Unsolicited advice for Arlington's Scott Becker

Scott Becker is a trainer at Arlington Park, and he doesn't know it, but I'm a fan of his. Well, a fan of one of his charges, that is.

Becker trains Wildwood Meadow, a "niece" of a mare I helped acquire in the winter/spring of 2008, Altona Marsh. ("Tuna" was rescued from a field of abandoned horses; a story for another time.)

For those not named "Scott Becker," since he already knows, Wildwood Meadow is 3-year-old by the late Meadowlake out of the Cozzene mare Cozzies Valay Girl. The gray or roan filly broke maiden at first asking last July at Arlington, but in unconventional fashion. Stumbling out of the gate, she "dropped out to last" and had to make up a lot of ground in a 5-furlong race -- and she did so, down the center of the synthetic main track, to get up by the slimmest of margins in the shadow of the wire. (video) ... A lot of adversity to overcome for a first-out 2-year-old.

Tested in stakes company her next out -- but over the conventional main track at Fairmount Park -- the results were not so positive. This time, Wildwood Meadow broke sharply and was near the front, but cashed it in mid-stretch and was nowhere to be seen at the end.

She took the fall and winter off, and returned slowly this spring with a quartet of workouts over that same dirt track at Fairmount. None were inspiring: 6f in 1:13.20; 6f in 1:15; 6f in 1:16.60; 5f in 1:02.80. (Though I do like seeing the filly worked 6 furlongs so often, considering many trainers just keep throwing 3-furlong blowouts at their charges and then expect them to run 6 furlongs or a mile without tiring.)

I presumed correctly that Wildwood Meadow would wake up when she got back on Arlington's synthetic surface, where her win was staged. And she did. Her first work there was a sharp 46.40 for 4 furlongs, and she backed that up by going 47.8 about two weeks later.

She didn't disappoint when sent back to the races, either, finishing a determined second in allowance company in both of her first two attempts at age 3. She broke sharply, stalked the pace and remained competitive throughout, and just didn't quite have what it took to win. (Comeback race video here.) So her third off the layoff yesterday looked like a good chance to clear that NW2L condition.

But Friday was a bust.

Sent out as the short-price favorite in an entry with City Royale, the pair of 3-year-olds were bested by a field of mostly older fillies. They came home a tiring fifth and sixth after being near the pace in fractions that were reasonable for the 6 1/2-furlong distance -- 23.63 for the quarter and 47.47 for the half.

This is where my unsolicited advice comes in: Take back with Wildwood Meadow at the start. And consider both more distance and trip to the turf.

Wildwood Meadow has now proven she can break sharply and vie for the lead. But she hasn't won that way. She won against the odds after being slow from the gate and having to bring her best run down the stretch. When not stumbling from the gate I'm not sure whether she'll rate, but let's find out.

As for distance and turf, I know that Meadowlake was never known for grass horses and he threw his share (or more) of sprinters: Wildcat Bettie B (Prioress S.-G1, 6f); Meadow Breeze (Matron S.-G1, 7f); Meadow Monster (General George H.-G2, 7f); fleet filly Meafara (2nd vs. males in the 1993 Breeders' Cup Sprint-G1, 6f). But he got his share of two-turn horses, too, including champion 2-year-old filly Meadow Star, who won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at a mile and a sixteenth, and the Mother Goose S.-G1 at 9 furlongs among nine graded wins, five at a mile or more, and Greenwood Lake, who won the Champagne S.-G1 (8.5f) and Remsen S.-G2 (9f) as a juvenile.

And if there's one thing to know about Wildwood Meadow's female family, it's that grass is for more than just munching.

Obviously her dam-sire, Cozzene, was a turf horse. In fact, the breeding of Meadowlake over a Cozzene mare led TVG's Rich Perloff to muse last year before that Fairmount stakes race that he was "not sure what they (the breeders John Wiseman and Candy Wiseman) were going for" in the mating.

Nevertheless, Scott, make note that while Wildwood Meadow's dam, Cozzies Valay Girl, broke her maiden going 6 furlongs on dirt, 12 of the last 13 races of her life were on grass and she won four of them: a Canterbury allowance at 7.5 furlongs; a Hawthorne allowance at a flat mile; and two at Fair Grounds, a mile and a sixteenth for a $30,000 tag and a mile for a $25,000 tag.

That's consistent with the performance of her dam, Valay Sphinx (Carnivalay-Amerrico's Sphinx, by Amerrico), who broke maiden on dirt (albeit going a mile and a sixteenth) for a $20K tag at Laurel, but eventually proved better on grass. After being claimed 11 races into her career, new connections put Valay Sphinx on the lawn and found a different horse; she improved by 14 points on the Brisnet speed figure charts and eventually won back-to-back allowances at a mile on grass at Delaware Park.

As for distance, Wildwood Meadow's second dam, Valay Sphinx, was a full sister to Ameri Valay, who twice won the Grade 3 John B. Campbell Handicap going a mile and three-sixteenths and was a stakes winner out to 10 furlongs. Third dam Silent Sphinx was a half-sister to Little Bold John (by John Alden), who won 38 of 105 lifetime starts for $1,956,405 including the Grade 2 Donn Handicap at 9 furlongs. His 26 stakes wins remain a Maryland-bred record, and he also placed in the Grade 2 Dixie Handicap -- a turf race, you'll note, which in those days was staged at a mile and a half.

So while Wildwood Meadow's sireline suggests dirt and potentially "short," I think that risks missing the turf course for the weeds.

Synthetic performance is sometimes (oftentimes?) translating to grass form. And while she was described as "tired" at 6 1/2 furlongs Friday, there's more than enough evidence on the dam's side of her pedigree to believe she can go two turns if conditioned for it -- and perhaps if relaxed and asked for her run at the end.

Scott, I don't know whether you're a trainer who delves into his charges' pedigrees and her relatives' past-performances looking for clues about what might work for the horse with which you've been charged. I believe some trainers do and frankly after years of observation I am convinced the majority don't.

Wildwood Meadow is still early in her career -- just five races in, with a win, two respectable seconds and $29,961 to show for it -- but I wouldn't wait much longer to let her try to emulate her female ancestors. Her dam and second dam had eight wins between them, six on grass and seven of them at 7.5 furlongs or beyond.

If I were a gambling man -- and would I be here and breed racehorses if I weren't? -- I'd wager you have a Poly/turf miler on your hands, Scott.

And with an interest in a related mare whose page and future progeny could use some positive reinforcement, I'm itching to find out.

Daughters of Biancone, Wolfendale score first wins: Young trainers had good, and bad, examples to follow

Like father, like daughter. Or in one case, let's hope not.

Sunday was the day for first-time winners among the second-generation trainers' ranks. Both Marie Biancone, daughter of conditioner Patrick Biancone, and Maggie Wolfendale, daughter of trainer Howard Wolfendale, collected their own first victories as trainers on June 14, 2009.

In another interesting parallel, both women's horses won the seventh race on the card at their respective tracks.

Ms. Biancone scored at Arlington Park in only her third race after hanging out her own shingle. The French-born Biancone collected a long-shot win in Arlington Race 7 with Grand Symphony, a 4-year-old Stravinsky filly who won drawing off by four in a six-furlong maiden-claimer on Polytrack.

Ms. Wolfendale, still just a senior at Towson University in Maryland (majoring in broadcast journalism) took the the seventh at Colonial Downs with Gulch Fever, a gelding formerly trained by her father. Unlike the Biancone winner, Gulch Fever was sent off as the 2.70-to-1 favorite, and he won just as handily, clear by 4 1/4 in the one-mile turf claimer.

Maggie Wolfendale's feat is particularly impressive to me. While still a year away from her college degree (an accomplishment in itself) she has seven horses in training at Colonial Downs. And it's pretty apparent she's learned a thing or two from her father, who won his first race as a trainer at Laurel Park in 1977 and his 1,000th at the same track some 28 years later, in 2005. Howard Wolfendale was named the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association's top trainer for 1989.

Maggie's horse skills have been well-honed through the years. She has ridden dressage and even ponied horses in the Preakness post-parade. Now she sometimes combines her broadcasting and journalism skills with her knowledge of the horses to write an occasional column at Preakness.com and to offer her picks via the Colonial Downs JumboTron between races.

And as if a winner's circle photo of your very own horse wasn't already a beautiful thing, it can only get better with the 2008 Miss Preakness as your trainer (pictured).

Marie Biancone, meanwhile, emigrated to the U.S. from France in 2004 and has served as an assistant to her father since then. And that isn't necessarily all positive. During her time as an assistant to Patrick Biancone, Marie's father was suspended for a year by Kentucky stewards in 2007 after three vials of alpha-cobra toxin -- that's snake venom, apparently used to deaden sore joints on horses that should be resting, not running -- were found in his barn at Keeneland.

The elder Biancone claims the contraband wasn't his. Indeed, it was contained in a red bag labeled with veterinarian Rodney Stewart’s name and phone number (Stewart got a five-year ban). But the stuff was in the Biancone barn's refrigerator, which makes it also his responsibility, and Biancone's prior record makes it difficult to believe he follows nothing but the straight-and-narrow these days.

The now-57-year-old Biancone was heralded for winning back-to-back runnings of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in 1983 and 1984 (with All Along and Sagace), but after leaving his native France to train in Hong Kong, Biancone was suspended from that Asian jurisdiction when two of his horses tested positive for banned substances. Biancone had been fined in 1997 when more than 20 of the horses in his care tested positive for banned substances. The 10-month ban for the second series of Hong Kong violations prompted Biancone to relocate to the States.

During 2007 alone -- the year that eventually ended with Biancone's 12-month suspension (technically shortened later to six, albeit with the agreement from Biancone that he wouldn't reapply for a Kentucky license for another six months) -- Biancone had his hand slapped for two other violations. About a month before the cobra venom was found in his barn refrigerator, Biancone completed a 15-day suspension (ending Sept. 19, 2007) for a medication violation stemming from a May 3 race at Churchill Downs. Only days earlier, on Sept. 5, 2007, he was fined $10,000 by California stewards and received a stay of a 15-day suspension for a violation that occurred Jan. 7 at Santa Anita.

That's a rap sheet covering a decade-long span and multiple jurisdictions all around the world. It's a black mark that is embarrassing particularly to American racing, where Biancone proves a trainer can get caught and accused and caught again and keep getting re-licensed eventually. And it's a record that unfortunately will follow Biancone's name, which is also his daughter's, in the minds of the horse racing public unless and until she proves to be a winner without all the incidents and accusations of doping.

I really hope that's exactly what Marie Biancone does -- win plenty of races, without a hint of impropriety. That isn't just what the Biancone name needs for some redemption, it's what all of racing needs, from every trainer.

Meanwhile, sincere congratulations to both women on their first victories as conditioners. May your racing lives be filled with many more happy moments like those.

eBay find: Trophy won by The Axe II

Far as horse racing-related eBay unearthings go the cool factor on this lot achieves Grade 1 status. So does the price.

For sale with an asking price of $6,800 is the Shreve of San Francisco-crafted, Sterling silver trophy for the 1963 Benjamin F. Lindheimer Handicap at Arlington Park in Chicago. The 12-furlong turf test (and, presumably, this trophy) was won that year by a superb horse who went on to be a significant influence on the breed as a sire, The Axe II (Mahmoud-Blackball, by Shut Out). Second dam of The Axe II was the Blue Larkspur mare Big Event, who was out of the thoroughbred world's Mother Superior, La Troienne herself.

The Axe II sired such great runners as Haskell winner Hatchet Man, Met Mile champion Executioner, Hawthorne Juvenile winner Al Hattab, Arkansas Derby winner Twist the Axe, and Hollywood Oaks winner Last of the Line.

If you don't eBay, you can visit the New York-based seller, Lauren Stanley Silver, and see the piece here.

The spectacular prize ain't your typical horse-racing platter or cup. The futuristic design was befitting of Lindheimer's vision, in racing, business and philanthropy; after his death in 1960, his family donated to establish the Lindheimer Astrophysical Research Center, dedicated in 1967 at Northwestern University. (The center served until it was razed due to asbestos in 1995).

But Lindheimer was a horseman at heart. He became head of racing at the long-since-gone Washington Park Race Track in 1935, and at Arlington Park beginning in 1940, promoting the legendary Washington Park Swaps vs. Nashua match race. Lindheimer put together the Balmoral Jockey Club group that purchased Lincoln Fields in 1955, renaming it Balmoral Park. He died in 1960.

The Lindheimer trophy isn't just a striking work of silver; weighing in at 40 ounces, it also features a center pillar -- between a silver base and the silver artwork (with hidden storage box) atop -- that is made of red jasper stone.

Silver's price is on the rise, but at $15.61 an ounce at the close of Friday trading, the trophy is priced much higher than its sheer precious-metal value. That's a good thing, I suppose. At least it won't end up melted down.

As for the race, it was often a stellar contest, won a year before this particular trophy was presented (that is, in 1962) by Prove It, and in 1971 by Princess Pout (after the race was shortened to 9 1/2 furlongs), who went on to become the dam of the great turf runner and sire, Alleged (by Hoist the Flag). Arlington icon Earlie Fires rode 22-1 shot Tampa Trouble to an upset win over favored Figonero in 1969.

I hope someone gives this trophy a deserving home. Maybe even Arlington Park itself. This piece should be in a museum setting or in the collection of someone who will truly appreciate it.

Someone like me, but with money.

Pray for Rene

I ventured away from technology for 20 hours Sunday to visit the beach with my family and upon my return, only one item from the horse racing world merits my foremost attention.

I offer prayers for Rene Douglas, who is likely to be permanently paralyzed in his lower extremities after a spill aboard the 4-year-old A.P. Indy filly Born to Be in the Grade 3 Arlington Matron Handicap. I urge anyone who believes in a higher power to do the same.

Douglas' filly was bumped by a second horse, clipped heels with another, somersaulted throwing Douglas to the track, and landed with her full weight on the jockey. Though Born To Be continued to lie upon Douglas after the crash, apparently it was mostly to gather her wits. She reportedly had to be pulled off Douglas so that he could be treated, but after an ambulance-van ride back to the barn, Born to Be was said to have "recovered" from the fall, according to The Blood-Horse, which cited Douglas' agent, Dennis Cooper. 

(Edit: The Daily Racing form now reports that Born to Be was euthanized later at Arlington Park. ... RIP, talented one, and my condolences to the connections.)

Cooper said doctors "gave it straight" to him after seven hours of surgery, saying that Douglas is unlikely ever to walk again. A 42-year-old native of Panama, Douglas has nearly 3,600 North American victories as a jockey, and his mounts have earned more than $102 million. He was the regular rider for 2-year-old filly champion Dreaming of Anna, and won the 1996 Belmont Stakes aboard Editor's Note.

Douglas and his wife, Natalia, have three sons, Michael, Giancarlo and Christian. They'll all need our prayers.

Moments such as this serve to remind us of the sacrifices being made by the men, women and animals who make this game possible.

I hope the early prognosis is unduly dire and that Rene Douglas is someday able to walk. Of course it's likely that even if that happens, he's done with riding.

Either way, it's fair to look back on his career his career at this point, and I would contend he was one of the top riders of his era. His is not necessarily one of the names that race fans and handicappers would list when naming the greatest recent jockeys; he's just the guy whose horses beat their horses about as often as theirs beat his.

Douglas twice won 11 stakes races in a season at Arlington Park (2002 and 2007), a record he shares with the likes of Kennard Knapp (1965), Pat Day (1981) and Jorge Velasquez (1989). He won six riding titles at Arlington Park, where in 2003 he won seven races on a single card, and he was tied for the leading rider title at the Chicago track in the early going this year. Douglas also won three riding titles at Calder and Hialeah, setting a single-season win mark at the latter.

In the irons, especially at Arlington, Rene Douglas was money.

Get well, Rene. I'll keep you and your family in my prayers.

(Visit Rene's Web site at http://renedouglas.com/.)