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Hall of Fame - Look Close

Original article written by Nathan Klein posted 3 years 0 weeks ago

From SIM years 29-31, the dirt sprinting division was dominated by 2 black racehorses who would both remain unbeaten in 12 starts throughout 2 full race seasons. Quicker Then Light was one of them but the first of the pair to step onto the scene was Look Close. Look Close was normally either a leader, fighting the front runners for supremacy or a stalker taking himself behind the leaders and passing them in the stretch. In his first race, he let Stretch Your Wings lead the race by over a length in the first half but by the far turn, he turned the tables and won by 2 lengths. He pulled off a similar tactic next time out in the Mischief Maker. He stayed right at No Flash's neck during the first half but by the far turn it was all over, Look Close kicked it up a notch and won by 4 lengths.

After a similar win in the Twin Spires Stakes, he decided to change it up in the Grade 1 Excited Stakes. This time he went to the lead and stayed there letting Set The Standard come up late for second but he was never a threat as Look Close held him off by a confident 2 lengths. He got a more serious challenge when he was prepping up for the 2-year-old Sprint Championship. He broke well but he had to fight off Silent Bullet, the two were in a race of there own. Look Close led by a slim half-length while the rest of the competition was at most 4 lengths behind them. By the far turn Look Close began opening up and looked home free but SS El Camino made a late bid giving him a mild scare. With his leftover strength, he fought off SS El Camino to win by 3/4 of a length. The 2-year-old Sprint Championship would prove to be easier as he got the lead to himself and held off all comers to win by 1 1/2 lengths. With 6 strong wins, he took the title of North American Champion Two Year Old Male with pride and was ready to go again.

To kick off the year he decided to battle for his lead. In his first two starts, he would stay less than a length off the lead and tire his opponents out via pressuring them on the lead. His first Grade 1 win would come in the Esteemed Stakes, his second attempt against older horses and his first at the Grade 1 level. At the start, he seemed a bit more out of it being 3 lengths off the leaders. He simply was a patient horse as his name suggested he looked closely at his opponents for signs of weakness and make his move accordingly. With this move, he widdled down A.P Missle's lead in the stretch and then opened up an extra 1 3/4 lengths to win. Following this win, a real battle began to brew as he and Betterbetdabestbet faced off in the Look My Best Stakes. Betterbetdabestbet had previously lost to Look Close in the Sprint Championship the previous year but he wanted to redeem it. In the stretch, the two opened up on their opponents turning it into a match race. Look Close on the inside Betterbetdabestbet on the outside. The two were head and head with Look Close trying to hang on as Betterbetdabestbet was desperate to pass Look Close. They refused to yield but at the wire, it was Look Close by a head.

Look Close had proven he had the heart to fight when needed. Look Close and Betterbetdabestbet both took their final preps easily and then got ready to face off again on a bigger stage. This time it was the Steward's Cup Sprint where they would brawl. In the stretch Look Close tired out the leader and took over but Set The Standard and Betterbetdabestbet made their move as well from further back. Look Close was gonna have to hold them both off. But Set The Standard and Betterbetdabestbet were not easy to repel, they were going for broke running faster and further than they ever did before trying to pass Look Close. For a second it looked like they could but then Look Close came right back with a move of his own and at the wire held on to win by half a length to Betterbetdabestbet and another quarter of a length to Set The Standard.

Look Close had fought the good fight and was retired taking North American Champion Sprinter for his 6 wins that year. As a sire, he would prove to be instrumental producing 561 winners and $63,193,945 in progeny earnings. With champions such as Dessert Golden Sprint winner Kaos who would try and fail on multiple occasions to defeat If Looks Could. He would have other successes such as multiple Steward's Cup winners, the main one being Graces. A sprinter filly who never lost in 14 starts managing to win many of the same major races as her father as well as join him in the Hall Of Fame. Look Close was sprinting perfection on the track but more importantly, could produce sprinting perfection.


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