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Wise Dan simply too good in Shadwell Turf Mile
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| Wise Dan overcame a slow start to win his 14th straight on turf, setting himself up for a three-peat in the BC Mile
(Keeneland/Coady Photography) |
Future Hall of Famer Wise Dan is so confident of finding a way to win, that
Morton Fink's homebred champion decided to keep his legions of fans on the edge
of their collective seats in Saturday's Grade 1, $1 million
Shadwell Turf Mile at
Keeneland. Last to
leave the gate, and held up in traffic off a slow early pace, the 4-5 favorite
appeared to set himself a real task. But Wise Dan readily hit top gear down the
stretch to put his rivals firmly in their place, and book his spot for a
potential three-peat in the
Breeders' Cup Mile at
Santa Anita.
Although the Shadwell is a "Win and You're In" for the Mile, trainer Charlie
LoPresti wouldn't categorically rule out the possibility of a switch to dirt for
the 1 1/4-mile Breeders' Cup Classic.
"I'll leave it up to Mr. Fink," LoPresti said. "The way he trained on the
dirt here, the way he ran today, this is the kind of race I wanted for him. They
ran (1):35 and change over a good turf.
"I'll just leave it up to the boss, but I
wouldn't be afraid to run him anywhere -- as long as he comes back good. You
know he's seven years old; how many races does he have left? Maybe now's the
time to do it.
"He's trained so well over the dirt this year at Saratoga and here (that) I
think if we're ever going to try it, this would be the year. You just don't know
how many (races) he has in him, a horse of this age. And whether he'll get a
mile and a quarter, I don't know. I guess the only way to find out is to try." According to several reports on Twitter, however, Fink has ruled out the
Classic, preferring to keep Wise Dan in his comfort zone. He will head to Santa
Anita in search of a third straight Mile, in hopes of equaling the great mare
Goldikova's three-timer in 2008-10. |
Few would have expected the reigning two-time Horse of the Year to be in this
position after he underwent emergency colic surgery May 16. Yet the
seven-year-old has made a terrific recovery. Under LoPresti's masterful care,
Wise Dan returned to action with a game photo-finish decision in the August 30
Bernard Baruch at Saratoga, and improved in this second start of his comeback.
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| Wise Dan was unprepared when the gate opened and fluffed the break...
(Keeneland/Coady Photography) |
Wise Dan was also part of a banner day for Hall of Fame rider John Velazquez,
who rode five winners on the card and completed a clean sweep of the three Grade
1s in succession. The Shadwell was the final leg of his Grade 1 treble,
following Dayatthespa in the First Lady and Carpe Diem in the Breeders'
Futurity.
Since suffering his only career turf loss when fourth in the 2011 Shadwell,
Wise Dan has now won an incredible 14 straight races on the grass. He captured
his first Shadwell trophy in 2012, but was upset by Silver Max here last year
when the race was transferred to a puddle-strewn Polytrack. Wise Dan struggled
to gain his footing that day and finished second, but regained his title back on
the lawn Saturday.
Although Wise Dan was sluggish to begin, the chestnut was full of run behind
horses, tugging at Velazquez, who was deftly trying to contain him until the
appropriate time. Meanwhile, defending Shadwell champ Silver Max was getting
away with tepid fractions of :24 2/5, :48 1/5 and 1:12 on the good course. The
stalking Sayaad and Grand Arch accosted the pacesetter in the stretch, but most
eyes were riveted further back in the pack, where Wise Dan was angling his way
into the clear.
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The six-time Eclipse Award champion took dead aim on the battling leaders. So
easily was he lumbering along, that he was deceptively fast down the lane, and
covered his last eighth in :11 3/5 according to Trakus. Overpowering his foes
with that lethal late kick, Wise Dan won going away by a length in a final time
of 1:35 3/5 and paid $3.80.
"He just threw his head to the opposite side and the doors opened, so he got
surprised and he didn't break very good," Velazquez recapped. "And now I'm a
little concerned, because now I'm going to be behind horses that are slower than
he's supposed to be. I was hoping he would settle going into the first turn. I
let him run a little to the first turn. When I got a nice position, I tried to
slow him down behind horses.
"The whole way down the backside I was worried he would clip heels because he
was pretty strong. I was saying. 'Buddy, be easy, easy, easy.' Once I pulled him
out of there, he kicked his usual kick. When I pulled him out, he was there for
me."
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| ...then found himself behind a slow early pace
(Keeneland/Coady Photography) |
"His head was turned sideways," LoPresti said, "and he missed the break a
little bit but that's what happened to him in the Breeders' Cup (Mile) last
year. He stumbled. I was a little worried down the backside. Silver Max got a
slow quarter up front. I thought, 'Man, somebody's got to go.' He's just an
incredible horse. He's incredible. That's all I can say. Thank God.""The way this unfolded, for him to win the way he did, he ran a great race.
(Jockey) Johnny (Velazquez) did a great job. He didn't panic (over being
behind). It was the same kind of thing that happened in the Breeders' Cup last
year. He kinda stumbled a few steps out of the gate and wasn't where we wanted
him to be but he still overcame it."
Grand Arch took best of the rest honors by a neck from Sayaad. Kaigun checked
in fourth, followed by Silver Max, Seek Again, Optimizer and Two Notch Road.
Wise Dan has now amassed a bankroll of $7,552,920 from his 31-23-2-0 line. Of
his 20 career stakes victories, 11 have come at the Grade 1 level. Unraced as a
juvenile, Wise Dan showed ability when winning four of six starts at three.
During that 2010 campaign, he captured his stakes debut in the Phoenix Stakes at
Keeneland and finished a creditable sixth, beaten just 2 1/2 lengths, in the
Breeders' Cup Sprint.
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Wise Dan proved a triple-surface threat in 2011, winning the Firecracker in
his turf debut, and adding the Presque Isle Mile on Tapeta, before romping in
the Fayette over Keeneland's Polytrack and the Clark Handicap on the Churchill
Downs dirt.
He kicked off his 2012 season at Keeneland with a scintillating 10 1/2-length
conquest of the Ben Ali in a track-record time of 1:46.63 on the Polytrack. Wise
Dan returned to Churchill for the Stephen Foster Handicap, only to lose by a
head after a tough trip. Wise Dan commenced a winning spree in the Fourstardave
at Saratoga, then added the Shadwell Turf Mile, Woodbine Mile and Breeders' Cup
Mile, the latter in a course- and stakes-record 1:31.78. Those victories
propelled him to an Eclipse Award sweep of the champion older male, champion
turf male and Horse of the Year awards.
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| Wise Dan reeled off his final furlong in :11 3/5 to earn a record seventh stakes win at Keeneland
(Wendy Wooley/EquiSport Photos) |
In 2013, Wise Dan extended his streak with scores in the Maker's 46 Mile,
Woodford Reserve Turf Classic, Firecracker and Fourstardave, carrying 128 and
129 pounds, respectively, in the latter two performances. He captured the
Woodbine Mile for the second straight year, this time blitzing in a
course-record 1:31.75. His nine-race skein was halted when second in the
aforementioned Shadwell Mile.
Wise Dan rebounded in the Breeders' Cup Mile, defeating runner-up Za Approval
by about a length, and repeated as champion older male, turf male and Horse of
the Year. He opened 2014 with successful title defenses in the April 11 Maker's
46 Mile, beating Kaigun, and the May 3 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic, where he
gamely repelled Seek Again by a head.
Only 13 days later, Wise Dan was rushed to Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital
near Lexington, Kentucky, for colic surgery. That was thankfully just a minor
bump in the road. He lugged 127 pounds to victory in the aforementioned Bernard
Baruch, and after the Shadwell, he remains a perfect four-for-four this
campaign.
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The Keeneland crowd showed its appreciation for the locally based legend, who
has won a record seven stakes here, and LoPresti responded in kind.
"We love Keeneland," LoPresti said. "This is our home. It's Wise Dan's home,
and thanks to all the fans for coming out here and being so proud of this horse.
"When he went through the colic surgery, the cards and letters that we got
from people -- 'Please get well, Wise Dan.' People love him and we love him.
We're proud to have him and blessed to have him."
The Kentucky-bred is by Wiseman's Ferry and out of the winning Wolf Power
mare Lisa Danielle, the 2012 Broodmare of the Year. His half-brother, multiple
Grade 2 victor Successful Dan, set a new Churchill track record when taking the
2012 Alysheba.
Another half-sibling to the "Dans," stakes winner Our Royal Dancer, is
herself the dam of Argentinean Group 2-placed Bailando Voy. Lisa Danielle is in
turn a half-sister to Grade 1-placed Carsona, who has produced Grade 2 victor
Siphon City. This is the family of German Group 1-winning highweight Scalo, and
further back, French champion, classic winner and noted sire *Val de Loir as
well as dual classic heroine and Irish champion *Valoris II.
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