 |
|||||
|
Sim Trainer Stats Sim Race Stats |
I SEEK U Owner/Trainer: indy Record: 28-14-4-1; $5,116,580
Win: Bluegrass Derby-G1, Middle Jewel S-G1, New Yorker-G1, Travelers S-G1, Movieland Shiny Cap-G1, California Handicap-G1, Toilet Scrubbers Anonymous Handicap-G2, Chicago Derby-G2. Place: Bob Woodward Memorial-G1, Eddie Haskell S-G1, Swamps Stakes-G1, Felipe Alou Cap-G2, Exceller Memorial. Show: Breeders’ Bowl Classic-G1. The first SIM Triple Crown winner is an interesting study in how a slight change here or there could have led to a very different outcome. The handsome homebred juvenile colt, out of indy’s speedy Prospect Dealing, a multiple stakes winner at six furlongs, and heroine of the G2 Real Danger Handicap, always appeared to be something special. Because his mother had been at her best at six panels, and not one step farther, I Seek U was kept to sprints at the beginning of his career. In an abbreviated juvenile campaign, he won at first asking, earning an 86 SF for 6 ½ furlongs, then won a six furlong allowance. Even in his sophomore debut, the colt was still kept to sprinting, winning with a 99 SF. Indy continued to exercise patience with his charge. The decision, for whatever reason, was made to stretch him out to a mile, although the unbeaten colt was once again kept to the allowance level. The brown colt won handily, posting a 103 SF, and suddenly visions of roses appeared. Despite his lack of stakes points, the colt was able to draw into the Felipe Alou, and while he suffered his first defeat, finishing second behind Generator, who got loose on the lead, his connections had to like what the saw. The colt had closed steadily, despite the lack of pace, and earned a sharp 107 SF. Indy still didn’t rush his colt, waiting another four weeks before running him back in the G2 Chicago Derby. This time, I Seek U went straight to the front and never looked back, coasting to the wire under a handride, finishing 1 1/4 lengths ahead of April Field and Assume the Point. The final time of 1:48 flat (113 SF) marked him as a serious Derby threat; however, the question was the stakes points. Did this fast-rising star have enough to draw in? The answer proved to be, yes and no. Kbsweet made the decision not to run her star colt, Crafty Assault, in the big dance after finishing ninth in the Chicago Derby, allowing I Seek U to draw into the Derby with the 20th and final slot. Without that sportsmanlike decision, history would be quite different. Sent off as the 11-1 fourth choice (behind Ghostly, the filly Wolf of Queensland, and Leaky Tap), once again I Seek U shot to the front. The lead became a processional, as Renfroe never asked his colt to move, and yet the margin of victory became larger and larger. First one length, then two, and finally an unchallenged 4 ½ lengths in front of Silverwore at the wire. This would be the first, although not the last, time those two rivals would meet. Wolf of Queensland made a belated rally to finish a distant third. Final time was 2:01 1/5, was just shy of Tower Storm’s 2:01, and good enough for a 115 SF rating. The name I Seek U was on everyone’s lips as the Triple Crown train headed to Maryland, although the bandwagon wasn’t all that full, as the colt was allowed to go off as a lukewarm favorite, with odds of 5/1. Once again, Renfroe let his mount charge to the front, and once again, he was simply untouchable, making ever pole a winning one on his way to a 3 ½ length score over Gonzalo, who had not run in the Derby. Leaky Tap was almost five lengths further back in third, while Silverwore could only manage fifth. Once again, I Seek U posted a 115 SF. The SIM waited with baited breath as the colt arrived in New York. Would he be the first Triple Crown winner? Indy went about his business, but in reading between the lines, I Seek U glowed with good health and better spirits, and impressed the railbirds with his morning trips to the track. To add to the intrigue, an overnight storm left the track a sea of slop. The colt, by all rights, should take to the surface, but he had never done it in a race, only adding to the tension and the questions. A full field of fourteen took on the pro tem leader, and with the slop, the distance, and the potential for a bounce all wild cards, I Seek U went off at 9/2. Haynes, under strict instructions not to let I Seek U get away with an easy lead, sent Silverwore after him. The two colts were noses apart after six furlongs, with the crowd roaring wildly. Still as a team, I Seek U slowly inched ahead, first a head in front, then 1/4 length, and finally 3/4 length at the wire, with a dead game Silverwore hanging in there, both colts laying everything around in an impressive and unforgettable match race. And match race it might as well have been, with Mary Wanna Smoke another 2 lengths back in third, with Gonzalo fourth. I Seek U had achieved stardom with his Derby win; with the Triple Crown, he had achieved immortality. Of course, there was still another half of the season to be run, and whether I Seek U could sustain this form over the course of a full year, and against his elders, remained to be seen. Given six weeks off by his ecstatic trainer, I Seek U returned to the racing wars in the G1 Swamps Stakes. Once again, the son of Gone West went to the lead, but to everyone’s surprise, Cape Brit, making his stakes debut, and running the race of his life, upset the Triple Crown winner by a head at odds of 31/1. Even in defeat, it was still a fine performance, with both colts earning a 112 SF, and many blamed a poor ride by the jockey, the low percentage rider Feller, who was somewhat surprisingly in the saddle. Sent back to New York, the colt tackled the Eddie Haskell, and a rematch with Silverwore, who was fresh off a smashing win in the Princess Cap. This time, it would be Silverwore who got the jump out of the gate, with I Seek U chasing in second, and Silverwore would grindingly edge away, first by a 1/4 length, then slightly further, until he would storm home first under the wire, 2 ½ lengths in front of his rival with a monster 124 SF, while I Seek U put up a 121 SF, the best of his career to date, in defeat. After these two most recent meetings, this rivalry had become riveting, and the SIM’s attention would turn once more to these colt a scant two weeks later in the Travelers Stakes. Once again, the colt who broke fastest would prove to be the winner, and this time it was I Seek U, sent off smartly. The pair were only a 1/4 length apart early on, but I Seek U would draw off to win by almost four lengths, posting another 121 SF in the process. A bounce was inevitable at some point, and for I Seek U, it came in the LA Derby. Indy’s star colt broke second behind the tough filly The Radical T(IRE), and then just didn’t seem to have any fight in him, fading steadily backwards and finishing a distant sixth. In the Jockey Club Guild, I Seek U would do the same thing, grabbing the lead early and looking set to carry his speed to the wire, only to fade when challenged and finishing seventh, just behind Silverwore, who was sixth. The Breeders’ Bowl Classic was next, and speculation was rampant that I Seek U might be over the top after a long season. The colt would go off the fourth choice at 8/1, behind Ray of Pye, Bird Penguin and Exbourne’s Alert. Reunited with Renfroe, who hadn’t ridden the colt since the New Yorker, I Seek U once again went to the lead, with his familiar rival, Silverwore, pressed to his flank. This time, the lead would get smaller, and smaller, until Silverwore pulled away from his rival in the final eighth to capture the Breeders’ Bowl by a length, with a fast-closing Brass Wood up for second. Indy and I Seek U would have to settle for third. I Seek U would close out the season with a dull sixth in the Topicount Special, just ahead of Silverwore, in seventh. Both colts had made a case for championship honors, but I Seek U, with his historic Triple Crown triumph, would walk away with the honors. I Seek U kicked his four year old campaign off with a bang in the curiously named G2 Toilet Scrubbers Anonymous Handicap. Showing the verve, flair and determination of old that had carried him to so many victories the year before, the colt was an easy 3 length winner, and posted a 117 SF in the process. Left in his wake were graded stakes winners Uncanny, Western Groom, Smokin Two Bs, Gonzalo, Seeking the Devil and Exotic Babe. Next out, over a sloppy track, the colt would finish sixth, setting a somewhat frustrating habit of alternating wins with off the board efforts. The "good" races would come in the California Handicap, where he would once again defeat Silverwore, this time by 4 1/4 lengths with a 117 SF, and the inaugural Exceller Memorial, which while only a listed stakes, drew a graded caliber field. In that race, I Seek U earned a 120 SF while defeating Gonzalo, with The Last Straw in fourth. In his first try over a good track, the four year old would capture the Movieland Shiny Cap while displaying a versatility not seen in a while, as he would make a move on the final turn after stalking in fourth to win going away, leaving Ballistic, Coastal Mining and Gonzalo in his wake. I Seek U’s last stellar performance would come in the G1 Bob Woodward Memorial, where he would once again, fittingly, dash to the lead and dare the rest of the field to come get him. Only one could; favored Woody’s Smurfs would make his way from last to first to defeat the champ by 1 ½ lengths. His final race would come in the Breeders’ Bowl Classic, where he turned in the worst race of his career, a rare sour note. Interestingly enough, I Seek U, although having definite turf influences in his pedigree, never tried that surface. That is understandable, given what he accomplished on the main track - first SIM Triple Crown winner, victor in three other G1 events, including the Travelers Stakes. After a patient beginning to his career, I Seek U never ducked a race, and competed at the highest level for two years, a remarkable accomplishment for any horse. But, it is the Triple Crown for which he will always be remembered. |
||||
