A SONG FOR DAMASCUS

(This is the third of a six part series.)

PART THREE: THE IMPENDING STORM

After the Kentucky Derby loss, Damascus became so good that it was apparent he was headed toward at least a divisional honor, and a prominent place in racing annals. He contested the other two three-year-old spring classics and nobody could touch the bay colt, who was representing in grand style the white and red dotted silks of Mrs. Edith Bancroft. Damascus arrived at Pimlico from his Laurel Park base on Saturday morning of the Preakness Stakes, with stable pony Duffy accompanying him. The change in Damascus was evident in a much calmer, composed horse than the agitated, nervous sort he had been at Churchill Downs that conceivably cost him Triple Crown immortality.

Balancing the Triple

The 92^nd running of the Preakness offered a purse of $194,000 with the winner earning $141,500. When the gates opened, Damascus, under Bill Shoemaker, breaking from post position two, among a field of ten, was back in eighth, but went to the lead in the stretch and came home two and one-quarter lengths in front of In Reality. In third, another four lengths behind In Reality, was Proud Clarion. The winner covered the 1 3/16 mile classic in 1:55 1/5, then the second fastest effort in history. Damascus, an entry with Celtic Air, saw the latter set the pace, along with the Eddie Neloy trained Great Power. In the far turn, In Reality, Damascus, and Proud Clarion  made their bids, with Damascus prevailing.

Belmont Park was closed from 1963-1967 due to construction of a new grandstand. Damascus had a three furlong breeze at Delaware Park before vanning to Aqueduct for the 99^th edition of the 1 ½ mile Belmont Stakes. Proud Clarion also worked the same distance at Aqueduct. Damascus drew post one, while Proud Clarion, the second choice, would leave from four. Braulio Baeza would also replace Bobby Ussery aboard Proud Clarion, and try to put his mount closer to the pace. Two horses expected to set the pace, were Prinkipo and Canadian-bred Cool Reception. Prinkipo was a bay colt by Belmont Stakes winner and 1952 Horse of the Year One Count. He had won his last three races on the front end by wide margins. Cool Reception, a chestnut colt, sired by Neartic, had been the top two-year-old male in Canada.

Damascus broke about sixth in the field of nine runners, but quickly moved up closer to the pace, took charge a furlong out from home, and scampered away by two and a half lengths. His win was tragically marred by an injury to Cool Reception. The horse fractured his right front foreleg during the race yet continued gallantly the last one-sixteenth of a mile and finished second, a half-length ahead of Gentleman James. An operation was later performed in hopes of saving Cool Reception but the colt reinjured the extremity after the surgery and had to be euthanized. The courageous Cool Reception would eventually be inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.

Damascus earned $104,950 after posting a time of 2:28 4/5. Proud Clarion, finishing out of the money, would now get a vacation. The Triple Crown had taken a lot out of him and he had lost weight.

Damascus’ trainer, Frank Whiteley, was highly confident in Damascus and felt that perhaps with two-thirds of the Triple Crown locked up, his colt had already earned at least divisional honors, and perhaps Horse of the Year; however, the general sentiment was that for Damascus to be so honored, he would have to defeat Dr. Fager.

Magical Summer

Beginning in the middle of June until early September, Damascus raced six times. On June 17, the colt faced five horses at Delaware Park, in the 1 1/8 mile Leonard Richards Stakes, with Ron Turcotte riding. With minimal effort, he won by three and one-quarter lengths after giving runner-up Misty Cloud and third finisher Favorable Turn, seven pounds.

On July 8 Damascus made his first start against older horses, with Bill Shoemaker back aboard. His reputation had climbed so high that he was required to give weight to his elders. Carrying 121 pounds, in Delaware Park’s 1 1/16 mile William DuPont Handicap, Damascus lost by a mere nose to the four-year-old Exceedingly, under only 113, with the five-year-old Flag Raiser, under 114, four lengths behind Damascus in third.

Damascus - Fager

Returning to Aqueduct on July 15, Damascus would next run in the 1 ¼ mile Dwyer Handicap. On the same day, at Rockingham Park, Dr. Fager was entered in the Rockingham Special, covering 1 1/8 miles, over fast conditions. Since his win over Damascus in the Gotham in March, Dr. Fager had annexed the one mile Withers Stakes in a rapid 1:33 4/5. He then proceeded to win the 1 1/8 mile Jersey Derby at Garden State Park by more than six lengths but was disqualified and placed last, the only time in his career when he was out of the money. On June 24, Dr. Fager destroyed a field of ten in the one mile Arlington Park Classic by ten lengths, over sloppy conditions.

The Dwyer, worth $75,000-added, was over slop. Damascus was in a field of nine and would carry 128, conceding as much as twenty-two pounds. He would collect $54,178 of the total $83,350 if he won. Dr. Fager, carrying 124 in the Rockingham Special, gave three to twelve pounds to six other horses. The favored Fager would net $53,802 of the $85,400 purse if he was victorious.

As the second choice in the Dwyer, Bold Hour contested the early pace, while favored Damascus broke last from post six, and rallied late to catch lightly regarded Favorable Turn, who ran one of his best races. With Shoemaker’s stout encouragement, two furlongs out Damascus hit the wire three-quarters of a length in front of the game Favorable Turn, under 112 pounds. Bold Hour faded, finishing sixth.

At Rockingham, Dr. Fager took charge early, led the entire way, and won easily, setting a track record of 1:48 1/5. Tentative plans called for a meeting between Dr. Fager and Damascus, at Saratoga on August 19, in the 1 ¼ mile Travers Stakes.

Damascus was again the favorite to capture the 57^th running of the 1 1/8 mile American Derby, at Arlington Park, on August 5. Dr. Fager would start again on September 2 in the New Hampshire Sweep Classic at Rockingham, over 1 ¼ miles, and carry 120 pounds.

Damascus breezed three furlongs the day before his race. Assigned 126 pounds, he would again face In Reality, under 120. In Reality was a son of 1959 American Sprint Champion Intentionally, and his dam, My Dear Girl, was by Rough ‘n Tumble, the sire of  Dr. Fager.

Trained by “Sunshine” Calvert,  In Reality had already made sixteen starts and finished unplaced only once. By the end of his career, he would boast a superb racing resume with only one other non-placing. A tail-male descendent of Man o’War, and also inbred to Man o’War, 4Sx4D, In Reality would help sustain the Man o’War sire line, which continues today by his descendent Tiznow.

There were five others in the line-up, including front runners Barbs Delight, who had won the Assault Handicap on July 22, and Diplomat Way. Hollywood Derby winner Tumble Wind was also entered.

The race was no contest as Damascus won by seven lengths, once again coming from well back with his patented stretch run. His finishing time of 1:46 4/5 was a track record. In Reality was next, followed by the honest Favorable Turn .

Domination

The Travers meeting between Damascus and Dr. Fager fell through when Dr. Fager caught a virus.

Damascus was still on course for Saratoga’s signature three-year-old event. The Travers Stakes had a long, rich history. Interestingly, the inaugural running, in 1864 of this upstate New York race, was won by a horse named Kentucky in a time of 3:18 ¾ when it was contested at 1 ¾ miles. The race had also covered various other distances including 1 ½ miles, 1 ¼ miles, 1 1/8 miles, and finally back to 1 ¼ miles, where it has remained since 1904. To this writer’s knowledge the stakes record for the current distance is still 2:00 flat, by General Assembly, a son of Secretariat, and posted in 1979. From 1927-1932 the race was called the Travers Midsummer Derby, and is still known figuratively today as the “Mid-Summer Derby.” It is reasonable to suggest that the Travers Stakes is the most prestigious three-year-old contest outside of the Triple Crown.  Past winners include Twenty Grand, Granville, Eight Thirty, Whirlaway, Shut Out, One Count, Native Dancer, Gallant Man (GB), Sword Dancer, and Buckpasser. In 1978, Affirmed won the race only to be disqualified. Other winners have been Arts and Letters, Honest Pleasure, Forty Niner, Easy Goer, and Holy Bull, while recently the race has seen Medaglia d’Oro, Birdstone, Bernardini, and Street Sense stand in its winner’s circle. In 1920, Man o’War defeated just two other horses, one who had handed him his only career defeat when he was two, and the other who had put him to the test in the Dwyer Stakes, Upset and John P. Grier respectively.  In 1982, Runaway Groom defeated all three winners of the Triple Crown classics, Kentucky Derby winner Gato Del Sol, who finished unplaced, Preakness winner Aloma’s Ruler, who finished second, and Belmont Stakes winner Conquistador Cielo, who arrived in third.

The 98^th Travers Stakes had only four runners, Damascus, Reason to Hail, Tumiga, and Gala Performance. The purse was $75,000-added for a total of $80,100, with the victor collecting $52,065. When they were sent away, Gala Performance and Tumiga broke quickest and gained a huge advantage. Shoemaker, aboard Damascus, was undaunted and began to urge his mount after four furlongs. Flying over the slop, Damascus, who had been as much as sixteen lengths back, made up ten lengths with devastating quickness, and with incredible acceleration caught the leaders in another furlong, then swiftly passed them, widening his lead in the turn for home. In an unabashed display of superiority, Damascus' winning margin at the finish was twenty-two lengths. He also equaled the track record of 2:01 3/5, first set by Jaipur in 1962, and Buckpasser in 1966. It was his ninth win in eleven outings on the year, eight of them stakes, and his career earnings were now at $584,161.

On September 2, Dr. Fager ripped around the Rockingham Park track to win the $265,900, 1 ¼ mile New Hamsphire Sweepstakes Classic, and smash the track mark with a finishing time of 1:59 4/5.  The incredible Fager defeated In Reality by one and a quarter lengths, although in receipt of  six pounds from the runner-up, with Barbs Delight third.

Two days after Dr. Fager’s blistering performance, Damascus made his next start in the 1 1/8 mile Aqueduct Stakes, where he was supposed to meet reigning Horse of the Year and champion Buckpasser; however, the four-year-old colt had irritated his right front foot in a workout and missed the race. Damascus again won rather effortlessly by two lengths, under 125 pounds, and conceding weight to the next two arrivals, Ring Twice under 119, and Straight Deal under 116.

Damascus and Dr. Fager were both quickly earning a future seat with racing’s all-time greats. Another horse already had his place reserved.

Buckpasser

“He was a perfectly conformed, nearly 17 hand horse…. In his two-year-old debut in 1965, he finished fourth in a 5 ½ furlong maiden special weight. He would never be unplaced again…. And even after missing the Triple Crown races, he was voted Horse of the Year at age three.”

Buckpasser was a bay colt, owned and bred by Ogden Phipps. Foaled in Kentucky, in 1963, he was sired by the great handicap champion and 1953 Horse of the Year Tom Fool. Buckpasser’s dam, Busanda, was sired by Triple Crown winner and 1937 Horse of the Year War Admiral. Busanda was also a multiple stakes winner, among her credits the 1951 Suburban Handicap over males.”  (1)

Buckpasser was first voted a champion at age two, winning five straight stakes races. Then at age three he was simply sensational, sporting an almost unblemished record. After finishing second in a seven furlong allowance to begin his sophomore campaign, Buckpasser rattled off thirteen straight victories and became Thoroughbred racing’s first three-year-old millionaire with a bankroll of $1,038,369.  He won at a wide range of distances, from five furlongs to two miles, among his victories the Leonard Richards Handicap, the mile Arlington Classic Handicap, where he set a world record of 1:32 3/5, the Brooklyn Handicap, Travers and Woodward Stakes, Lawrence Realization, and Jockey Club Gold Cup. Buckpasser built up an extraordinary record despite a quarter crack to his right hoof that kept him out of the spring classics. “In November, he was named Horse of the Year, three-year-old male champion, and top handicap horse by Daily Racing Form and Morning Telegraph.” (1)

On the last day of 1966, Buckpasser won Santa Anita’s seven furlong Malibu Stakes and came right back on January 14, 1967 to begin his four-year-old season with another win at the venue in the 1 1/8 mile San Fernando Stakes. He then returned to New York to finish out his extraordinary career. At Aqueduct, on June 17, Buckpasser made his first start on grass, in the 1 5/8 mile Bowling Green Handicap under 135 pounds. His fifteen race winning streak was broken by stablemate Poker, under a feathery 112, with Assagai in second under 127, and. Buckpasser third.  Although failing to equal Citation’s consecutive win record, Buckpasser did eventually win sixteen straight races on the dirt, capturing the 1 ¼ mile Suburban Handicap, carrying 133 pounds, and giving the second and third horses twenty-two and twenty-four pounds respectively. Buckpasser had captured two-thirds of the New York Handicap Triple Crown, with the Suburban and one mile Metropolitan Handicap wins, the latter under 130 pounds. A win in the Brooklyn Handicap would make him only the fourth horse to capture all three handicap races, after Whisk Broom II in 1913, his own sire Tom Fool in 1953, and Kelso in 1961;  but he again had to give enormous weight allowances. “Assigned 136 pounds, against four other runners, Buckpasser was a distant second, as Handsome Boy, in receipt of twenty pounds, romped home by eight lengths in a blistering 2:00 1/5, just a few ticks off the track record.” (1)  Buckpasser was denied his handicap triple, but considering the circumstances, he had still performed like the champion he was.

Handsome Boy

Handsome Boy was a four-year-old colt in 1967, owned by Hobeau Farm, and a grandson of the great Count Fleet.  Sired by Beau Gar, he was out of the Nasrullah mare Marullah. At age three, Handsome Boy had defeated older horses in the 1 ¼ mile Trenton Handicap. He also won the 1 1/16 mile Hawthorne Diamond Jubilee Handicap, and in 1967 had already taken the one mile Washington Park Handicap. He would later run second in the two mile Jockey Club Gold Cup.  And he had defeated Buckpasser. This was obviously a very nice horse.

Great Power, Hedevar

Wheatley Stable's Great Power was a three-year-old, and a stablemate of Buckpasser. He was sired by Bold Ruler out of the Ambiorix (FR.) mare High Voltage. As a two-year-old, Great Power had won the six furlong Sapling Stakes at Monmouth Park, defeating In Reality, and equaled the stakes record of 1:09 2/5. He also won the Delaware Valley Handicap.

The five-year-old Hedevar was a stablemate of Damascus. An extremely fast, front running bay colt, Hedevar was another grandson of Count Fleet. On June 18, 1966, in Arlington Park’s Equipoise Mile, Hedevar equaled the world record of 1:33 1/5, which was eclipsed by Buckpasser the following week.

Six

Handsome Boy, Great Power, and Hedevar planned to meet up on September 30, 1967, at Aqueduct, in the 1 ¼ mile Woodward Stakes. They weren’t coming alone. Joining them would be Damascus, Dr. Fager, and Buckpasser.

It was time for everyone to put their cards on the table.

To be continued…

Note

1.     John Califano, “A Salute to Buckpasser,” Gallop Out, http://wwwgallopout.com/2010_11_01archive.html

Bibliography

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Copyright 2012 by John Califano