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Big Upset in Louisville: Frisco Kid Wins the Derby
Original article written by The Steward posted 16 years 0 weeks agoIt couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.
Donnie Hidalgo first started training in Year 8. He didn't win a single race that year, but managed a whole two wins in all of Year 9. He didn't even get his first decent horse until Year 11 with Dreams in Flames, who took the Estrellas Juvenile to cap off the season. That colt went on to win $7 million in a time of vastly inflated purses, but it was enough. Donnie Hidalgo was on his way.
A myriad of nice horses have passed through the Hidalgo barn since that year. Extremist, who became the dam of Hidalgo's first Steward's Cup winner Lightninginabottle, preceded Desert World Cup winner Chinese Bandit, and more recently the top turf filly Test My Heart has called the barn home. Still, the Louisiana native has never struck gold like he did with Frisco Kid, who went from being a homebred without expectations to the Year 21 Louisville Derby winner, triggering the highest payout in SIM history of $4,160.
Hidalgo purchased Frisco Kid's dam, Returning Home, at a Trial By Summer auction for only $50,000. One of the last offspring of Priceless Forever, Returning Home was a useful racehorse, winning 9 of 17 starts and just over $1 million, including several graded stakes races in her resume. Her very first foal is Frisco Kid, who was sired by California, himself a legendary runner for Laura Ferguson.
Frisco Kid's early career went as expected. He failed to make an impact on a sprint maiden, then won going a mile over a horse many have heard of since, King. He finished second to future Horse of the Year Ramses II in the Champagne Stakes, then was given the winter off to return Week 2 in the Fountain of Gold Stakes. What happened there should have tipped everyone off - Frisco Kid defeated leading Derby candidate Baby Blue by a nose in a long stretch duel.
In Kentucky at Lexington Race Course, Frisco Kid tackled some of the best of the crop in the Kentucky Blue Stakes. He finished a head back from Looking For Light in that race, the fastest 1 1/8 miles of the season. Still, he went into the Derby overlooked behind such impressive stars as Ramses II, Then, Baby Blue, Jester of Kings, Artillery, and Sahara.
The incredible drive to the wire in this year's Derby will never be forgotten. The field went 10 wide around the turn and barely two lengths separated the first half of the field from the winner. Frisco Kid simply had an extra little "oomph" that propelled him to a narrow victory over Ramses II, with longshot Renown finishing third.
Hidalgo was beside himself with excitement, graciously accepting congratulations and enjoying the moment. Frisco Kid will now head to Maryland and the Baltimore Crown where he should face a very full field. Most of the Derby finishers were so close that they all deserve a shot in the next leg of the Triple Crown. Already Ramses II and Sun Raider have joined the line up, as well as fresh faces Cloud, King, Haunted Life, and the filly More. Fang and Then are expected to be added to the field, and Ladonna King is tossing around the possibility of starting Louisville Oaks winner Checkered Past in the race.