Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint: Ironhorse Racing dreaming big with Bucchero

It can be hard for an Indiana-bred to find respect south of the Ohio River, but Bucchero proved his talent reached beyond the Hoosier State with an upset victory in the Grade 2 Woodford Stakes at Keeneland. Next, the Kantharos horse aims to test his mettle against global competition in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar.

The Woodford was a groundbreaking victory not only for Bucchero, but for owner Ironhorse Racing Stable, a partnership that earned its first graded stakes victory last weekend and would have its first Breeders’ Cup starter.

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Managing partner Harlan Malter accepted that his horse would be cast in the underdog role at Del Mar, even after winning against some of the Turf Sprint’s likely top contenders at Keeneland, but neither he nor the horse saw themselves in that light.

“Not a lot of people have paid attention to this horse, but when you give him that shot, he’s very tough,” Malter said. “You look at him in the paddock and his eyes open up and his ears prick forward. He is checking out every single horse that is out there. Every race in the paddock, I take a picture of him looking out at the other horses, and it’s the same face every single time, so I think he likes it.”

Ironhorse Racing Stable is in its 10th year of operation and has a presence at tracks around the country, running mostly in the Midwest, Ohio Valley, and Mid-Atlantic. Tim Glyshaw trains the group’s Indiana string, including Bucchero.

Malter is a Boston native who resides in Southern California, where he is president of the bicoastal financial planning firm Saposh & Malter. He first learned the sport through road trips with his father to Saratoga. His college days, Malter said, consisted of three things – studying, playing baseball, and going to the OTB.

Still an avid handicapper, Malter said he came in 35th at this year’s National Handicapping Championship, terming it “a bigger upset than Bucchero.”

The road Bucchero takes to the Breeders’ Cup is unorthodox. Last Saturday’s Woodford was his first turf start since December and was his first graded stakes try since he finished 11th in the 2016 renewal of the race. Both surely were factors in his 26-1 odds in the Woodford win.

However, Malter said he knew the Turf Sprint was the best chance for Bucchero to make the Breeders’ Cup since last year, when he saw the horse run a competitive third in the five-furlong Mighty Beau Stakes on the turf at Churchill Downs.

Starts this season over the main track at Indiana Grand, Presque Isle, and Mountaineer, he said, were geared toward getting him in form for the Woodford and whatever lies beyond. This year’s Turf Sprint will be held at five furlongs, a distance at which Bucchero is 3 for 6 over the turf.