ITM Players' Newsletter - Interview with BCBC Champion
And the return of JK + 1
Players’ Podcast - Marshall Gramm Interview with 2024 BCBC Champion Steven Wells
Marshall Gramm interviews Stephen Wells, the 2024 Breeders Cup Betting Challenge champion, who shares insights into his remarkable journey from a $7,500 bankroll to an impressive total of $573,200 over the two-day event. Wells discusses his early experiences with horse racing, highlighting his love for the sport that began in Arizona and evolved through strategic handicapping and tournament play. He emphasizes the importance of focusing on turf races and the role of jockey performance in his betting decisions. As they delve into the details of the Breeders Cup, they explore Wells’ preparation, strategies for managing his bankroll, and the emotional rollercoaster of the competition. The conversation wraps up with Wells reflecting on his life running a bar in North Dakota and the balance of pursuing his passion for racing while enjoying a fulfilling lifestyle.
In our latest video podcast, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Dan Blacker, the accomplished trainer of Breeders' Cup Sprint Champion, Straight No Chaser. We explored his journey from working with Godolphin's Flying Start program to his current relationship with Sheik Fahad and Qatar Racing, which has played a significant role in his career. Dan shared insights on Straight No Chaser's path to victory and the patience shown by over a thousand microshare owners from MyRacehorse. We delved into the decision to potentially bring Straight No Chaser back for a Dubai race as a four-year-old, the challenges and triumphs within California racing, and his first-ever Breeders' Cup win at Del Mar. Adding a personal touch, Dan talked about his life alongside his wife, Christina Blacker of FanDuel TV, and how her support has been instrumental in his career.
Subscribe to ITM Plus for exclusive picks, written analysis, and shows from your favorite ITM contributors!
Weekend Eye Catchers - November 9-10, 2024
By Will Humphrey
Following a brief hiatus during the time focused on Del Mar’s memorable Breeders’ Cup meeting, ITM’s weekly eye-catchers segment is back with four more horses who recently caught the eye and will be worth following in the future.
Saturday, Woodbine, Race 3: EARHART (1st)
We kick off proceedings this week with a filly by the name of EARHART, who couldn’t have been more impressive on debut at Woodbine this Saturday.
A beautifully bred European daughter of leading sire SIYOUNI, out of a stakes winning half sister to three black type performers, EARHART’s extended family includes G1 winners ZO IMPRESSIVE and ZAFTIG, as well as one of only four Royal Ascot starters sent out by Todd Pletcher, GIDU. With such a deep pedigree and an exceptional physique to boot, it was little surprise to see this gal fetch a cool €1.4m as a yearling at the Arqana August Sale in 2022. You can see her going through the ring here.
Making her debut as a three-year-old, word was certainly out about this filly who had been cruising through her morning drills for trainer Josie Carroll at Woodbine, and she more than lived up to the hype.
Breaking from gate four at odds of 4/5 under Rafael Hernandez, the grey filly got away cleanly and quickly established a comfortable lead, powerfully laying down an honest opening quarter mile in 23.39 for the seven-furlong contest. With her toiling rivals already on the back foot rounding the bend, she began to open up while still under a firm hold, hitting the top of the stretch with a commanding four lengths advantage. A swift and efficient lead change sealed the deal and from then on, it was simply a matter of how far. She sauntered through the stretch doing only a half speed to score by 6 3/4 lengths, with track announcer, Robert Geller, describing her jock as “sitting quiet as a mouse”, as he never once asked her for an effort.
Some may knock the performance since she really didn’t have a lot to beat here, and she also had everything her own way on the front end. However, she couldn’t have been any more spectacular to the eye, and there’s also no arguing with the fact that, while never being challenged or asked for any effort at all, she managed to cover the seven furlong trip only 0.26 seconds slower than the Bessarabian S. (G3) was run in only five races later. Her Beyer speed figure came back at an 86, although it appeared that she couldn’t almost certainly have run faster if asked to do so.
With Woodbine’s 2024 meet shortly coming to an end, it will be interesting to see when and where this filly shows up next, because it’s unlikely that connections will put her away again and wait until next year, considering that they’ve already had to wait until the end of her three-year-old year before she debuted (which does raise questions about her soundness). Whatever the case though, EARHART was a pleasure to watch on Saturday and she looks an exciting prospect to follow going forward.
Saturday, Churchill Downs, Race 5: FINAL GAMBIT (3rd)
When Brad Cox trained debutants get sent to post at odds of around 7/2, it’s always hard to know what to make of them; are they a short price because they’re good, or are they just taking Brad Cox money? Well, following his eye-catching third place finish in Churchill’s fifth on Saturday - a one-mile MSW event for two-year-olds on the turf - it would appear that FINAL GAMBIT falls into the first category.
A Juddmonte Farms homebred, out of a half-sister to four black-type performers including G1 winning turf router, ANNOUNCE, FINAL GAMBIT was pinched badly leaving gate five under Tyler Gaffalione on Saturday and immediately found himself last of the twelve runners heading into the first turn - a field largely made up of horses who all had prior racing experience. Having been guided over to the rail early, FG was stuck in behind a well bunched field for the majority of the run down the back stretch, as the leaders tipped through a moderate 49.73 second half mile. From the position he was in, winning seemed to have become an almost impossible task for the son of NOT THIS TIME, however, he made a good go of it. One by one, he began to cut his way through the field while still under a hold by T Gaff, who then opted to sharply maneuver him towards the centre of the track when straightened for the drive. With still six lengths to make up at the 3/16 pole, his response to some firm right-handed asking wasn’t immediate but when Gaff then switched to left-handed cropping the colt sprouted wings, passing five rivals inside the final hundred yards to burst his way back into the camera shot and hit the line hard in third. He then went ahead and galloped out very strongly.
Without question, FG lost this race at the break, and it certainly wouldn’t be unreasonable to suggest that, had he been able to adopt a more prominent position in this leisurely paced affair, he could well have passed the wire in front. Nevertheless, the strong closing kick that he produced (you can watch for yourself here) was impressive and I thought that visually, he was striding out like a talented colt. I was also impressed with how he seemed unfazed by the early bumping and wasn’t set alight by it; how he relaxed well in behind slow fractions; and how he was wiling to scythe through gaps that a lot of first-time starters would have backed out of. Other than the fact that he seemed to take a while to understand the full task at hand late on, it was a very professional debut and one which should have set him up perfectly to score next time. The speed figure came back slow (59 Beyer) but I wouldn’t be surprised to see FINAL GAMBIT develop into a nice type and he looks one to keep an eye on.
Saturday, Aqueduct, Race 8: JEAN VALJEAN (3rd)
Even though Elizabeth Merryman’s JEAN VALJEAN had run a couple of hefty speed figures that in theory made him live in the Aqueduct Turf Sprint Champion S. on Saturday, it wasn’t a huge surprise to see him sent off at odds of 21/1.
Those big figures had been earned against weaker company at Penn National and Laurel Park, which gave bettors reason to question quite how he’d square up against stake horses in New York, and he had also bombed out in his two most recent efforts. Furthermore, there was a legitimate concern regarding whether he’d be able to maintain his scintillating early zip over six furlongs - a distance he’d never tried on turf before. Well, it turns out that those big speed figures he’d previously earned were legitimate and going forward, this guy shouldn’t be overlooked in any turf sprint.
As is his customary nature, JV quickly sped to the lead under Joel Rosario, and he didn’t hang around on the lead either. Under a tight hold, the Pennsylvania bred son of UNCLE LINO blitzed through an opening split of 22.49 while maintaining a clear lead before hitting the quarter pole in 45.18. One of the last horses to come off the bridle when straightened for the drive, JV drifted slightly off the rail and appeared to be treading water at the furlong pole; however, he wasn’t done and grittily continued to fight off the closers to the extent where he briefly looked as if he was going to cause a major upset. Agonizingly for his backers though, he eventually got nailed on the wire by the dead-heating duo of WORKS FOR ME and ALOGON and crossed the line a head behind in third, earning a Beyer speed figure of 92 in what was a very respectable effort.
On top of his great courage, I was also impressed with how JV proved his ability to carry his speed beyond 5 1/2f on Saturday, even though Rosario only used his crop once in the stretch. And before the geniuses on ‘X’ start to make claims of skulduggery regarding the ride, let me just flesh out the fact that this horse is not straight forward. Every day, he trains clockwise (the wrong way) at Fair Hill after everyone else has finished training and the track is empty. He’s a temperamental horse who can easily take off with his rider; he does not like his jocks using the crop and can quickly throw his toys out the pram if things don’t go his way - just look back at his recent start at Keeneland. When you watch the stretch drive, you can see that he doesn’t look the easiest horse to handle.
Nevertheless, for all his quirks, JV proved here that he can hold his own against this level of competition and going forward, he’s now going to demand serious respect wherever he shows up - especially when returned to slightly shorter distances. Owing to the fact that Merryman isn’t a big named trainer (although she trained both Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner CARAVEL, and MD Champion Turf Sprinter WITTY) I expect that he’ll also tend to be sent off at a bigger price than he should. However, he’s clearly capable at this level and I expect he’ll be winning in a similar type of contest before long. Keep him on side.
Sunday, Churchill Downs, Race 4: SOMETHING STRONGER (2nd)
Al Stall doesn’t tend to fire with first time starting two-year-olds, (last five years: 5-for-73; 7%), but he could easily strike with a second time starter when SOMETHING STRONGER next runs.
Persistent heavy rain forced the turf racing onto a sloppy main track at Churchill on Sunday, unsurprisingly resulting in plenty of scratches and allowing SS to draw into race four as the last also-eligible entry. She broke quickly from the outside gate ten under James Graham, crossing over and establishing a froward position, closely stalking the even money favorite and eventual winner, JUST RUTHLESS, who was content to set just an even tempo for the 1 1/16 miles contest. Having traveled sweetly down the back stretch, it was clear that, as soon as the field hit the far turn, the race had become a match between SS and JUST RUTHLESS, as the rest of the field were losing ground and beginning to struggle. Under minimal urging, Graham allowed his mount to breeze upsides the chalk, threatening to cause an upset as the pair hit the top of the stretch together. Eventually, the winner drew off to score comfortably; however, following a clean lead change, SS stuck to her task well and showed a likable attitude, maintaining strong strides through the stretch until her rider allowed her to settle for second close to the wire. She then galloped out back past the winner. Here’s the stretch run.
Having finished a eye-catching second to a talented filly herself on debut at Keeneland, it was unsurprising to see the even money favorite use her fitness and experience edge to drub this field, so I don’t think that there was any disgrace in SS finishing second to her (especially when you consider Stall’s record with debutants). What she beat in finishing second is unknown; however, the way that she was striding throughout the race and easily drew upsides the leader turning in, coupled with the determined attitude that she displayed late on and her overall professionalism throughout the contest, suggested to me that she’s quite a nice filly. When you then consider that she cost $450k as a daughter of JUSTIFY, out of a half sister to G1 winning turf router and $1.45m earner, ONESTO, I suspect that there is an engine in her somewhere.
With this run now behind her and the chance to get onto the turf in her next start (which, as she’s out of a FRANKEL mare will surely see her to better effect), I expect that she’ll step forward drastically from this effort and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see her enter the winners’ circle soon. So, keep your eyes peeled for her, because she caught my eye here and could be alright.
Others to mention…
I also want to give a shoutout to KINETIC, AUNT MO, and MAGNIFY - former ITM eye-catchers who all scored impressively this weekend and will remain of interest as they continue their climbs towards stakes company. And let’s not leave out NO SHOW SAMMY JO either - a filly who came out on the wrong side of a ten-minute photo finish for the win in Aqueduct’s Long Island S. (G3) on Sunday, but will no doubt be scoring in graded stakes before long.
I hope that you had an enjoyable and successful past week at the windows, and good luck this week!