Wise Dan wins the 2014 Shadwell Turf Mile (photo Anne Eberhardt)
No matter what obstacles are thrown at him this season, two-time Horse of the Year Wise Dan refuses to lose.
On 4 October 2014, Wise Dan made his first start against Gr1 company since undergoing colic surgery earlier this year. Morton Fink’s 7-year-old Wiseman’s Ferry gelding hesitated at the start of the $1 million Gr1 Shadwell Turf Mile at Keeneland and the 9-10 favorite found himself dead last headed into the first turn.
“Once that door opened and he didn’t break, I knew this was going to be a tough job behind horses to get him to settle,” Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez said. “Once I put him to the outside he kicked in with his usual kick, but it was a little scary there to get him to settle behind horses, definitely.”
Jockey Robby Albarado attempted to walk the dog on 2013 Shadwell winner Silver Max, galloping to an easy quarter in :24.58 and a half in :48.27 before getting three-quarters in 1:12.02, but Wise Dan was moving up gradually between rivals to improve his position.
“His head was sideways and he didn’t break, and I was a little worried but even down the backside I liked the way he was tugging,” trainer Charlie LoPresti said. “Once I saw that :24 and change, I thought, ‘Somebody’s got to go with Silver Max, that’s the way he steals races.'”
Wise Dan was still seventh around the turn for home and had five lengths or so to make up coming into the stretch. Swung out to the six path and set down for the drive, the six-time Eclipse Award winner found another gear and swept up to best Grand Arch by a length in the final strides.
“Turning for home, I thought I had a big chance but Wise Dan came by me very, very fast,” said Grand Arch’s jockey, David Moran. “My horse kept grinding. He ran huge. He’s a hard knocker. If anyone was going to beat us today, it had to be Dan.”
“When he kicked it for home, he just killed it,” LoPresti said. “He’s been training like a monster. He ran a great race.”
It was Wise Dan’s 11th Gr1 career victory and his second edition of the Shadwell—he won the race in 2012 but was second to Silver Max in an off-the-turf renewal run on Polytrack last year. The winner’s share from the first seven-figure purse offered in Keeneland history boosted his earnings to $7,552,920 with 23 wins and two seconds from 31 starts. He is undefeated in 2014.
After spending time on the sidelines to recover from his colic surgery in May, Wise Dan returned to the races on 31 August 2014 with a score over Optimizer by a nose in the Gr2 Bernard Baruch Handicap at Saratoga Race Course. But many wondered if he was the same horse who put together back-to-back victories in the Gr1 Maker’s 46 Mile and the Gr1 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic earlier in the season.
On Saturday at Keeneland, the old Dan was back. He ran the mile on good turf in 1:35.62, paying $3.80, $2.80, and $2.10 under equal weights of 126 pounds. Grand Arch returned $10.20 and $6 at 19-1 odds, while Sayaad brought 4.60 another length back in third. Kaigun, Silver Max, Seek Again, Optimizer, and Two Notch Road completed the order of finish.
The Shadwell is a Breeders’ Cup Challenge “Win and You’re In” event, giving the winner an automatic berth in the starting gate for the 1 November 2014 Gr1 Breeders’ Cup Mile at Santa Anita Park, with starter and entry fees paid along with a travel stipend.
Wise Dan, winner of the Breeders’ Cup Mile in 2012 and 2013, will next return to the site of his greatest triumphs in search of a third consecutive Mile score.
“He’s going where he’s always gone, I see no reason to change anything,” Fink said when asked about the possibility of running in the $5 million Gr1 Breeders’ Cup Classic at 1 1/4 miles on dirt.
But LoPresti did not eliminate the idea of a dirt race for Wise Dan before the end of the year.
“I know the safest route is the Mile, and it wouldn’t be too bad to win the Mile three years in a row,” he said. “Then maybe we could go to the Gr1 Clark Handicap.”
Wise Dan won the 2011 Clark, a 1 1/8-mile dirt test, as a 4-year-old before beginning to excel on the grass.
(souce: Bloodhorse)
