Wise Dan joins greats by turning Mile double

Last updated: 11/3/13 3:02 PM

Wise Dan overcame a stumble at the start to win the Mile for the second straight year

(Charles Bernhardt/Horsephotos.com)

Reigning Horse of the Year Wise Dan etched his name alongside those of

Miesque, Lure and Goldikova by scoring a repeat victory in Saturday's Grade 1,

$1,840,000

Breeders' Cup Mile at Santa Anita.

Under replacement rider Jose Lezcano, who picked up the mount from the

injured John Velazquez, the 4-5 favorite stumbled at the start, and had to rally

from farther back than in his record-setting romp last year. But Wise Dan

emphatically stamped his authority in deep stretch, overpowering Za Approval to

clinch another Eclipse Award as champion turf male. The Morton Fink homebred

also strengthened his portfolio for another Horse of the Year candidacy.

As expected, Obviously scampered to the lead and rattled off fast fractions

of :21 4/5, :44 2/5 and 1:08 2/5. Fellow front-running type Silver Max chased in

second, but couldn't go the ferocious pace. Za Approval and Silentio settled in

midpack early, while Wise Dan raced in tandem with English shipper Olympic Glory

toward the latter part of the field.

Obviously was a spent force swinging into the stretch, and Za Approval rolled

past in his bid for glory. Silentio made headway and dove to the inside, but the

chestnut lumbering into gear on the outside drew all of the attention.

Gradually winding up the further they went, Wise Dan put the upset-minded Za

Approval in his place and edged three-quarters of a length clear. They had also

finished one-two in the September 15 Woodbine Mile two starts ago, albeit by a

bigger 3 1/2-length margin for Wise Dan. The Charles LoPresti charge stopped the

teletimer in 1:32 2/5 and returned $3.60 to his legions of fans.

"He stumbled at the break," Lezcano recapped, "and I had to go easy with him

for a while until he got his stride under him. About the five-sixteenths pole, I

could see I could make my move. He ran really great coming home."

"Holy straight -- he's a real special horse," LoPresti said. "If you can get

him covered up, he's a much easier ride. This one's for John Velazquez who was

really keen to ride the horse, but we had every confidence in Jose (Lezcano) and

we had to go to 'Plan B.'"

Velazquez had been transported to the hospital following his spill in the

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, in which his mount, Secret Compass, sustained a

fatal injury. LoPresti was speaking as the situation with Velazquez was still

developing. According to subsequent reports, the Hall of Fame rider had to

undergo emergency surgery to remove his spleen.

Joel Rosario, Za Approval's rider, described his passage.

"Had a perfect trip," Rosario said. "When he made the lead I thought maybe he

was going to get there. I knew somebody was coming, and when I heard Wise Dan, I

said 'Oh, no!' My horse ran his best. Wise Dan is just too good."

Wise Dan surged past Za Approval in deep stretch, replicating the result from the Woodbine Mile

(Wendy Wooley/EquiSport Photos)

"It was a very fast-run race," Za Approval's trainer Christophe Clement said.

"I thought maybe he was moving a touch too early and I was wrong. He went very

well.

"It took the Horse of the Year to beat him. It's annoying. I've finished

second a few times in that race (with Forbidden Apple in 2001 and Gio Ponti in

2010). But that's OK. We'll keep trying. He ran great. Just second-best."

Za Approval had three-quarters of a length to spare over Silentio. There was

a 4 1/4-length chasm back to Silver Max, who ultimately collared Obviously for

fourth. Next came No Jet Lag, Cristoforo Colombo, He Be Fire N Ice, Olympic

Glory and Bright Thought.

English invader Olympic Glory would have preferred softer going, jockey

Richard Hughes reported.

"He's run a respectable race really on ground that was too quick for him,"

Hughes said. "I think he may need to step up to 10 furlongs next year on good

ground."

Wise Dan was rebounding from a shock loss in the October 5 Shadwell Mile,

which was transferred from Keeneland's turf to the Polytrack. He couldn't catch

Silver Max that day, ending his winning streak at nine. Order was restored back

on turf here.

Now an earner of $6,293,610, Wise Dan has compiled a record of 27-19-2-0,

reflecting eight Grade 1 wins and 16 stakes scores overall. Unraced as a

juvenile, he showed ability when winning four of six starts at three. During

that 2010 campaign, he captured his stakes debut in the Phoenix Stakes at Keeneland and finished a creditable sixth, beaten just 2 1/2 lengths, in the

Breeders' Cup Sprint.

Wise Dan proved a triple-surface threat in 2011, winning the Firecracker in

his turf debut, and adding the Presque Isle Mile on Tapeta, before romping in

the Fayette over Keeneland's Polytrack and the Clark Handicap on the Churchill

Downs dirt.

The chestnut gelding kicked off his 2012 season at Keeneland with a

scintillating 10 1/2-length conquest of the Ben Ali in a track-record time of

1:46.63 on the Polytrack. Wise Dan returned to Churchill for the Stephen Foster

Handicap, only to lose by a head after a tough trip.

Wise Dan commenced a winning spree in the Fourstardave at Saratoga, then

added the Shadwell Turf Mile, Woodbine Mile and Breeders' Cup Mile, the latter

in a course- and stakes-record 1:31.78.

By taking home Eclipse Awards as Horse of the Year, champion older male and

champion turf male, Wise Dan joined the legendary John Henry as the only two to

sweep those three honors in the Eclipse era.

Wise Dan is now six-for-seven in 2013. After victories in the April 12

Maker's 46 Mile and May 4 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic, he successfully

conceded lumps of weight in both the June 28 Firecracker and the August 10

Fourstardave, lugging 128 and 129 pounds, respectively. He made it nine in a row

when winning the Woodbine Mile for the second straight year, this time blitzing

in a course-record 1:31.75.

The Kentucky-bred is by Wiseman's Ferry and out of the winning Wolf Power

mare Lisa Danielle, the reigning Broodmare of the Year. He is a half-brother to

multiple Grade 2 victor Successful Dan, who set a new Churchill track record

when taking the 2012 Alysheba. Successful Dan recorded a fast-closing second in

the August 3 Whitney and subsequently finished third in the August 31 Woodward.

Another half-sibling to the "Dans," stakes winner Our Royal Dancer, is

herself the dam of Argentinean Group 2-placed Bailando Voy. Lisa Danielle is in

turn a half-sister to Grade 1-placed Carsona, who has produced Grade 2 victor

Siphon City. This is the family of German Group 1-winning highweight Scalo, and

further back, French champion, classic winner and noted sire *Val de Loir as

well as dual classic heroine and Irish champion *Valoris II.

Click

here for the transcript with Wise Dan's team.

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