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Sim Trainer Stats Sim Race Stats |
SADDLE DEDICATE
Owner/Trainer: daics Record: 49-23-8-4; $6,403,852
Win: ASR Cup-G1, The ShoeHorn Cup-G1, Sword Swallower Stakes-G1, New South Wales Cup-G1, San Francisco Capitan Handicap-G1, Big Turf Race-G1, Big City Handicap-G2, Grey Fox-G3, X Stakes-G3, Mizra II Special, Ray Jeter Challenge, Raise a Govenor Handicap, Sir Sweetie Handicap, X Stakes, Decidedly Jr. Stakes, X Stakes, Semoran Stakes, X Stakes, Chequer Handicap, Total Certainty Stakes, Housebuster Handicap. Place: Lotus Blossom Stakes-G1, NY Island Cap-G1, The Desucko Handicap-G1, St. Leggs Marathon-G3, Canuck Special, Wajir Stakes, Roan Drone Stakes, Reindeer Stakes. Show: Mighty Zeus Marathon-G2, John Henry Stakes-G3, Vying Victor Stakes. Saddle Dedicate was one of the first great marathoners in the SIM, and has one of the more colorful stories in the game, thanks to the antics of his trainer, daics. The wellbred colt never ran in a sprint, but he didn’t need to, quickly proving that as far as he was concerned, the longer the distance, the better. His long loping stride could continue on long after the others’ grew weary. Dedicate would break his maiden in his second start, going 12 furlongs, and he would quickly work his way through the ranks, each time winning for fun. After his maiden score, he wold reel off three more wins, all by daylight margins, including a G3 stakes in only his fifth lifetime start. That win, at 2 miles, would be the first of many at this distance, and one can only wonder what he could have accomplished if races could be even longer. Saddle Dedicate would lose to future graded stakes winner Cecil I. in his next start, then would try turf for the first time in a Florida stakes, winning by six. With so few graded opportunities on dirt at distances longer than 12 furlongs, Saddle Dedicate would terrorize the stakes ranks, winning two in a row. In a return to turf, the four year old indicated he might be just as good on that surface, posting a 107 SF going 14 furlongs in a six length romp. The colt would close out an impressive season with a tour-de-force eight length score in the G3 Grey Fox, and stamped himself as one to watch. As good as his first season had been, Saddle Dedicate only got better at age five. He had a facile debut in a 2 mile turf stakes, defeating G2 winner River Jupiter by five lengths while under wraps by five lengths, then made three starts on the main track, winning two in a romp, and finishing second in another. Saddle Dedicate would finally make his G1 debut in the Big Turf Race, going 14 furlongs on the lawn. The tall bay grabbed the lead at the top of the stretch and never looked back, showing his heels to the likes of Prospector Rizzo, Prince Joe, Unnecessary Buoy, Prosperous Outback, and Secret the Secret. Encouraged by that turn of foot, Saddle Dedicate would attempt to go 12 panels in the G1 San Francisco Capitan Handicap, and the shorter distance did not bother him one whit, as he stormed home a near-10 length winner, posting a 110 SF in the process. Returned to 2 miles, he would complete the G1 hattrick with a 6 1/2 length score in the New South Wales Cup over Pharrun Prospect. Saddle Dedicate simply ground down his opposition. The streak came to an end when 10 furlongs proved to be to short, but Dedicate would rebound with a sizzling 11 1/4 length score on the main track in the Sir Sweetie Handicap. Two losses at 10 and 14 furlongs on the turf would follow, then another confidence booster on the main track. This time, the dirt to turf angle worked like a charm in what was perhaps one of Saddle Dedicate’s finest races. In the G1 Sword Swallower, daics sent his prize racehorse against the likes of Joe Cayenne, New Slew and Prospector Rizzo, and when the dust settled, Saddle Dedicate emerged the five length winner over Joe, posting a 116 SF for the 12 panels. But, daics had an Equinics to attend, so instead of remaining on that surface, Saddle Dedicate had a hard fought win in a dirt prep, then disappointed by "only" earning bronze in the Mighty Zeus Marathon. With that behind him, Saddle Dedicate made a successful return to the lawn with a near six length score in the G2 Big City Handicap over Unnecessary Buoy and Duke Rizzo. After turning in an uncharacteristically dull performance one week late, he would make amends in the 2 mile ShoeHorn Cup, opening up a nine length lead at the top of the stretch before coasting home the easiest of winners, and recording a 106 SF for the distance. Saddle Dedicate’s impressive season would end with something of a disappointment, as he would suffer an injury and finish a nonthreatening eighth in the Japan Classic, but five Grade 1 victories in one season, at distances ranging from 12 furlongs to 2 miles, were hardly something to sneeze at. At age six, the miles and two years of heavy campaigning were beginning to show, but daics was as confident in his mount as ever. After finishing second in his seasonal debut in the G1 Desucko Handicap while running over an off-track for the first time, daics took on all comers in the G1 ASR Cup. His star competitor was up to the challenge and came home a 5 3/4 length winner over the best dirt marathoners in the SIM, passing the dueling Every Raise and Prospector Act, and leaving notables like Mine Forest, Stormy Prospector and Her Song among the also-rans. After betting the farm, literally, once, and winning, daics bet the farm again in the Can One Aussie Be This Silly . . . Twice Challenge. Unfortunately for him, the track came up good, a surface Saddle Dedicate had never encountered. He finished fourth, behind Seattle Hit, Barely A La Capote and Road Rubbing, and the stable changed hands. A tough and costly loss indeed, and Saddle Dedicate was never the same. In fifteen subsequent starts, the Sadler’s Wells horse never visited the winner’s circle again (after winning 23 of his first 33 races), although he did finish second in the G1 NY Island Cap on turf and the G1 Lotus Blossom Stakes on dirt. He was finally retired after finishing a distant sixth in his second start at seven, when he was bred to Fusaichi Pegasus. The resulting filly, Rhetorician, was a disappointment on the track, as she was winless in nine starts, but her first foal appears to be a promising sort. Saddle Dedicate was a popular and talented athlete, and the first marathoner to really draw a following in the SIM. His own exploits, as well as his trainer’s, made him a memorable athlete. Given a route of ground, Saddle Dedicate was nearly unbeatable, regardless of surface, and was often forced to run at "shorter" distances if he wanted to compete in graded events. His graded stakes record is all the more remarkable in light of that fact. |
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