COMMENTARY
NOVEMBER 1, 2005
by John Mucciolo
We witnessed some fine performances over the weekend at Belmont Park, from
the two-year-olds to the Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1), before “Eclipsing” with the Classic. In the
upcoming months, champions will be crowned, the never-too-early Kentucky Derby
(G1) prep season will be in full force, more stakes races will be won and racing
will continue on as it always has. Although we as horse racing fans have many
superb horses and great races to look forward to in the very near future, I
find it imperative to sing the praises of a pair of mares who have graced us
with their stylish performances over the past four years.
Following the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1) this past weekend, two
memorable and remarkable mares will move to farms in Kentucky to begin their new
careers as broodmares, leaving us a major void in the division. It only feels
fitting and proper to pay respect to them, as they excited their allegiance of
fans from coast-to-coast.
WONDER AGAIN (Silver Hawk): The classy bay debuted in April 2002, and after a
pair of unsuccessful dirt ventures, switched to the surface that eventually made
her a star. Wonder Again took her second turf outing, and followed that up with
three consecutive tallies, including the Garden City Breeders’ Cup H. (G1) and
Lake Placid H. (G2). With a sub par season riddled with injuries and bad luck,
Wonder Again won only the Noble Damsel H. (G3) in 2003, while placing in two
other graded ventures.
Conditioner James Toner freshened up his charge for a big 2004 campaign, and
the mare did not disappoint, registering dominating wins in the New York H. (G2)
and Diana H. (G1), the latter by a crushing 5 3/4 lengths. Later that season,
the lass finished a hard luck third in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf
when breaking from the far outside post. In 2005, the courageous
six-year-old was unlucky in defeat on more than one occasion, but still managed
to place in the Flower Bowl Invitational H. (G1), New York H. (G2) and Just A
Game Breeders’ Cup H. (G2). This year alone, although the miss did not cross the
wire first, she amassed $327,920 in just five outings.
The Phillips Racing homebred will head off to Darby Dan Farm near Lexington,
Kentucky, where she will be bred to Storm Cat. The soon to be seven-year-old
retires with a 24-7-4-4 mark and $1,439,602 in earnings under the tutelage of
turf wizard Toner. Wonder Again’s consistency and tenacity will be missed on the
East Coast, and hopefully her torch will be passed to a worthy recipient very
soon.
MEGAHERTZ (GB) (Pivotal): The little engine that could also made her swan
song in the recent Filly and Mare Turf, but never had suitable pace to run
at and finished unplaced. Nonetheless, it would be foolish for her to be
remembered this way. Megahertz began her career running in sprint claiming races
in France, but she wouldn’t develop into the explosive late runner that she is
until being shipped to the United States for her sophomore season.
Conditioner Bobby Frankel debuted his import in the Blue Northern S. in
January, 2002, and Megahertz cruised home an easy winner. The pint-sized
chestnut then reeled off four more consecutive victories, capped by the
inaugural running of the American Invitational Oaks at Hollywood Park. She
finished a nose shy in the Del Mar Oaks (G1) a couple months later.
The dynamic closer picked up right where she left off the following year,
annexing the 2003 John C. Mabee H. (G1) and Santa Barbara H. (G2), before
concluding her four-year-old campaign with a very close fifth in the Filly and
Mare Turf. Like a fine wine, Megahertz truly got better with age, having
arguably her finest season in 2004 at the age of five. Two wins, in the Santa
Ana H. (G2) and Santa Barbara H. (G2), and a solid second in the Gamely
Breeders’ Cup H. (G2) were all terrific performances, and Frankel decided to see
if his little lass could handle the boys.
After taking the lead in the Hollywood Turf Cup S. (G1) versus males,
Megahertz wound up getting caught late by a head, but her fan base grew
immensely with the runner-up performance. Southern Californian race fans showed
up in droves to see the little mare spot her rivals up to 20 lengths before
exploding past them as if they were portraits. In 2005, Megahertz earned five graded
scores and a close second in the Beverly D. S. (G1).
The career line for the inspiring, multiple Grade 1-winning six-year-old
reads 34-14-6-5 with earnings of more than $2.2 million. She incredibly won or
placed in 17 graded races. Campaigned by Michael Bello, Megahertz will be
greatly missed on the West Coast.
I’d like to personally thank the connections of both horses for giving us
many memories and keeping their runners in training for as long as they did.
Racing needs the longevity of our stars to attract more fans, and I feel that
the owners have an outright obligation to keep the best of the best in training
for the welfare of the game. I can just hope that the connections of our current
top equine athletes keep them racing as long as possible.