2021 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile: Ginobili has home-court advantage
Nick Cosato was sitting around one night with his son Ryan, watching basketball highlights on TNT, when Charles Barkley started launching into one of his animated shout outs to Manu Ginobili
“GINOBILI!”
“To me, it’s the funniest thing in the world,” Cosato said Wednesday.
As the head of a partnership he named Slam Dunk Racing, Cosato obviously is partial to basketball. “I love it damn near as much as racing,” he said.
He also met Barkley a few years ago in New York, when out among friends. “I liked him before, I love him now,” Cosato said. “He was the coolest dude on the planet all night.”
So, naming a horse after Ginobili seemed like, well, a slam dunk.
Manu Ginobili retired from professional basketball three years ago after a distinguished career with the San Antonio Spurs, but his namesake is going strong. With two straight victories at Del Mar this summer, Ginobili heads into the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile on Nov. 6 in top form and with the benefit of having the home-court advantage. After the race, Cosato is hoping his crew and fans in the stands will be emulating Barkley.
“GINOBILI!”
Ginobili, by Munnings, was purchased as a yearling by trainer Richard Baltas for $35,000. Cosato, a former jockey agent, put together a partnership for the colt, who first got to the winner’s circle in his second start at age 2 during the summer season at Del Mar in 2019.
Ginobili lost his next five starts, and though one of them was a terrific second to Nadal in the San Vicente Stakes in February 2020, by the summer of 2020 the decision was made to geld Ginobili. He lost twice more, both in turf sprints, before the reset button was hit.
After a seven-month layoff, Ginobili lost twice more at Santa Anita, running his losing streak to nine.
But on July 17 at Del Mar, Ginobili added blinkers, stretched out around two turns, and finally returned to his best form, romping by nearly 10 lengths while earning a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 104 in a one-mile allowance. Six weeks later, Ginobili won the Grade 2 Pat O’Brien, a Win and You’re In for the Dirt Mile.
Ginobili is currently the best horse for Slam Dunk, which has 35 horses in training, according to Cosato, split between California and Florida. Another horse of Slam Dunk’s with a basketball-inspired name, Drain the Clock, won the Grade 1 Woody Stephens on the Belmont Stakes undercard. He is currently training at Gulfstream Park with Saffie Joseph Jr.
Baltas has approximately a dozen horses for Slam Dunk. Ginobili is based at the San Luis Rey Downs training center northeast of Del Mar, where Saturday he rocketed through a five-furlong drill in 57.20 seconds, easily the fastest of 31 at the distance that morning by more than two seconds.
Drayden Van Dyke was aboard for the work. He was up for the Pat O’Brien, and rides back in the Dirt Mile. The field is expected to include Life Is Good, Mind Control, and Silver State. Ginobili will try to posterize them.