Rich Strike Is For Real, And Other Thoughts

The Week in Review, by Bill Finley

Reflections on an interesting weekend of racing:

(*) No, Rich Strike did not win the GII Lukas Classic S. at Churchill Downs. A very game Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) had a second surge and came back just before the wire to nip him by a head. But not only was there no shame in losing, this was the best race of Rich Strike's career-better, yes, the GI Kentucky Derby-and finally put to rest that he was a one-race wonder who just got lucky on the first Saturday in May.

There was plenty of reason to doubt this horse after the Derby. He was 80-1, probably should have been even higher, and benefitted from a massive pace meltdown and a perfect trip under the unheralded rider Sonny Leon. It looked like a fluke and even more so when he never threatened in the GI Belmont S. and finished sixth, beaten 13 1/4 lengths.

He came back in the GI Travers S. and certainly didn't embarrass himself, running fourth behind the immensely talented divisional leader Epicenter (Not This Time). But fourth is not first and he lost by 5 ½ lengths.

Trainer Eric Reed then made the decision to skip the GI Pennsylvania Derby and take on older horses in the Lukas Classic. He didn't exactly find an easy spot. With Hod Rod Charlie, Happy Saver (Super Saver) and Art Collector (Bernardini), the race was loaded. Considering the quality of the field and that the race was for 3-year-olds and up, you can make the argument that the race was a tougher assignment than the Derby. And he ran his heart out, losing to an accomplished and tenacious Grade I winning 4-year-old who has bankrolled more than $5.5 million.

“He hooked the toughest horses he has ever ran against and ran on the outside the whole way,” Reed said after the race. “Look how far he has come since May. I can only imagine what it's going to be like next year.”

Good point: this colt is obviously improving and should be an outstanding 4-year-old.

It's also worth noting that he was much closer to the pace than normal in the race Saturday at Churchill. He was never further back than fourth and never more than 2 ½ lengths off the lead. That should serve him well as trying to win races from 15 lengths off the pace is never an easy way to go.

Reed hasn't said yet if Rich Strike will go next in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. The other option is the GI Clark S. on Nov. 25. Considering the depth of the Classic and the presence of a certain horse named Flightline (Tapit) and Rich Strike's affinity for the Churchill surface the Clark looks like the better option. Either way, it looks like he will show up and be competitive. He's not Flightline, he may not be Epicenter, but he is what he is–a very good horse and a deserving winner of the Kentucky Derby.

(*) The Lukas Classic was not without controversy. Aboard Rich Strike, Sonny Leon appeared to be leaning into Tyler Gaffalione on Hot Rod Charlie and elbowing him as the two horses neared the wire. Retired jockey and TV analyst Richard Migliore took to Twitter to criticize Leon and claim that his actions cost Rich Strike the race.

“After watching the Lukas classic numerous times @SONNYLEON1 cost Rich Strike the win by pulling him over to Hot Rod Charlie and putting his elbow into @Tyler_Gaff instead of going forward and driving to the wire,” he tweeted. “When does this BS stop? It's horse racing not jockey racing. Enough.”

NYRA linemaker David Aragona also had his say on Twitter.”As much as I'd like to praise how well Rich Strike ran today, this is pretty bad stuff from the jock,” he wrote. “Obviously crossing a line. A suspension is warranted for these kind of shenanigans.

Others on Twitter were kinder, arguing that Leon's saddle slipped and that was what caused him to lean into Gaffalione, which, the head-on replay shows, he clearly did.

(*) Maybe the GI Woodward S. was nothing more than a paid public workout for Life Is Good (Into Mischief) and all he needed to do was get around the racetrack. He did in fact het the job done. But with his reputation and his odds of 1-20 weren't you expecting more than a 1 1/4-length win and a 97 Beyer figure? There was even a moment when it looked like eventual runner-up Law Professor (Constitution) was going to beat and post what would have been a colossal upset.Take nothing away from Life Is Good. He's won three Grade I races this year and if not for Flightline would be the favorite for the Horse of the Year title. But if he is going to be in competitive in the Classic he will need to run much better than he did Saturday.

(*) The GI Awesome Again S. was a chance to enhance Flightline's reputation, if such a thing is possible. The race included, in Country Grammer (Tonalist), Royal Ship (Brz) and Express Train (Union Rags), the horses who were second, third and fourth when Flightline turned in his electrifying performance in the GI Pacific Classic. Had that group come back with strong collective efforts in the Awesome Again it would have made Flightiline's race look even better.

It didn't happen.

The race was won by Defunded (Dialed In), who was coming of a sixth-place finish in the GII Pat O'Brien S. Country Grammer was second but was a disappointment at odds of 11-10. Express Train was fourth and Royal Ship was sixth. Neither ran well.

This doesn't mean that Flightline isn't a once-in-a-lifetime talent, but it's clear that, beyond him, the older male division in California is a weak one.

(*) Horse racing remains the only gambling game where you can cash a winning bet and feel like a chump. It happened again in the Awesome Again. When the field was loading into the gate Defunded was 8-1. The gate opened, he got out front and, lo and behold, he was 5-1 on the next flash. He paid $12.

Once again, the computer players got fat and happy at the expense of the everyday player who wagered on Defunded thinking they had bet on a horse that would pay in the neighborhood of 8-1. The winners were made to feel like losers. And the problem is not going to go away. The CAW players wager far too much money for any track to refuse their bets.

Fixed odds can't come soon enough, but it looks like industry is in no hurry to at least give them a try. Why? In fact, FanDuel is prepared to offer bets on racing on its sports betting platforms, but with pari-mutuel odds. You think the sports bettor would be OK with betting the Mets at -160 only to be told after the first pitch the odds were really -210? Of course not. It's hard to imagine a marriage of sports betting and racing working without fixed odds.

(*) Chad Brown keeps getting better and better with young dirt horses. When he won the GI Champagne S. at Aqueduct with Blazing Sevens (Good Magic), it was his second straight win in the race and his fourth overall. Blazing Seven's sire, Good Magic (Curlin), was second in the 2017 Champagne.