DEROSA’S BLOG
APRIL 11, 2013
Bruno With the Works: Rydilluc in Focus
by Bruno de Julio
The 20 horses who will line up in the starting gate to run for the roses this
year are horses like any of the other 28,000 Thoroughbreds born in 2010.
Some are homebreds: born and raised by the same owners in whose silks they run.
Others are purchased through the auction ring, sometimes multiple times: I’ll
Have Another sold for $11k at the 2010 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and was “pinhooked”
as a two-year-old in Ocala for $35k. That’s a nifty profit in just seven months.
Few horses are purchased for vast sums at auction and go on to true greatness:
$4-million yearling and eventual Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus is one
of the rare exceptions. Several top horses actually didn’t sell or had to be
withdrawn: Sunday Silence was a $32k buy-back (or “RNA” for Reserve Not
Attained); Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom, who raced as a homebred for
Team Valor, was a $100k RNA at the 2009 Keeneland September sale.
Bodemeister was withdrawn from the 2011 Fasig Tipton Florida sale because the
connections “knew he had the potential of being a star, but he simply wasn’t
going to bring the kind of money you wouldn’t want to turn down,” owner Ahmed
Zayat told us.
This year, it’s Rydilluc who has the interesting sales history: the beautiful
bay son of Medaglia d’Oro was chased over a six month span by one very
determined man who saw his potential.
Bred in Kentucky by Hill ‘n’ Dale Equine Holdings & Gaines-Gentry Thoroughbreds,
Rydilluc was purchased out of the 2011 Keeneland September Yearlings Sale for $55k by
Straightaway Farms.
After learning the ropes in Ocala, the colt showed up in the Secure Investments
consignment at the Palm Meadows Florida sale in March 2012. Racingwithbruno
spent that winter in Florida and watched the future Rydilluc’s pre-sale breeze
in :10.3, and out :23 for a quarter. When it came to preview day, though, the
colt didn’t quite fire and worked in :11.1, :22.3, and galloped out in :35.4. Not a
bad work by any means, but it wasn’t enough for him to fetch his $90k reserve.
The colt would show up at the Fasig-Tipton Timonium sale several months later
around Preakness weekend. He previewed much better over the tighter turns of the
old racetrack in :10.3, :22, and galloping out in :36.4. Still not the prettiest of
movers, the colt covered ground like a horse who would appreciate added real
estate. Horses like him fool buyers because they take the whole quarter-mile
preview to get fully into stride.
One man who wasn’t fooled was Gary Contessa.
In his words, “I loved him and bid
on him down in Florida,” but decided to let him go when the price got too steep.
The veteran trainer got a shot at redemption when he saw the Timonium catalog.
“I was absolutely certain that I was the only one on him at $150k,” Contessa
said. “I had to have him. I emailed everyone and told them this was their
Derby horse.” It’s evident that telling Rydilluc’s story
has become this trainer’s new favorite pastime.
Contessa is an excellent conditioner known for training the
likes of Runway Rosie, Sweet Vendetta and Papi Chullo. He also campaigned Do It
With Style, who famously won Keeneland’s Grade 1 Ashland Stakes without a whip.
Contessa is recognized as a major player at the two-year-old sales: a recent
Blood Horse MarketWatch article ranked him second among Thoroughbred trainers
over the past 15 years based on purchase price v. earnings.
It’s not all about winning for Gary: his enthusiasm for the game is contagious.
“I love having my family, my clients, the owners come out and see their horses
train,” he told us at Saratoga last year. “They get to see what their horses are
up to and I love the company.”
Contessa was the initial trainer of Peace Rules after buying the son of Jules
for $35k, but he sold him to Bobby Frankel/Edmund Gann for “the high six
figures.” Peace Rules went on to win the Blue Grass Stakes and finish third in
the Kentucky Derby. Now Contessa has Rydullic for this week’s Blue Grass, and he
would be his first Derby starter.
After a less than stellar debut on dirt, it was Rydullic’s second start on
the Aqueduct turf in November 2012 that Contessa knew he had something: the
horse had shown speed and was getting stronger under a mild hand ride late by
Edgar Prado at odds of nearly 18-1.
When asked about trying the dirt again, Contessa said, “I understand that we are
following a dream. If it turns out I am wrong, we may still have the best grass
three-year-old out there. I can accept that!” Since shipping to Keeneland a week
ago, Rydilluc has flourished and his trainer believes he still has more maturing
to do.
The colt had a seven-furlong work over the Polytrack where he finished in :24.2
for the final quarter and wanted to do more. What’s even more impressive than
his physical size and presence is his attention span.
“He loves to stand on the track and just watch horses train,” Contessa
explained. This is a quality very few
horses have and, those that do are some of racing’s greats, among them Tiznow
and Zenyatta.
We watched Rydilluc for 30 minutes on Wednesday: he doesn’t get ruffled, doesn’t
get hot or antsy. When fellow Blue Grass rival Balance the Books came out of the
paddock within feet of Rydilluc, the dark bay just looked over and nodded his
head. He didn’t flinch. The ability to have an intense nature but not get caught
up in what’s going around you is the trait of many a great horse, and certainly
a horse who can keep focus for a mile and a quarter.
If the big bay colt wins the Blue Grass Stakes on Saturday, he has a spot in the
starting gate on the first Saturday in May. Just as Babe Ruth pointed to the sky
before hitting it out of the ballpark, Contessa could be doing the same with
Rydilluc: he bought an unproved two-year-old at auction and swung for the
fences.
***Guest blogger Bruno de Julio produces
Bruno With The Works, Brisnet.com’s
latest product offering a workout
service for the top races throughout the country, including Keeneland,
Oaks-Derby week at Churchill Downs, Triple Crown events, Saratoga, Del Mar and
the Breeders’ Cup World Championships. In addition to fantastic workout analysis
coast to coast de Julio and his team provide perspective on watching horses
train. For a complete list of handicapping
reports for Keeneland, including
Bruno With The Works,
click here.