Wise Dan wasn't hard used by Velazquez in Bernard Baruch win
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Wise Dan thrust his head out of his stall, looking around for his feed tub shortly before 10 a.m. on Sunday, acting bright and happy. He did not look like a horse who, less than 24 hours earlier, had carried 127 pounds to a gut-wrenching and near record-setting victory coming off a four-month layoff in the Grade 2 Bernard Baruch Handicap.
Wise Dan’s performance on Saturday capped off a long and sometimes agonizing six weeks at Saratoga for trainer Charlie LoPresti, who quietly and confidently made all the right decisions bringing the two-time Horse of the Year back from colic surgery on May 16 to run arguably one of the most impressive races of his outstanding career under a perfectly judged ride by John Velazquez.
“One of the reasons he’s so fresh this morning is because of the ride Johnny gave him yesterday,” said LoPresti. “He told me he knew what this horse had gone through, so he only really rode him a quarter-mile, and I’ve got to commend him for that. He timed it just right. It was incredible. He didn’t use him up. He left a lot in the tank for next time.”
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Wise Dan will make his next start in the Shadwell Mile at Keeneland when he attempts to make amends for the only blemish on his record in 14 starts dating back to the first of his two consecutive victories in the Grade 2 Fourstardave here two years ago. Wise Dan finished second, beaten 1 1/4 lengths by Silver Max, in the 2013 Shadwell Mile, a race taken off the turf and switched to the main track, the old artificial surface at Keeneland.
“He’ll be good for the Shadwell coming off this race, and they’re not going to put that weight on him anymore. His next races will be fair and square,” said LoPresti. “He’ll stay here until Tuesday, chill out a little, run in the Shadwell, and then go on to the Breeders’ Cup. I feel pretty good heading home, going from training on dirt at Saratoga to dirt at Keeneland, now that they’ve got the new track there. We’ll have to watch and see how he handles it, but the people at Keeneland said I can train him on the grass there if I want.”
LoPresti said perhaps the most gratifying part of his day on Saturday was the response Wise Dan got from the public, both before and after the Bernard Baruch.
“I didn’t get a chance to walk over with him, but my help said they were just cheering and clapping on his way to the walking ring,” said LoPresti. “But the biggest thing for me was when Tom Durkin called him a future Hall of Famer as they brought him into the winner’s circle. That was really thrilling. He’s a great horse, and it certainly would be great if he could win Horse of the Year again. And I guess if we run the table and that horse on the West Coast [Shared Belief] doesn’t, it could happen. But that’s not what it’s about with this horse. My main goal with him is to go undefeated this season. He would have been undefeated last year if I didn’t run him over the main track in the Shadwell. So I’d love for him to be able to do it this year.”