Capturing the Elusive Grade One
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For precocious thoroughbreds, capturing a Grade One stakes
race can happen as soon as the second race of their career, as was the case for
2010 Champion 2-Year Old Uncle Mo.
But most thoroughbreds do not become Grade 1 winners at age 2, if at all. Part
of that can be attributed to talent and part to maturity, but the biggest
factor is the number of Grade 1 races relative to the number of foals born each
year. For example, this year there are only 16 Grade 1 stakes races for 2-year
olds with 8 restricted to fillies and 8 open to fillies and colts. At best,
that means that only 16 2-year olds can become Grade 1 winners this year if a
different colt or filly wins each one. That is 16 out of the 22,500 live foals
reported to the Jockey Club for the year 2011, or less than one tenth of a
percent of the total foals that could become Grade 1 winners as a 2-year old.
The number of Grade 1 stakes races open to 3-year olds and up is significantly
higher, so it makes sense that it can take a few years for a horse to achieve
that particular goal. For most, capturing that elusive grade one takes years of
hard work, tough luck, and patience. Perhaps no one knows that better than Tiz Miz Sue and her connections.
Tiz Miz Sue, a 6-year old daughter of champion Tiznow, has thirty-two career starts
and is in her fifth year of racing. It took her 32 tries to finally capture her
first Grade 1 win, this despite having placed multiple times in a grade one
race. The dark bay mare broke her maiden at second asking in August of 2009,
but it would be over a year later before she would become a stakes winner when
capturing the 8.5 furlong Polly’s Jet Stakes at Delaware Park. From that point
onward, the mare rose to the top of the distaff division, consistently hitting
the board in graded stakes events. She developed a reputation as an Oaklawn and
Delaware Park monster since she was particularly effective at those two tracks,
but she surprisingly earned her first Grade 1 victory at Belmont Park when she
dug in and gamely prevailed by a half length over a talented Ogden Phipps field
under regular jockey Joe Rocco, Jr.
While Havre de Grace
was busy dueling with Blind Luck and
earning herself Horse of the Year honors, stablemate Joyful Victory was quietly
making her presence felt in the 3-year old filly division in 2011. While not
nearly as successful as the Fox Hill Farm star, Joyful Victory did string together a pair of graded stakes wins at
Oaklawn before running a respectable 4th in that year’s Kentucky
Oaks, 2nd in the Mother Goose, and 5th and last in the
CCA Oaks behind the division’s top tier fillies. Throughout her 4-year old
season, Joyful Victory continued to be consistent. She went 7: 1-4-2 for the
year, winning a minor stakes race and finishing on the board in 5 straight
graded stakes events. It wasn’t until Red Hot Rosie, who has had the King Midas touch as of late, climbed aboard
the Tapit mare early this year, that
Joyful Victory finally broke through to the next level. Now 5-years old, Joyful
Victory, at last, has a Grade 1 victory on her already more than respectable
resume.
Four-year olds On Fire Baby and Graydar both hit the ground
running. As a 2-year old, On Fire Baby
strung together a pair of Grade 2 races. She ran 3rd in her
sophomore debut against the boys in the Smarty Jones, but trainer Gary Hartlage decided to run her
against the fillies rather than continue to run her against the boys in hopes
of making a Kentucky Derby appearance. After running 4th in the
Acorn, the gray filly did not return to the track for almost a year after being
sidelined with a stifle inflammation. Despite the long layoff, Hartlage
ambitiously entered On Fire Baby in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom for her comeback
race, and the Smoke Glacken filly
did him proud by wiring the field to earn her first Grade 1 victory. Like On
Fire Baby, Graydar was given a long
layoff early in his career, which did not even begin until after he turned
three. Even though the odds were stacked against him in the Donn Handicap, the
speedy gray Unbridled’s Song colt shot
straight to the lead and told his salty foes to catch him if they could. They couldn’t,
and in just his fourth career start, Graydar became a Grade 1 winner.
Unfortunately, fans will not see either for some time as On Fire Baby will miss
this weekend’s Fleur de Lis due to a virus, and Graydar has been sidelined
after having surgery to remove a bone chip from his left front ankle.
Others to capture their first Grade 1 victory in 2013
include Swagger Jack, Centre Court, Last Full Measure, Aubby K, and Sahara Sky.
Five-year old Swagger Jack upset the
Carter Handicap as the second longest shot in the field, but one race later, Sahara Sky turned the tables on Swagger
Jack, who finished 7th, by winning the Met Mile by a whisker.
Multiple graded stakes winner Centre Court captured the Jenny Wiley as the post time favorite, Aubby K made it two in a row when
winning the Humana Distaff as the top betting choice, and Last Full Measure sprang an upset in the Madison.
With a slew of newly minted Grade 1 winners in the first
half of 2013, it is not hard to believe that there will be others to capture
their first top tier stakes race this year. Two top candidates to join the top
ranks are Optimizer and Mucho Macho
Man. Now that the former is back on his preferred surface, it is only a matter
of time before he takes his place among the top turf stars this year. He has
already finished second to the top 2 in the division, and with Point of Entry
out of commission, it likely won’t be long before Optimizer can add a Grade 1
win to his growing list of accomplishments. Mucho Macho Man has been knocking on the door since his 3-year old
season when he ran third in the Kentucky Derby despite being one of the
youngest colts in his crop. He then finished second in two consecutive Grade 1
events to close out his 4-year old year, and only lost those two by a combined
margin of less than a length. On Friday, he can take the next step forward
when he returns to the starting gate for the first time in nearly four months. With
half a year left to go, it’s more a question of when not if these two will add
that elusive Grade 1 victory to their resume.
I’m chasin’ that Grade One stakes race
I’m livin’ that Thoroughbred dream
‘Cause all I ever wanted
Was to make the Hall of Fame
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