Horse Of The Year: The Right Place

THE RIGHT PLACE

By: Clay S. Robinson

“It is frustrating to train a horse and get him ready for his biggest race, to have a horse who has no shot to win take that chance away.”

Curious to know who said that? Not ESPN’s Jim Rome, who had reason to be upset after Shared Belief’s chances were compromised in the Breeders’ Cup Classic by Bob Baffert’s Haskell winner, Bayern. No, that was Bob Baffert himself, complaining to BloodHorse after the Pacific Classic (G1). Wise Bob was upset that the hot early fractions of a speed duel with G1 winner Mystery Train (ARG) had cost his gelding, Game On Dude, with minion Martin Garcia up, all chance of taking the race won by Shared Belief.

The Breeders’ Cup Classic is a big race, but I don’t think the win earns Bayern Horse of the Year. At least, not like that. And it’s not just the way the race was run. It’s also the horse’s third place finish in the Arkansas Derby, and the fact that he couldn’t win the Derby Trial at Churchill Downs. But Baffert needn’t worry that I’ll give the honor to Untapable. True, she capped off a stellar campaign in stunning fashion with a win in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, thanks to her jockey, but she couldn’t beat the boys in the Haskell, won by Bayern. I don’t penalize her for running against colts. The Winchells were trying to run her in the right place. It’s just that she finished fifth at Monmouth. And, while I’d like to give Horse of the Year to Shared Belief, Baffert will be relieved to know that I can’t.

When I was a kid, I played baseball every weekend in a neighbor’s long backyard, with all the kids on the block. Everybody played. And everybody was afraid we’d knock out a window.

So, more often than not, we’d use a rubber ball or a tennis ball, rather than a baseball. They still would’ve broken a window, but you can’t tell kids that. We did realize quickly though, that we should keep two balls on hand, since every once in awhile a kid would hit the ball in the gutter and we’d lose it. Or it’d end up in some other place we knew we couldn’t reach. And whenever that happened, the kid would get another turn at bat, a do-over. The kid got another turn because we didn’t have a chance to field the ball, and he hadn’t made an out. Yet it was also not right to award him a hit or a run.

I’m told the California Horse Racing Board met during the week of November 17^th to consider revising its rules that stewards at Santa Anita used in deciding not to issue a disqualification in the controversial Breeders’ Cup Classic. I would like to see the 2014 Breeders’ Cup Classic run again. A do-over. Yet life doesn’t work that way. And, given the other races that he won, Shared Belief really needed a win in the Classic to cement Horse of the Year honors. I don’t believe the Pacific Classic win puts him over the top, nor do I believe Jim Rome thought so either. Jim and his partners were just trying to run their horse in the right place, but they never had a fair shot.

So, I guess I’d have to give Horse of the Year honors in 2014 to another blade runner. Main Sequence won the Breeders’ Cup Turf, the Sword Dancer, the United Nations and the Red Smith Handicaps this year. Four G1 wins, all at 11 or 12 furlongs, and at four different tracks. I won’t disqualify a horse from consideration based on distance or choice of surface, but venue and competition are important. You gotta run in the right place, and, even though Baffert was upset by the outcome of the Pacific Classic, that’s all that Mystery Train’s (ARG) connections were trying to do – run their G1 winner in the right place.

That “You Don’t Belong In Here” attitude of yours is an epidemic, Bob. And it’s helping to kill the sport. Yet, not to worry. I don’t get a vote. For you’re not the only one who wouldn’t think I deserve to have one.

Clay S. Robinson is a writer with a love for horse racing. He resides in Kentucky and is currently assisting with production of the forthcoming film, “Heart, Hope & Glory.” Follow him on Twitter → @ClassicIrons