Beach Patrol's connections hoping for a bright future

The Grade I Secretariat Stakes at Arlington International Racecourse on Aug. 13 was an attractive field of nine 3-year-old turf routers, but the betting public knew trainer Chad Brown and jockey Florent Geroux weren’t there to run second. Beach Patrol, owned by James Covello, Sheep Pond Partners and Head of Plains Partners, went to post as the 5-2 favorite and out-dueled Aidan O’Brien trainee Long Island Sound in the stretch to win by a head. Purchased by the ownership group earlier this year, it was the first Grade I victory for the son of 1999 Belmont Stakes winner Lemon Drop Kid.

Beach Patrol was bred in Kentucky by Nancy Shuford. Out of the Quiet American mare Bashful Bertie, a full sister to multiple graded-stakes winner Allamerican Bertie, Beach Patrol brought a final bid of $250,000 at the 2013 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale as a yearling. Initially raced by Gary and Mary West, the colt debuted at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots last winter before shipping west to Santa Anita Park and breaking his maiden in his first start of the year. He followed it up with another win at Santa Anita before trying graded stakes company for the first time at Churchill Downs on May 7 in the Grade II American Turf Stakes.

“We bought the horse in a private purchase after his race on Kentucky Derby day, the American Turf Stakes, so this was his third start for us,” Covello said. “I was very impressed with the race he ran on Derby day, where he just got nosed out by Camelot Kitten, and the way he had been running in his races. Lemon Drop Kid is one of my favorite sires of all time; I was actually a shareholder in Lemon Drop Kid as a stallion a couple of years ago. I really believe the Lemon Drop Kids get better with age, and better as the distances get longer. So the fact that he was running so well going 1 1/16 miles and 1 1/8 miles really gave me confidence that as the distances got longer that he could be even more affective. So we went ahead and bought the horse, and everything has worked out great.”

After being purchased by Covello and partners, the 3-year-old shipped to Penn National for the Grade III Penn Mile, but did not show his usual speed against the likes of Catch a Glimpse and Airoforce. Undeterred by his lack of performance, the group sent him to Belmont Park to contest the Grade I Belmont Derby. Going 1¼ miles for the first time, Beach Patrol tracked the leaders from off the pace before turning in a strong run to finish third, 1½ lengths behind Deauville, the eventual third-place finisher in the Grade I Arlington Million. Five weeks later, the Lemon Drop Kid colt was back in another Grade I, again at 1¼ miles, and found victory in the Secretariat.

Covello and partners have tentative plans for their Grade I winner laid out. Knowing from his pedigree that he could continue to improve with age, they will look to race him only a couple more times this season before giving him a break and preparing him for a 4-year-old campaign.

“The thing that makes the most sense at this point is probably the Hill Prince Stakes at Belmont Park,” Covello said. “That’s a race that will give him a little bit of time. He’s traveled around quite a bit, he’s been back and forth to California a couple of times, and now we shipped him out to Chicago, so the horse could certainly use a little bit of a break. The Hill Prince is in October at Belmont, and that’s a nice purse race. The other race that I think we could look at that makes some sense, but I’m just not sure of the timing, is the race at Kentucky Downs. There’s a 1 5/16 miles race for him. I think that race would be a good fit for him, it’s on September 11, but it might come up a little quick. The Hill Prince is 1 1/8 miles, but it would certainly give him a little bit of time to recover from all the traveling, and I think that would be a very good spot.”

A trip back to California is not out of the question for the colt either. With two wins under his belt at Santa Anita, Beach Patrol could look for another Grade I win in November at Del Mar.

“I think the other target through the end of the year would be the Hollywood Derby,” Covello remarked. “Chad ran in that race last year and came second with another horse of his. So I think those two races could be the tentative target, give him a little bit of a break over the winter and then bring him back for the spring time races next year. That would certainly be the goal.”

Bypassing the Breeders’ Cup this year at Santa Anita, the Hollywood Derby would give Beach Patrol a trip over the Del Mar turf course where he could contest the Breeders’ Cup next year at the age of four.

“There’s a whole series of long-distance races all over the country, and next year would be great to get to the Breeders’ Cup,” Covello said. “I think it’s very difficult for 3-year-olds in the Breeders’ Cup, notwithstanding, I know some European 3-year-olds have come over and done it. I’m a big speed figure person – I use the Thoro-Graph figures, and one of the reasons we bought him is he’s run terrific speed figures for a 3-year-old. I think he’s run three Thoro-Graph figures [better] than any other 3-year-old in the country, so he has three numbers that are better than anyone’s one number going long distance on the turf – but those numbers don’t compare to what the older horses are doing, including a horse like Flintshire in Chad’s barn. So I think it would be overly ambitious to try and point him to the Breeders’ Cup this year. We should never say never about anything, but I think it would be a much better goal for next year. Both mentally and physically, the Lemon Drop Kids seem to get so much better as they get older. Just to have one that is running so well as a 3-year-old is great, because there should be a lot of room for improvement for him next year.”

Source: Arlington Park