Newfound Gold doesn't act like a 10-year-old
Remember Favorite Trick? He was the prototype for the advanced 2-year-old and was Horse of the Year as a juvenile in 1997, but he was unable to carry his early success into later seasons.
Newfound Gold is the anti-Favorite Trick. As a 2-year-old of 2009, Newfound Gold began his career by losing three $12,500 maiden-claiming races at Emerald Downs. Last Monday at Fair Grounds, he won his first allowance race. Newfound Gold is 10 now and was making his 57th start.
Trainer Michelle Lovell knows the history inside and out. She claimed Newfound Gold for herself for $10,000 on Feb. 18. Lovell had done her homework. She saw that the old gelding had never won an allowance race and circled Monday’s first-level allowance in the condition book. She spent some money on routine maintenance, trained Newfound Gold for a few weeks, and entered. The winner’s share of the purse was $25,800. The monetary payoff provided only part of the satisfaction.
“That was one of my favorite wins ever, and just because of him,” Lovell said. “I’ve been watching him since he ran at Keeneland last fall. I talked myself out of claiming him there for $7,500. I took him to a client, and they said no, he was too old. I’m just proud of what he could do. It’s kind of nice to see old horses sticking around, to see they can compete at a higher level.”
Newfound Gold, by Newfoundland and out of Binntastic, raced in Washington through most of 2012 before being relocated to the Southern California circuit for the better part of four years. He wound up in Florida last winter and didn’t race between January and October, when he hit Lovell’s radar at Keeneland.
Newfound Gold has been claimed 18 times and has resided in the barn of 17 different trainers, and he has run hard for all of them. His record stands at 22-16-9 from 57 starts, but what’s most remarkable is that at this advanced age, Newfound Gold has won six races in a row and 13 of his last 16.
“Watching him move, he’s a very good mover,” Lovell said when asked to explain Newfound Gold’s late-career success. “He comes off the turn and switches his leads perfectly, and he doesn’t slow down. He’s not a big horse – very athletic. And you can’t measure the will to win. That horse just has a huge heart.”