Hovdey: Breeders’ Cup offers beacon of light for Hronis

If it’s okay, let’s deal with the sad part of the story up front.

The owner-trainer combination of Hronis Racing and John Sadler had their sights firmly set on this year’s Breeders’ Cup for their fiery French miler, Talco. The son of Pivotal earned his way into the BC Mile last June with a smart score in the Win-and-You’re-In Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita. After that, he finished a game second in the Del Mar Mile to underline his form, and there was only the City of Hope Mile on Sept. 27 at Santa Anita before it would be next stop: Keeneland.

Then Talco ran a dull fourth, much to the surprise of all concerned. It turned out that he had injured an ankle, which was semi-good news because it could be routinely repaired and very bad news because – poof! – no Breeders’ Cup.

“It was a tiny bone chip – no big deal,” Kosta Hronis said this week from his offices at Hronis Inc., California’s largest grower of table grapes. “Take it out with an arthroscopic procedure and don’t worry about it.”

The procedure was performed at the veterinary hospital owned and operated by the Southern California Equine Foundation and located just down the backstretch road from Sadler’s Santa Anita stable. Hronis waited patiently for word that Talco had come through with flying colors, which he fully expected. Then came the worst possible news. Talco was dead, reportedly as a result of postoperative complications.

“I don’t know what happened,” Hronis said. “All I really know is that it was during recovery. Talco is getting an autopsy at UC-Davis, so right now the insurance company has got us on hush mode.”

Hronis and his family visit their horses with regularity, and Talco had become a favorite for all the right reasons.

“He was a little high-strung, but he’d come so far and done so well,” Hronis said. “He’d finally gotten comfortable and relaxed. He seemed to be a real happy horse.

“The family is devastated,” Hronis added. “When I got the call, I cried all night. I just get attached to them. They’re like my buddies. They put it all out on the line for us every time.”

There is no getting over the loss of a horse like Talco. But at least there can be distractions. Hronis hopes to have three runners lining up for Breeders’ Cup races come the weekend of Oct. 30-31, including Santa Anita Oaks winner Stellar Wind in the Distaff and Hard Aces, the winner of the Gold Cup at Santa Anita, in the Classic.

“We’re also hoping Elektrum gets in the Filly and Mare Turf,” Hronis said. “I think she’s right on the borderline, but she should be tough at that distance. I hope winning the Mabee at Del Mar is enough to get her in.”

In any other year, it might be, but for the Keeneland version, at a reduced 1 3/16 miles and with a short run to the first of three turns, the Filly and Mare Turf will have room for only 12 starters.

Hronis and his brother Pete have had horses in the last three runnings of the Breeders’ Cup, which means they’ve only been to the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita Park. Their best finishes came in 2014, when Iotapa was third in the Distaff and Daddy D T was third in the Juvenile Turf.

If Stellar Wind is going to improve on Iotapa’s finish, she will need to travel better than she did last spring for the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs, where she was a grouchy fourth to Lovely Maria. Stellar Wind has had only two starts since then, winning the Summertime Oaks at Santa Anita and the Torrey Pines at Del Mar. The Distaff will be her first race in two months.

“First of all, I’d like to thank Beholder for moving up to race against the boys,” Kosta Hronis said. “Our filly probably would have run in the Zenyatta last month if Beholder hadn’t run. But with the Distaff in our plans, we just didn’t want to do that to her in her first race against older mares because she sure would have tried hard to beat Beholder.

“Six months makes a big difference in the life of a 3-year-old,” Hronis noted. “I’m hoping the travel and the track won’t bother her the way it did before. She is just the most inquisitive little filly in the world. She’s always got her ears up, looking around to see what’s going on. I call her a detail horse.”

Hard Aces, on the other hand, is Mr. Enigma. His Gold Cup win was followed by sixth-place finishes to Beholder in the Pacific Classic and Smooth Roller in the Awesome Again. They’ll both be back for the Classic, along with American Pharoah, Honor Code, and Tonalist.

“Hard Aces is a funny horse,” Hronis said. “He’s got to be a little more motivated to run, and you could tell he wasn’t in the Awesome Again. I don’t know if it was because of the heat or what. But if you take that day compared to Gold Cup Day, he wasn’t the same horse. He put in a little run, and then it was like, ‘Are we done now?’

“His work last Saturday, though, was the best he’s looked in months,” Hronis added. “So, we’ve got our fingers crossed. I know a lot of people think you’re running for no better than third in that race. But if you’re in the starting gate, we know anything can happen.”