First Captain arrives at Jockey Club Gold Cup on the upswing

Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

West Point Thoroughbreds, Siena Farm, celebrity chef Bobby Flay and Woodford Racing combined to invest $1.5 million in richly bred First Captain when he was a yearling in 2019. Then they waited to see whether their faith in the son of two-time Horse of the Year Curlin would be rewarded.

First Captain was unraced at 2. Nothing was wrong with him. Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey just believed he would benefit from time.

He made a winning debut as a 3-year-old and rattled off three consecutive victories to begin his career in a streak that culminated in the Dwyer Stakes (G3). When he ran third in the listed Curlin Stakes last July 30 at Saratoga, McGaughey thought it best to back off.

“I just felt he needed time to mature,” said the ever-patient McGaughey. “Nothing was wrong with him. We just gave him time.”

First Captain has produced encouraging results at 4. The connections are optimistic that their willingness to allow the horse to age like fine wine will be rewarded with a much-needed Grade 1 victory in Saturday’s $1.25 million Jockey Club Gold Cup.

“We hope we are on the precipice of taking the next step in his career,” said Terry Finley, head of West Point Thoroughbreds. “You don’t get here unless you put the time and effort and money into a horse like this. It’s a building process, to say the least. I think he’s the perfect example of what they talk about in our business. You can never be in a hurry, and he’s proof positive of that.”

Finley acknowledged the difficulty of paying for the hefty daily upkeep of a Thoroughbred for months with no hope for earnings. First Captain returned from a layoff of almost seven months to win an allowance optional claiming race at the end of February at Gulfstream Park in his 4-year-old debut.

“We live in a society with an ‘I want it, I want it today’ environment and culture,” Finley noted.

It eases the pain, though, when multiple entities are sharing mounting expenses.

“That’s one of the distinct advantages of partnerships we’re seeing that are proliferating across the industry,” Finley said. “I think it helps the trainers. We want trainers to manage the horse, not the partners.

“I think it helps trainers in a really significant way for them to know that the partners are behind them and have their backs. It’s one thing to talk about having a trainer’s back. It’s another thing to actually have their back, especially when they put in front of you a decision that is going to take some time to bear fruit.”

First Captain’s last two outings suggest he is beginning to bear fruit and perhaps follow the path blazed by his sire. Curlin won the Jockey Club Gold Cup in 2007 and 2008. First Captain won the Pimlico Special (G3) and missed by a mere nose to fellow Gold Cup starter Dynamic One in the Suburban (G2) on July 9. The Suburban had represented his first crack at the Gold Cup’s mile-and-a-quarter distance.

“He came out of that race really good,” said McGaughey of the Suburban. “He’s had a really good time up here. All of his works have been good. I’m looking forward to Saturday.”

Luis Saez, who will be aboard for the Gold Cup, has handled the colt for his last three works, including a 49.50-second tune-up on Sunday. “I thought it went fine,” McGaughey said. “It was what I asked for, between 49 and 50. I caught his last eighth of a mile in 11 and change.”

Said Finley: “I know Saez told Shug and (agent) Kiaran McLaughlin that the horse has never been better.”

Through eight lifetime starts, First Captain owns five victories with a second and a third for earnings of $550,100. It would be a tremendous addition to his resume if he can land a prestigious Grade 1 such as the Gold Cup, which affords the winner an automatic, expense-paid berth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 5 at Keeneland.

McGaughey is bidding for his fifth Gold Cup triumph, having reached the winner’s circle with Vanlandingham (1985), Easy Goer (1989), Miner’s Mark (1993) and Code of Honor (2019). Undoubtedly, at one time or another, the trainer’s great patience played a role in those successes.