Bold Forbes - Speeding to the Classics

 

Bold Forbes – Speeding to the Classics

Joseph Di Rienzi

 

Bold Forbes winning the 1976 Kentucky Derbt

As the United States prepares to celebrate its 250^th anniversary, in thoroughbred racing a half century  has elapsed since a small almost black colt who began his racing career in Puerto Rico streaked across the U. S. thoroughbred racing landscape to capture two thirds of the Triple Crown. Bold Forbes, owned by Esteban R. Tizol, was a Kentucky bred $15,200 yearling purchase, who in five starts in Puerto Rico had run out of competition and was sent to the U. S. during his two-year-old year (1975) to be conditioned by Laz Barrera. A son of Irish Castle, whose only major win was the Hopeful Stakes, this grandson of Bold Ruler was produced by the mare Comely Nell who traced back to the good Calumet Farm mare, Nellie L.  In the U. S., Bold Forbes won in quick succession the Tremont Stakes at Belmont Park by 5 lengths and the Saratoga Special by 8 lengths at Saratoga Racetrack, both at 6 furlongs, showing dazzling speed each time. There were questions on how far Bold Forbes would be able to carry his blazing speed, but, unfortunately, minor injuries prevented him from further racing to nearly the end of the year.

Honest Pleasure, the champion juvenile of 1975, was also a grandson of Bold Ruler, sired by What a Pleasure (another Hopeful Stakes victor). Owned by Bert Firestone Jr. and trained by 1975 Kentucky Derby winning trainer Leroy Jolley Jr., the robust son of What a Pleasure had a near perfect two-year-old campaign winning in succession the Arlington-Washington Futurity, the Cowdin Stakes, the Champagne Stakes and the Laurel Futurity.

As the classic prep season dawned in 1976, Honest Pleasure was the early favorite for the Kentucky Derby. Encamped in Florida, the dark bay colt did nothing to dissuade that assessment as he won both the Flamingo Stakes and Florida Derby in impressive fashion, recording fast final times in both contests.

At the end of 1975, which was the beginning of the Santa Anita Park meeting, Bold Forbes, returned to the races in a 5½ furlong allowance race in which he tired to finish third to Sure Fire.  His next race was in the 6 furlong San Miguel Stakes which he lost again to Sure Fire, this time by a nose. Favored in the San Vicente Stakes at 7 furlongs, Bold Forbes had a clear lead in the stretch, but could not hold off Thermal Energy and Stained Glass losing by ¾ of a length. Just when it appeared that Bold Forbes was either just a two-year-old sensation or a pure sprinter, he won the one mile San Jacinto Stakes by an authoritative 3 lengths. Trainer Laz Barrera attributed this success to cutting holes in the horse’s blinkers which allowed Bold Forbes to see his opposition before they could run by him. Also, Barrera had become convinced that the Santa Anita racing strip was not showcasing his colt’s true ability and shipped him east to continue his classics preparation.

In New York, the early spring talk was about an undefeated gray colt trained by Frank Whiteley Jr. Zen was bred and owned by Pen-Y-Bryn Farm, the stable name of the brothers William W. Bancroft and Thomas M. Bancroft whose mother, Edith Bancroft campaigned Zen’s sire, the great Damascus. In his second 1975 start, Zen won the 6 furlong Hirsch Jacobs at Pimlico Racetrack by 2¾ lengths over Cojak.

On the same day as the Hirsch Jacobs, the Bay Shore Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack marked the return of Bold Forbes to New York under new rider Angel Cordero Jr. His performance in the Bay Shore was in a word – dazzling, with Bold Forbes showing electrifying speed winning by 7¾ lengths over Eustace. The time for 7 furlongs was a new stakes record and just 3/5 seconds above the track record for the distance.

Bold Forbes bypassed the Gotham Stakes at a mile making Zen the odds-on favorite. In a struggle, the Pen-Y-Bryn color bearer prevailed by a head over Cojak, who was giving the winner 8 lb. with Play the Red, a chestnut son of Crimson Satan, third 1½ lengths back.  

The anticipated meeting between Bay Shore winner, Bold Forbes, and Gotham winner, Zen, never materialized as a slight filling in a leg convinced the connections of the latter to go more slowly with their colt. Bold Forbes, the prohibitive favorite, showed some ability to rate early in the race, but when jockey Cordero gave him his head, Bold Forbes spurted to the lead on the backstretch and when challenged by Cojak around the turned pulled away from the field. At the finish, Bold Forbes was 4¾ lengths ahead of On the Sly who had a neck advantage over Sonkisser. The time for the 9 furlong contest shattered the stakes record shared by Bold Forbes’ grandsire, Bold Ruler and Foolish Pleasure and was only 2/5 of a second off Riva Ridge’s track record set when he was a four-year-old.

From his two spectacular performances in New York, it was becoming clear, this racy son of Irish Castle, now proven at 9 furlongs, was a definite speed threat in the Kentucky Derby to the previously unassailable Honest Pleasure.

The Derby favorite’s final start prior to the Run for the Roses was the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland Racetrack. It was not, however quite the romp anticipated. Facing seemingly outclassed rivals, Honest Pleasure resisted jockey Braulio Baeza’s attempts to restraint him in the early going, opening up a 5 length lead at one point. When a challenge came from a rank longshot, Certain Roman, Honest Pleasure managed to hold sway without drawing away as expected. The final margin was 1½ lengths with Inca Roca, 3 lengths back in third. The final time of the race was not fast, but the early pace was moderate.

As the Derby loomed closer, it was clear the number of entrants would be the smallest since 1969. Promising runners either declined to run against Honest Pleasure or fell by the wayside. A horse who would go on to the Derby was Eugene C. Cashman’s Elocutionist, who although having an outstanding record, was not initially considered a major contender. This son of Gallant Romeo from a Fleet Nasrullah mare undefeated in four starts as a juvenile capped his Kentucky Derby preparation with a 2 length victory in the Arkansas Derby.

There was some drama in the pre-race buildup to the Kentucky Derby. LeRoy Jolley, who could be churlish at times, failed to name a jockey on Honest Pleasure when entries were taken on the Thursday before the race. This was some type of message to Braulio Baeza for what Jolley considered a less than proper ride in the Blue Grass Stakes. However, when the call for “jockeys up” was given at Churchill Downs on Derby Day, Baeza was in the saddle. At 40 cents to the dollar, Honest Pleasure went to post as one of the biggest favorites in Derby history. Bold Forbes was the clear second choice and the rest of the nine horse field were considered longshots. Most of the speculation centered on the pace scenario. Both Honest Pleasure and Bold Forbes were committed front runners, so if they both raced for the lead would a torrid pace duel open the way for closers such as Elocutionist, Play the Red or On the Sly? On the other hand, if one of the two principals was restrained, would the other have an uncontested lead that would make that colt very difficult to catch. The fact that Bold Forbes drew post 2 while Honest Pleasure was in post 5, seemed to insure that, as long as he broke well, Bold Forbes would go to the front. In addition, Angel Cordero on Bold Forbes was a more aggressive rider than Braulio Baeza on Honest Pleasure.

Bold Forbes did indeed break well, and Cordero used his horse’s brilliant speed to assume command with Honest Pleasure in closest pursuit. There was a scary incident that fortunately did not affect the running in that someone in the infield threw a smoke bomb onto the homestretch after the field went by the first time. Allowing his horse to run, Cordero had Bold Forbes open as much as a 5 length lead around the first turn setting a pace that seemed way too fast for the Derby 1¼ mile distance.  Baeza kept Honest Pleasure in second place waiting for the leader to shorten stride. Going into the final turn, Honest Pleasure kept narrowing the margin so that by the time the two leaders straightened out for the stretch run, the Firestone runner was at the flank of the Tizol color bearer. Through the stretch it appeared that Honest Pleasure was on the verge of overtaking Bold Forbes, but just lacked that extra push as both horses tired from their early efforts. At the finish, Bold Forbes actually increased his lead so that the margin at the end was 1 length. Elocutionist rallying mildly was third 3¼ lengths behind Honest Pleasure. Even though the last ¼ mile was run in a slow 26 seconds, the final time was representative of a good run Derby due to the swift early fractions.

The winner’s circle had a Latin American flavor with representatives of the owner (who was too ill to come to the U. S. from Puerto Rico), trainer Laz Barrera, a transplanted Cuban, and former Puerto Rican Cordero (who was winning his second Derby). The connections of Honest Pleasure took the defeat with dignity but vowed that Bold Forbes would never be allowed to have an easy lead again.

The script for the Preakness Stakes at venerable Pimlico Racetrack in two weeks was obvious. There would be a speed duel between Bold Forbes and Honest Pleasure. It was horse-on-horse to see which of these two speedsters would last the 9½ furlongs. If they both raced themselves into exhaustion, then another horse would come and take the honors.  Only six horses entered the Preakness with Honest Pleasure still the favorite, slightly over the Bold Forbes – Life’s Hope entry (different ownership). The others in the field were Elocutionist, Cojak and Play the Red. At the break Bold Forbes went straight to the lead with Honest Pleasure being encouraged to challenge. Despite, Baeza’s urgings it was clear, Honest Pleasure could not keep up with Bold Forbes who was setting a scorching pace. In fact, the 6 furlong fraction was faster than the Pimlico track record for the distance. Around the far turn Bold Forbes still had a daylight lead, but the field was bunching behind him. Honest Pleasure faltered, but Play the Red came up the rail to challenge and Elocutionist under John Lively came boldly on the outside. In the stretch, they both passed Bold Forbes with Elocutionist spurting clear to win by 3½ lengths over Play the Red. A ½ length back was a tired, but valiant Bold Forbes. Cojak finished fourth 3 lengths back and Honest Pleasure was an exhausted fifth, a neck later. The time again was solid, mainly owing to the record early pace carved out by Bold Forbes.

Cashman who had invested heavily in the thoroughbred business celebrated his first classic as did trainer Paul Adwell and jockey John Lively. Elocutionist was bought as a yearling by the owner for $15,000 after Cashman flipped a coin to decide whether he would bid on his future Preakness winner or another yearling that caught his attention. The other colt happened to be Bold Forbes.

Elocutionist, although the recipient of the pace duel, was really a good racehorse. He record was impressive in that he won 9 of his 12 races with no out of the money performances. As things go with thoroughbreds, his racing career came to an end when Elocutionist suffered an injury a week before the Belmont Stakes.

Honest Pleasure was given a rest after the Preakness to prepare for a summer and fall campaign, so the main issue concerning the Belmont was whether Bold Forbes, the speedy, compact son of Irish Castle could last the 1½ miles of the final classic. Considered at one point in his career a brilliant sprinter, he had certainly exceeded all expectations, but the Belmont distance was another matter. There were nine horses entered against Bold Forbes, none with outstanding credentials, who were hoping he would fade in the Belmont Park homestretch. What the horse had in his favor was a trainer, Laz Barrera, who worked on slowing his speedy tendencies, a jockey, Angel Cordero who was a master of positional riding, and a will to win despite his distance limitations.

The Belmont was run as expected with Bold Forbes spurting to a lengthy lead as Cordero took him wide on the first turn to keep his mount as relaxed as possible. The pace was not slow, but nothing like the Preakness. When Best Laid Plans made a run at Bold Forbes at the ½ mile pole, Cordero loosed the rein and Bold Forbes again opened up on the field. At the top of the stretch, he had a 6 length lead, but it was obvious he was shortening stride as first Great Contractor and then McKenize Bridge started closing in. The last ¼ mile was run in over 27 seconds, but Bold Forbes managed to hang on by a neck over McKenize Bridge, who himself had a neck over Great Contractor.  Finishing fourth was Majestic Light, 8½ lengths behind the three leaders. With the glacial final ¼ mile, the final time was on the slow side for modern runnings of the Belmont.

Accolades were bestowed on a great training job by Laz Barrera and a great riding effort by jockey Cordero, but, as always, I think the most credit should go to the horse.  It was Bold Forbes, the diminutive son of Irish Castle who held on even though his legs were tired, and his lungs were probably hurting. This ability to run through pain and exhaustion is the hallmark of the breed we call the thoroughbred.  

Bold Forbes would race twice more before being retired to stud, coming back in the fall of 1976 to win an allowance race before finishing third in the Vosburgh Handicap to older horses. He was voted the Eclipse Award for Three-Year-Old Male.

In stud he sired Kentucky Oaks winner and Eclipse Champion Tiffany Lass. Living to the ripe old thoroughbred age of 27, his legacy remains as a horse who could carry his speed as far as American racing demanded.