Zipse: Where does Cogburn fit on the national landscape?
Sooner or later Cogburn is going to force us all to take notice of what a rare talent he is.
Is there any horse more likely to win a Breeders’ Cup race this year? I don’t believe there is, yet Cogburn seldom is spoken of as one of America’s top horses.
After another convincing score Saturday, the Steve Asmussen trainee is steamrolling his way to heavy favoritism in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.
It’s a race that lags behind others for attention, and it’s a division with no direct avenue to an Eclipse Award. That shouldn’t be reason to downplay what Cogburn is accomplishing, however.
On the outside looking in on the most recent National Thoroughbred Racing Association top 10 poll, it’s pretty clear voters are having a hard time figuring out just what to do with Cogburn.
Is he a sprinter? Is he a turf horse? Of course the answer is Cogburn is both of these things. In my opinion he might be not only the best sprinter in the nation, but he might be our best turf horse as well.
A 5-year-old son of versatile sire Not This Time, Cogburn was a pretty solid runner on dirt. He won three of his eight starts on the surface and was a close second in a pair of stakes. After a pair of off-the-board efforts, however, Asmussen tried him on turf for the first time last spring. The improvement was immediate.
A winner in three of four stakes on the grass in 2023, Cogburn has taken things up to a whole new, exciting level this season.
A decisive win in the Grade 2 Turf Sprint at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby day was his first start in eight months and demonstrated that he was even better at age 5.
Next came the Jaipur Stakes at Saratoga on Belmont Stakes day, and it was there where the Clark Brewster and Corinne and William Heiligbrodt-owned runner proved he was on another level from other top turf sprinters.
Not only did Cogburn easily defeat eleven others in the Grade 1 race, but his time of 59.80 seconds for the 5 1/2 furlongs shattered the previous North America record by just over two-fifths of a second.
Saturday in southern Kentucky, it was more of the same for the horse we can call arguably the fastest in the world. Breaking sharply in the field of 12, he showed his superiority right away in the Kentucky Downs Turf Sprint (G2) under rider Irad Ortiz Jr.
Cogburn traversed the European-style turf course in opening fractions of 21.82 and 44.14 seconds as the others chased in vain. From there it was a Saturday cruise down the long stretch to another impressive victory.
He may have missed setting another record in the rich, six-furlong affair, but his final time of 1:07.68 while winning by an easy 3 1/4 lengths was further evidence Cogburn is breathing different air than the rest of the best turf sprinters in the land. Among those behind him Saturday were defending Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner Nobals.
Now 6-for-7 and having earned better than $2.1 million since making the switch to the turf, Cogburn is clearly one of the most dominant horses in the United States. His three wins in three graded-stakes starts this year have been authoritative, and they have been very fast.
The $1 million Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, which will be run going five furlongs at Del Mar on Nov. 2, will have another full field to take him on, but at this point, can anyone really expect Cogburn to lose?
Is he better than the best dirt sprinters in the nation? Is he better than the best turf horses in the nation? Those are apples-to-oranges comparisons, but at this point it’s hard to make an argument against Cogburn and his commanding speed.