Why Havre de Grace is on top for HOY

Sure, there were risks to running a filly in the Woodward. Havre de Grace could have gotten beat, maybe even badly, and gone home with her reputation tarnished and without earning her owner a cent. The easiest thing to do would have been to run her two races earlier in the Personal Ensign against fellow fillies, where she would have been 1-5 against six inferior rivals.

That's what too many owners would have done Saturday. This has become a sport for the timid, with too few people willing to take chances. The trendy way to handle a horse is to run it as few times as possible and in the easiest available spots. That's not good for anyone or anything, particularly the game.

Thankfully, a sportsman named Rick Porter is not like most owners. Before the Woodward, he relished the chance to take on Blind Luck and never ducked her. Then he decides to go the Rachel Alexandra route and tackle Grade 1 males in the Woodward. Porter understands that with risks come rewards.

And that's why Havre de Grace finds herself on September 4 in the driver's seat for Horse of the Year.

"Winning the Woodward is not easy, especially with a filly, but she's a special horse," Porter said. "She just deserved a chance to show herself, and she did."

This is what the game should be about -- challenging horses and proving, on the racetrack, superiority and greatness. That's why Havre de Grace deserves extra points when it comes to the Horse of the Year puzzle.

It's way too early, of course, to hand Horse of the Year to Havre de Grace or anyone else. With Blind Luck out there, she may not even win the older filly and mare title. What happens between now and the conclusion of the Breeders' Cup card will decide a lot.

Porter and trainer Larry Jones will have some interesting decisions to make this fall. Havre de Grace is going next to the Oct. 1 Beldame at Belmont, where she will face fillies. With her having already proven she can beat males, that's the smart move. She will likely pad her credentials with another Grade 1 victory.

From there, it gets a little more complicated. Porter will have to decide between the Breeders' Cup Distaff and the Breeders' Cup Classic and he will need to keep his eye on Blind Luck. He said Saturday he might enter both races. He wants another crack at Blind Luck, who beat Havre de Grace by a nose in the Delaware Handicap, the best race run anywhere this year.

If Blind Luck goes in the Distaff, they might follow her there. If she goes in the Classic, Havre de Grace will likely race against her and the boys.

"I think she deserves a shot at the Classic, depending on what happens between now and the Breeders' Cup," Porter said. "I'd like to have Blind Luck come to the Classic. I wanted her to come here. She's a great horse. We can't get more than a nose apart, and it seems. I'd like to beat Blind Luck again, but I would also like to win the Classic."

It would be great if Blind Luck and Havre de Grace face off in the Classic, but Porter shouldn't worry about where Blind Luck goes. He might just have the best horse in the country, male or female, and the best horses in the country belong in the Breeders' Cup Classic.

That would be the risky thing to do but the best way to reach the ultimate reward -- the Horse-of-the-Year title. Go for it.

The name game

Havre de Grace is named after a town in Maryland which was once home to one of the sport's top racetracks. Track announcers and even Porter himself continue to use the standard pronunciation when saying the filly's name. However, Havre de Grace racetrack was called "Havre de Graw" and was nicknamed "The Graw."

It raced from 1912 to 1950 and featured appearances by, among others, Man o'War, War Admiral and Seabiscuit. One of its owners was gangster Arnold Rothstein. The old clubhouse is still in tact and is currently in use as an administrative office for the Maryland National Guard.

Bill Finley is an award-winning racing writer whose work has appeared in The New York Times, USA Today and Sports Illustrated. Contact him at wnfinley@aol.com.

• Recommend0
• Tweet0
• Comments0
• Email
• Print