Maybe Not Today blooms in 2014 for Eclipse honors in 3-year-old turf long division

Sometimes a name turns out not to fit a horse well. Other times it could not be more apropos. When elite trainer Lenny bred Maybe Not Today back in 2013, he could not have known for how long his name would suit him. But it turned out that 2014 wasn’t just his day, but also his year.

Maybe Not Today, out of the simsters2 stable, has been named the 2014 3-year-old Turf Long Male Eclipse Horse of the Year.

The son of Galileo, out of million-dollar mare Out of Spite (Dynaformer x Nijinsky 2nd), is Lenny’s fifth Eclipse award winner (Ed.’s note: that number is not official, but Lenny’s best guess). Yet he nearly never got his day.

“His mother was a really good runner, but based on the fact he took seven races to break his maiden I’m surprised I didn’t breed over him,” Lenny said. “I have no patience.”

This was a case, however, of patience paying off in spades.

It was not until March of 2014, seven races into his career, that Maybe Not Today finally broke his maiden. He then began to climb the ladder in local-bred races, with his trainer patiently working his horse. But it was NW2L local-bred allowance race in June that proved to be the key to unlocking the bay colt. That was when he went out over 11 furlongs — the longest race of his career — and blitzed the field while posting a 110 speed figure.

“Once I moved him out to 11 furlongs and his speed figure jumped up to 110, I thought maybe he’d get a shot at stakes company at some point,” Lenny said.

Still, the trainer remained patient. Maybe Not Today then equally stomped an NW3L local field over the same distance, and then did the same to an NW4L unrestricted field. With a new level of confidence in the horse, the next step was logical.

A purchased Grade III over 11.5 furlongs in October saw Maybe Not Today very competitive, closing well and finishing in second. The effort proved encouraging for the 3-year-old’s camp. If he could perform well against that level, why not go big?

It turned out not only could Maybe Not Today handle a higher level of competition, he also loved to run longer. The Grade I Japanese Saint Legend proved that, as the horse won the $2.5 million race by three lengths as the field’s third favorite, posting a 113 speed figure.

From that moment, the rest of his year began to come together. Following a tried-and-true Lenny approach, the trainer cut Maybe Not Today’s distance the next time out, going a mile and a half in the elite Grade I Japan Classic for a purse of $4.6 million — one of the largest in the sim. It worked.

Maybe Not Today used a devastating close over the race’s second half to clinch a length-and-a-half victory and put an elite win on his resume. Except that it was not the crown jewel for the horse’s connections; that was yet to come.

“It’s funny,” Lenny said. “Once he won the Saint Legend, the Winter Cup was actually the goal.”

The reasoning was simple — the goal was for Maybe Not Today to follow in his mother’s footsteps.  Out of Spite had won the Winter Cup in 2010 running as the only female in the field. It was also the final race of her career when she tried again a year later (the result was not as good).

Here was Maybe Not today with a chance to fulfill his familial destiny.

It was not, however, to be, though that does not take away from an excellent performance that saw the colt finish as runner-up. Maybe Not Today closed from ninth place, 11 lengths back, in the final turn to earn that spot. It was enough to out-do 10 other graded winners, six other Grade 1 winners and this year’s Older Female Dirt Turf Long Eclipse winner Gushing.

Two Grade I wins, a Grade I runner-up and a Grade III runner-up. More than $5 million in career earnings (more than four time his mother). Not bad for a horse that entered 2014 never having won a race before.

For now, Maybe Not Today is enjoying some rest out at the farm as Lenny preps his 4-year-old slate for 2015. That likely means a shot at the Dubai Turf Cup, with that result helping shape the rest of the year.

“If he’s still running well I’ll target The Ark and then the Breeder’s Bowl Turf,” Lenny said. “Those are my two favorite races in the game. I’ll sprinkle in rest and some softer races between the Grade 1s. My target will be to race in four to five Grade 1s and not build up to much wear and tear. We’ll see how it goes.”

Seeing how it goes has worked out well for Maybe Not Today so far.