Track Times

Lookinforthesecret Flirts With Tampa's 6F Mark

2008-01-21T03:45:00Z

Tampa Bay Downs has a few track records that are five decades old or more, but all are at the rarely-run distances of a mile and a quarter and beyond. Of the records for the most common races, the six-furlong mark is the one that has stood the test of time the longest.

Bootlegger’s Pet set the record of 1:09 flat on Jan. 26, 1974, long before Steve Crist began to incorporate hundredths in the clockings of races in The Racing Times in the early 90s. Since the achievement of Bootlegger’s Pet there have been precious few sub-1:10 clockings in Oldsmar, mainly because the more prestigious - and richer - events at the track, such as the Tampa Bay Derby and Florida Oaks, are run around two turns. Crack sprinters haven’t had the same opportunities to run for higher purses - yet.

Because there were no recordings of clockings in hundredths in the "old days," we don’t know just where Bootlegger’s Pet actually stood - at 1:09 on the button or closer to 1:09:19, the last tick before it would have become 1:09 1/5. So we can’t assess just how close Lookinforthesecret came to the record when he captured the $65,000 Pelican Stakes last Saturday. The 6-year-old son of Cimarron Secret scored by 2 1/2 lengths over He’s So Chic in 1:09:30 for the three-quarters and continued an improbable run for owner Balkrisna Sukharan and trainer Jamie Ness.

When the Florida Horse Stallion Register was published in late 2006, Lookinforthesecret was listed as just one of many winners for his sire - and the blurb read "4 wins at 3 and 4, 2006, $45,414." After the Pelican, Lookinforthesecret is 13-6- 1 in 28 starts and his earnings have reached $275,618. His record for 2007 was 8-4-0 in 13 starts with earnings of $192,580. And, one of the bonuses for his owner and trainer is that he’s equally at home on turf (12-4-3-1, $105,400) or dirt (16-9-3-0, $170,218), along with the fact that he’s at the top of his game. In his previous start on Dec. 22, Lookinforthesecret won a $23,500 allowance race by 1 1/4 lengths, racing five furlongs in 57:79, not far off the disputed track record of 57 1/5 set by Arion Fair in 1982.

Cimarron Secret stands at Cimarron Farm in Ocala for Francis (Skip) McDonnell, who is the breeder of Lookinforthesecret.

Long Layoff Couldn't Deter Concerto Gelding

2008-01-21T03:37:00Z

SANTA ANITA - When Ocala Stud Farm took Hewitts to the 2006 OBS April sale for breeder Dianne Cotter, she expected the son of Concerto to bring a fair price. "He looked like a racehorse," she said, "and they told me he’d sell pretty well."

What happened next was totally unexpected, though. Hewitts, who was the first foal out of the Cozzene mare Romance Me, worked a quarter of a mile in 21 3/5 at the under tack show, and promptly sold for $225,000. "We didn’t expect it," Mrs. Cotter said, "either the work or the price. It was a wonderful surprise." Hewitts, a ridgling, didn’t show up in the entries for a year, until the next April 11, in the barn of Robert B. Hess Jr. at Santa Anita.

With David Flores aboard, he finished second by 2 1/2 lengths in a $47,000 maiden special at 6 1/2 furlongs. A few weeks later, at odds of 3/5, Hewitts broke his maiden over the synthetic track at Hollywood Park, winning by nearly three lengths in 1:15 4/5 for the 6 1/2 furlongs. On May 28, he made it two straight with a two-length victory in a $51,000 allowance, racing seven furlongs in 1:23 1/5.

Then Hewitts took another vacation, not reappearing until last Monday in the seventh race at Santa Anita. And, there was a slight change on his breeding line in Daily Racing Form. "They gelded him last year," Mrs. Cotter said, "after the last race he ran."

Hewitt’s return came in a $57,000 allowance race at seven furlongs and the uncertainty over his odd career sent him away at 2-1. With Michael Baze aboard, the same jock who had broken his maiden last May, Hewitts was not only much the best, winning by nearly two lengths, but he raced the distance in 1:20:41, just a tick away from the track record.

Breeding a solid runner by Concerto is nothing new to Mrs. Cotter. "We also bred Bellamy Road," she said. "We’ve been very lucky. And we bred a mare to Bellamy last spring."

As for Romance Me, the dam of Hewitts, the 4-year-old was her first and last foal. "She died the following year," her breeder said, wistfully.

Mr. Marzelli: I Have an Answer for You

2008-01-21T03:30:00Z

Earlier this week, the NTRA and Equibase released the handle figures for the United States for 2007. The sad news: handle declined by 0.37% to a little more than $14.7 billion, the third time in the last four years there has been a decrease since the record high of nearly $15.2 billion in 2003. ...(read more)