quicker than Secretariat’s Belmont Stakes some 5 years
earlier. The older Seattle Slew finally
disposed of his courageous younger Crown bearer, but the exhausting pace had
taken a great toll on “Slew.” Moving
from well off the tiring speed duel up front, the outstanding European import, Exceller, closed resolutely to catch
the tiring Seattle Slew, and by mid-stretch had opened a clear advantage. Again however, reaching deep within, Slew
found that hidden reserve bequeathed to only the special ones and, as the wire
approached, suddenly Exceller’s ½ length
lead was now a neck, then a head ,then a nose, then…then the wire, an instant
too soon for the storybook ending. Defeated
by a nose, yes. Glorious in defeat, most
definitely, with absolute greatness proven beyond any doubt this day.
And so to Churchill Downs this past Saturday, June 29,
2013. Our reigning Horse of the Year, Wise Dan, was to run in the G2
Firecracker Handicap against a fine field of turf specialists, a notch below
the best to be sure, but nonetheless including emerging potential stars and
cagey old class horses. Included within
the former grouping was the Claiborne color-bearer Lea, he the winner of 4 of 6 starts and considered by all as a
major up and coming turf star, while the latter included the veteran Seruni and multiple graded stakes
winner Daddy Nose Best. Wise Dan, by virtue of his stellar resume,
was asked to carry 128 pounds while conceding 11 to 15 pounds to his opponents. Hesitant to participate given the weight
spread and concern for subsequent weight assignments for the more critical
races further along in the year, the decision was made by Wise Dan’s connections
to reluctantly accept the challenge. As
misfortune would have it, several hours before the turf race the skies
ominously blackened and soon The Downs was engulfed in a tremendous downpour, the
deluge followed quickly by thunder and lightning displays that went on for
seemingly an hour. The turf, firm at the beginning of the race
card, quickly became very wet and slippery, the footing questionable, the
wisdom of running coming much into consideration. Several scratched from the race and certainly
most expected to see Wise Dan included in this group but, in the spirit of the
sport, the major participants including Wise Dan and Lea entered the gate for
the 1 mile turf test. Breaking from the
inside post, Wise Dan was quickly trapped along the rail, the veteran Seruni
leading the pack while slowing the pace as much as feasible, with Dan directly
behind and Lea lapped immediately to his outside. With nowhere to go, jockey John Velazquez had
his hands very full restraining Dan from running up on the heels of the
dawdling Seruni immediately in front of him.
Approaching the ½ mile marker, it was clear that the strategy of all was
to keep Wise Dan boxed in and out of the running for as long as possible then,
when the restraints were released in the stretch, attempt to hold off his
anticipated late charge with the hope being that the 128 pound burden would
thwart his usual electrifying move. Turning into the stretch the strategy was
proving effective and the situation
looked dismal for the champion, for with 3/16th mile remaining he was still trapped behind horses, nowhere to
run, and seeming destined to be defeated not by weight nor by superior horses
but by circumstance and strategy.
Foolish us, for we speak here of Wise Dan and, for those of his ilk, defeat
is not readily accepted. Straightening off the turn into the stretch, a
tiny gap, no more than a seam, opened
between the leading Seruni and the inside hedge and this was all that Dan needed.
With a lightning move that belied his
weight burden Dan quickly struck the opening and forced his sleek chestnut body
through the minimal gap. So tight was
the opening that Dan and Seruni collided, the effect throwing Dan into the
hedge. Likely enough to dissuade a mere
mortal, for Wise Dan it served only as a catalyst, as he intensely continued
his battle for racing room. Now through,
he quickly accelerated past his rivals and into the clear, within strides a
narrow head becoming a one, then two length lead and, just that quickly, it was
over. With no stick necessary, jockey
Velazquez kept looking over his shoulder for challengers but none could match
his explosive turn of foot, his margin at the wire a measured 2 lengths while
being eased. Returning to the winner’s
enclosure the laughing demeanor of jockey John Velazquez seemed in stark
contrast to the anxiety written on the faces of trainer Charlie Lopresti and
wife Amy. “Surely, Charlie,” he seemed
to be saying, “you never doubted the outcome? Never underestimate the wonder of
greatness, my man. And yours is a very great
horse!”
The really special ones, the truly great horses, have a way
of overcoming adversity and getting the job done. Not as brilliant to be sure as his
breath-taking Breeder’s Cup victory last year at Santa Anita, nor with the
widening margins seen in so many of his Grade 1 wins, Wise Dan, with his show
of pure guts and courage, proved on this
day that he is so much more than speed and brilliance and power. What looked by mid-afternoon to likely become
a rather dismal and forgettable day at the Downs proved, by virtue of his
exceptional show of courage and strength, a most special day indeed. Wise Dan delivered on this day a performance
that I will never forget, an effort that exemplified all that is meant when one
speaks of true greatness. We are so fortunate
to have him in our midst this day.
Murray D. West
Paris, Ky.
6-30-2013
G2 Firecracker...the walk over...remember, night racing so the photos are compromised...give a fellow a little slack here!
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