Jim Dandy win would be important for Epicenter and therapeutic for Asmussen
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – For all the winning that trainer Steve Asmussen has done – he has compiled a record 9,846 wins and counting through Tuesday – there are some losses that stick with the Hall of Fame trainer.
The defeats Epicenter suffered in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness earlier this year are two of them.
“I’ll never get over them,” Asmussen said here earlier this week. “Never. Never. Never. I’m not over Curlin’s Derby, I’m not over Creator’s Derby. Why would I be over Epicenter’s Derby?”
In this year’s Kentucky Derby, Epicenter, the favorite, repelled a stretch bid from Zandon, the second choice. It seemed like Asmussen was going to win his first Kentucky Derby. Then Rich Strike, the longest shot on the board at 80-1, came rallying along the fence under Sonny Leon to beat Epicenter by three-quarters of a length. Two weeks later, a slow start and less-than-ideal trip cost Epicenter again as he fell 1 1/4 lengths shy of Early Voting in the Preakness.
“The way I dealt with or block out things like that is it wasn’t meant to be,” Asmussen said. “For whatever reason. Maybe Rich Strike will come back in the Travers and validate it but his Belmont [Rich Strike finished sixth in the Belmont Stakes] made me feel worse. Like, how the hell did that happen? . . . Congratulations to the victors, fabulous, it’s what makes horse racing great.”
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What also makes horse racing great is there’s always another opportunity to compete. Epicenter’s next opportunity comes in Saturday’s Grade 2, $600,000 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga as he begins his second half of the season.
The Jim Dandy, at 1 1/8 miles, is the traditional prep for the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers on Aug. 27. That is the ultimate prize, but the Jim Dandy could help Epicenter’s cause for a divisional title in that he meets Preakness winner Early Voting again as well as Zandon and Tawny Port in the five-horse field. Western River, entered in Friday’s $135,000 Curlin Stakes, was cross-entered by Rodolphe Brisset in the Jim Dandy.
Asmussen knows Epicenter needs some high-profile wins to go along with his victories in the Risen Star and Louisiana Derby – both Grade 2 stakes during the winter at Fair Grounds – which propelled him to favoritism in the Kentucky Derby in the first place.
“There are eight different 3-year-old Grade 1 winners out there and Epicenter ain’t one of them,” Asmussen said. “With that being said, it’s the same position Gun Runner was in – he did not win a Grade 1 until the Clark after his second in the Breeders’ Cup [Dirt] Mile then went on to become a Hall of Fame horse.
“I feel that good with Epicenter, we have that much left,” Asmussen continued. “It’s not over.”
Asmussen has been happy the way Epicenter has handled the first half of his schedule. Two weeks ago, he had jockey Joel Rosario work the horse. They started a few lengths behind a workmate, and then blew past him to win by six. Monday, Epicenter cruised over a sealed, muddy surface to work a half-mile in 49.59 seconds by himself.
“The disappointment of the Derby, the disappointment of the Preakness, the good news is we’re feeling it, he doesn’t seem to be feeling it,” Asmussen said. “He’s himself. That’s what I feel we’re very fortunate about. Us letting him draw off and win a work was a bit of a reminder for him who he is.”
Asmussen is hoping Epicenter remembers that Saturday afternoon as well.