The Battles Between the Buddies

The Battles Between The Buddies

Joseph Di Rienzi

In the aftermath of Good Magic’s recent victory in the Haskell Invitational Stakes at Monmouth Park in Oceanside, N J, the memory drifts back 30 years when another former two year-old champion, Forty Niner, who, just as Good Magic, finished second in his year’s Kentucky Derby (and, also ran unplaced in the Preakness Stakes) came back to win the Haskell. Unlike his modern facsimile, Forty Niner faced a severe challenge in the Haskell from a colt he literally grew up with – Seeking the Gold. The two would continue their close encounters in the Travers Stakes at Saratoga and provide a set of vivid summer memories of what exemplifies the thoroughbred – speed, stamina and the unwavering will to win.

Forty Niner and Seeking the Gold had much in common. Both were foaled and had their early training at historic Claiborne Farm in Paris, KY. Their respective owners, Claiborne and Ogden Phipps, had a long mutually beneficial relationship in that the Phipps family used the services of many of the Claiborne stallions, and their best colts were, in general, retired to stud at Claiborne. The “buddies” were related in blood in that both were sired by the Claiborne stallion, Mr. Prospector. Forty Niner was a bright colored chestnut, smallish in size but very well conformed out of File. The mare was descended from a foundation Claiborne family that included double classic winner and champion, Swale. On the other hand, Ogden Phipps’ Seeking the Gold was an elegant bay out of the Buckpasser mare, Con Game, from the female of champion Queen of the Stage and major runner Reviewer (sire of the immortal Ruffian). The two colts would have outstanding conditioners in Woody Stephens for Forty Niner and Shug McGaughey tightening the reins on Seeking the Gold. It is not hard to imagine them as weanlings frolicking together in the lush open pastures of Claiborne.

Forty Niner was the more precocious, beginning his career in a 6 furlong maiden race at Belmont Park in July 1987 which he promptly won by 3¼ lengths. By year’s end, he had convinced enough voters to receive the Eclipse Award for Champion Two Year-old Male Horse winning 5 of 6 starts including the Sanford, Futurity (at Belmont Park), Champagne, and Breeders’ Futurity Stakes (at Keeneland Racetrack). In the Breeders’ Futurity, Forty Niner, in his first start beyond a mile, showed determination in responding to a challenge and holding on grimly to prevail by a nose. Seeking the Gold did not make his first start until December 26, 1987 at Hialeah Park, but in winning the 6 furlong maiden race by 12 lengths in fast time, he immediately became a colt to watch.

Before their duels in the Haskell and the Travers, Forty Niner and Seeking the Gold had raced together once before. That was in the 1988 Kentucky Derby. They took divergent paths to the Run for the Roses. Forty Niner raced at Gulfstream Park over the winter, winning the Fountain of Youth Stakes but had second place finishes both before and after in the Hutcheson Stakes and the Florida Derby, respectively. Seeking the Gold also raced at Gulfstream Park winning three sprint races after his maiden victory including the Swale Stakes.

Shug McGaughey then shipped Seeking the Gold to New York to run in the traditional Derby prep races – the Gotham and Wood Memorial Stakes (both at Aqueduct Racetrack). In doing so, Seeking the Gold faced another undefeated colt raised at Claiborne Farm in Private Terms who had run his winning string to 5 racing exclusively in Maryland. Both Private Terms and Seeking the Gold’s owners shared similar bloodlines because Mrs. Stuart Janney Jr., co-owner (with her husband) of the former was the sister of Ogden Phipps, owner of Seeking the Gold. In addition, both Private Term’s sire (Private Account) and broodmare sire (Bold Ruler) were Phipps family raced homebreds. In both the Gotham and the Wood, Private Terms prevailed with Seeking the Gold having to settle for second each time. Now 7 for 7, Private Terms was sent to Kentucky as the Derby co-favorite. Forty Niner had returned to Kentucky for his final preps. He won the 7 furlong Lafayette Stakes at Keeneland by 5 lengths and then finished second in the Lexington Stakes by a head to Risen Star, a lanky colt sired by Secretariat (a Claiborne stallion), failing to concede him 3 lb. in the 8½ furlong race.

In the Kentucky Derby, none of the aforementioned colts emerged the victor. Instead it was the speckled gray filly, Winning Colors, who held off the belated charge of Forty Niner to win by a diminishing neck. Risen Star was 3 lengths further back in third place. Seeking the Gold, prominent around the stretch turn, faded to seventh, and Private Terms finished a disappointing ninth.

The Preakness and Belmont Stakes belonged to Risen Star. In the Preakness, Woody Stephens instructed Forty Niner’s jockey Pat Day to deny Winning Colors the easy lead she enjoyed in the Derby, and as a result of the pace duel, they both tired setting the race up for the rallying Risen Star. At the finish, the big colt won by 2 lengths over Brian’s Time with Winning Colors holding on for third place and Forty Niner retreating to seventh. The Belmont Stakes, absent Forty Niner, who was given a freshening off his subpar Preakness effort, was a matchup of the Kentucky Derby heroine (Winning Colors) and the Preakness hero (Risen Star). Seeking the Gold, who had skipped the Preakness, had won the traditional Belmont Stakes prep, the 9 furlong Peter Pan Stakes, but McGaughey felt his colt was not ready for the demanding 1½ mile Belmont Stakes distance. In a tour de force, Risen Star romped in the Belmont, doing a reasonably good imitation of his father, Secretariat, in galloping home by 14¾ lengths in a time second only to his immortal sire’s Belmont track record. Winning Colors, showing the rigors of the Triple Crown series, finished sixth and last. The winner’s circle celebration was somewhat muted in that Risen Star was suffering from a swelling in his ankle that would lead to his retirement.   

Both Forty Niner and Seeking the Gold picked up the proverbial mantel of the fallen Risen Star as they approached the major summer races for sophomores. Seeking the Gold won the Dwyer Stakes at Belmont Park, whereas, Forty Niner, under jockey Julie Krone, showcased his speed in a 1 mile allowance race at Monmouth Park erasing the track record in winning by 7¼ lengths.

The 9 furlong Haskell had a field of five headed by co-top weighted Forty Niner at 126 lb. Carrying the same weight was Private Terms who returned after his fourth place finish in the Preakness with a 7 length win in the Governor’s Handicap at Pimlico. Pat Day who rode Forty Niner in the first two classics chose to ride Seeking the Gold (125 lb.) in the Haskell. As on other occasions, Woody Stephens dialed the West Coast, and Laffit Pincay made the cross country trip to ride Forty Niner.

At the start, Forty Niner broke fastest, closely followed by Seeking the Gold. However, as they approached the clubhouse turn, longshot Teddy Drone was driven by Julie Krone between Forty Niner and Seeking the Gold to grab the lead. In doing so, Krone’s mount bumped Seeking the Gold off stride causing him briefly to lose position. As the field headed down the backstretch, first Forty Niner then Seeking the Gold cruised past a tired Teddy Drone. As the two sons of Mr. Prospector raced head and head around the far turn, Primal and Private Terms mounted their challenges in tandem. However, once the field straightened out for the stretch drive, it was clear the race was between Forty Niner and Seeking the Gold. It appeared that Seeking the Gold would gain the advantage, but Forty Niner was unyielding under Pincay’s urging. At the finish, it was Forty Niner’s nose in front of Seeking the Gold in stellar performances from both in near track record time. Four lengths back was Primal, ½ length in front of Private Terms.

                                                 

The 1988 Haskell Invitational Stakes
(youtube.com)

                                                                

The Travers Stakes had the Haskell dynamic duo re-matched, but in addition, Brian’s Time, fresh off a 5½ length victory in the Jim Dandy Stakes, posed a major threat. The rest of the field consisted of Kingpost, Dynaformer, and Evening Kris. Forty Niner was ridden by Chris McCarron substituting for an injured Laffit Pincay. The bettors made Brian’s Time the favorite over the buddies, reasoning that the son of Roberto would be superior at the 1¼ mile distance. However, they may have not reckoned with a dawdling pace that would blunt his closing charge. Seeking the Gold broke first, but by the time the field straightened out for the run along the backstretch, Forty Niner had wrested command followed closely by Dynaformer. Brian’s Time made a menacing move around the stretch turn as Seeking the Gold had dropped back to fourth on the inside. At the top of the stretch, Chris McCarron urged Forty Niner, and he quickly opened up on the field. Pat Day eased Seeking the Gold off the rail and took up the chase along with Brian’s Time. In another pulsating finish, Seeking the Gold got to Forty Niner but could not pass him going down again by a nose. Brian’s Time in a strong effort against the slow early pace finished ¾ of length behind in third place.

                                                                           

The 1988 Travers Stakes
(youtube.com)

                                                               

The buddies would face each other once again in the climactic Breeders’ Cup Classic run in 1988 at Churchill Downs. They would take different routes to Louisville. Forty Niner raced twice in New York finishing a strong second (beaten a neck) to leading older horse Alysheba in the Woodward Handicap at Belmont, and then won the inaugural NYRA Mile at Aqueduct under unheralded jockey William Fox Jr. (A jockey’s strike in New York necessitated substitute riders for all horses running that day.) Seeking the Gold had his penultimate race in the Super Derby at Louisiana Downs with a deceptively easy neck victory.

As night was falling on a sloppy Churchill Downs surface, Alysheba ruled the solid post time favorite in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Seth Hancock, President of Claiborne Farm, still annoyed over the jockeys’ strike at Aqueduct, chose Julie Krone over Laffit Pincay as Forty Niner’s rider, a decision that would come back to haunt him. In the Phipps Stable camp, there was growing confidence that Seeking the Gold was prepared to run his best race.

In the early part of the Classic, Alysheba, under regular rider Chris McCarron, was in fourth place with Forty Niner just to his inside. Alysheba launched his rally as the field approached the far turn. As Forty Niner was moving with him, suddenly Julie Krone lost control, and the Mr. Prospector colt dropped back to last place. (Krone reported post-race that she felt her mount had stumbled in the deep going on the inside.) At the top of the stretch, several runners were in contention, but the strongest were Alysheba and Seeking the Gold who had rallied outside of everybody. For an instance, it looked as if Seeking the Gold would gain the advantage, but Alysheba, resolute, held the younger rival’s surge at bay and finished ½ length in front. Forty Niner closing gamely from his setback along the turn, finished fourth in a performance that should have had him closer. The impact of the race meant Eclipse Awards for Alysheba for both Older Male and Horse of the Year. With no sophomore winning the Classic, the Three Year-old Male Championship went to Risen Star who never raced again after his Belmont Stakes triumph.

Forty Niner was retired at the end of 1988 and initially stood stud at his home at Claiborne Farm. Seeking the Gold raced briefly as a four year-old in 1989 winning an allowance and losing the Metropolitan Handicap by a nose. Subsequently, it was discovered Seeking the Gold suffered an injury in the Met Mile forcing his retirement to Claiborne Farm joining his buddy, Forty Niner.

Both Forty Niner and Seeking the Gold were influential sires. The former produced several major stakes winners including Editor’s Note (a Belmont Stakes winner), Coronado’s Quest, and Marley Vale. In a surprise, Claiborne Farm who bred, raised, and raced Forty Niner, sold him in 1995 to a Japanese stud farm depriving U. S. racing of a good source of class and speed. Fortunately, his son Distorted Humor has been a significant influence to this very day in American racing siring champions and classic winners. Even more successful than Forty Niner was his buddy Seeking the Gold. He sired champions Flanders and Heavenly Prize (2018 National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame inductee), Belmont Stakes winner Jazil, European superhorse Dubai Millennium, and several major winners including Seeking the Pearl, Cash Run, and Pleasant Home. Dubai Millennium who is often cited as the best horse ever raced by Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum, died tragically after only one year in stud. However, he did sire Irish classic winner Dubawi who is one of the predominant stallions in the world today. At this writing, Forty Niner is still alive (in Japan), but Seeking the Gold passed away in 2016.

So after 30 years, the memory of Forty Niner and Seeking the Gold, two exquisitely bred, former barn mates, charging down the stretch at Monmouth Park and Saratoga remains vivid. These two friendly rivals bred and owned by pillars of the American racing gave us in the summer of 1988 examples of the best in the thoroughbred breed.