 Dark Equation (left, Matt McCarron) wont the $150,000 New York Turf Writers Cup grade 1 hurdle stakes over Be Certain (Padge Whelan). |
For jockey Matt McCarron, winning the $150,000 New York Turf Writers Cup, Aug. 28, aboard Dark Equation was the perfect end to the Saratoga Springs, N.Y., summer season. But if you had asked McCarron if he thought he had a shot at the coveted prize while in the race, he would have said you were crazy.
Trained by Doug Fout, Dark Equation has had his moments in the spotlight, but they have been few and not at this level.
The 7-year-old son of Polish Numbers broke his maiden at Colonial Downs (Va.) in July 2006, but his next best win would not come until a $70,000 race at Saratoga in August of 2007. After a dismal showing at the Iroquois Steeplechase (Tenn.) in May, Dark Equation underwent laser throat surgery for breathing complications and came back to win a training flat race at Saratoga Open House, July 20.
It wasn’t until he placed second in the $80,000 A.P. Smithwick, Aug. 7, that he looked like he was approaching his old self again. But the bettors were still not so sure about him. What they didn’t know was that the turf had finally dried up, and Dark Equation is happiest on firmer going.
As the nine entries settled in the race, McCarron was not pleased with his sudden position at the back of the pack, especially with the Irish invader, Salford City (Paul Carberry), galloping off like demons were chasing him.
But Dark Equation did not seem tired or uninterested, and as the pair approached the two-mile mark the horse made a great surge, jumping his way to the front of the field. McCarron soon found himself battling with Alnoff Stable’s Be Certain (Padge Whelan) in the stretch. In the end, Dark Equation was able to keep Be Certain back by half a length.
With the added money from the New York Racing Association, the purse topped $159,300, and Dark Equation paid $19 for the win. Fout’s other horse, High Action (Paddy Young), placed third after he stumbled and nearly went down in the head of the stretch.
McCarron, 37, said he is still reeling from his victory. “I’m sort of breathless. It hasn’t completely sunk in. This does not just make my day, it makes my year.”
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He added, “I hate to say this, but it wasn’t me. Doug really did a fantastic job of getting him ready. He was calm, and this race unfolded perfectly for him. Had it started raining again, it might have been Be Certain’s race.”
And McCarron should know, because the 4-year-old Be Certain has had several different riders this spring while Whelan was recuperating from a broken foot, McCarron being one of them. The two won a $75,000 race at the Radnor Hunt Races (Pa.) in May.
“There’s no telling how good that horse [Be Certain] is going to be,” McCarron said. “He’s definitely a force to be reckoned with. I know he would have liked it with a bit of a cut in the ground. It just wasn’t his race today.”
McCarron is especially pleased to have given Dark Equation’s owner, Beverly “Peggy” Steinman of Pennsylvania, a win.
“She’s one of steeplechasing’s biggest fans and a huge supporter of Saratoga racing,” McCarron said. “She thrives on Saratoga so it was very special to have her get this one.”
| Jump Starting His Career
Randleston Farm’s Spy In The Sky is another 4-year-old who made his mark at The Spa this season. The son of 1995 Kentucky Derby and Belmont (N.Y.) winner Thunder Gulch popped up on the radar with a win at Middleburg Spring (Va.) in April. He came to Saratoga Springs, N.Y., to finish fourth in the A.P. Smithwick on Aug. 7, then won the $70,000 Happy Intellectual on Aug. 27. ADVERTISEMENTPiloted by Liam McVicar and trained by Jimmy Day, Spy In The Sky worked his way up to the front to take on the leader, Gil Johnston’s big gray Swagger Stick (William Dowling), just sticking his neck out to win by a head. “He came on really well at the end,” Day said. “They were going so slow. I think he would have liked a better gallop earlier on. He had to work for it a bit.” Day plans to enter him in the NSA’s newest fall addition, the $75,000 Monmouth County Hunt Novice Stakes, Sept. 20, at the Monmouth Park (N.J.) racetrack. |
Fout could not be happier with Dark Equation’s sudden step up to the grade I stakes level, although he plans to skip the Breeders’ Cup at Far Hills (N.J.) in favor of the Belmont (N.Y.) on Sept. 21 and the Colonial Cup (S.C.) on Nov. 16.
“He’s a track horse,” said Fout. “It’s the tracks he trusts the most.”
Dark Equation will have some serious company for the $150,000 Lonesome Glory race at Belmont. Sonny Via’s 2007 Eclipse winner Good Night Shirt will be back to go for a second National Steeplechase Association horse of the year title, after already recording decisive wins in the $100,000 Atlanta Steeplechase and the $150,000 Iroquois Stakes.
In addition, Hudson River Farm’s Sovereign Duty won the $150,000 Royal Chase at Keeneland (Ky.) in April and is also vying for horse of the year. Trained by Jonathan Sheppard, Sovereign Duty and stablemate Calvin Houghland’s mare Sweet Shani will also be looking for stakes wins this fall.
Unfortunately, Fout’s third-placed Turf Writers finisher and A.P. Smithwick winner High Action will not be racing again this year or maybe ever. It was determined after his race the 8-year-old son of Theatrical suffered a spiral fracture of his left front leg.
Fout said at press time that the bone is setting well, has not moved and does not require surgery at this time. High Action made $77,690 for his owner Carl Barnes during the 2008 season.
Be Certain’s trainer, Tom Voss of Monkton, Md., plans to run his charge in just a few more novice races this year.
“He ran well,” Voss said. “He’s very mature for his age.”
Sarah L. Greenhalgh
