Printer Friendly Page 

Brass Hat still going strong at age 10

Brass Hat hasn't let a little thing like age slow him down (Keeneland/Coady Photography) With more than $2 million in his career bankroll and at the age of 10, one would think BRASS HAT (Prized) would be ready to kick back at the farm and enjoy the easy life. One would think wrong. "He seems to still like his job and he is sound and willing," said Buff Bradley, who trains the homebred that is owned by his father, Fred Bradley. "We will find a spot for him when he tells us he's ready, but if he's not right then I have no problem retiring him and sending him back to the farm." But that day seems to be still in the future as Brass Hat is back training at Churchill Downs for an undetermined start. "We gave him the entire winter off and now we're just trying to slowly get him back into shape," Bradley said of Brass Hat, who closed 2010 with a sixth-place finish in the Clark H. (G1) on dirt. "It's way too early to know when or where we will run him."

That the bay gelding, who made his first start a runner-up finish in a race for $15,000 maiden claiming runners at Turfway Park on January 29, 2004, is still in action is a tribute to the patient handling of the Bradleys. After back-to-back Grade 2 victories in the Ohio Derby and Indiana Derby, Brass Hat suffered a condylar fracture of the right front ankle when finishing ninth in the 2004 Lone Star Derby (G3).

"The vets told me that he would return to racing after surgery, but probably wouldn't be as good," Buff Bradley said. "He proved them wrong by going on to win a Grade 1 (2006 Donn H.)."

The roller coaster continued for Brass Hat when he was disqualified from second and placed 11th in the $6 million Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1) for a medication infraction. Later in the year, he would crack a sesamoid and be out of training for the remainder of 2006.

The gutsy gelding would recover and make another improbable return to the races. With Willie Martinez aboard, Brass Hat went on to win an allowance/optional claiming race at Churchill Downs in track record time off a 13-month layoff. Brass Hat prevailed in the 1 1/16 miles contest by a head over eventual Grade 1 winner Student Council and stopped the clock in 1:41.27.

"It was one of the best races he ever ran," Bradley said.

Since 2008, Brass Hat has done the bulk of his racing in turf marathons with victories in the 2009 Louisville H. (G3) at Churchill and last fall's Sycamore S. (G3) at Keeneland, with both races covering 1 1/2 miles.

When Brass Hat's racing days are over, that doesn't mean his days at Churchill Downs will be over.

"I may bring him back for Derby Week and let people come by and have their picture taken with him," Bradley said. "He usually gets a lot of visitors and a lot of people came by last week."

More Racing Headlines:

Miss Temple City earns hard-fought victory in Matriarch

Annals of Time captures first stakes win in Hollywood Derby

Penn Derby upgraded to Grade 1 for 2017

Miss Temple City headlines Del Mar's closing-day Matriarch

Trio of graded stakes on tap Saturday

Send this article to a friend