2007 Horse Racing Season begins.

Derby Fever

Insight and commentary on the world of thoroughbred horse racing.

Thoughts and opinions about the fascinating sport of thoroughbred horse racing from a racing insider.

Beware the Derby Fever

The surest sign of the annual Derby Fever epidemic is the sale of promising, yet unproven, three year-olds.

It took less than a week for the Midnight Cry stable of Shirley Cunningham Jr. and Bill Gallion to cash in on Curlin’s ultra impressive maiden win last Saturday. While they have kept a minority interest in the colt, any future glory will go to new owners Jess Jackson, the Sanan family’s Padua Stables and George Bolton.

Lawrence The Roman was last year’s most impressive New York-bred colt and a deal was also brokered during the past week to sell a controlling interest in the son of Point Given. He’ll go in tomorrow’s Whirlaway at Aqueduct, his first start against open company, under the colors of the IEAH Stables.

The prices for these runners have yet to be published (and I’ve yet to hear any figures through the grapevine) but you can be sure they were well into the seven figures. Such is the nature of Derby Fever. And there are surely more deals in the works for three year-olds with Derby potential.

It will be interesting to see how the deals for Curlin and Lawrence the Roman pan out. The poster child for privately acquired three year-olds on the Derby trail is, of course, War Emblem. After winning the Illinois Derby by open lengths, trainer Bob Baffert swooped in and bought the 90% of the colt (for $900,000) on behalf of The Thoroughbred Corp of the late Prince Ahmed Salman. War Emblem promptly lead Proud Citizen and Perfect Drift on a merry Derby chase around the Churchill oval and into the infield winner’s circle. He added the Preakness and Haskell to his resume before being sold to Japanese breeding interests for around $17 million.

He is the very rare case though. Other private purchases in recent years come to mind; horses like Too Much Bling, Sort it Out and Buckle Down Ben. Needless to say none of them have ever worn a garland of roses.

Win One For Mom?

Perhaps lost in the mourning for Barbaro was the news that Mom’s Command was euthanized on Feburary 3 because of the infirmities of old age. She was 25 years old.

Back in the day there was a coherent Triple Crown for fillies in New York comprised of the one mile Acorn, the mile and one eighth Mother Goose and the mile and one half Coaching Club American Oaks. In 1985, Mom’s Command won them all, ridden by another young filly, Abigail Fuller, daughter of owner Peter Fuller.

The distance of the Coaching Club Oaks has vacillated between 10 and 12 furlongs over the past decade. The Acorn is no longer considered part of what is now called the ‘Triple Tiara’ and NYRA now considers the Mother Goose and CCA Oaks at Belmont and the Alabama at Saratoga to be the official Triple (headpiece of choice). But I’m not sure anyone even notices or cares anymore.

Mom’s Command was not as successful in her second career as she was in her first. Her first three foals were by Danzig, Mr. Prospector and Alydar and they won a combined three races (although the Mr. Prospector colt realized $1.8 million at the 1989 Keeneland July Sale). In subsequent years she didn’t have much luck with Chief’s Crown, Easy Goer and Dayjur either.

But her 13th foal has been her lucky charm and illustrates the vagaries of the breeding business. Her 2002 colt named Jonesboro is her only stakes winner so far and he is sired by… drum roll please…. Sefapiano. Yep, after hundreds of thousands of dollars in stud fees it turns out Mom’s Command was best suited to a ‘cheap’ son of Fappiano.

Sefapiano actually began his stallion career in Michigan before siring so many Michigan-bred stakes winners that a farm in Kentucky gave him a try. He lasted a few years in the Bluegrass (standing for around $5,000) where he was mated to Mom’s Command. He is now in Louisiana and available at a $2,500 stud fee.

Jonesboro won the 2005 Northern Spur S at Oaklawn Park and has won the Sams Town S and finished second in the Louisiana Downs H. in his last two starts. Hunch players take note, he’ll try for some more blacktype in the G3 Essex at Oaklawn on Saturday afternoon.

Matt O'Neil has been a racing enthusiast since the mid-1980's. He is a freelance writer and thoroughbred marketing consultant and editor of the breeding journal Owner-Breeder International. Contact Matt O'Neil