11/8/2006

THROUGH THE BINOCULARS

By JOHN PIESEN
Former Turf Writer and Handicapper for the New York Post and Daily Racing Form
Senior correspondent for www.NationalRaceMasters.com 

LOOKING BACK AT THE 23rd BREEDERS'' CUP

I have watched -who knows? -maybe 50,000 races in my life, and I''ve never been as drained as I was during and after the Breeders'' Cup Distaff.

Euphoria. Heartbreak. Euphoria.

Euphoria at seeing Round Pond, my favorite racehorse since Damascus, win the Distaff going away by four-plus lengths. 

Heartbreak at watching two grand fillies -Pine Island and Fleet Indian -break down. Pine Island fatally.

Then euphoria again at seeing the second-place finisher''s number come down.
 
Somehow it seems worse when a filly breaks down than a male horse. The examples are too numerous to relate. Just start with Ruffian. Go For Wand. Moccasin. And now Pine Island.

Then there was the agony of watching Michael Matz and Edgar Prado. There was no celebration of Round Pond''s remarkable victory. Only the sadness of revisiting Barbaro.

Just six months back. Watching the first Saturday of May morph into the first Saturday of November.

But I would be lying if I didn''t admit my first thoughts were with Round Pond. Watching her train and race for two springs for John Servis at Oaklawn Park. Watching her win five of six starts in Hot Springs, including the fantastic Azeri Breeders'' Cup back in March. Stopping at her stall virtually every morning. Feeding her peppermints. Worrying about her health. Interviewing her owner, trainer, jockey, exercise rider and groom.
  
It saddened me to learn last spring that owner Porter fired Servis, and sent Round Pond to Michael Matz, a trainer I have long considered a friend, and a man for whom I''ve always had tremendous respect. Long before Barbaro.

I spoke with Matz several times during the summer -not so much to check on Barbaro, but to check on Round Pond, who has chronic foot problems.

When Round Pond returned to action last summer with a tremendous second in the Molly Pitcher at Monmouth Park, I felt she was back. But it was distressing to see her get blown away in the Beldame at Belmont, beaten seven lengths by Fleet Indian and Baletto.

After Round Pond worked a bullet :59 a week ago Sunday at Keeneland, I called Matz, and, he told me, among other things:

"Round Pond will run much better in the Distaff. Now, we just have to figure out a way to make up seven lengths."

The interview ran in this space last Monday (Oct. 30). If you missed it, you can click it up here on the archives.

In the same piece, I also mentioned that Happy Ticket, considered the best mare in the land last summer, is getting no respect for the Distaff.

The reader didn''t need to be a rocket scientist to know what I liked in the Distaff. I made it official on my phone service (1-888 612 2283) and online at www.JohnPiesen.com a few days later when I went:

1. Round Pond 2. Happy Ticket.

When Round Pond nosed Happy Ticket in the Azalea back when , the exacta came back $5.

On Saturday, the Round Pond--Happy Ticket exacta came back $446!

As we all know, Happy Ticket needed some luck to complete the exacta. After a jockeys'' objection (no inquiry), Asi Siempre, the second finisher, was dropped from second to fourth, and Happy Ticket was moved up to second.

Thanks to the Churchill stewards -an all-time euphoric moment.

Now, in addition to feeling so good about Round Pond, I felt equally as good for the folks who had the good sense to purchase my Breeders'' Cup selections.

A $446 cold exacta doesn''t happen every day.

And when I got home, and checked out the selections from the various media types, I discovered that:

1. I finished first among the 45 handicappers from the Breeders'' Cup consensus boxes of Daily Racing Form, USA Today, the New York Daily News, and the New York Post; and
2. With three winners from the eight races, I selected more winners than Russ Harris, Andy Beyer, Steve Crist, Ray Kerrison, Ed Fontaine and Vic Zeigel COMBINED.

And, I couldn''t help noticing the fact that, after suffering through a week-long saturation coverage of Todd Pletcher and Bernardini, they went a combined 0-for18.

Trainer Pletcher, for all his his wondrous achievements, is now 2-for-41 on racing''s biggest stage. And I couldn''t help think that maybe this time, the Eclipse voters might vote Michael Matz champion trainer.

And Kieran McLaughlin second.

As for Bernardini, isn''t it amazing to see a horse compared to Secretariat and Seattle Slew in one moment become a trivia answer in the course of two minutes?

It disturbs me no end to see the media make excuses for Bernardini. Oh, brother -- he got beat by a better horse.

Stuff happens.

And when jockey Castellano is getting dumped on by the media for "moving too early" that really gets my juices boiling.

Bernardini made the same move in every one of his victories, and was hailed as the greatest thing since the exacta box. Moreover, the horse who was in front at the stretch call of the four prior dirt races at the Breeders'' Cup (as well as in the two preliminary races) all won!

And before we annoint Invasor the next Secretariat, consider that he ran the last half in :51 seconds.

Here are some other random thoughts on the Big Show -

It was not a particularly auspicious debut for announcer Denman. Among other things, he had Octave going by Dreaming of Anna in mid-stretch of the Juvenile Fillies, and he didn''t pick up Round Pond until she was three in front in the Distaff.

As they were loading for the Sprint, one of the non-stop ESPN talkers kept yakking at trainer McLaughlin, who had the favored Henny Hughes in the race. I had to admire the fact that McLaughlin, who suffers from MS, didn''t whack the guy in the mouth.

On the other hand, ESPN gave us a fabulous blimp shot of Street Sense coming down the rail to win the Juvenile.

Street Sense of course will attempt next May to become the first B.C. Juvenile winner to win the Kentucky Derby. And jockey Borel, a two-time Oaklawn champion, will be the go-to guy of the upcoming Oaklawn meeting.

Maybe Borel finally will get the national media exposure he so richly deserves. No jockey gives as much time to charity work as Calvin. Maybe, just maybe, next year his peers will recognize that when it comes to handing out the George Woolf Award.

That''s Calvin Borel.

As in bo-rail.

All week long, I heard the media tell us what a disadvantage the one-hole was. It made me wonder if any of these people ever watch a race. But as it developed, who could possibly have predicted that "the one" would win the first four B.C. dirt races:

Dreaming of Anna ($7.20); Street Sense ($32.40); Thor''s Echo ($33.20), and Round Pond ($29.80).

No surprise then that Brother Derek got pounded down to 22-1 for the Classic, and was beaten only five lengths by Invasor. Chances are Derek would have been closer if he hadn''t been pressed for a mile by Lawyer Ron.

Which reminds me. The trainer (and jockey) change really moved Lawyer Ron up. Didn''t it?

Were not the connections, and the folks who played Her Majesty (in the Juvenile Fillies) and Germance (in the Filly and Mare Turf) just thrilled to death?

The gate crew needed eight minutes to load Her Majesty, making me wonder how many of the other 13 fillies left their race in the gate.

Surprise. Surprise. Her Majesty, the 8-1 fourth choice, never was better than 11th, and checked in 13th.

And Germance blew the start, was promptly rushed up into rail traffic, checked out before a half-mile had been run, and finished last of 10.

I find it annoying that media folks suggest -as they do every year -that this was the greatest Breeders'' Cup ever run.

As far as I''m concerned, I would like to see one -just one -close finish in the eight races. The closest margin of victory this year was a half-length.

When the smoke clears, the single biggest story of this year''s Breeders'' Cup will be the feud between Andy Beyer and the sheiks.

Beyer ripped the sheiks last week in his DRF column, and the sheiks reportedly responded by pulling their advertising from the Form.