Zipse: This son of Tapit brings back gray(t) memories
Free House was a very good horse. One of the best California-bred horses ever, he was a consistent force on the American racing landscape over four consecutive seasons nearly three decades ago. He also was one of my all-time favorite horses.
Owned and bred by John Toffan and Trudy McCaffery, Free House was one of a kind. He was a free-wheeling gray runner who liked to use his early speed to his advantage. He was a leggy horse with expressive eyes and a strong will to win. I fell in love with him the first time I saw him run, and it was a fun ride through his retirement from racing at age 5. As unique as he was, I never saw another horse who reminded me of him, until now.
Free House was an eight-time graded stakes winner who ran big in defeat in each leg of the 1997 Triple Crown. In comparison, Arthur’s Ride has achieved next to nothing.
A son of Tapit, Arthur’s Ride has run only three times and has won only once. A comparison of past performances with Free House would make the 3-year-old look like a $5,000 claimer at any small track in America. There can be no comparison.
What I do see, however, is a horse who takes me back to all the great times I had watching, rooting for and betting on Free House all those years ago.
The looks, running style and greenness of Arthur's Ride are all just how I remember Free House. It’s uncanny how much this unproven sophomore reminds me of one of my all-time favorites.
Unproven to be sure, but the potential is there. I saw it in his career debut last August at Saratoga. He was green as grass and battled on fast fractions. That being said, he should have wilted down the lane, but he didn’t. He didn’t stick with the winner late either, but fighting to hold for second in a field of highly regarded newcomers was a good start to his career.
Next came another loaded race for Spa babies four weeks later. This time the Karl and Cathi Glassman-owned Arthur’s Ride stalked fast fractions before pressing to the lead. Once again, he was outdone late, but he lost by less than a length to Instant Coffee, who has gone on to win a pair of graded stakes since. It was a good second start.
Trained by Bill Mott, Arthur’s Ride was never going to race as frequently early on as Free House. The great gray of the late '90s learned to race by racing – he ran 15 times combined at 2 and 3 for trainer Paco Gonzalez – but this gangly gray was shut down for the rest of his juvenile season.
Although he went winless at 2, I couldn’t wait to see what he looked like at 3. I got my chance Saturday afternoon at Gulfstream Park. Once again facing very well-regarded young horses, Arthur’s Ride showed sharp speed in his first race in better than five months.
Letting it all loose on the front end, the 2-1 second choice was hounded through taxing splits of 45.76 seconds and 1:09.97 by the race favorite. Those fractions were the ultimate undoing of the favorite, but my choice kept on going.
Challenged late by a good-looking first-time starter named Dreamlike, Arthur’s Ride had more in the tank to easily fight off the challenge to win the one-mile maiden race by 1 1/2 lengths in a final time of 1:36.28.
For the third consecutive time watching Arthur’s Ride, I could not help but think of Free House from 26 years ago. Like that winner of more than $3 million did at this point in his career, Arthur’s Ride has much to learn. Namely, how to harness his speed and how to focus on the task in hand. In the hands of one of the best horsemen around, I suspect that will happen.
Perhaps I am letting nostalgia or sentimentality cloud my best judgment here, but I continue to see a world of potential for this maiden winner.
Free House was a quirky, beautiful, talented, game horse of another generation. It was a joy to watch him battle with his great rival Silver Charm and continue to win big races into his fourth season on the track.
I cannot expect Arthur’s Ride to have that kind of career. It’s too much to ask. But to say he is a horse to watch, at least for me, would be an understatement.