Vox Populi Award | Retama Ruffian

Now, this award is usually based off of popularity from the fans but this year there is several deserving candidates.

Let's get the candidates out of the way.
  1. Shared Belief 
  2. California Chrome
  3. Ben's Cat
  4. Wise Dan
  5. Game on Dude
  6. Untapable

Shared Belief:
The 3-YO gelding by Candy Ride has been a superstar this year, despite missing the entire Triple Crown trail. He broke his maiden on his first asking at Golden Gate going 6 furlongs. He then won the Hollywood Prevue (7 furlongs) and the CashCall Futurity (1 1/16 mile). After a six month break, Shared Belief ate up his older foes in his comeback allowance, which was a six furlong race over the all-weather track at Golden Gate Fields. The gelding then continued his winning streak with the Los Alamitos Derby (1 1/8 mile), Pacific Classic (1 1/4 mile) and the Awesome Again Stakes (1 1/8 mile). Now an important note about the Awesome Again Stakes is that Shared Belief took a 7 1/4 length trip farther than any other horse in the field. He ran his heart out in the race and still managed to win by a neck. In the Breeders' Cup Classic the gelding struggled at the start and then was forced to check to keep from clipping heels with the horse in front of him. Even with his crappy trip the horse managed to be behind the third place finisher only by 2 1/4 lengths.

California Chrome:
The "People's Horse", as he is known to his owners, has had plenty of trouble with winning a race since his win in the Preakness Stakes (1 3/8 mile), unless you call his rather unimpressive race in the Hollywood Derby a win. He's come fourth in the Belmont Stakes, sixth in the Pennsylvania Derby and third in the Breeders' Cup Classic. Honestly, I don't think this horse is deserving of the award. I mean, come on. He is just another name on the long list of horses who won the Derby/Preakness combo. A true champion would have won the trio of prestigious classic races but he obviously wasn't the champion we made him out to be. 

Ben's Cat:
Sure, the 8-YO has only won the same graded races. But how many eight year old horses do you know that are still going strong with 1sts/2nds/3rds? I can name one of the top of my head and it's Ben's Cat. 


Wise Dan:
I'm sorry to my Dan fans but I cannot wait for this horse to leave the racing scene even though he is one of the few horses racing over the age of six. He's losing his form slowly and it's getting noticeable. Despite the colic surgery this horse when through, he still strung together four graded stakes win, three of them grade one and the other a grade two race. 

Game On Dude:
The newly retired Game On Dude had little luck this year with a win in the Santa Anita Handicap and a second in the Charles Town Classic Stakes. He was retired after a fourth in the Pacific Classic. You can now visit Game On Dude at Old Friends in Kentucky.

Untapable:
The Kentucky Oaks winner has only finished worst than third once, if you forgive her 8th in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. She broke her maiden on her first try and then won the Pocahontas Stakes. The eventual Kentucky Oaks winner went into the race with a third in the Hollywood Scarlet Stakes and wins in the Rachel Alexandra Stakes and the Fair Grounds Oaks. After her win in the Kentucky Oaks and the Mother Goose Stakes, she was sent to the Haskell Invitational but finished fifth. Untapable redeemed herself in the Cotillion Stakes and in the Breeders' Cup Distaff.

So, who's your pick going to? I've already voted for Shared Belief.

Shared Belief v.s. California Chrome In a Rematch...? | Retama Ruffian

So with the HOY decisions still up in the air, who really deserves it more, Shared Belief or California Chrome? The Breeders' Cup Classic should have been the deciding factor but with the controversial start and an intersting stewards' decision nobody really knows. Or they cannot begin to think about that now. Not with the fact that there could be a possible rematch between the huge rivals (who have only faced each other once), Shared Belief and California Chrome.

Art Sherman is sure that had the race been ten yards longer, his Kentucky Derby and Preakness winning trainee would have swept his rivals off their feet. But the past, is the past and they're is no reason to dwell on the "possible" winner. So Perry Martin is set on the fact that California Chrome will not race in Japan and he will certainly not running in the $500,000 Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs. According to BloodHorse, California Chrome will be headed to the Hollywood Derby at Del Mar. This will be his first start over turf.

If you are a huge "Chromie", DO NOT READ.
California Chrome's connections are huge jerks. Before they won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, I had a high respect for them but after their big classic wins all of their money and fame went to their heads. Anyone else remember when Del Mar wanted Martin and Perry to come over to breeze in front of his fans? The owners reply, come up with $50,000 and then we'll come. The owners have made it clear that they will not be starting Chrome for less than $1M next year. So now they're going to try to copy Shared Belief's effortless change from synthetic to dirt, but this time dirt to turf (or possibly synthetic)? STOP IT! Drop the rivalry. They both ran an amazing race and both horses deserve HOY. Aren't you going to stop trying to be better than last year's 2-YO Champion? Like, really? Aren't you the owners of the "People's Horse"? Isn't this sport about the horse, not the money? I guess not.  Rant over.

Shared Belief got bumped at the start by Bayern and I'm going to keep my mouth shut on this one. I don't want a heated discussion below. But the California horse from nowhere overcame his bumpy start to finish a well-ran fourth. Jim Rome, the majority owner of Shared Belief, wants a California Chrome-Shared Belief. This rematch will most likely be in the $10M Dubai World Cup, if there is not a sooner race.

So who do you think will win the Shared Belief-California Chrome retmatch, Clones and Chromies?

Until next time,
Madison

Breeders' Cup Playback (Friday and Saturday) | Retama Ruffian

Juvenile Turf-

1 M, Turf, $1M

Hootenanny railed past the inexperienced, yet highly regarded Luck of the Kitten. Wesley Ward finished 1-2 in the Juvenile Turf. Coolmore owns the Quality Road colt who has now started five times and has triumphed in three countries. Daddy D T upset for third place.

Dirt Mile-

1 M, Dirt, $1M

Goldencents, who made his final start in the Dirt Mile, became the only two-time winner of the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. Goldencents was challenged by Vicar's In Trouble throughout the entire first quarter. In the stretch Tapiture attempted to bypass Goldencents but narrowly failed.

Mile-

1 M, Turf, $2M

Karakontie (JPN) paid $62 to win with the odds of 30/1. Karakontie rallied along the stretch turn to over take Toronado and Obviously. The three-year old victor had previously only raced in France. He was bred in Japan by his owner, Flaxman Holdings, and is trained by Jonathan Pease.

Xpressbet Sprint-

6F, Dirt, $1.5M

Work All Week went into the race with a seven for seven record on dirt. He tracked Fast Anna throughout the first half and took the lead, unchallenged. In the final ⅛ Secret Circle attempted to overtake the lead but the gelding held off the challenger to pay $40.20.

Turf Sprint-

6 ½F, Turf, $1M

Bobby’s Kitten entered the race having never racing less than one mile, but the 3-YO homebred surged from last to first, overcoming the favorite, No Nay Never. Chad Brown received his third 2014 Breeders’ Cup win.  

Filly & Mare Sprint-

7F, Dirt, $1M

Judy the Beauty, who was runner-up to Groupie Doll in 2013, finished a head in front of Better Lucky. Judy the Beauty took the lead from Stonestastic near the eighth pole. The race was completed in 1:21.92.

Filly & Mare Turf

1 ¼M, Turf, $2M

Dayatthespa got her first win at 1 ¼ mile and gave Chad Brown his second win in the 2014 Breeders’ Cup. Dayatthespa beat the 2011 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner, Stephanie’s Kitten. Dank, the 2-1 favorite, finished 4th.

Juvenile Fillies-

1 1/16M, Dirt, $2M

62-1 Take Charge Brandi, trained by D. Wayne Lukas, had a huge upset over the favorite Angela Renee. Take Charge Brandi took the reins of the race at the start and never let up, not even to the fast-closing Top Docile.

Juvenile Fillies Turf-

1M, Turf, $1M

Lady Eli set the fastest record ever for the Juvenile Fillies Turf and even finished :1.38 seconds faster than Hootenanny in the Juvenile Turf. Sunset Glow finished 2 ¾ lengths back, followed by Osaila (IRE).

Longines Distaff-

1 ⅛M, Dirt, $2M

Untapable, undoubtedly the Champion 3-YO Female, added a cherry to the top of her huge sundae with a 1 ¼ length win over Don’t Tell Sophia. The second ML favorite, Close Hatches, finished dead last.

Longines Turf-

1M, Turf, $2M

Main Sequence won his fourth grade one race with trainer Graham Motion. He held back until the final quarter, where he charged Flintshire (GB) to win by a half length. Finishing the superfecta was Twilight Eclipse and Telescope (IRE).

Sentient Jet Juvenile-

1 1/16M, Dirt, $2M

Winning by 6 ½ lengths, Texas Red, rushed from first to last to upset the favorite Carpe Diem. The race was finished by Upstart and The Great War.

Classic-

1 ¼M, Dirt, $5M

Bayern wired the field in the 1 ¼ mile Classic after bumping into Shared Belief at the start. Toast of New York came 2nd, California Chrome finished third and the favored Shared Belief completed the superfecta.

Breeders' Cup Friday (QUICK) Wrap Up

I'll be honest I wasn't really into Breeders' Cup Friday. Perhaps it was because I watched all of the races on my phone. And maybe because I was only into two races, the Dirt Mile and the Distaff.

The Dirt Mile was the only race I didn't watch and that was because I was handing out candy to trick-or-treaters. 😝 I don't think the race was that impressive from what I heard. But I'll be honest, I was Goldencents to win and Tapiture to come second. I was hoping that Vicar's In Trouble would have ran third but I am now hoping his injury was too serious and that he recovers quickly.

The Distaff had an obvious winner before the race started. Untapable. I didn't want her to win but I had to face the facts. Congratulations to Tapit for shattering the single-season earnings of a North American site. Close Hatches does not seem like she wants to run anymore. She came dead last. Retire Close Hatches and breed her. She might be a good sale but I'm not so sure with her last few finishes...

To Rosie Napravnik (for the very, very small chance of you stumbling upon this article) congratulations on your pregnancy. Seven weeks. I'm glad to hear you will stay in the buisness with your husband. I really hope your baby is a girl and she (or he!) follows your footsteps. We'll see you soon in the Derby winner circle but this time next to the horse, not on him.

Until next time,
Madison

Revealing the Cup- BC Classic | Retama Ruffian

Shared Belief-

Positive:

• Unbeaten in seven starts
• Has raced at Santa Anita (Awesome Again)
• Has posted a six furlong work
• Raced at the 1 1/4 mile distance (Pacific Classic)

Negative:

• Had a rough trip in the Awesome Again
• Gave it his all in prior start
• Has never worked over the Santa Anita track

Shared Belief (Candy Ride-Common Hope) is undefeated in seven races, including the Pacific Classic and the Awesome Again. He has started at grade one, two and three with an allowance race and, of course, his maiden race. His first graded win was the Hollywood Prevue (7 furlongs) with his next being the Cashcall Futurity (1 1/16 mile), where he beat Candy Boy and Tamarando. After a six month break due to an injury he came back and won an allowance race (6 furlongs) over older horses. Perhaps his latest win was his best win. In the Los Alamitos Derby Shared Belief stretched out to 1 1/8 mile and took the reins of his dirt debut, churning plenty of it into his competitors faces. Candy Ride  raced in Argentina for half of his races and then won the American Handicap (1 1/8 mile) and the Pacific Classic (1 1/4 mile). Common Hope won her maiden before retiring with five starts. As you know, Shared Belief will always be a contender in my eyes.

Tonalist-

Positive:

• Has won three races at 1 1/4 mile or greater

Negative:

• Never started at SA
• Has never worked over SA track

As of now I believe Tonalist (Tapit-Settling Mist) can only win a grade one event a Belmont Park. He won the Peter Pan (1 1/8 mile), Belmont (1 1/2 mile) before managing a 2nd in the Jim Dandy (1 1/8 mile), a third in the Travers (1 1/4 mile) and then winning the Jockey Club Gold Cup (1 1/4 mile). He is by Tapit, out of Settling Mist. Tapit won the Laurel Futurity (1 1/16 mile) and the Wood Memorial (1 1/8 mile). He came ninth in the Kentucky Derby and the Pennsylvania Derby (1 1/8 mile). The grandson of Seattle Slew, Pulpit is the grandsire of Tonalist. He, like Tapit, won the Fountain of Youth, came second in the Florida Derby, won the Toyota Blue Grass (1 1/8 mile) and 4th came in the Kentucky Derby. Settling Mist won one out of nineteen races. Tonalist for sure has the pedigree but can he only win grade one events at Belmont?

Bayern-

Positive:

• Beat the Derby and Preakness winner (Pennsylvania Derby)
• Has won at Santa Anita
• Trained over the SA track

Negative:

• Came tenth at 1 1/4 mile
• Has early speed and usually fades
• Inconsistent runner

Bayern (Offlee Wild-Alittlebitearly) showed he wasn't just a sprinter with his wire to wire Haskell win and his domination over Chrome in the Pennsylvania Derby. Offlee  Wild won the Holy Bull Stakes (1 1/16 mile). But didn't have much luck in grade one races, not winning for another year. His first grade one victory came in 2004 when he beat Funny Cide in the Massachusettes Handicap. He was challenged by four other horses in the Breeders' Cup Handicap. During his final win Offlee Wild, once again, beat Funny Cide in the Suburban Handicap. Offlee Wild is by the Icecapade stallion, Wild Again. He won the Breeders' Cup Classic (1 1/4th mile). Alittlebitearly was unraced. Yes, Bayern has proved himself. Yes, he is an amazing racer. But will he get stuck in a speed dual?

Moreno-

Positive:

• Worked over Santa Anita track
• Raced at SA

Negative:

• No work at 6 furlongs or longer
• Came 10th in '13 BCC

Moreno (Ghostzapper-Danceinthesunlight) is by one of my favorite sires, Ghostzapper, but I'm not too excited about this colt's races this year, other than his Whitney win over Palace Malice. He came 2nd in the Suburban Handicap (1 1/4 mile), 3rd in the Charles Town Classic Stakes (1 1/8 mile). Ghostzapper won the Vosburgh Stakes (6 1/2 furlongs), Tom Fool Handicap (7 furlongs), Breeders' Cup Handicap (1 1/8 mile), Woodward Stakes (1 1/8 mile), Breeders' Cup Classic (1 1/4 mile) and, his final race, the Met Mile. Sire of Ghostzapper, Awesome Again is the winner of the 1988 Stephen Foster (1 1/8 mile), '98 Whitney Handicap (1 1/8 mile), '98 Breeders' Cup Handicap, '98 Hawthorne Gold Cup, both 1 1/4 mile, and the '98 BC Classic (1 1/4 mile). Danceinthesunlight was unraced. She was by the '92 BC Classic victor, A.P. Indy. I really like Moreno's pedigree in the Classic.

Majestic Harbor-

Positive:

• Has won at SA
• Worked over the SA dirt
• Has had a six furlong work

Negative:

• Hasn’t won since June
• Came fourth the last time out at SA

I have found nothing interesting about Majestic Harbor (Rockport Harbor-Champagne Royal). His racing didn’t get serious until earlier this year, when he won the Tokyo City Cup (gr. III). He finished third in the Californian Stakes (1 ⅛ mile) and then won the Gold Cup at Santa Anita (1 ¼ mile). After that he came sixth in the TVG Pacific Classic (1 ¼ mile) and fourth in the Awesome Again Stakes (1 ⅛ mile). Rockport Harbor won the Nashua Stakes (1 mile), Remsen Stakes (1 ⅛ mile) and the Essex Stakes (1 1/16 mile). He came second in the Rebel Stakes (1 1/16 mile). Champagne Royal did nothing spectacular.  Majestic Harbor could be a longshot (10/1-15/1) worthy of a good price.

Prayer for Relief-

Positive:

• Worked over Santa Anita’s track
• Raced at SA

Negative:

• Hasn’t trained at 6 furlongs or farther
• Never won in 2014
• Hasn’t won a race this year

Prayer for Relief (Jump Start-Sparklin Lil) won the Iowa Derby (1 1/16 mile), West Virginia Derby (1 ⅛ mile), Super Derby (1 ⅛ mile) and the Prairie Meadows Cornhusker (1 ⅛ mile). Jump Start won the Saratoga Special Stakes (6 ½ furlongs) and came second in the Champagne Stakes (1 1/16 mile). Sparklin Lil won nothing spectacular. Prayer for Relief should sit out this race and prepare for next year.

California Chrome-

Positive:

• Won at this distance
• Has beat two horses in this field
• Won at Santa Anita
• Worked at six furlongs

Negative:

• Came 6th in last start
• Came 4th against Tonalist
• Hasn’t worked over Santa Anita

California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit-Love the Chase) is the horse everyone wants to win. A dual classic winner, Kentucky Derby (1 ¼ mile) and the Preakness Stakes (1 3/16 mile), Chrome had three month break before coming back and finishing sixth in the Pennsylvania Derby (1 ⅛ mile). He won the Graduation Stakes (5 ½ furlongs), King Glorious Stakes (7 furlongs), California Cup Derby (1 1/16 mile), San Felipe Stakes (1 1/16 mile), Santa Anita Derby (1 ⅛ mile) and, of course, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. Lucky Pulpit won three of his twenty-two starts. Love the Chase only broke her maiden. California Chrome hasn’t shown much improvement in his previous training but it looks like he’ll be a horse to beat.

V.E. Day-

Positive:

• Won the Travers Stakes in a fast closing pace
• BCC  should have a lot of speed
• 7 furlong work

Negative:

• Hasn’t trained over the SA dirt
• Never started at Santa Anita
• Fifth his last time out

V.E. Day (English Channel-California Sunset) won the Travers Stakes. He started seven times; his worst placing was a fifth the Jockey Club Gold Cup. He won his maiden (1 mile) five months into the year. In July V.E. Day won an allowance (1 1/8 mile) before winning the Curlin Stakes (1 1/8 mile), beating Charge Now and Viva Majorca. English Channel won the Virginia Derby (1 1/4 mile), Canadian Turf Handicap (1 1/16 mile), Woodford Turf Classic (1 1/8 mile), United Nations Stakes (1 3/8 mile), and the Breeder's Cup Turf (1 1/2 mile). California Sunset is unstarted. She is by Deputy Minister, the 2-Year Old Eclipse Award winner. V.E. Day has the pedigree but I'm a little worried about his fifth in the Jockey Club Gold Cup.

Zivo-

Positive:

• 2nd in the JCGC
• Won the Suburban Handicap

Negative:

• No stamina works
• No works at Santa Anita
• Hasn’t started at SA

Zivo (True Direction-American Skipper) is an obvious threat to this race. The only time he finished worse than third was in the Woodward Stakes, which also happened to be his first attempt at the grade one level. His sire wasn't the best of racers and neither was his dam but I can't wait to see what Zivo does in this grade one.

Imperative-

Positive:

• Raced at Santa Anita
• Training at SA
• Has a 6 furlong work

Negative:

• Never won at Santa Anita
• Came fifth the last time out
• Never won a grade one race

Imperative (Bernardini-Call Her) got his big break with a second in the San Antonio Stakes (1 1/8 mile), a 3rd in the Gold Cup at Santa Anita (1 1/4 mile) and a win in the Charles Town Classic (1 1/8), all of which he beat fellow runner Game On Dude. Bernardini was a rather accomplished runner with a win in the Withers (1 mile), Preakness Stakes (1 3/16 mile), Jim Dandy (1 1/8 mile), Travers (1 1/4 mile) and the Jockey Gold Cup (1 1/4 mile). He came 2nd in the Breeders' Cup Classic. Call Her was a black-type winner but only had one win of the type. Imperative has the pedigree and has beat some of these horses at least once but he isn't a very consistent runner.

Candy Boy-

Positive:

• Won at Santa Anita
• 6 furlong work
• Training at Santa Anita

Negative:

• Hasn’t won since the Robert B. Lewis (Santa Anita)
• Lost last three races

Candy Boy (Candy Ride-She's an Eleven) came second in both of his last races and third in the Pennsylvania Derby. Other than his maiden, his only win was the Robert B. Lewis Stakes (1 1/16 mile). Candy Ride raced in Argentina for half of his races and then won the American Handicap (1 1/8 mile) and the Pacific Classic (1 1/4 mile). Candy Ride raced in Argentina for half of his races and then won the American Handicap (1 1/8 mile) and the Pacific Classic (1 1/4 mile). He went six-for-six and concluded his racing career in 2003. She's An Eleven broke her maiden before winning the Melair Stakes (1 1/16 mile). She came fifth in the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (1 1/8 mile), fourth in the Hollywood Breeders' Cup Oaks (1 1/16 mile) and sixth in the Lady's Secret Stakes (1 1/16). Candy Boy may not win but it'd be something special if he did but he can be a threat in the the top four.

Big Cazanova-

Positive:

• Raced at Santa Anita
• 6 furlong work
• 1 mile work

Negative:

• Seventh in last start
• Didn’t break his maiden until May

For Big Cazanova (Giant's Causeway-Gem Bob) all I have to say is bye, bye! He came seventh in his last start and has done nothing spectaular.

Toast of New York-

Positive:

• Finished second to Shared Belief (Pacific Classic)

Negative:

• No recorded workouts
• Hasn’t tried the Santa Anita dirt

Toast of New York (Thewayyouare-Claire Soleil) is going to be dropped. He started twice in America which resulted in a second and a sixth. He is a very inconsistent runner and has no recorded trainings.

Footbridge-

Positive:

• Six furlong work
• Raced at Santa Antia
• Training at Santa Anita

Negative:

• Never won a graded stakes

Footbridge (Street Cry (IRE)-Thousand Islands (GB) may be ignored in this race for lack of experience but I think he may be a true contender. Street Cry came second in the Del Mar Futurity (7 furlongs) and Norfolk Stakes (1 mile). He came third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (1 1/16 mile). He won the UAE Two Thousand Guineas, Dubai World Cup and the Stephen Foster Handicap (1 ⅛  mile). Thousand Islands did nothing special.

Cigar Street-

Positive:

• N/A

Negative:

• No works 6 furlongs or above
• One graded stakes win (Skipaway Stakes- 3/30/13)
• Won last race

Cigar Street (Street Sense-Arcadiana) won his last race, the Homecoming Classic Stakes, (1 ⅛ mile) and won the Skipaway Stakes (1 3/16 mile). Street Sense won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (1 1/16 mile), Tampa Bay Derby (1 1/16 mile), Kentucky Derby (1 ¼ mile), Jim Dandy Stakes (1 ⅛ mile) and the Travers Stakes (1 ¼ mile). He came second in the Toyota Blue Grass (1 ⅛ mile), second in the Preakness Stakes (1 3/16 mile), second in the Kentucky Cup Classic Stakes (1 ⅛ mile) and fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (1 ¼ mile). Arcadiana was unraced. Cigar Street may not have a grade one win to his name but based on his pedigree he has it all.