Wise Dan Over Mission Impazible in Clark
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Mort Fink’s homebred Wise Dan achieved Grade I glory when he kicked clear of Mission Impazible in the final furlong to easily win the 137th
running of the $572,500 Clark Handicap presented by Norton Healthcare by 3 ¾ lengths on Friday at Churchill Downs.
Wise Dan gave Fink and trainer Charlie Lopresti a bit of redemption for last year’s Clark in which their Successful Dan was disqualified from an apparent victory. Successful Dan finished a head in front
of Giant Oak a year ago, but because of interference with Redding Colliery in the upper stretch, was disqualified and placed third.
There was no doubt about Wise Dan’s sublime performance. Ridden by two-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey John Velazquez, Wise Dan tracked pacesetter Will’s Wildcat
and Mission Impazible from clear sailing
on the outside in third under a strong hold as the former led the field
of 13 three-year-olds and up through fractions of 23.80, :48.24 and
1:12.80.
The versatile Wise Dan, a
graded stakes winner on synthetic tracks and turf who entered the Clark
off an impressive four-length romp in Keeneland’s Fayette (GII), is a
gelded Kentucky-bred son of Wiseman’s Ferry out
of the Wolf Power-SAf mare Lisa Danielle. The huge pot of $326,554
increased his earnings to $919,601. Overall, it was Wise Dan’s eighth
victory from 14 starts (14-8-0-0).
Freddie Wirth, who guided Sentiment Sake to victory in the 1945 Clark, and Donna Allen, a vice president with Norton Healthcare, presented the Clark Handicap trophy to the winning connections.
Sent postward as 9-2 third
choice, Wise Dan, who carried 120 pounds, returned $11, $6 and $4.20.
Mission Impazible, who carried 116 pounds under Javier Castellano at odds of 7-1, paid $7 and $5.40. Flat Out,
the 123-pound high weight and 2-1 favorite under Alex Solis, raced in mid-pack early and could only manage third, 2 ¾ lengths behind the runner-up, and paid $3.20 to show.
The Clark was Wise Dan’s
first stakes triumph on dirt. Before the Clark, he had three races on
the Churchill Downs dirt that include maiden and allowance wins, both
over sloppy surfaces, and a solid sixth-place finish
in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Sprint in which he was beaten just 2 ½ lengths
by the champion Big Drama. He won the Firecracker (GII) on the
Churchill Downs grass in early July, and added two stakes wins over
synthetic surfaces: a victory in the Presque Isle
Downs Mile in September and the Oct. 29 Fayette.
The Clark Handicap was run
for the first time in 1875 during the first racing meet at Churchill
Downs, which was then known as the Louisville Jockey Club. Like the
Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands (GI) and Kentucky
Oaks (GI), the Clark has been renewed annually without interruption
since its first running.
CLARK HANDICAP QUOTES
Charlie Lopresti, trainer of Wise Dan (winner):
“It was perfect and I was pretty confident going into the race, other
than about whether he could go the 1 1/8 miles on the dirt. But I
thought he was going to run one
of his best races today. I would have been disappointed if he didn’t do
it. It looked like the Fayette. It was the same kind of race. He’s a
pretty good horse. Just stay out of his way and try to take care of
him.”
Q. What allows him to be so consistent on multiple surfaces? “I just think he loves to run. We galloped him two miles the other day and the exercise rider came back and said he could have gone around five more times. He just doesn’t get tired. He just loves to run.”
Q. What are the plans for next year? “We’re going to give him the winter off, just like Turallure. We’ll give him some time to be a horse and then bring him back in the spring.”
Q. What went into the decision to ride John Velazquez for the first time? “Julien (Leparoux) rides all of our horses and he couldn’t ride him a few times and that’s why Jon Court got the mount on him (on thee occasions earlier this year). Jon Court has done a great job on him and it’s nothing he did wrong. Julien is our number one rider and rode him in the Fayette and when he won the Fayette he had already committed to ride in California today (Never Retreat in the Grade I Matriarch). I talked to the owner (Mort Fink) and he asked if we could get John Velazquez to ride him and I said I didn’t know if he would come. I called Angel Cordero (Velazquez’s agent) and he called me back in five minutes and said they were coming. Mr. Fink said any time that you can get John Velazquez on a horse you should try it.”
Q. How does it feel to win this race after being taken down with Successful Dan in last year’s Clark? “I was really disappointed last year. I just didn’t understand why they took his number down, but they saw it that way and I have to respect their opinion. I jokingly said surely we don’t get taken down this year. It’s a dream come true to be back here with this many good horses.”
John Velazquez, jockey on Wise Dan (winner):
“I like these pickup mounts. It worked out perfect. I was on the
outside and the trainer (Charlie Lopresti) told me he was going to be
pulling pretty strong, but to keep
him third or fourth. Right from the start I got him back and he settled
pretty good. He was strong in hand and when I got to the quarter-pole he
took off and moved so smoothly. He was very confident in himself.”
Todd Pletcher (via phone from New York), trainer of Mission Impazible (runner-up):
“He’s run two big races, but unfortunately he’s been a bridesmaid twice
there this year in the two Grade Is (the Stephen Foster
Handicap and Clark Handicap). But it was another big effort from him and
we’re proud of him.”
Q: Everything looked possible at the head of the stretch …“I thought at the three-eighths pole you could see Wise Dan was really loaded up, and then I thought we might have snuck away from him for just a half a second, but he (Wise Dan) was just too good on the day and hats off to him. He ran a big race and I’m very proud of our second.”
Q: Assuming he’ll race next year, so what will be the early plan for his 5-year-old campaign? “We might take a look at the (Grade I) Donn (Handicap at Gulfstream Park), and of course he loves the Fair Grounds, so those races there would certainly be possibilities. We feel like he’s a Grade I horse and we’ve been very unlucky not to win one, so that’s our main objective.”
Javier Castellano, rider on Mission Impazible (runner-up):
“He loves Churchill. We had a beautiful spot today; we were where I
wanted to be in the race. He settled down beautifully and I loved the
way he did it. I think
we were just second-best today. I’m very satisfied and very happy with
the way he did it today. I’m not disappointed at all. I know we got beat
and he finished second, but you’ve got to give a lot of credit to the
winner. He was very impressive.”
“Scooter” Dickey, trainer of Flat Out (third as the favorite): Q: Jockey Alex Solis said he believed Flat Out just does not care for this racetrack. What are you thinking? “I
think that’s what we’ve got to kind
of face. I saw him and he was laying perfect over there and he started
his move, and I said ‘Well, if he likes this track he’s going to run
good today. But he just looked like he got to fightin’ it, and Alex said
when asked him to run he just can’t handle it.
He said he had a hold of him and he had a lot of horse, and he was very
happy with where he was laying. But when he asked him, it wasn’t there.”
Q: That’s amazing because he works so well over this track … “Yeah, but you know he’s only working five-eighths and all that. He laid right there with ‘em and he looked good, but that was it. He came back and seemed fine. I looked at his legs and they’re fine and everything, but it’s just one of those things, I guess.”
Q: You have talked about trying him on the grass next year. Is that still a thought? “Well, I’m going to Florida and I’m going to work him on it down there and see how he likes that. But we’ve enjoyed him. We’ve had a good time this year.”
Alex Solis, rider on Flat Out (third as the favorite):
“He broke really good and I got a good position. He went really nice
when he was in hand, but as soon as asked him to drop his head he’d just
start swimming around.
He struggled over the track too much.”
Q: You think he just doesn’t care for the track at Churchill Downs? “Definitely, because when you see the replay you can see him stumbling and losing his footing and he’s a horse that needs to get in a rhythm.”
Kelly Breen, trainer of Ruler On Ice (fifth):
“Just looking back, they say he may not be at his best when he has to
take all the dirt in his face and the one-post kind of put us there.
Garrett didn’t mention anything
negative about it, but knowing the horse it didn’t help our cause.”
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