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Ad Valorem
Ad Valorem is Latin for “according to the value.”
Well, as far as value is concerned, Ad Valorem has certainly established some ‘value’. He’s already ‘won himself out’, as the racing expression goes. A $450,000 yearling purchase at the Fasig-Tipton yearling sale in August of 2003, the Kentucky-bred four-year-old son of Danzig has banked just over $700,000 so far in three campaigns. That would put him third on the money-won list for the Woodbine Mile presented by Bell field behind only Sweet Return and Shoal Water.
In addition, he has established some value when he goes to stud, since he is a two-time Group 1 winner in England, taking the Middle Park at two and the Queen Anne in June of this year.
However, he may not offer much value, as far as punters are concerned, in the Woodbine Mile, since he’ll be one of the top three choices. When the bay colt is good, he is very, very good. But then there are other times when he puts in some rather puzzling performances, although it’s not much of a puzzle, according to trainer Aidan O’Brien, who has regularly sent runners over to contest the Pattison Canadian International, but will have his first starter in the Woodbine Mile.
In fact, it’s rather cut and dried... “He wants fast ground,” he said. “He never really got the fast ground last year at three. But he got it at Ascot (this year) and won the Queen Anne.”
As a two-year-old, Ad Valorem was a perfect three-for-three, all at six furlongs, as he took his first Group 1 by winning the Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket in October. That was in 2004. He was ranked second in Europe amongst the juveniles, equal with Dubawi, and behind only Shamardal.
But 2005 proved the complete opposite, five starts and zero wins, although they were all Grade 1 events and all were at one mile. And, in two of the races, Ad Valorem accredited himself very well. He finished second to champion Shamardal, but ahead of stablemate Oratorio, in the St. James’s Palace Stakes at York in June, then wound up third to Proclamation and Soviet Song in the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood in late July over soft turf.
“Obviously he was a very good two-year-old,” continued O’Brien. “We always hoped that he would get a mile and we were looking forward to him at three. But it never worked out for him. He gets through on good ground, but soft ground he just can’t handle.”
Last fall, Ad Valorem was shipped to the United States, where he first finished sixth in the Shadwell Turf Mile to Host and (Woodbine Mile rival) Vanderlin as the 3-1 third choice, then was ninth, at 37-1, in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, after forcing the pace for much of the race. “It rained and the ground came up soft (even though the turf was listed as firm) for the Shadwell and I thought he was just going a little bit quick in the Breeders’ Cup Mile (over a ‘good’ Belmont Park course),” explained O’Brien.
So, what happened in his 2006 debut at The Curragh, a listed stakes event where he finished sixth, beaten more than 30 lengths? “It was very heavy ground,” said O’Brien, in what may be an understatement, considering the winner, Common World, was clocked in 1:35.4 for the seven furlong distance. That’s ‘mile’ time anywhere else. It was his worst outing ever.
O’Brien, quite naturally, discarded the race. Next out, his confidence in Ad Valorem was rewarded with a solid win on June 20 at Ascot in the one-mile Group 1 Queen Anne, over good to firm footing, as his charge defeated Court Masterpiece and Proclamation by one and one-half lengths.
“There was a little bumping at the furlong marker, but I think he won very convincingly in the end. He beat a good field in the Queen Anne and the horse that was second (Court Masterpiece) won a Group 1. I was quite happy with his performance.” Making that effort look even better is the fact that Court Masterpiece came back two months later to take another Group 1, the one mile Sussex at Goodwood, defeating Soviet Song.
Then, in his last race at Deauville, France, the Group 1, Prix Jacques Le Marois on August 13, Ad Valorem again had to contend with soft ground, but ran better than in past, eventually finishing fifth to Librettist, four and one-half lengths behind, in a slowly run mile, 1:43. “It was very bad ground again. I was surprised to see him run as well as he did,” said O’Brien.
As far as the winner Librettist is concerned, he came back last week to win the Group 1, Prix du Moulin de Longchamp, his seventh win in eight career starts, further elevating Ad Valorem in relation to the company he has been keeping.
What about his racing style? “He doesn’t mind, he can be handy, he can make it (set the pace). I guess in an ideal world he’d just like the lead, but it doesn’t matter. He’s really uncomplicated. He’s a nice size horse, about 16 hands. He’s nicely made, very sound.”
“We’re hoping he’ll run well, but we’ll take one race at a time and we’ll see how he gets on. He looks good, we’re happy with him. He’s in good shape,” said O’Brien.
Ballast
He’s a steady performer who has put together three consecutive solid efforts and 10 top-three finishes from 17 career starts. Now, Ballast, who contested the first 14 races of his career in France and England, and the past three in the United States, makes his Canadian debut in Sunday’s Grade 1 Woodbine Mile, presented by Bell.
A five-year-old gelded son of Desert Prince, Ballast, trained by Graham Motion, comes into the Mile off a wire-to-wire score at Saratoga in an optional claiming event. Can the chestnut step things up and kick some grass on the E.P. Taylor Turf?
“It’s an ambitious jump, but it warrants us taking a shot,” said Motion, who saddled T.D. Vance to a 1 ˝ length score in last year’s Toronto Cup at Woodbine. “He beat a solid field last time and he’s in good order coming into the Mile.”
Ballast, who broke his maiden on March 22, 2004, at Compiegne in France, is certainly no stranger to the one-mile distance. In fact, the chestnut has three wins, two seconds and a third from 12 starts traveling one mile. His last win at a mile came on April 30 at Thirsk (GB), a nose nod over My Paris.
It was hardly a fairytale finish to Ballast’s four-year-old campaign, one that concluded with back-to-back 15th-place finishes. On July 7, 2005, under Kieren Fallon, Ballast beat just three rivals at Newmarket. In his next start, at York, the Irish-bred was never in contention, finishing 8 ˝ lengths behind Momtic in a fruitless effort in the Persimmon Homes Handicap.
As mentioned, this year has been much kinder to Ballast. “I’m a little surprised that he didn’t win quicker once he came over from England. Perhaps we were being a little too clever with him. He’s always been very impressive in the morning. I was quite keen to get him, but it just took him awhile to figure things out. I’ve had him train in company with some good horses and he handles himself quite well.”
“We gelded him, which was the right decision. When we got him, he was quite a difficult horse to be around, a real handful. But he’s become more laid-back over time. That said, on race day, he’s pretty sharp.”
Ballast launched his career on November 13, 2003, at Fontainebleau in France. Over a soft turf at 1 1/8 miles, the chestnut finished second, less than a length back of Stupendous Miss in the 16-horse field. Since then, Ballast has picked up cheques in 12 races, including the first eight starts of his career.
“We’ll have to see how he matches up against this field. It’s a whole new level, but I think he will be competitive. I am tickled pink that Todd (Kabel) will ride the horse. He knows this course and he is rider you want to have in a big stakes race.”
Becrux
Trainer Neil Drysdale has been to Woodbine several times in his decorated career and has two wins in Woodbine’s key September, one-turn turf race. He returns Sunday looking to add to the total with the southern California-based Becrux in the Woodbine Mile presented by Bell.
Becrux is looking to follow in the hoofsteps of Labeeb and Touch of the Blues, who won the race for Drysdale in 1998 and 2003, respectively. The four-year-old Italian-bred is a different horse than his two Mile winners, according to Drysdale, but he likes the seven-time winner’s current form. “These horses are all different, but I like the way this horse is coming up to the race. He’s improving; the horse is simply getting better. He’s a horse that’s just developing, improving as we go along.”
Drysdale pointed to the Glen Jordan gelding’s last race, a late-closing second-place finish to Le Cinquieme Essai in the Grade 2 Play the King Stakes at Woodbine on August 26. Drysdale was in southern California watching the race and noticed a different horse on the firmer ground late in the race. “I watched it on television. I thought he ran well. He was having trouble with the ground up on the old (Marshall) turf course. When he hit the firm ground, he took off running.”
The E.P. Taylor Turf Course was installed at Woodbine in 1994, but a section of the old Marshall Turf Course still exists for use and it will play a prominent role in the Mile as the first three furlongs of the race are contested over it.
Becrux stayed at Woodbine after the Play the King and worked six furlongs on Friday, September 8 in 1:18 1/5 in preparation for the Sunday date. “He went well. He was just cruising, just breezing.” The January foal drilled four furlongs over the Taylor course in :48 4/5, breezing, with ‘dogs’ (pylons protecting the inner portion of the turf) out on Wednesday.
Drysdale thought he had a decent horse when he took over training duties in early 2005. Becrux won the Oceanside that July and then finished fifth in the Del Mar Derby, one of only two off-the-board finishes the horse has had for his veteran conditioner. It confirms in Drysdale’s mind that if the horse does have another slow start on Sunday, he can rebound. “He ran very well there because he missed the break and he was the only horse to finish it.”
There’s more good news. This summer, Becrux won the one mile, Wickerr Handicap, July 29 at Del Mar, the same race awarded via disqualification to Riviera prior to his surprising victory in the 2000 Atto Mile. Aboard for the Wickerr win was Corey Nakatani, who will be re-united with the Drysdale hopeful for only the second time on Sunday.
Captain Kurt
Horse racing fans in New Zealand will have no excuses not to be interested in the 10th edition of the Woodbine Mile presented by Bell. The Grade 1 turf classic provides this group with an opportunity to return to the cheering section of four-year-old Captain Kurt, a New Zealand-bred that showed great promise in his homeland and is a live longshot on Sunday.
Captain Kurt, who Vanessa and Wayne Hillis had campaigned through 10 consecutive top-three finishes, had his Australasian career cut short after bleeding from both nostrils during a third-place finish in a Gold Coast (Australia) event on May 6. The incident came three starts after the son of Volksraad bled during a runner-up finish in the November 12 New Zealand 2000 Guineas, which necessitated a mandatory three-month layoff. In Australia and New Zealand, where Lasix isn’t permitted, two strikes and a horse is out.
After stewards banned Captain Kurt from local participation, American offers began to surface. Within a month, the gelding was on a plane to California, where owner John Liviakis and trainer Melody Conlon began to put his career back together.
“He was a legitimate horse. This horse had really proven himself in New Zealand,” said Conlon, adding that he had been competing against the country’s champion sophomore. “He ran second to Darci Brahma, who is the top horse in New Zealand. He bled and still ran that well.”
Darci Brahma, who was a $1.1 million sales topper, had reeled off three straight victories in New Zealand in October and November. Captain Kurt finished between two and four lengths behind him in each start. In his first start after the three-race rivalry (following his three-month absence), the Captain resurfaced in style, zipping six furlongs in 1:08, which set a new course record at Matamata (February 25, 2006).
Ever since Captain Kurt touched down in North America, Conlon said her main concern was putting his bleeding problems behind him. “Since we’ve had him, we’ve put him on Lasix. We have him on all kinds of natural herbs, vitamins and supplements to help reinforce his blood vessels and his lungs. It’s helped him a lot. He’s really blossomed. We’ve scoped him every time. He’s never bled.”
The Captain made a strong first impression in his first start against Pacific Coast rivals of a different variety, competing August 23 in a one-mile, $125,000 allowance event at Del Mar. Near last early, Captain Kurt started rolling late and uncorked a :22 3/5 final quarter to finish within a head of Unfurl the Flag.
Conlon said the short stretch Del Mar stretch was all that separated the newcomer from his fourth career win. “I thought it was amazing. He really needed the race. I had only worked him four times. He should have won it. He had to come from far back. On that turf course, when you turn for home, it’s a little more than an eighth of a mile. He just didn’t have time. One jump past the wire he was three lengths in front of the winner. It was a tough field.”
For a number of reasons, Conlon said the Mile was an ideal spot to run next. “We were really impressed with the way he ran and thought he deserved a chance at this race. It’s the right timing - a little over three weeks. It’s his type of course. The long stretch is good for his style. A mile on the turf is good for him.”
Conlon said jockey Emma-Jayne Wilson should be able to choose her own tactics when she pilots Captain Kurt for the first time. “He does tend to come from behind. That’s how he’s been running in his last several races,” said Conlon. “I think he’s the type of horse you can place him. We anticipate in this race to have him a little closer up than that.”
According to Conlon, who gallops him in the morning, there isn’t much that phases the kiwi. “He’s bomb-proof. Nothing bothers him. He’s really mellow. He’s really nice to gallop. He’s very intelligent. He’s a great horse to have around and he’s great to be around.”
In his last Del Mar work, in which Conlon was in the irons, Captain Kurt sizzled a half-mile in :46 2/5. She said he galloped out in very impressive time. “My assistant caught him past the wire going in 1:10 3/5.”
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