Stay Thirsty: Forever the "Other" Horse
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John Velazquez, aboard Travers Stakes (G1) runner-up Rattlesnake Bridge, summed up the winning performance thusly:
“The other horse just kept running.”
The other horse was Stay Thirsty. He’s been the other horse for his entire career. And, most likely, even after a convincing 1¼ length victory in one of New York’s signature races, he’ll be the other horse for as long as he’s in training.
But Stay Thirsty is just about as special as an other horse can be. While his stablemate Uncle Mo garners the adoration of the fans, the accolades of the critics, and the affection of his owner, Stay Thirsty just keeps running.
And lately, he’s been doing it faster than everyone else.
*****
As if to drive home the point about just how fast of a horse he has become, Stay Thirsty decided to throw down with rugged pacesetter Shackleford right from the opening bell. The two clicked off an opening quarter, in tandem, of 23:2. The early foot displayed by Stay Thirsty was not part of the original plan devised by trainer Todd Pletcher.
“I was concerned about the first quarter,” Pletcher admitted after the race. “We weren’t really getting into the position we wanted to be in; I was a little concerned he was a little fresh and pulling a little harder than I would like in a 1 ¼-mile race.”
Jockey Javier Castellano got Stay Thirsty to slow down a little bit, and Shackleford assumed command as they made their way towards the far turn. Stay Thirsty still wasn’t in an ideal spot, as he was flanked by Moonshine Mullin and Ruler on Ice. The trio tracked Shackleford through a half-mile in 47:3 and three-quarters in 1:11:4. Castellano, for his part, believed that the slight breather he was able to secure for Stay Thirsty won him the race.
“I realized I needed to settle down my horse,“ the jockey said. “I didn’t know who was going to be the speed, but it worked out great because [Stay Thirsty] came back to me on the backside and I was able to settle him down. He settled down beautiful.
“I was able to put him outside. I think that was the key to winning the race.”
At the half-mile pole, Castellano gave Stay Thirsty his cue. He made quick work of Shackleford, who, uncharacteristically, threw in the towel with a quarter of a mile left to run. Pletcher, who’d copped to being nervous about the race’s opening corner, was not willing to make the same concession about the final quarter.
“I really felt when he got to the top of the stretch, he’s a horse who has a lot of natural stamina. He’s coming off a 1 ½-mile and a 1 1/8-mile race, I wasn’t too nervous.”
The horse’s stretch run validated his trainer’s confidence. Rattlesnake Bridge was coming, but not nearly fast enough. Stay Thirsty went on to win by 1¼ lengths, completing the 1¼ miles in 2:03:0. He earned a 101 Beyer Speed Figure for his effort.
Pletcher believes that the modest winning margin does not accurately tell the story of Stay Thirsty’s victory.
“To me, this horse ran a really, really huge race,” Pletcher gushed. “He ran from the gate to the wire, mile and a quarter, every step of the way. Nothing was handed to him at any point. He was in between horses under pressure the whole way and he just kept finding more. To me, this was a really, really courageous effort.”
All that might be true, but even after the stellar performance in Saturday‘s million dollar event, he’s still the barn’s Hap Loman.
*****
Biff, of course, would be Uncle Mo, whose gutsy loss at the wire in the King’s Bishop Stakes (G1) drew much of the attention in the post-Travers press conference. Sure, Stay Thirsty got his bouquets. But even on a day which saw him catapult to the head of the 3-year-old division, he had to share the spotlight with Uncle Mo.
Though the Biff Loman-Uncle Mo comparison is one that’s not entirely fair to the latter (They both peaked early, but Uncle Mo has shown far more heart and courage than Biff ever did.), it is appropriate in that he will always be the favored son of owner Mike Repole (Willy), no matter how much more success Stay Thirsty (Hap) has.
As recently as Tuesday, Repole made clear his preference which one of his two horses he preferred to see win, if only one of them could.
“I mean I want both of then to win,“ Repole said. “But Uncle Mo is probably more of an emotional story for me because [he was the] 2-year-old champ and [because of] the highs that he's given me; my friends and my family. And really winning my first great at stake which was the Champagne and then all of a sudden on to the Breeders' Cup and then the Eclipse Award, if he never raced again I mean, you know, I could never ask for anything more from the horse.
“I'm just going to get emotional just watching him in the paddock and watching him in the starting gate.”
Stay Thirsty simply does not evoke the same kind of emotion from Repole. For him, second place in his owner’s heart will have to suffice, even if he’s now first on the track.
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