Little Mike back to his best in Joe Hirsch upset

Little Mike (outside) got the Turf Classic win in a head bob with Big Blue Kitten (NYRA/Adam Coglianese Photography/David Alcosser) Priscilla Vaccarezza’s homebred Little Mike, who had a penchant for lifting marquee turf events at healthy odds last year, was up to his old tricks in Saturday’s Grade 1, $600,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational at Belmont Park. Sent off at 7-1 after failing to hit the board in four starts this season, the reigning Breeders’ Cup Turf champion pounced turning for home and just fended off the 4-5 Big Blue Kitten, earning an automatic berth to a title defense at Santa Anita on November 2. “This is a big win for this horse and for the barn,” Romans said. “We’ve had kind of a rough year, and this is our first Grade 1 of the year.” Little Mike’s last victory was a 17-1 upset in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Turf, where he rebounded from a poor fifth, beaten 28 lengths, in the 2012 Joe Hirsch. The Dale Romans charge began 2013 with two unplaced efforts in Dubai, and in his subsequent U.S. efforts, he had been no match for Big Blue Kitten in the July 6 United Nations or for Real Solution in the August 17 Arlington Million. Those two Ken Ramsey runners teamed up as a formidable entry in the Joe Hirsch, and were accordingly bet down to 4-5 favoritism. Their third entrymate, Joes Blazing Aaron, was obviously in the mix as their rabbit, and he duly went forward through splits of :23 4/5, :47 3/5, 1:11 2/5 and 1:35 2/5 on the firm Widener turf.

King Kreesa and Imagining kept tabs on the pacemaker. Little Mike, who has
been a front runner for most of his career, was parked in fifth early by his new
rider, Hall of Famer Mike Smith. Real Solution and Big Blue Kitten were
unhurried at the back of the pack.

Rounding the far turn, King Kreesa was the first to accost the weakening Joes
Blazing Aaron. But Little Mike was in hot pursuit as well, and spurted clear at the 1 1/4-mile split in 2:00 1/5.

Then Ramsey’s heavy hitters mounted challenges on either side of Little Mike
in the stretch. Real Solution advanced boldly on the outside, while Big Blue
Kitten took the inside route, only to get stymied behind King Kreesa and
Imagining, and suffered costly trouble.

Real Solution rolled up to Little Mike and appeared ready to go ahead, but
could not pass his determined foe. When Little Mike dug down and repelled Real
Solution, he was confronted by a resurgent Big Blue Kitten to his inside.

In the final yards, Big Blue Kitten was making up for his lost time, and his
momentum carried him to even terms with Little Mike. But Little Mike kept his
nose in front at the wire, completing 1 1/2 miles in 2:25 and sparked a $16.80
win mutuel.

Mike Smith said that he copied Ramon Dominguez’s style and tactics aboard Little Mike (Jessie Holmes/EquiSport Photos) Smith paid tribute to the now-retired Ramon Dominguez, who had masterminded Little Mike’s Breeders’ Cup Turf win. “I was handicapping the race,” Smith said, “and after looking at it I told Dale (Romans) that Little Mike’s best race, in the Breeders’ Cup Turf last year, was when he was off the pace. So I decided I was going to ride this horse the way Ramon rode him. “I can mimic all these jocks; I know how they all hold their hands. Ramon always puts one on the neck and one way out, and he’s brilliant at it. So I did it, and he kept running and running and running. It worked! My hat’s off to Ramon Dominguez.” The unlucky Big Blue Kitten had a length to spare on Real Solution, who held third by a head from Slumber. There was a five-length gap back to Twilight Eclipse, followed by Imagining, King Kreesa, Nutello and the eased Joes Blazing Aaron. Boisterous, part of the Phipps Stable entry with Imagining, was scratched. Little Mike’s fourth career Grade 1 tally, and eighth stakes score overall, improved his resume to 26-13-2-1, $3,483,012. The Florida-bred was runner-up in the 2010 Monarch’s Maze at Aqueduct in his stakes debut, and broke through with a wire-to-wire victory in the 2011 Ft. Lauderdale at Gulfstream. Subsequently switched from Allen Iwinski to Romans, Little Mike added the Canadian Turf and Appleton during that same Gulfstream meet. Sidelined for more than eight months by a condylar fracture, Little Mike picked up right where he left off with an allowance win in late 2011, and extended his winning streak to four in the 2012 Florida Sunshine Millions Turf. His skein ended with a fourth as the defending champion in the Canadian Turf.

Little Mike was overlooked at 12-1 next time in the Woodford Reserve Turf
Classic, and he outperformed expectations by rolling to a 2 1/2-length decision
on the front end. After a third in the Shoemaker Mile at Hollywood Park, Little
Mike next stretched out to 1 1/4 miles for the Arlington Million and proceeded
to wire an international field. He attempted to do the same in last fall’s Joe
Hirsch, but surrendered uncharacteristically early and failed to do himself
justice on the boggy ground.

In the Breeders’ Cup Turf, Little Mike showed a new dimension by stalking the
pace before launching his winning move. While holding on from the
belatedly-closing Point of Entry, Little Mike posted a dazzling time of 2:22.83,
virtually equaling the existing 1 1/2-mile course record and establishing a new
stakes record.

Little Mike was sent to Dubai in March in hopes of a tilt at the World Cup.
But he disappointed in his synthetic experiment in the March 9 Maktoum Challenge
Round 3, winding up a lackluster eighth. Back on turf for the March 30 Dubai
Duty Free, he gave way down the stretch to finish 11th. Little Mike resurfaced
in the United Nations with a creditable fourth, undone by lack of fitness and
early pressure. The six-year-old bay gelding was again pestered early in his
title defense in the Arlington Million, and he faded to sixth, but reverting to
stalking tactics paid off here.

“He’s finally rounding back into form,” Romans said. “His form hasn’t been
that bad, if you analyze it. They’ve gone after him early in his last two races.
We needed to change tactics and come from off of (the pace). Nobody was giving
us easy leads like they were last year. He just proved how versatile he is.

“I knew we needed to try something different to get him back to the level
where he was last year. It worked, so I want to thank Mr. Ramsey for putting the
rabbit (Joes Blazing Aaron) in there and changing things around.”

Sired by Spanish Steps, who is being exported to Saudi Arabia, Little Mike is
out of the winning Wavering Monarch mare Hay Jude. He is a half-brother to Grade
3-placed multiple stakes hero Little Nick. The only other prominent family
members in recent years are multiple Grade 3-placed stakes scorer Linear and
Gold Pleasure, a Group 1 victor in his native Brazil.

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