Flashback: Wise Dan goes out a Shadwell Turf Mile winner

At the top of the Keeneland homestretch, with a historic million-dollar purse on the line, the clock was ticking both literally and figuratively for the great gelding Wise Dan.

Literally, the timer was diligently counting the seconds that had elapsed since the start of the 2014 Shadwell Turf Mile (G1), the first million-dollar race ever run at Keeneland. It had counted off the first six furlongs in 1:12.02 seconds, slow fractions for the one-mile distance, and now it was recording an accelerating pace as the eight runners dashed to the finish line.

Figuratively, though no one yet knew it, Father Time was counting down the final seconds remaining in Wise Dan’s legendary career. Whether it would end in the glory of victory or the agony of defeat rested solely on Wise Dan’s aging legs… and the gelding had every excuse to lose.

Suffice to say, the obstacles facing Wise Dan were imposing. During the five months leading up to his pivotal run down the Keeneland homestretch, nothing had gone right for the Charlie LoPresti-trained son of Wiseman’s Ferry. Despite all of his career accomplishments — 18 graded stakes wins, 10 Grade 1 wins, back-to-back triumphs in the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1), a pair of Horse of the Year titles, six Eclipse Awards — Wise Dan was far from a shoo-in to prevail in the Shadwell Turf Mile.

His 2014 racing season hadn’t gone as planned. Surprisingly hard-fought victories in the Maker’s 46 Mile (G1) and Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (G1) left racing fans and analysts wondering if age was catching up to the 7-year-old veteran. Then in May, just two weeks after the Turf Classic, Wise Dan underwent emergency colic surgery. While he emerged in good order, the incident caused him to miss weeks of training, and when he returned to action three months later in the Bernard Baruch Handicap (G2) at Saratoga, Wise Dan had to go all-out to win by a desperate nose.

Wise Dan’s tough luck continued during the early stages of the Shadwell Turf Mile. A slow start left the 9-10 favorite dead last coming out of the starting gate, and for a time he was reluctant to settle while front-running Silver Max waltzed along through slow fractions of :24.58 and :48.27. This was particularly alarming because Silver Max had sprung a gate-to-wire upset over Wise Dan in the 2013 Shadwell Turf Mile, Wise Dan’s lone defeat during the preceding two years.

“He didn’t break, and I was a little worried, but down the backside I liked the way he was tugging,” LoPresti said that day. “I saw the :24-and-change and I go ‘man, somebody’s got to go with Silver Max, because that’s the way he steals these races.”

Thus, the stage was set. There was Wise Dan, splitting horses at the top of the Keeneland homestretch, trying to reach a contending position as the pace accelerated in the Shadwell Turf Mile. There was Silver Max, still leading the way, nearly four lengths ahead, with the clock steadily ticking away.

No one knew Wise Dan was racing down the homestretch for the last time. No one knew he had suffered a non-displaced ankle fracture that would contribute to his retirement.

But as the Keeneland crowd cheered for the champ, Wise Dan shrugged off his adversities and hit another gear. Reaching back to the brilliance of his younger days, Wise Dan lengthened his stride and accelerated, charging faster and faster down the lane as the finish line drew closer. He set his sights on Silver Max, approached the leaders at the eighth pole, and decisively rolled past.

Wise Dan’s triumphant final strides were a parting gift to his adoring fans at Keeneland. He drew clear to win by length in 1:35.62 seconds, but his margin of victory was hardly important. All that mattered was the sight of the bright chestnut flying to the finish line with a flourish, silencing doubters and proving once again you can never count out a champion.

“We love Keeneland. This is home. It’s our home. It’s Wise Dan’s home, and [we] thank all the fans for coming out here and being so proud of this horse,” LoPresti said. “Even when he went through the colic surgery, the cards and letters that we got from people, ‘please get well Wise Dan’… people love him, and we love him, and we’re just proud to have him and be blessed with him.”

By securing his fourth Grade 1 victory at Keeneland, Wise Dan entered the history books as the most decorated runner in the Kentucky racetrack’s long history. And while soundness issues prevented him from running again, no one who witnessed his valiant, redemptive victory in the Shadwell Turf Mile will ever forget the day Wise Dan went out a winner in Keeneland’s richest race.

J. Keeler Johnson is a writer, videographer, handicapper, and all-around horse racing enthusiast. A great fan of racing history, he considers Dr. Fager to be the greatest racehorse ever produced in America, but counts Zenyatta as his all-time favorite. You can follow him on Twitter at @J_Keelerman.