2021 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint: Lieutenant Dan makes case for $100,000 supplement
In the much-loved 1994 film “Forrest Gump,” the title character says his mother told him, “Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.”
Owner-breeder Nick Alexander, who counts “Forrest Gump” as one of his favorite movies, didn’t quite know what he had with Lieutenant Dan, his California-bred gelding named after Forrest’s friend in the film. But the gelding belied his modest beginnings and overcame a long layoff to emerge as a multiple graded stakes winner this season, making his case to be a supplemental entry to the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.
Lieutenant Dan, by Alexander’s homebred graded stakes winner Grazen, was the seventh foal out of stakes winner Excusabull, who had been a serviceable, if not spectacular, broodmare.
“Every horse she had at least broke their maiden, but they were all claiming horses,” Alexander said. “When he came along, we kind of assumed he would be – he didn’t look much different.”
Alexander employs trainers Phil D’Amato, to whom he sends what he describes as his “A Team,” and Steve Miyadi, who trains additional horses. A few weeks after beginning to work with Lieutenant Dan, though, Miyadi called Alexander.
“I got a call from Steve saying, ‘Hey, usually you’re pretty good’ ” at placing horses, Alexander said with a laugh. “He said, ‘I think he’s going to be a Southern California horse.’ ”
Lieutenant Dan’s first act was solid. From his debut in December 2018 through June 2020, the gelding only missed the board once from 13 starts while winning the 2019 Echo Eddie and Real Good Deal stakes on dirt and the 2020 Sensational Star on turf, all against his fellow California-breds. He placed in five other stakes, including a third in the 2019 Shared Belief against open company.
The gelding was sidelined in the summer of 2020 with what Alexander termed “front-end issues.” After a long break, Lieutenant Dan returned to the work tab in April 2021 and won his return in a July 23 allowance race sprinting on the Del Mar turf, showing he had mastered a new skill in his time off that made a difference.
“He would change leads in the morning, but wouldn’t in the afternoon,” Alexander said. “After being turned out a year, he’s changing when he’s supposed to in the afternoon, and it’s given him that little extra boost late in the race. He’s certainly taken to these short sprints on grass.”
The comeback performance convinced Alexander and Miyadi to step Lieutenant Dan up in the Grade 3 Green Flash Handicap on Aug. 22 at Del Mar, going the same five furlongs on the turf at which the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint will be contested. Lieutenant Dan won that race by 2 1/4 lengths, then added the Grade 2 Eddie D Stakes on Oct. 1 at Santa Anita. The latest victory is likely to prompt Alexander to supplement his homebred to the Breeders’ Cup for the $100,000 fee, provided the gelding continues to feel and train well in the coming weeks.
“We asked him to tell us how he’s feeling,” Alexander said. “So far, he says yes.”
Lieutenant Dan would be the first Breeders’ Cup starter for Alexander, who has come tantalizingly close with homebreds Grazen and Pee Wee Reese, both injured in the final lead-up to the races. Heartbreakingly, 2019 Eddie D winner Pee Wee Reese did not survive an injury suffered in a workout, despite spending several weeks in intensive care.
In Lieutenant Dan, Alexander has another horse with heart.
“His attitude is, he’s gonna beat you,” Alexander said. “He’s just gonna beat you. He deserves a shot. I’m not gonna predict he’ll win, but he’ll show up. He’ll give it his best shot.”