Horse Racing / Bill Christine : Waquoit’s Arrival Different, but Fitting

Running in the Breeders’ Cup against plutocrats like the Phipps family from New York, the Scharbauers from what seems like half of Texas, and various other millionaires, are the cousins Federico, a couple of immigrant Italians who have a horse that will be well recognized if not well regarded in Saturday’s $3-million Classic.

The big 5-year-old, the only gray in the field, is not named after the English version of ring toss--quoits. Waquoit’s name comes from a small town on Cape Cod, which is not far from the Boston area where Joseph Federico, the owner, and Guido Federico, the trainer, live.

Waquoit’s owner paid $15,000 for the horse as a yearling, and although he has gone on to earn almost $2 million, he arrived at Churchill Downs the other day in a way befitting the modest beginnings. Waquoit was vanned the 1,000 miles from Suffolk Downs, with Guido Federico following in his car. But Federico got sleepy around Buffalo and stayed overnight, while Waquoit continued on, nonstop except for an occasional watering stop.

Most of the other Breeders’ Cup horses have been flown here, many of them in a style that qualifies as equine first class. Guido Federico doesn’t fly anywhere, and what’s good enough for the trainer should be good enough for Waquoit.

Guido, 70, was in the auto-repair business until he took out a training license 22 years ago. Back when he still fixed cars, there were several workers in the same block who flew their own plane. At one point they had almost talked Guido into flying with them.

But he decided not to go. On a landing in the snow, the plane flipped over. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured.

Hearing about the accident, though, Guido never considered flying again. If he couldn’t have driven to the Breeders’ Cup, he wouldn’t be here.

The chances are remote that 3 of the 4 former Breeders’ Cup winners will triumph again Saturday.

Very Subtle, who won the Sprint last year, and Precisionist, the winner in 1985, are both running in the same stake Saturday. Very Subtle has been installed as a 30-1 longshot, which seems no way to treat a former winner, but the morning line is probably accurate.

Very Subtle, who was 16-1 when she won the Sprint at Hollywood Park, has won only once since then, and has run only once in the last 6 months, finishing second at Louisiana Downs to a filly who isn’t even running in the Breeders’ Cup. And on Wednesday, Very Subtle drew the No. 1 post, inside 13 other starters. The rail would be a disadvantage any time, but it’s more of a handicap for a horse who doesn’t always break quickly.

Precisionist is 8-1 in the Sprint, mainly because he has been unable to beat top competition since his return from unsuccessful stud duty. In New York, Precisionist finished behind King’s Swan, Gulch, Forty Niner and Mawsuff in 2 races this year. Gulch and Mawsuff are running in the Sprint.

Epitome, who won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at 30-1 last year, is 20-1 for Saturday in the Distaff, running with Hail a Cab, an entrymate. Beating Personal Ensign, Winning Colors and Goodbye Halo would be a tough task for any horse, but it’s going to be especially difficult for Epitome. She suffered a deep leg gash during a race in April and didn’t race for 5 1/2 months.

Epitome won a couple of allowance races upon her return, but in a weak stake at Keeneland a week ago, she ran a poor second.

Jockey Pat Day, who will ride Epitome again Saturday, explained the Keeneland race. “She stumbled out of the gate, and when I picked her head up, she started running,” Day said. “There wasn’t any speed in the race, so she just went to the front, and then she came up empty at the end.”

The defending champion with a good chance of repeating is Miesque, who is the 2-1 favorite, coupled with Blushing John in the Mile. This year in France, Miesque won 2 major races, and in her only other start the 4-year-old filly lost by a head to Soviet Star at Longchamp. Soviet Star is not running Saturday.

Francois Boutin, who trains Miesque, was not happy with the ground at Longchamp.

“Soviet Star is a great champion when the course is not fast,” Boutin said. “It was a pity that they decided to water the course, even though there had been so much rain, anyway.”

There may be rain here Saturday, but without it, Churchill Downs officials are hoping for a crowd of 75,000. That would break the Breeders’ Cup record of 69,000, set at Santa Anita in 1986.

Churchill Downs is making noises about being the Breeders’ Cup host more than every fifth year. A quick quiz with Tom Meeker, the track’s innovative president, went like this:

Question: Would you like to have the Breeders’ Cup every year?

Answer: I’ll let you know after Saturday.

Q: What would you think if Saturday turned out to be a good day?

A: If the Breeders’ Cup people came to us and asked to have it every year, we’d consider it.

Q: But what if they didn’t?

A: We’d be very happy to have the races every other year. We can handle it with our large plant, and it means much more to our community than it does when it’s held in the metropolises of Los Angeles and New York. In those places, it’s just one of several major sporting events going on. Here, it’s the only show, it’s a day embraced by the entire town. And we’re in the heart of Middle America. People from all over can get here easily.

Most of the directors on the Breeders’ Cup board live in Kentucky. Next year, the races are scheduled for Gulfstream Park in Florida, but there are no commitments beyond that.

Handling a crowd of 75,000 will be a walk in the park for Meeker and staff, because they wrestle with crowds of more than 100,000 every year at the Kentucky Derby. But the drawback to Louisville is the iffy weather, which would be an adventure every year.

Ed McGrath, a Louisville horse insurer, can remember a Nov. 5 several years ago when it snowed 15 inches in Louisville. The races couldn’t very well be held earlier, because of their championship implications.

Horse Racing Notes

Trainer Charlie Whittingham doesn’t need the money, but for morale purposes he could use a win in the Breeders’ Cup. Days apart, Whittingham lost Ferdinand, his horse of the year, to a stud career, and Liz Tippett to death by cancer at 83. Tippett was one of racing’s foremost owners and in the 1950s her Porterhouse gave Whittingham the first of his more than 500 stakes wins. . . . Some horsemen with multiple successes in the Breeders’ Cup are hardly represented this year. Jorge Velasquez, who has won 2 of the races, has only one mount Saturday, and Walter Guerra, another 2-time winner, has no calls. Neil Drysdale, who has won twice, is not represented. But Mel Stute, another trainer with 2 wins, has Very Subtle running in the Sprint and Double Quick in the Juvenile. . . . Indian Skimmer may not run in the Turf unless there’s soft ground. “I think they’ll run him either way,” said an English racing official. “But if they don’t, it’ll be for a reason other than the course. There’s nothing wrong with this turf. It’s a good course, and it should suit him whether it’s firm or soft.”