(This is the fourth of a six part series.)
PART
FOUR: DEFINING MOMENT
The
dynasty
The Woodward Stakes was named for a towering
figure of the industry, William Woodward Sr., who was chairman of the Jockey
Club for twenty years, from 1930-1950. The owner of Belair Stud, Woodward bred
two Triple Crown winners, Gallant Fox (1930) and Omaha (1935), the only time in
history when a Triple Crown winner sired a Triple Crown winner. Mrs. Edith
Bancroft, the owner of Damascus, was Woodward’s daughter. Her brother, William
Woodward Jr., owned the great 1955 Horse of the Year Nashua; however, Woodward
Jr., tragically died by accident at the hands of his wife, and ownership of the
colt eventually changed over to Leslie Combs II and a syndicate. In 1956,
Nashua became racing’s second equine millionaire, and the first horse to
eclipse Citation’s career earnings record.
History
The Woodward Stakes, currently run at Saratoga, was
first held in 1954 over one mile, and won by a horse named Pet Bully. It has
been contested at various distances up to 1 ½ miles, and in certain years was
held at Belmont Park and Aqueduct. Damascus’ sire, Sword Dancer, won the
Woodward Stakes twice, in his stellar three-year-old season of 1959, and again
in 1960. From 1961-1963, the legendary gelding Kelso won the race, before
losing by a mere nose to the highly talented Gun Bow in 1964. The mighty weight
carrying gelding Forego was victorious four times from 1974-1977, his first two
wins covering 1 ½ miles, followed with a pair of victories over 1 1/8 miles.
Triple Crown winners Seattle Slew and Affirmed took the Woodward in 1978 and
1979 respectively. In what remains the last walkover in Thoroughbred racing,
Spectacular Bid galloped around the Belmont Park racecourse to take the 1980
edition. Other repeat winners have been Slew o’Gold in 1983-1984, Cigar in
1995-1996, and Lido Palace (Chi.) in 2001-2002. In an epic 2004 running,
Ghostzapper and St. Liam put on a furious stretch duel, with Ghostzapper
outlasting his opponent by a neck at the wire. St. Liam returned to the race the
following year, and won.
To this writer’s knowledge, the stakes record for
the Woodward Stakes, when negotiated over 1 1/8 miles, is jointly held by
Forego (1976), and Dispersal (1990), in a time of 1:45.80. Forego’s performance
was achieved under 135 pounds, while Dispersal carried 123. The record over 1 ¼
miles, is 2:00.00, set by Seattle Slew in 1978, under 126 pounds. In 1973, four-year-old Prove Out, under 126,
upset the three-year-old superhorse Secretariat, in a winning time of 2:25 4/5,
over sloppy conditions, the fastest mark travelling over 1 ½ miles.
Pivotal
Race
Through 2011, twenty-two winners of the Woodward
Stakes went on to be named Horse of the Year during the same campaign, with
Kelso, Forego, and Cigar repeating several times between them. In 2009, Rachel
Alexandra became not only the first female to win the race, but the first three-year-old
filly to defeat older males. Havre de Grace won the contest as a four-year-old
filly in 2011. Both these females were named Horse of the Year during the same
season as their Woodward victories. Rachel Alexandra bypassed the Breeders’ Cup
in 2009, but after her sensational season, highlighted by the Woodward win, the
filly trumped Zenyatta for the highest Eclipse honor, even though the great
mare became the first female to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Havre de Grace followed
her Woodward score with a credible fourth place performance in the Classic.
The
hype and the players
Most observers were calling the 1967 edition of the Woodward Stakes “The Race of the Decade,” and even “The Race of the Century.”
The hype was genuine. Never before, and probably not since, has a horse race
involved three legitimate superstars, and counting Handsome Boy, a fourth major
player.
In all likelihood, the instant that either
Buckpasser, Dr. Fager, Damascus, or even perhaps Handsome Boy, crossed the wire
first, the Horse of the Year title was his. Buckpasser, who won the race in
1966, on his way to Horse of the Year honors, was coupled as an entry with his
pacemaker, Great Power, and favored to win.
Both Dr. Fager and Damascus were co-second choices with Handsome Boy next in favoritism. The
Woodward was a weight-for-age affair, with five-year-old Hedevar, and the
four-year-olds Handsome Boy, and Buckpasser carrying 126 pounds, versus the
three-year-olds, Great Power, Dr. Fager, and Damascus, who were assigned 120.
The purse was $107,800.
Ogden Phipps’ Buckpasser came into the race as the
sport’s leading earner in training, and third all-time leader behind only Kelso
and Round Table. His resume and talent earned him tremendous respect, but he
had continued to be plagued with foot problems and quarter cracks. As big a
star as Buckpasser was, much of the lure of this 14th running
emanated from the second meeting between Dr. Fager and Damascus. After Dr. Fager had defeated Damascus in
their first battle, it was time to see if Damascus could even the score.
Damascus had gone through a heavier campaign than Dr.
Fager, and there had been some skepticism that Dr. Fager’s trainer, John Nerud,
was intentionally avoiding Mrs. Bancroft's star. The
Tartan Stable colt had been slated to face Damascus in the Travers Stakes
earlier in the summer, but after catching a virus, that meeting had to be
scrapped; however, Dr. Fager’s dazzling displays
of speed and superiority should have dispelled any idea that he was not up to
the task of defeating Damascus again.
Pacemakers
If Dr. Fager was left to his own devices, no
stretch runner, regardless of how good he was, would be able to run him down. This
is where Hedevar and Great Power came into the picture. It was their job to
prevent Dr. Fager from getting too far in front. Hedevar was of particular
concern to Nerud. Having equaled a world record at a mile the previous year,
Hedevar was now asked to cover 1 ¼ miles, and while he wasn’t expected to win,
he could cause a lot of damage. Hedevar was extremely fast, and along with
Great Power, would blast out of the gate and just keep rolling. Dr. Fager’s
style and temperament wouldn’t stand for that, and therefore, it was hoped that
either Buckpasser or Damascus, when making their stretch runs, would be the
beneficiaries of a Dr. Fager meltdown. Nerud was getting a double dose of his own
medicine. Ten years earlier, he had conditioned Gallant Man (GB), and pulled
the same stunt on the Wheatley Stable’s brilliant colt Bold Ruler in the 1957
Belmont Stakes, when he sent Bold Nero in as a “rabbit” to soften up Bold Ruler.
After being pressured into a contentious pace, Bold Ruler was rubber legged in the
stretch, setting the race up perfectly for Gallant Man, who flew past him,
crossing the finish eight lengths in front with a new track record.
Buckpasser’s trainer, Eddie Neloy, and Frank
Whiteley, the trainer of Damascus, both recognized Dr. Fager’s aggressive,
front running style, and his hell-bent-for-leather attitude against any horse
who wanted to contest the lead with him. The opposing trainers were going to
use his aggression to their advantage.
The
Battle of Titans
More than 55,000 people were in attendance at Aqueduct, on September 30, 1967, to watch the biggest stars in the sport go at it. From the rail out were Hedevar, under Ron Turcotte,
Dr. Fager, with Bill Boland, Great Power, under Bobby Ussery, Handsome Boy, with
Eddie Belmonte, Damascus, under Bill Shoemaker, and Buckpasser on the outside,
under Braulio Baeza. Hedevar was an entry with Damascus.
Dr. Fager was sandwiched
between the “rabbits” in the starting gate.
When the gates opened for this extraordinary edition
of the 1 ¼ mile Woodward Stakes, Great Power and Hedevar were sent. As expected,
Dr. Fager, always eager to meet a challenge, reacted immediately, going right out
with them and the trio tore past the grandstand as if their tails had been set
on fire. Sitting on Dr. Fager’s back, Boland tried to gear him down, but there was small chance of
controlling a headstrong half ton beast, with a mind of his own, and determined to run his foes into the ground. The best Boland could do was hang on. After an
opening quarter in a torrid :22 2/5, Great Power decided he’d had enough of
this nonsense and dropped off. Hedevar
wouldn’t go as easily, as he and Dr. Fager roared around the oval, with the half
in a blistering :45 1/5. Handsome Boy, a quick front runner himself, could not keep
up with the suicidal pace and was well behind. Meanwhile, the two stretch
runners, Damascus and Buckpasser, who had left their posts last, were at least
a dozen lengths back. The six furlongs were covered in a blazing 1:09 1/5, and
Hedevar finally cracked, going by the wayside. Dr. Fager now had the lead to
himself as he continued down the backstretch; but with four furlongs still to
run, the needle on his gas gauge was nearing empty. As the Doc's high performance
engine began to sputter, Damascus rounded the far turn, increasing his speed.
The powerful storm named Damascus approached rapidly. With incredible
acceleration he was quickly alongside Dr. Fager entering the stretch, and
in another moment vanished. Buckpasser was also trying to make his bid but
would never be able to advance on the new leader. Damascus was roaring toward the
finish line at break-neck speed, expanding the distance between himself and the
others, before soaring over the wire with a new stakes record of 2:00 3/5, and
a winning margin of ten lengths. Buckpasser managed
to catch the exhausted Dr. Fager just before the wire, and grabbed second place by
a half-length. Thirteen lengths further back of Dr. Fager was Handsome Boy,
followed by Hedevar and Great Power.
Damascus earned $70,070 for the win, bringing his
bankroll for the year to $723,651, and with the $25,865 he collected in 1966,
his career total was now $749,516.
There was nothing left to do except assess the
damage. When the dust had cleared and the rubble swept away, everyone knew who
America’s premiere racehorse was.
Aftermath
Buckpasser had made his last start. Bothered by a
sore foot during the race, heat was detected in the right front pastern afterward,
a condition he had endured through the summer. If he had been sound, it’s
likely the complexion of the race would have been different, although it's hard to argue that the winner still wouldn't have been Damascus, even perhaps without the pacemakers;
never-the-less, Buckpasser had an excuse, and unable to run up to his capacity,
it was now time to change direction and begin the next phase of his life.
Upon his retirement, “Buckpasser would again be named
champion handicap horse (TRA) . His remarkable career reflected thirty-one
starts, twenty-five firsts, four seconds, one third, and earnings of
$1,462,014.” (1) Now headed to the
breeding shed, the colt had already been syndicated for $4,800,000 and would
become a stallion at Claiborne Farm in Kentucky. An enormous influence as a
sire, Buckpasser produced thirty-five stakes winners, in addition to leading
the broodmare sire list four times.
“Buckpasser was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of
Fame in 1970 and died in 1978.” (1)
Dr. Fager made two more starts that year, on October
21, in the 1 ¼ mile Hawthorne Gold Cup, and easily won by two and a half
lengths, in a sharp time of 2:01 1/5. He returned to Aqueduct on November 7, and
toyed with eight other runners in the seven furlong Vosburgh, under 128 pounds.
His winning time was a very swift 1:21 3/5 that flirted with the track
record.
Damascus raced again approximately one month later,
in the $106,600 two mile Jockey Club Gold Cup, against older horses. He took
the lead two furlongs from home and drew away, his margin at the finish four
and a half lengths, with Handsome Boy, and Successor, second and third
respectively. With the win, he banked $69,290.
In the last race of his monumental season, Damascus
made his first, and only, effort on the grass in Laurel Park’s 1 ½ mile Washington
D.C. International. The field would have nine runners from seven different
countries: Chateaubriand (Arg.), a star four-year-old colt from Venezuela; Japan’s
four-year-old Speed Symboli; two three-year-olds from Great Britain, Ribocco, an American-bred, and the filly In Command; Australia’s five-year-old Tobin
Bronze; the three-year-old filly Casaque Grise of France; and four-year-old He’s A Smoothie of Canada. Representing the United States were
Damascus, favored to win, and America’s best grass runner, Fort Marcy.
Fort
Marcy
Fort Marcy, a bay Virginia-bred gelding, foaled in
1964, was a five generation outcross with impeccable breeding. Sired by
black-type winner Amerigo (GB), Fort Marcy was a grandson of the immortal
champion Nearco (Ity.), and only four generations removed was the progenitor
Phalaris (GB). Amerigo’s second dam, the unraced brown mare Sun Helmet (GB), was
sired by the English legend Hyperion (GB).
On his bottom, Fort Marcy’s dam was the unraced
Key Bridge, sired by the great Princequillo (GB), while his second dam was
black-type winner Blue Banner, a daughter of U.S. Triple Crown winner and Horse
of the Year War Admiral, making Fort Marcy another of Man o’War’s illustrious
descendents.
In what would become a long, distinguished career,
Fort Marcy was a phenomenal workhorse of the highest order. In 1967, he would make eighteen starts, and be
headed to a divisional championship, yet wouldn’t even hit his prime for
another three years. His early days of racing were strictly on the dirt, and he
had limited success, winning only twice, before he would begin to make a name
for himself on the lawn, and ultimately become highly identified with American
grass racing. Between June 28 to August 9, 1967, the turf horse Fort Marcy had
consecutively won a division of Monmouth’s one mile Long Branch Handicap,
Arlington Park’s 1 1/16 mile Nashua Handicap, Aqueduct’s 1 1/8 mile Tidal
Handicap, and Saratoga’s Division 2 of
the 1 1/16 mile B. Baruch Handicap.
A
memorable duel
Shoemaker was aboard Damascus for the D.C. International,
and the pair broke from post two, taking a position in fourth. Fort Marcy, with Manuel Ycaza riding, came
rolling from post six, and settled in third, as He’s A Smoothie started the
proceedings with fairly modest fractions. Fort Marcy and Damascus tracked the
leader, and into the backstretch, Fort Marcy took the lead, with He’s A
Smoothie in second, as Damascus passed Speed Symboli, keeping in third until
the far turn. Fort Marcy stayed ahead, but now Damascus overtook He’s A Smoothie
for second and the duel was on. The two Americans battled to the wire but
Damascus was never able to get quite even with his rival, and as they crossed
the finish, Fort Marcy had him measured by a nose. It was a glowing triumph for
the gelding and an auspicious turf debut for Damascus.
Fort Marcy collected $90,000, and would be voted the
year’s Champion Grass Horse. He would race for four more years, and in 1970 be
named not only Champion Grass Horse again, but Horse of the Year (Daily Racing Form) and Champion Handicap
Horse. He retired with seventy-five starts, 21 wins, 18 seconds, 14 thirds,
$1,109,791, and ultimately make his way into the Racing Hall of Fame in 1998,
seven years after his death at the age of twenty-seven. Damascus’ loss, by a razor thin margin, to
this great turf horse, required no apologies, and no explanations.
Praise
and reward
Bill Shoemaker was extremely high on Damascus, who after
posting sixteen starts in 1967, recorded 12 wins, eleven in stakes company, 3
seconds, all in stakes, and a third, which was his Kentucky Derby loss, when
the crowd and noise made him extremely agitated. His three-year-old earnings
were $817,941. He was voted Horse of the Year unanimously, and also named
Three-Year-Old Champion Male. In addition, Damascus was selected Handicap
Champion (Daily Racing Form),
sharing that award with Buckpasser (Thoroughbred Racing Associations). The
son of Sword Dancer would return as a four-year-old for a 1968 campaign.
Dr. Fager was named Champion Sprinter. He had posted nine starts in 1967, for seven
wins, including his Gotham victory over Damascus, with his only losses coming through
a disqualification in the Jersey Derby, after he had won, and the defeat to
Damascus in the Woodward Stakes. Along the way he had put on speed clinics and
record setting performances, indicating
what people could expect the following year. In 1968, the four-year-old Dr.
Fager would establish his place among the pantheon of greats. And his pedestal would be quite high.
The rivalry between Damascus and Dr. Fager was only
half over. With the score tied at one win each, the next season might reveal
which horse was actually greater for all time. Or would it?
To
be continued…
Note
1. John
Califano, “A Salute to Buckpasser,” Gallop
Out, http://wwwgallopout.blogspot.com/
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Copyright 2012 by John Califano
Copyright 2012 by John Califano
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