Veteran Gary Hartlage has long been one of the most popular trainers at
Churchill Downs, especially with longtime friends and residents of the nearby
neighborhood of Shively, where the man affectionately known as “Red Dog” grew
up.
Saturday night’s “Downs After Dark” program featured a wild finish in the
Iroquois in which a pair
of Donegal Racing longshots trained by Louisville-native Dale Romans — the
victorious Cleburne (34-1) and runner-up Smart Cover (26-1) finished a head
apart in an exacta that returned $500.
But given his local esteem, a $15.80
win mutuel on a promising Hartlage-trained two-year-old named Wry in the evening’s
11TH race was just as surprising. Anita Cauley’s homebred son of Distorted Humor
out of a half-sister to Grade 1 winner On Fire Baby cruised by three lengths
under Joe Johnson in his second career start.
Wry had finished fourth in a
six-furlong race in his debut on August 3 at Ellis Park. The chestnut colt
stretched out to seven furlongs Saturday night and stalked the pace in fourth
before he coasted to the lead in upper stretch and quickly drew clear. The
winner covered seven furlongs in 1:24 over a fast track.
For the legion of Hartlage’s local
fans, that $15.80 win payout was a gift on a horse that won so impressively. Wry
is also a colt that has Hartlage thinking of bigger conquests down the road.
“He was no cinch or anything like
that, but he acts like he’s a good horse,” Hartlage said on Sunday morning.
“He’s going to be okay. We’re thinking pretty big about him.”
Wry is out of High Heels, who won the 2007 Fantasy Stakes at Oaklawn before
she ran third in the Kentucky Oaks to champion three-year-old filly Rags to Riches, who would defeat future
two-time Horse of the Year Curlin in her next start when she faced males in
the Belmont Stakes.
High Heels was produced by Cauley’s
mare Ornate, who is the dam of On Fire Baby, winner this year’s Apple Blossom
at Oaklawn Park and the 2011 Pocahontas and Golden Rod at
Churchill Downs. She has won five of 11 career starts with earnings of $750,308
following a fourth-place run behind two-time champion Royal Delta in her most
recent race in Saratoga’s Personal Ensign.
“It’s all there,” Hartlage said of
Wry’s female side of the pedigree. “Having Distorted Humor on top it
didn’t hurt anything.”
Hartlage has no immediate plans for
Wry, but is assessing his options after the colt’s emphatic victory over a group
of well-regarded two-year-old maidens.
“I’m sure we’ll try to stretch him
out next time,” he said. “We’ll see where we go from there.”
Hartlage had a busy night on Saturday
as he saddled other two-year-olds in the Iroquois and the Pocahontas, a
race for two-year-old fillies. Harlan’s Special finished fifth to Untapable in the
Pocahontas, while Stonecrusher finished seventh of 10 behind the Romans duo in
the Iroquois. Both are owned by Ten Grand Stable, a partnership that includes
Hartlage’s daughter, Jennifer Riggs.
“They all came back good,” Hartlage
said. “I feel pretty good about most of my babies. Hopefully we’ll have a good
fall and a real good three-year-old year. We’re happy.”
Wry’s family will be a point of focus
for Hartlage on Sunday when he saddles Cauley’s homebred Grit and Grace, a
three-year-old Tapit filly and the first foal of High Heels, in the 8TH race. Grit
and Grace is in search of her first victory in the 1 1/16-mile maiden race for
fillies and mares.
Hartlage also is mulling over future
plans for On Fire Baby, who challenged Royal Delta in the early going of the
Personal Ensign before fading to fourth. She came out of her Saratoga race well
and Hartlage has lost no faith in her talent and ability, but he’s puzzled by
her most recent outing.
“She just really didn’t fire as good
as I thought she would,” he said. “If she had fired, I thought the worst we
would be was second or third. But she came out of the race good.”
Keeneland’s Juddmonte Spinster,
which will be run over the Lexington track’s synthetic Polytrack surface on October
6, is one option Hartlage is considering. On Fire Baby ran fifth after breaking
from the outside post in Keeneland’s 2011 Alcibiades, the filly’s only
career outing over synthetic footing.
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