Wildman Jack seeking path to Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint

In two starts on as many continents this year, Wildman Jack has won group or graded stakes in course record or near-course record time. In both cases, owner and breeder Glenn Sorgenstein watched from his Southern California home out of necessity.

Wildman Jack won the Group 3 Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint at about six furlongs on turf March 7 at Meydan Racecourse in the United Arab Emirates in course-record time of 1:07.61. Sorgenstein stayed in California instead of traveling to the Middle East.

Wildman Jack was scheduled to start in the Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint, a $2 million race at about six furlongs on March 28 at Meydan. The race was canceled on March 22 because of the coronavirus outbreak. Wildman Jack was sent to trainer Doug O’Neill’s stable in California.

Saturday at Santa Anita, Wildman Jack won his domestic stakes debut in the Grade 3 Daytona Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs on turf. Wildman Jack won by a nose over Sparky Ville in 1:01.01, missing the course record by a hundredth of a second.

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Again, Sorgenstein watched from his Southern California home, but not by choice. Owners are currently not permitted to attend races at Santa Anita amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

The distance viewing has not diminished Sorgenstein’s enthusiasm for the 4-year-old Wildman Jack.

“We’re aiming for the Breeders’ Cup,” Sorgenstein said Sunday morning. “He’s a runner.”

Wildman Jack is by Goldencents, who won the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile for Sorgenstein and partners in 2013 and 2014, years the race was run at Santa Anita.

A gelding, Wildman Jack has won 4 of 8 starts and earned $373,630 in a career that began last August with a win in a maiden special weight race at five furlongs on turf at Del Mar. Wildman Jack’s success in the last nine months has been a slight surprise, considering the gelding was considered backward as a yearling.

Sorgenstein, who owns a precious metals company, has farm property in Kentucky. In 2017, a group of his yearlings were being prepared to begin training, but Wildman Jack was not initially included.

“I had eight yearlings in 2017,” Sorgenstein said. “I sent seven to be broke, and we held him back because he was small and acted immature. We decided to give him five or six more months on the farm.

“If you could call him the runt of the litter that is what he was. He wasn’t a commercially viable horse. He wasn’t going to the sales.”

Wildman Jack, who had yet to be named at the time, displayed some of his youthful hijinks on an evening when Sorgenstein visited the farm. Wildman Jack was one of several yearlings brought from a pasture to the barn when he quickly became cast in his stall.

“He was against the door, thrashing,” Sorgenstein said. “The groom was there, and he slid the door open a little bit and put his arm around the horse’s head. We didn’t have any helmets or vests on. It was a dangerous situation.

“He would do crazy stuff like that. He was one of those horses that seemed deemed to hurt himself.”

While the incident was concerning, there were fortunately no injuries.

Following Saturday’s hard-fought win, plans are under way for a summer campaign. Sorgenstein said he will discuss options with O’Neill, including the Grade 3 Green Flash Handicap at five furlongs on turf at Del Mar, which is typically run in August.