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Lofty Goals Earns Top Horse Honors in Steward's Cup Classic
Original article written by Marzy Dotes posted 14 years 3 weeks agoThe $4 million Grade I Steward’s Cup Classic attracted 11 of the top dirt routers in the sport but at race’s end, there could only be one winner. Lofty Goals, a flashy dark bay horse captured the prestigious race by ¾ of a length over smoldering Caldron. He raced the 1 ¼ miles in 1:59.40 over the dirt track at New Orleans Park.
Owned by Steve Martinelli, Lofty Goals had sold at auction as a yearling for the lofty price of just over $12.5 million. Hardly surprising, considering he was the son of stakes winning and dual surface sire Life Worth Living and superstar broodmare Cadeauje who produced the likes of Kiddo, Radee, Indian and Tiger. Not to mention former North American Champion Older Mare Clearly Best who captured the Steward’s Cup Ladies Route before retiring to the breeding shed.
It took awhile for this son of royalty to hit his stride on the track. At two, Lofty Goals won his first two starts in promising fashion and after finishing second in his stakes debut, he finished a disappointing eighth place in the Steward’s Cup Juvenile. His three year old season proved in some ways to be more frustrating, as he won only one race in five starts and placed behind the top of the sophomore class including Flames, War Daddy and Black Ferrari.
However, at four he began to find his stride winning his first start, the Arkansas Handicap handily over Jester of Fools before defeating Marmaduke by a neck in the Suburbia Handicap. He finished fourth in the Louisville Classic but bounced back to defeat Marmaduke again in The Spa Distance Handicap. That effort prepared him perfectly for a big run against a stellar field in the Classic which included top older horses like Flames, War Daddy and Caldron as well as some of the top sophomores in training, including Literature, Thriller and Inferno.
When the gates opened, jockey Frank Frost guided Lofty Goals to the seventh position and they kept their cool as Inferno blazed to the lead with Henry the Sixth breathing down his neck. The two fought for the lead with Father’s Day joining them as horse like Caldron, Thriller and Lofty Goals sat patiently waiting to make their big moves. As the field turned for home, Lofty Goals was still only in ninth place and it appeared that Father’s Day leading the field by two lengths would romp home. But Lofty Goals fired into his next gear and started accelerating until he caught the leaders and prevailed at the wire. Caldron kicked it in two and placed second by a ½ length over Thriller who beat out Flames for third.
Thousands of people cheered Lofty Goals in the winner’s circle as the awards were presented. But the greatest accolades were yet to come as the talented horse captured both the North American Horse of the Year and Champion Older Male titles at year's end.
Lofty Goals hasn’t retired and it is hoped that he will return next year to defend his title along with Thriller who has proved to be just that during his distinguished sophomore campaign which includes a win in the Baltimore Crown. Caldron called it a career and traded in his jet set life for the more quiet life at New River Farm in Virginia where he's set to start siring the future stars of tomorrow at $50,000 a pop.