With the excitement of Galway Downs last weekend, we didn’t give much credit to the other big horse event in California last Saturday: the Breeders’ Cup. Royal Delta repeated in the Ladies’ Classic (I still like to call it the Distaff), Fort Larned took the mile and a quarter Classic in a shocker, but my favorite race of this year was the BC Mile.
Run on turf, it was an outstanding field this year in the Mile (despite the lack of Frankel). Wise Dan, a 5-year-old gelding by Wiseman’s Ferry, was a deserved favorite going into the race; Dan’s won on all surfaces, from a mile to a mile and a quarter, and he’s done it in blazing fashion this year. Bred and owned by Morton Fink, and trained by Charlie LoPresti, you can’t help but root for the smaller stable who makes it to the big time, and shows the big time who’s boss.
Watch as Wise Dan defeats 2011 Derby winner Animal Kingdom (who ran a brilliant race in his own right, with only one prep race back in February) and sets a new track record of 1:31.78. With his record of 5 wins and one second this year (at five different tracks!), Dan is in contention for several Eclipse awards, including Older Male, Turf, and 2012 Horse of the Year.
