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Messiah Flies Down Stretch to Win Long Island Classic

Original article written by Marzy Dotes posted 12 years 2 weeks ago

The bay horse stood beneath his favorite tree at Trial by Summer Stables watching the sun set over the blue grass.

Hundreds of miles away, a celebration took place. Crowds of race goers had flooded the area around the winner’s circle at Long Island Park and the champagne had already started to flow as the sport crowned itself another winner of the $1 million Grade I Long Island Classic.

This year, it was Messiah who wore the blanket of white carnations after he splashed through the mud in the final yards to defeat the very game Rising Stars to win the race. The talented if somewhat star crossed bay colt owned by Stephen Skaggs sped the l ½ miles over the oval in the brilliant time of 2:26.19.

Owned by Stephen Skaggs, he had cost $5.5 million at auction and had been the outcome of a meeting between his parents, one of which was the stallion underneath the tree far away.

That’s Notorious who contributed his considerable genes to both the top two finishers in this year’s final jewel. He met up in this case with the famous broodmare Significant. She’s one of those very fine daughters by Hall of Famer California who earlier this year was seen by many as a harbinger of Sun Raider’s impending pensioning when she produced a filly by him.

Notorious can relate because he was pensioned not long after being visited by her but he did get Messiah out of it to add to his list of impressive stakes winners. The former stallion had been one of Hall of Famer Loki Dynasty’s famous sons and was out of Salute who’s by Unbridled. During his own racing career, Notorious had won eight out of his 15 races failing to miss hitting the board only in the Steward’s Cup Classic where he finished fifth behind End of the Line. But he won his share of stakes races including the Oaklawn Handicap and Baltimore Special earning nearly $4 million on the racetrack.

His most important race hadn’t been a victory but his second place finish behind Colorado in the Long Island Classic. A race that had been hard fought by him and one that as it turned out, would help draft his legacy at stud.
After retirement, he headed off to sire the next generation of runners and during his career, sired 174 winners so far and 21 that have won stakes. It didn’t take him long to sire his first winner of the Long Island Classic in Sun Tzu who defeated Same Old Plot by a head.

The same margin his own sire had lost the same race by in his own career.
Sun Tzu’s dam Strategy had also produced Gun Hill who came in second in the Long Island Classic more than seven lengths behind the winner California who would serve as broodmare sire years later for Messiah.

But Notorious’ master plan of siring Long Island Classic winners had just gotten started.

Next up, Sky Gambler paid him a visit. She was a stately grey mare, a daughter of Vindication who had never raced herself. That wouldn’t matter as she produced some fine runners including Hold Dear who finished third in the Long Island Acorn this year. Her own dam Sky Brusher would produce last year’s Steward’s Cup Marathon winner High Esteem who himself finished second in the Long Island Classic behind Maelstrom. But it was her matchup with Notorious that produced her most successful foal to date, Highly Regarded.

This handsome if somewhat sleep prone colt spun out the fastest seven furlong workout in history even before his racing career had started for owner Art Vandelay who picked him up very cheaply. He won his first five starts before he finished fifth in the Louisville Derby. In the Long Island Classic, he found his true calling and sailed to victory there before going on to a very successful racing career. Marathon running proved to be his thing and he capped his career off with a win in the Steward’s Cup Marathon.

Then he went to stud where he attracted quite a few mares with his good lucks and great pedigree. One of them would be the stakes horse Simperior Edge (by Dr. Richardson whose sire Loki Masterpiece lost the Long Island Classic and Triple Crown by a nose). The outcome was a bay colt that would grow to be statuesque in size before heading out to the racetrack. Ashley Gibson had spent $429,000 for him at auction.

It would turn out to be a great investment, a development that he’d share with his sire.

Rising Stars broke his maiden first time out at a mile and soon captured his first major win in the Majesty Stakes after finishing second behind Messiah in the Don’t Hesitate Stakes. He then prepped for the Triple Crown races with a win in the Giacomo Stakes followed by a speedy third place finish in the Sunshine Park Derby again won by Messiah. His foray into the Louisville Derby left him in ninth place but he skipped the Baltimore Crown to focus on the Crown’s final jewel which would also be its longest.

Messiah himself would ride a tide of five straight wins some of them in scintillating fashion right up to the Louisville Derby where many thought he might prevail at the wire. Alas, it wasn’t to be as he fell back earlier but kicked it in gamely in the stretch to finish third. He would also finish third in the sizzling stretch drive a length behind the winner in the Baltimore Crown.

Both these two sophomore colts watched as the darkened clouds descended over the racetrack and drenched its oval with rain. Messiah whinnied in delight as he strode through the puddles on the way to the saddling area because after all, he had captured the Bubbly Stakes in the slop. Rising Stars had no experience over a muddy track but appeared indifferent to the rainstorm as his connections prepared him for the race that his sire had loved most.
Other horses in the race soon congregated including the winners of the other two Crown jewels.

San Diego Padre, the Matt Wilson homebred who had captured the Louisville Derby had hoped to reverse his form that in the Baltimore Crown had led to a fourth place finish. The fierce bay colt Gunnarr had hoped to build on his victory in that race for his breeder and owner Emily Mitchell.

Jockey Michael Moody had high hopes for his mount, last year’s North American Champion Two Year Old Male Night Fury who had finished a hard charging second in the Baltimore Crown for Laura Ferguson, not surprising considering his sire Boise had won that race himself. Mitchell’s other entry Stay Inside, a son of two Hall of Famers in Sun Raider and Wonder hoped to mirror more closely his second in the Louisville Derby rather than his ninth in the Baltimore Crown.
John Slotmom’s Championship Day cost him $625,000 and is a son of multi-surface sire Chretiens and out of Steward’s Cup which makes him a half brother to Simmy Award. His second place finish in the Fountain of Gold Stakes and New Orleans Derby had led to a 15th place finish in the Louisville Derby.

The rain had let up slightly as the field proceeded to the starting gate and last minute wagers were made at the windows. When the gate opened, Rising Stars leapt to the lead by a head over Larry Burndorf’s Fast who held the second spot by a length over Championship Day while Messiah drifted back to seventh place. As they skipped through the mud in the backstretch, Rising Stars had a half length lead over Fast who opened up by 4 ¾ lengths over Championship Day. Gunnarr and San Diego Padre were fourth and fifth and Messiah remained in seventh. The far turn came up quickly as Rising Stars kept his lead now a head over Championship Day who had crept up to take the second spot followed by a charging Gunnarr who sat third. Messiah maneuvered his position to hold the sixth spot as jockey Jordyn Springer prepared him for his huge run.

In the homestretch, Rising Stars kept pushing all the way to the wire in hopes of doing what his sire had done. But Messiah launched a huge stretch run working his way around and through horse to challenge him and Championship Day with San Diego Padre giving it his best shot. Messiah proved to be too tough for the others on this day and battled it out with Rising Stars to prevail at the wire. Rising Starts finished strongly in second by a length over Championship Day who finished third.

After the race, Messiah celebrated with his connections in the winner’s circle after redeeming himself in the final jewel of the crown where he hadn’t been favored to win. But also celebrating were those who were fans of both Highly Regarded and his sire Notorious who factored in so heavily in a race that had helped define their own careers.

Hundreds of miles away from all the excitement, the horse that put a second career behind him is enjoying his life while his descendents have achieved the accomplishment that had eluded him. The legacy that he’s still building through their feats will surely place him in the history books to be remembered.

As highly regarded as a stallion can be.


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