Four years ago, my beat reporting job for the then-SRF sent me to Kentucky. I was assigned to cover a horse I had never heard of before. Her name was Post Position 4 for the Bluegrass Oaks. Well, that was the assignment. When the posts were drawn, I found out that I had to cover a horse named Rosella, owned by bryan24. At the time, I thought it was awesome, because my name was also Bryan. After talking to her trainer and getting some background information, I had enough for my article. It was published, and she ran on May 4, 2002. After writing the article, I felt that she might actually have a chance, even though she was 15/1. 9 furlongs and 1:49.6 after the gates open, I realized that I was right. Rosella was able to wire the field en route to her first Grade 1 victory. I have always felt that I brought a little bit of luck to the little filly. For years, I have been turning down assignments in Kentucky for fear of the superstition that I did not want to destroy. But this year, I felt that maybe it was time to try and give another horse a little more luck. That horse is super12’s San Pellegrino.
San Pellegrino was born to the super12 stable early in 2005. His stablemates’ successes put high expectations in his owners’ minds, but he didn’t seem to mind. His father, War Chant, certainly lived up to his expectations, as did Dam-Sire Pleasant Colony and Dam’s Dam-sire Caerleon. According to Whirlwind, co-owner of San Pellegrino, he was bred to be a distance turf horse. He took to the track for the first time on March 12, 2005. Based at DelPenn, he was shipped to Tennessee. Unfortunately for him, it rained the night before and the Tennessee turf does not have great drainage. That did not prevent “Pelle” from running a 65.3 speed figure, good enough for 2nd, beaten by future Stakes placed horse Over The Moon. The supers saw potential, and they brought him back 2 months later in a 6f turf MSW at Kentucky. The run was not as good. The grass was firm, but he was beaten by 6-3/4 by Easy Shard (who has since been retired). After losing ground throughout the race, the supers started to rethink their plan. Although the speed figure was higher (67.4), they could see that he probably wasn’t suited for this type of race.
The switch to dirt would come 6 weeks later. It was a controversial one. He was bred for the turf, and switching to the dirt could stunt his turf growth. However, the supers realized that something had to be done. A workout on the dirt showed that he might like the dirt better, and they entered him in a $31800 MSW in Vermont. Being bred for distance races, the owners opted to run him in an 8f race. He promptly gave his owners exactly what they were looking for, pouncing from 4-1/4 back to win by 1-1/2, with an 85.8 SP at the beginning of July. Seeing this “insane” run, they chose to ship him back to home base Delaware and run him in the ARSE Goes Down Stakes on August 20. Again, rain decided it would try and mess with the outcome of the race. This time, however, San Pellegrino was prepared, and unfazed. Off as the 7/1 third choice, he let off a huge move around the far turn, with a sweeping move from 8 lengths back to take the lead in the middle of the stretch. He pulled away, winning by 1-1/2 with an 89.5 SP. Whirlwind acknowledged that San Pellegrino got much better after the switch to the main track. He was eating more and maturing faster. This is when the owners decided to send “Pelle” to the Darling-Squash Futurity.
Sadly, the stakes win for San Pellegrino would be his last. He was able to be a fast closing 5th, but the pace was too slow for him. The best he could do was finish 4-1/2 lengths behind the winner. This run made the owners think he would appreciate longer races. They shipped him up to Minnesota to contest an 8.5f dirt stakes the week before the Breeders’ Bowl. Going into the 9th post, he put up a little bit of a fuss. When the gates opened, he broke a step slow, even for him. He quickly fell to 9 lengths back. A furious attempt by leading jockey Ken Friar roused him up to 5 lengths back at the start of the far turn. A huge move brought him to within 3 lengths of Clan of the Cat, but he could not catch him and finished 2nd. Clan of the Cat breaks from PP 2 in the Derby.
The 86.7 SP was encouraging, and Super decided to keep him at the 8.5f distance. They decided that it would be best to test him again, this time in the Movieland Futurity, a Grade 1 event in California. He broke much better this time, and was in good striking distance up until the end. A mere 5 lengths back, he was in 9th at the 3rd call. He made a huge move to pass all but Magical Merlin in the stretch, finishing 2nd again at 15/1. This race marked his fastest so far, with an SP of 91.3. Super decided to keep “Pelle” out in CA for his 3rd birthday, and ran him on the 14th for his first 2yo race of the year out at Northern California’s Silver Fence Derby. Another 8.5f Graded Stakes attempt, and it was just more of the same. Although he could not catch Half A World Away, he did gain ground at the end, finishing 2nd yet again. Super then got the call from DelPenn, saying that San Pellegrino was going to be their representative to the Clinton Potts, a 9.5f dirt race. For the first time since those first couple of dirt races, it looked like “Pelle” would have a shot in this one. Dropping way back out of the gate, he made a monster move at the end, picking up about 7 lengths in the stretch, missing by a mere ¾ length. To top off his best run, he earned a 95.9 SP. Just when it looked like he was on top of his game, something happened.
The trip from Vermont to Upper New York was a rocky one. The roads were unpaved, and the driver got lost. There was bumping, and San Pellegrino took a slight hit. He came out of it a little off, although the trainer decided that he was good to go. He was a 6/5 favorite in an Upper New York Stakes, but he did not close at all, and finished a dull 3rd. To make matters worse, the owners then shipped him over to France, for the Green Monkey Derby. San Pellegrino dropped farther back than he ever had, more than 12 lengths, and made a slight move to pick up 5. However, he finished 7th. The 93 SP was his second best ever, but he clearly could have been better.
Super immediately shipped San Pellegrino home to Delaware, where he was given two weeks off. He was then sent to Kentucky, as has been back at work since. A bullet 5f workout in :58.3 last week shows that “Pelle” may be back to the form that he left off with after the Equinics. Whirlwind has said that San Pellegrino “seems to have tailed off a bit since the Equinics or he resented the turn back in distance for his last outing. He does appear to have a bit of seconditis syndrome but since young horses mature are change in leaps and bounds, we hope he is ready to put it all together this weekend.” Furthermore, Whirlwind explained what he expects to see out of San Pellegrino this weekend. “I would expect him to sit mid pack and begin to move after the first mile.”
San Pellegrino has looked sharp in the week leading up to the Derby. The question is simply whether he is good enough to contend with this class. Whirlwind said “we have been very lucky getting 5 horses in the gate on Saturday and hopefully the timing will be right for one of them.” Personally, I’m hoping it will be time for San Pellegrino. He can make a hefty penny at 26/1 odds. But more importantly, if he wins, I can continue to say that I am the luckiest beat reporter out there.
Good luck to Super12, San Pellegrino, and everyone on Bluegrass Derby day. May your bets be plentiful, and your horses run fast. But not too fast, if you’re in the claimers ranks. I could use a win.
Bryan (shagfarms) can be reached at TripleCrown@suscom.net