<\/p>\n
With the thought put into her breeding, she was destined to be great.<\/p>\n
And her name suggested that she would be larger than life.<\/p>\n
So, when Benchian Fingers came up large, much larger than most anyone could have expected on the second day of the Breeder\u2019s Bowl races last weekend, she did something that few horses do when they\u2019re bred.<\/p>\n
She lived up to her hype.<\/p>\n
A total of 156 horses tried to smash a Breeders\u2019s Bowl record last weekend, and only one, the two year old Awesome Again filly with the rather odd name, managed to turn the trick.<\/p>\n
Benchian Fingers, owned by Padrebri Racing, catapulted herself and her owner onto the world stage with her stunning, record-breaking performance in the BB Juvy Filly on November 1.<\/p>\n
But that fact alone didn\u2019t put Brian\u2019s filly in the superstar category and separate her from the rest of the pack.<\/p>\n
She was also the only animal to remain undefeated after the sun set on the 14 Breeders\u2019 Bowl races this year.<\/p>\n
That his two year old filly, Benchian Fingers, is unbeaten so far is not just icing on the cake. That fact and her record-breaking performance in the Juvy Filly says a lot about the star power Brian\u2019s big Awesome Again filly has managed to garner in a perfect 2014 campaign that has carried her to four graded stakes victories and six consecutive victories overall.<\/p>\n
Brian and his super filly who goes by the unique name aren\u2019t too worried about star power right now.<\/p>\n
In fact, the laid back guy from Southern California, who lives near the San Diego area and loves horses and horse racing, rarely worries about anything. He lives pretty much in the here and now. He\u2019s not concerned very much with the past, as we found out when he said he didn\u2019t even know his filly had broken the stakes record for the Juvy Filly until a couple days after the race, when he read about it in the BTB.<\/p>\n
And, Brian doesn\u2019t worry too much about the future, as he says when he was asked about his specific plans and what\u2018s in store for his superstar filly.<\/p>\n
When Benchian Fingers stayed unbeaten at 6-6, after she smashed the field (and the stakes record) in the Breeders\u2019 Bowl Juvenile Filly last weekend, Brian says he \u201cdidn\u2019t even realize she had broken the stakes record for the race,\u201d when she finished the 8.5 furlongs in a time of 1:42.62, breaking the old stakes record (1:42.69) set by Miniminus in 2012.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had no idea that she had set the Breeders\u2019 Bowl Filly Dirt record, until you mentioned it in a recap a few days later,\u201d said the Californian who lives near his favorite track, the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, in San Diego. \u201cTrack records aren\u2019t something that I follow very closely. But, in retrospect, it\u2019s pretty cool to own a record in one of the bigger races in the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
That Brian and Benchian Fingers snagged that stakes record last weekend with his first Breeders\u2019 Bowl winner ever is pretty cool, too.<\/p>\n
When we asked him to talk about his previous Breeders\u2019 Bowl winners, a slight grin came over Brian\u2019s face. The funny, clever, witty California trainer who\u2019s very new to the Breeders\u2019 Bowl winner\u2019s circle loves to joke around.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would love to talk about my previous Breeders\u2019 Bowl winners. Let me go look up that list,\u201d said Brian. \u201cOh, wait, here it is. It\u2019s a blank sheet of paper. This is my first Breeders\u2019 Bowl winner in my ten years playing Derbyfever!\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s Brian for you.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had a handful of runners, through the years,\u201d said Brian. \u201cBut my best finish before this year had been a fourth place finish, only beaten by 1 length, in the Juvy Turf Filly race in 2005 with one of my favorite horses ever, Tenacious V.\u201d<\/p>\n
The BB win last weekend was long overdue for Brian. \u00a0But 2014 changed all that for the Southern California native. \u00a0Not only did his superstar filly Benchian Fingers break into the record books in the BB Juvy Filly, but Brian also had another pretty stunning juvenile called Set Da Sim On Fire run a very game second in the BB Juvy Turf race for the colts last weekend.<\/p>\n
The man who took ten years to get his first Breeders\u2019 Bowl winner has set himself up with a pretty nice foundation for the future with the pair of super juveniles he sent to the Breeders\u2019 Bowl in 2014.<\/p>\n
The word big comes to mind, when you think about Benchian Fingers. She is unbeaten, with that perfect 6-6 record. That\u2019s big. \u00a0 She smashed the Juvenile Filly record in the Breeders\u2019 Bowl. That\u2019s big. \u00a0 Even her name, Benchian Fingers, suggests big.<\/p>\n
Brian says her name comes from the American animated television series, Archer, which can be seen on the FX network. The name Benchian Fingers is a reference to the spy spoof series\u2019 top female secret agent, Lana Kane. The character is a beautiful woman who is deadly and competent and who is also six feet tall. The fact that she has abnormally large hands is a source of jokes at the character\u2019s expense.<\/p>\n
\u201cI find the show extremely funny and well done,\u201d says Brian. \u201cIn the show, there is a running gag about Lana\u2019s hands being extremely large, and Benchian Fingers was one of the lines used to describe her hands and insult her. \u00a0Johnny Bench, the Hall Of Fame catcher for the Cincinnati Reds, was known for his gigantic hands, and you can find photos of him holding seven baseballs in one hand. Her hands are also referred to as Truckasaurus and Flintstony Fists.\u201d<\/p>\n
Deadly and extremely competent, like the television series character she is named after — those words could be used to describe Brian\u2019s filly, as she ripped her way through the 2014 season undefeated, on the way to her Breeders\u2019 Bowl triumph.<\/p>\n
Brian thought he had something pretty special on his own hands after Benchian Fingers debuted very early in her two year old season. But, the ten-year veteran trainer tempered his excitement.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen she ran a 74 speed figure in her debut on March 3,\u201d said Brian, \u201cit no doubt caught my attention. That\u2019s a damned big number, and I was obviously excited. However, I\u2019ve had way too many horses pop in their debut, only to never come close to running that number again. So I was still leery. But then, when she popped an 80 speed figure in mid-April, on an off-track, no less, in her first race versus winners, I was convinced she could be something special.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brian figured his Awesome Again filly could skip over the remainder of her conditioned allowances and listed stakes, and he could send her straight to a graded stakes after her second win in two starts in his native California.<\/p>\n
His decision turned out to be the right one.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had no qualms about sending her to a graded race to make her stakes debut, after she looked so good in her first two starts,\u201d said Brian. \u201cI picked out her stakes debut six weeks out from her second start. I don\u2019t find there\u2019s much difference between listed stakes and graded stakes for two year olds that early in the season. So, why not go for the extra points?\u201d<\/p>\n
Why not, indeed.<\/p>\n
Brian shipped his California-based filly across the country to Vermont to the Grade 2 Vermont BB Juvenile Filly Stakes, where she had a close call against a tough bunch of seasoned fillies on the first day in June. It would turn out to be her closest margin of victory in all six of her wins, when she turned back the late charge of an Otto Haack-trained War Front filly, another great filly who went on to win the Grade 3 Schoolerville in her next start.<\/p>\n
After Benchian Fingers won that grade 2 race in Vermont, Brian started thinking about the Breeders\u2019 Bowl. \u201cI knew that getting her the points should be relatively easy. I know nothing is easy in this game, but having grade 2 winning points by June 1 makes the process (of getting to the Breeders\u2019 Bowl as a two year old) that much easier. Knowing that, I looked at the schedule, and I picked out another Grade 2 race seven weeks down the road. I really wanted to give her plenty of time between races at this point.\u201d<\/p>\n
It turned out to be a wise decision by Brian, who sent Benchian Fingers back across the country to British Columbia, where all his filly did was dominate another strong field in the 6-furlong Grade 2 Hoserhead Juvenile Fillies Stakes in British Columbia.<\/p>\n
Brian\u2019s filly popped a big 94 speed figure in that grade 2 win. But this time, there were two fillies who ran second and third behind Benchian Fingers who went on to win graded races in their next starts.<\/p>\n
When We Were Young, who is owned by Magoo Racing, went on to dominate the boys in a convincing win in the Grade 1 Dell Computer Futurity in California. And, Uncivil Servant, owned by Nagnagnag Racing, captured the Grade 3 Buckeye Debutante in her next start after being beaten by Benchian Fingers.<\/p>\n
The pattern that was beginning to take shape was clear. \u00a0Benchian Fingers was not just beating good fillies. \u00a0She was defeating next out graded winners.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the real excitement kicked in after she dominated that Grade 2 Hoserhead Juvenile Fillies,\u201d said Brian. \u201cWhen do you see a two year old filly run a 94 speed figure in July? That is a number that is competitive in most juvenile Breeders\u2019 Bowl races, and she ripped off that 94 speed figure nearly four months before the big dance in November. With even standard two year old improvement, I knew she would be a force to be reckoned with in the BB Juvy Filly race. It was about 14 weeks before the big day, so I decided to race her only once more before the Breeders\u2019 Bowl.\u201d<\/p>\n
It just so happened that the race Brian found for his budding filly mirrors the top two-year-old race at the track nearest his home in real life, Del Mar. He picked the 7-furlong Grade 1 Dell Computer Debutante.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was the perfect match, and it would be run over the same track in the game as the Breeders\u2019 Bowl races,\u201d said Brian.<\/p>\n
Benchian Fingers was coming full circle, ending up prepping for the Breeders\u2019 Bowl where her story began, back at her home track in California. And, her Southern California-based trainer said he couldn\u2019t have been more thrilled if he had hit a $300 million dollar lotto jackpot.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did consider trying a route before heading to the Breeders\u2019 Bowl,\u201d said Brian. \u201cBut I felt this particular grade 1 was the perfect place to go. Being perfectly honest here, I didn\u2019t want to have my bubble burst before the first weekend in November. If she was going to bomb going a route of ground, I\u2019d rather she blow it there, in the Breeders\u2019 Bowl, rather than in a route seven weeks before and have to come to the Breeders\u2019 Bowl with far less excitement.\u201d<\/p>\n
But it seemed that there would have to be at least one hiccup on the day of Benchian Fingers\u2019 first grade 1 race in Brian\u2019s home state of California. No one ever gets everything their own way, right?<\/p>\n
In an area where it hardly ever rains, the track came up sloppy on the day of Benchian Fingers\u2018 first grade 1 race. \u00a0But, Brian thought the bad weather was actually a plus for his filly\u2019s chances in the Grade 1 Dell Computer Debutante.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was extremely confident. The off track actually boosted my confidence level instead of raising more questions,\u201d Brian noted. \u201cBenchian Fingers had run so well in her second career start on a track labeled good that the sloppy track that came up on Debutante Day didn\u2019t worry me at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brian\u2019s filly took a little step back, at least in the speed figure department, on that rainy day in California just prior to her BB win. But he said Benchian Fingers was \u201cin total control and cruised home pretty easily, winning it by three lengths.\u201d<\/p>\n
The stage was set. \u00a0Benchian Fingers was a perfect 5-5. \u00a0And, she was back home, resting in California, waiting for her record-breaking date with destiny on November 1 in the Breeders\u2018 Bowl.<\/p>\n
Brian had five horses entered in the Breeders\u2019 Bowl races, but he had two runners bumped because of lack of points before the two BB race days. That left him with three BB runners, and two of them, Benchian Fingers and Charger Power (named after his favorite NFL team, the San Diego Chargers), were in the same race, the Juvenile Filly.<\/p>\n
Brian says he felt Benchian Fingers would be the better shot of his two girls in the Juvy Filly. But he was a bit concerned that distance could be an issue in the 8.5-furlong race for his super filly.<\/p>\n
After all, Benchian Fingers had never been two turns in any of her five wins prior to her BB start. \u201cI was confident, but let\u2019s just say it was a guarded confidence. \u00a0I\u2019ve been at this game way too long to not know anything can happen, and I knew there was a chance that I could be really disappointed after the race. \u00a0There were a few fillies who had popped big numbers going a mile or more. \u00a0But I thought if my filly ran her race, she would be tough to beat.\u201d<\/p>\n
Benchian Fingers did not disappoint her trainer on race day.<\/p>\n
\u201cI absolutely loved the way the race played out,\u201d he said. \u201cShe was sitting fourth early and ready to pounce on the early speed. \u00a0When she made a forward move at the half mile pole and started breathing down the leaders\u2019 necks, I was very confident no one was going to catch her. I was very happy to see that she improved significantly while moving up to a route, and the fact that she threw a 101 speed figure confirmed that.\u201d<\/p>\n
After her impressive, record-breaking performance in the Juvy Filly, Brian said Benchian Fingers came back to the barn \u201cpretty worn out, and it was suggested she take an \u2018extended rest.\u2019 She has since improved but she is still a \u2019tired\u2019 filly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brian says he doesn\u2019t plan on running his super filly again in 2014. \u201cI think she\u2019s done everything I could have asked of her. And having an undefeated Eclipse winning-type season sounds pretty awesome to me. I\u2019ll sit down and maybe start mapping out a three-year-old schedule sometime soon to make sure she\u2018s ready for the Bluegrass\u2026.Oaks? \u00a0Derby? \u00a0Who knows?\u201d<\/p>\n
Brian said he realizes that history is against his filly fulfilling the expectations that have been placed on her when she turns three years old on January 1.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am completely aware of the tendency of precocious, champion two-year-olds falling off form,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I can\u2019t do anything about that. \u00a0It\u2019s history. \u00a0I just have to move forward with my filly and see what happens. As we discussed, she\u2019s bred to perform at classic distances as an older mare, so I still have that hope. And, if she turns out to be a one-year wonder, so be it. \u00a0It was an awesome year.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ever enthusiastic, but realistic, man from California left open the door for the possibility that Benchian Fingers could be the filly who defies Derbyfever history and goes on to have an even bigger and better three-year-old season.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf she doesn\u2019t flame out and continues to run at a high level,\u201d said Brian, \u201cwell, maybe we are looking then at one of the greatest horses to ever run in this game. No one knows what\u2019s going to happen, but the anticipation sure makes it a fun ride.\u201d<\/p>\n
With that scratch-bred pedigree of Awesome Again x Seattle Slew x Forty Niner, Brian said there is no doubt that Benchian Fingers could conceivably turn out to be even better as an older mare. She would be bucking history, if she does indeed pan out to be even greater as an older horse, given the Derbyfever trend of having precocious two year olds falling into oblivion after their superstar freshman campaigns.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout this time last year, I started stocking up on what I was going to use for sires for my 2014 crop,\u201d said Brian, who has 120 two-year olds in his barn, with only 22 of those being scratch-breds.<\/p>\n
Brian said he \u201cfocused more on dirt routers (with this crop) in an effort to get more runners in the Oaks and the Derby and the classic dirt races. \u00a0Benchian Fingers\u2019 sire, Awesome Again, was #2 on my list, behind Distorted Humor. \u00a0In her dam sire slot, I used one of my all-time favorites, Seattle Slew. \u00a0You can\u2019t go wrong, using a Triple Crown winner when you\u2019re trying to breed a dirt-routing, classic distance-type animal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlso, by now, I\u2019m sure everyone knows of my infatuation with Vindication, who was also sired by Seattle Slew,\u201d Brian said. \u201cAfter that, all that was left was filling the dam\u2019s damsire slot, when I was breeding Benchian Fingers. Having a sire from the Northern Dancer line and a damsire from the Hail To Reason line, or even just saying the Seattle Slew line himself, I think it was obvious that I needed to use a sire from the Mr. Prospector line. I gave Forty Niner the nod for the dam\u2019s damsire slot, and that was ultimately how Benchian Fingers was bred. She is a filly bred for classic distances, with a 4×4 cross to Mr. Prospector.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whether or not Brian\u2019s super filly, who was bred for the classics, can buck the trend of juvenile champions failing to launch as three year olds remains to be seen. But it\u2019s going to be a lot of fun watching the big filly with the rather unusual name try to do exactly that in 2015.<\/p>\n
After all, as Brian says, we could be seeing a filly for the ages in the making.<\/p>\n
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