DeRosa's Blog

DEROSA'S BLOG

APRIL 22, 2014

Wise Dan's Talent in Eye of Beholder

by

Ed DeRosa

In case you have ever questioned the fickle nature of horse racing fans,

witness the reactions this month to the returns of  Grade 1 winners

Beholder, Princess of Sylmar, and Wise Dan.

None had raced since the Breeders' Cup World Championships in early November,

and only two-time Horse of the Year Wise Dan returned in a Grade 1 race, but it

was that seasonal debut that seemed to curry the least favor with people

questioning "who did he beat" and "when will his connections challenge him."

Two-time champion Beholder and four-time Grade 1 winner Princess of Sylmar

both made their four-year-old debuts in listed stakes, and each win was "just

what she needed" and "a testament to the horsemanship of her connections."

To be fair, both races were preps for a much bigger prize: the $1 million

Ogden Phipps Stakes on the Belmont Stakes undercard, but Grade 1 winner Close

Hatches is pointing to that race too, and had no problem preparing for it with a

pair of graded stakes wins this spring at Oaklawn Park.

All of this is not to question why Beholder and Princess of Sylmar ran where

they did but to question a Thoroughbred racing fan base that applies different

rules to different horses. Can you imagine the uproar if Wise Dan had returned

in a Grade 3 race?

Reading the social media reaction, a casual observer would have thought

Beholder's 5 1/4-length destruction of the Santa Lucia Stakes on April 20 at

Santa Anita was the best of the returns, but both her Brisnet.com Speed Rating

(97) and Class Rating (120.7) were the lowest of the trio.

Wise Dan received a 99 Speed, 121.3 Class, making Princess of Sylmar the top

performer based solely on numbers with a 103 Speed and 121.4 Class.

All three are superior athletes and ranked in my top 10 of the weekly

America's Best Racing Poll (Wise Dan 1st, Beholder 6th, and Princess of Sylmar

10th), and both Wise Dan and Beholder are certain future Racing Hall of Fame

inductees with Princess of Sylmar knocking on the door.

But if you're going to celebrate Beholder's and Princess of Sylmar's returns,

then neither can you pooh-pooh Wise Dan's eighth consecutive Grade 1 win on

turf. And the same question directed at Wise Dan's connections regarding the Met

Mile could apply to the Beholder camp as well.