There’s something so refreshing about the older division in horse racing.
We get to see horses come into their own skin.
If they weren’t super precocious as a three-year-old — the only age that seems to matter to most people who tune in to watch horse racing — seeing a horse like Thunder Snow or Vino Rosso run into maturity is as fun as it is rewarding.
Those two will be squaring off in the Grade 1 Whitney Invitational this Saturday. It’s a Win and You’re In race for the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
As nice as those two horses are, with Thunder Snow being the bank (over $16 million in earnings), it’s McKinzie who’s taking all the money as the 7-5 favorite on the A.M. line. This son of Street Sense has finished in the exacta in every race he’s run except one. That being the 2018 Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Last out he lost. He suffered a bad trip (who hasn’t, am I right?) in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap but still finished second.
“He breezed [at Del Mar] yesterday and we thought it went really well,” Bob Baffert said in a NYRA release. “We’re excited and really looking forward to running in this race. He’s trained forwardly since the Met Mile and he’s come out of that race really well. It’s unfortunate we didn’t get the trip we really wanted there, but now going a mile and eighth hopefully will give him a little more time to work out a better trip.”
Nine furlongs should suit the horse. Drawing Post 6 puts him between Yoshida, a loper, to his right, and Vino Rosso, a horse of similar running style to his left. Will that leave McKinzie hung wide? Meh. It probably puts him in a tactical sweet spot for jockey Big Money Magic Mike Smith.
When Smith saw a hole open up in the Met Mile, McKinzie took off like he was running from the cops. It was a thrilling finish, which also included Thunder Snow, the horse who only wins Dubai World Cups.
“He had a strong seven-furlong workout the other morning, which I’m sure a lot of folks saw,” Jimmy Bell, president of Godolphin, said in a NYRA release. “He’s full of energy. He’s carrying great weight. He’s not short on sky miles and he’s a great traveler and very, very versatile, as you’ve seen from the Met Mile and other races around the world.
Thunder Snow, who has never won a race in America, at 3-1, seems like steal. Watching his past two Dubai World Cups was like watching a champ arrive and then watching a champ remind you he hadn’t gone anywhere. He outlasted Gronkowski (words seldom mentioned) in the most recent renewal of the World Cup. Thunder Snow has raced only twice this year. His comeback race was the Dubai World Cup. He followed that up with a one-turn mile and got clipped at the wire to finish third in the Met. Now, back to two turns, his second race back in the States, it’s time for this old saw to buzz one right over their noses.
“I think the two turns will be helpful and I think what you saw was that he was able to hang on in a very contentious field in the Met Mile,” Bell said. “A mile and a quarter is right up his alley, but I think he’ll be very competitive going a mile and an eighth.”
Getting back to the original point that the older horses grow into their skin as they get under ours (in a good way) is the remarkable meaning of why it’s important for these horses to stay in training. And good on the owners who aren’t rushing them off to stud. And good on the trainers who must, no doubt, develop programs around a more mature physique, perhaps heavier, more muscular way of moving.
In any case, with a greater body of work, you get to feel a part of a greater journey. I watched Thunder Snow’s Met Mile when he got beat. Then I watched his 2019 World Cup where he out-manned Gronkowski (words seldom mentioned). Then I watched the 2018 World Cup when he exploded down the lane in a huge upset.
I’m on board! I’m on Team Thunder Snow! We’re both Irish breds! Sadness runs through our veins!
I don’t share this feeling if I watch Justify’s races from last year, a truly — and I never thought I would ever in a quadrillion years say this — forgettable Triple Crown.
But with Thunder Snow et al, I’m all in, battle wounds, battle scars and all.
Brendan O’Meara is a freelance writer and author of Six Weeks in Saratoga. He lives in Eugene, Oregon. (@BrendanOMeara)
