McKinzie 'hasn't lost a step' on his way to the Breeders' Cup
It’s been a bit of a star-crossed season for likely Breeders’ Cup Classic contender McKinzie.
While the 4-year-old stepped up to win the prestigious Whitney (G1) on Aug. 3 at Saratoga, adding to his win in the Alysheba (G2) at Churchill Downs earlier in the year, it’s the four runner-up finishes this season that have left trainer Bob Baffert feeling frustrated.
“He always seems to have a problem with traffic,” Baffert said. “There is always something with him. Otherwise, he is right there.”
Most notable of McKinzie’s quartet of near-misses this year was the Met Mile (G1) on Belmont Stakes day.
McKinzie was rated along the inside by jockey Mike Smith and blocked by a wall of horses at the quarter pole. He then had to check on the heels of Thunder Snow in mid-stretch and was steadied again late before finally spurting clear to finish 3/4 of a length behind Mitole.
“The Met Mile had a lot of bad luck...there were a couple bad moves there,” Bafert said. “He needs to be ridden right,” the trainer continued. “Joel Rosario is riding him [in the Classic]. He’s never ridden him before, so I’m taking a little bit of a chance. But I made that call.”
Smith rode McKinzie in all 13 previous starts. Most recently in the Awesome Again (G1) at Santa Anita, McKinzie stalked pacesetter Mongolian Groom throughout but was unable to make up any ground on a track that was favoring front-runners. He finished 2 ¼ lengths back but was still 5 ½ lengths clear of third-place Higher Power.
Despite the rash of near-misses and an unproven record at the Classic's distance, he figures to be the Classic favorite. Baffert has put two stiff drills into McKinzie since the Awesome Again: a six-furlong work in 1:12.80 on Oct. 16 and a seven-furlong work in 1:24.40 on Tuesday.
Both drills seemed to have drawn mixed reviews from observers. Well-respected clocker Gary Young recently provided his thoughts on McKinzie’s preparations.
“I couldn’t knock McKinzie’s work,” Young said. “But I would like him better going a mile and an eighth rather than a mile and a quarter.
“This is nothing against Mongolian Groom, but McKinzie was beaten by a horse that was not going to be one of the favorites in the Classic.”
For his part, Baffert was rather matter-of-fact when discussing McKinzie’s training.
“He’s been training right along,” Baffert said. “He had a nice workout [on Tuesday]. I feel like he hasn’t lost a step. He came out of the work very well, which is important. He looks very healthy. We just need some racing luck.
“We gave him a stiff work the time before [on the 16th],” Baffert continued. “I wasn’t really tightening the screws before the Awesome Again. He needs to run the race he ran in the Met Mile and the Whitney [to win the Classic].”
McKinzie will look to improve upon his 12th-place finish in last year’s Classic at Churchill Downs as a 3-year-old. That time, the Classic came second off the layoff after the son of Street Sense missed the Triple Crown series due to injury.
“He should have more Ws on his resume,” said Baffert, who rates McKinzie among the top 10 horses he’s ever trained. “He’s just had some bad luck. It’s got to go right for him.”
Baffert also indicated owners Karl Watson, Mike Pegram and Paul Weitman plan to bring McKinzie back next year for a 5-year-old campaign.
“Our plan is to run him,” Baffert said. “Hopefully if he comes out of it well, we get to run him next year. There have been some farms very aggressive trying to get him. I think after the Breeders’ Cup we’ll know more, but they enjoy running him.”