Goldikova emulates Miesque in Mile

Goldikova is worth her weight in the Mile (Lauren Pomeroy/Horsephotos.com)

Trainer Freddie Head has often remarked that his star pupil GOLDIKOVA (Ire) (Anabaa)
could be better than Hall of Famer Miesque, whom he rode to back-to-back
Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) victories in 1987-88. In Saturday’s $1,818,000
Mile
at Santa Anita, defending champion Goldikova gave even more substance to that
claim by blasting to her second straight title.

Confidently handled by Olivier Peslier, the Wertheimer and Frere homebred produced a sustained charge from far
back to catch the sophomore colt Courageous Cat (Storm Cat) by a half-length in
the final yards. Goldikova blazed the firm-turf mile in 1:32 1/5 to become the
fourth two-time winner of the Mile, following Miesque, Lure (1992-93)
and Da Hoss (1996, 1998).

Peslier dropped Goldikova much farther back off the early pace after breaking
from the far outside post 11. That tactic was the opposite of the one he
employed from a wide post in the Prix de la Foret (Fr-G1) last out, where
Goldikova pressed the early pace en route to being upset in third. Peslier made
sure not to repeat the same mistake.

As the French sensation lagged near the rear, the front-running Gladiatorus (Silic
[Fr]) ripped through fractions of :22 4/5 and :45 1/5. Cowboy Cal (Giant’s
Causeway), who applied intense pressure throughout, ranged alongside through six
furlongs in a blistering 1:08 1/5. Courageous Cat was well placed in fifth.

Turning for home, the early leaders began to tire, and Courageous Cat
unleashed his bold gambit in the stretch. The three-year-old tried to make the
most of his stealing a march on Goldikova, but he could not maintain his
advantage as the top-class four-year-old hit top gear. Goldikova kept up her
relentless progress for the entire length of the stretch, and she cut down
Courageous Cat to win going away.

Goldikova overtook a Courageous Cat (blaze-face) (Patrick Tyrrell/Horsephotos.com)

Goldikova, the 7-5 favorite, rewarded her legions of supporters with mutuels
of $4.80, $4 and $2.60. The nearly 23-1 Courageous Cat returned $12.80 and $8
for finishing second by one length. Justenuffhumor (Distorted Humor) rattled
home from dead last for third, yielding $8 at 16-1, and fellow closer Court
Vision (Gulch) was just a head away in fourth. The $1 exotics totaled $54.60
(exacta), $705.30 (trifecta) and $6,628.80 (11-6-10-1 superfecta).

“(Courageous Cat) ran his eyeballs out,” jockey Garrett Gomez said. “He gave
me 120 percent. He is still real young — only a three-year-old — and is
lightly raced. I took back a little on the first turn and gave up a little
position, but I wanted him to shut down a little and relax; and he did. I
thought for a while I might get there first. He kept digging, but the filly was
just too good.”

“Huge effort — just a huge effort,” agreed Bill Mott, Courageous Cat’s
trainer. “I thought we might win it. He looked like a winner. He ran a winning
race. It’s hard to say. He’s a three-year-old colt that is a little tender
experience-wise, and he nearly beat last year’s Breeders’ Cup Mile champion.”

“I’m really happy with (Justenuffhumor),” assistant trainer Neal McLaughlin
said of the third-place finisher. “He had a great trip. I thought there’d be an
abundance of speed. We saved ground and came up the inside. No excuses. We got
beat by a super filly.”

Goldikova could attempt a three-peat next year (Harold Roth/Horsephotos.com)

Two-for-two as a juvenile in 2007, Goldikova chased the peerless Zarkava a
couple of times as a three-year-old. She recovered from a nearly disastrous
start to finish second in the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches (French One Thousand
Guineas) (Fr-G1) and subsequently checked in a non-staying third in the Prix de
Diane (French Oaks) (Fr-G1). Goldikova resumed the winning thread when getting
away from Zarkava in the Prix Chloe (Fr-G3), then went on to defeat older horses
in the Prix Rothschild (Fr-G1) and the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp (Fr-G1). She
capped her 2008 campaign in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, where she dethroned Kip
Deville (Kipling) by 1 1/4 lengths and extended her winning streak to four.