LOUISVILLE – Bernardini: the new diamond bright star of the American racing firmament or the biggest bust of the year?
That’s the question that overwhelms the 23rd Breeders’ Cup set to go here Saturday.
The most important championship racing day of the year begins and ends with Bernardini. He’s horse of the year, or imposter of the year. It’s that simple.
The flashy bay colt, who has taken the establishment by storm with five straight top graded stakes triumphs, will confirm his soaring stature by winning the $5 million Classic against the best older horses in the land or falter in the attempt and fade from memory quicker than Tiny Tim.
This is it for Bernardini. And as horse races go, it doesn’t get much more tantalizing than this.
Bernardini may be the talk of the turf world, but he’s a non-starter with the public at large. To date, there is no mass adulation, no box-office appeal, no fan club. He doesn’t begin to approach the charisma of Funny Cide or Smarty Jones.
And for good reason. He did not appear for the Kentucky Derby, the defining event for three-year-olds. He won the Preakness almost by default after Barbaro’s tragic breakdown. Then he became the no-show of the year by skipping the Belmont Stakes altogether. This is a resume with big gaps.
Since then, Bernardini has won the Jim Dandy in a gallop, the Travers against five pluggers and the Jockey Club Gold Cup against the worst field ever assembled for that historic trophy.
Just think: On Oct. 7, when the New York Racing Association ran five Grade 1 events, topped by Bernardini in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, just 16,900 went through Belmont’s turnstiles. New York horseplayers didn’t break a leg to go see the new star of the business.
So Bernardini has something to prove, even if he’s not to blame for the circumstances affecting his career or the quality of his competition.
The “experts” are mesmerized by his Beyer speed figs. In his last three races, he ran some fancy numbers, 114, 116 and vaulting to 117 in the Gold Cup. Eureka! He’s a champ.
Well, the Beyers sometimes can be so accurate they’re almost eerie. Other times, they’re so far astray you wonder why anybody bothers.
But there is no doubt in the minds of horsemen about Bernardini. At trackside yesterday, trainer Nick Zito said, “He’s in the class of Secretariat and Seattle Slew. You can’t say enough good things about him. I’ve had the pleasure of running second or third to him in four stakes with three different horses.”
Zito added, “I think Bernardini is a superhorse, but the Classic is going to be his biggest test. They play for real in that race and it’s going to tell a lot about Bernardini.”
Wayne Lukas, who has trained more Breeders’ Cup winners (18) than the rest combined, thinks Bernardini is the genuine article.
“He’s never been really tested and his races have been very soft, which you love to see coming into one as tough as the Classic,” said Lukas. “They’ve managed him well and I’ll be very surprised if he gets beat in the Classic.”
Bernardini has never run up against proven older stayers like Lava Man, Invasor, Giacomo, Sun King, Premium Tap, Suave, Perfect Drift. If he can whip them Saturday, he’ll be crowned king.
The signs suggest he will. Classic winners in the last few years have run their last quarter in 24 seconds and change. Bernardini showed in the Travers and Gold Cup that he can run those times with his eyes closed.
So is it going to be boom or bust for the big horse this week? The odds say boom.