All They Touch Turns to Gold

Frank Stronach bred one and bought the other. They are both sons of Deputy Minister, and Sunday, 225 miles apart, they took racing’s 3-year-old division and stuffed it into their saddlebags.

First, the colt Awesome Again was awesome again, adding the $250,000 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga to the Queen’s Plate that he won in Canada a month ago. Less than an hour later, south of Saratoga, stablemate Touch Gold won the $1-million Haskell Handicap, reinforcing his win in the Belmont Stakes with a 1 1/2-length score at hot, steamy Monmouth Park before a crowd of 39,219, a record for the race and highest here in 27 years.

“I wish I could ride them both,” said Chris McCarron, who rode Touch Gold on Sunday.

“You might be,” said David Hofmans, who trains Awesome Again and Touch Gold.

Before the Haskell, Hofmans theorized that if both colts ran well, they might form a double-barreled entry for the $750,000 Travers at Saratoga on Aug. 23. But Stronach indicated Sunday that splitting up his powerhouse duo might be the prudent thing.

Lest anyone forget, Silver Charm did win the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, and two-thirds of a Triple Crown frequently is enough to satisfy Eclipse Awards voters. But Silver Charm, weakened by a blood disorder, is through for the year, and Hofmans’ duo will get the chance to defeat older horses by the end of the year. Last year, that’s what carried Skip Away to the 3-year-old title, even though he never won a Triple Crown race.

Touch Gold, who missed the Derby and was a close fourth in the Preakness after doing a virtual belly-flop leaving the gate, made a Belmont-like move in the last sixteenth of a mile to earn $850,000.

Anet, the 5-1 third choice, finished second, three-quarters of a length ahead of Free House, who was 13-10. It was another 1 1/2 lengths back to previously unbeaten Tale Of The Cat, who had three lengths on Frisk Me Now, the last-place finisher.

Favored Touch Gold paid $4.40, $3.20 and $2.10. Anet’s mutuels were $4.40 and $2.10, and Free House’s show price was $2.10. An exacta on the first two finishers was worth $23.40. Touch Gold, after stalking one of the fastest opening miles--1:34 3/5--in Haskell history, finished 1 1/8 miles in 1:47 3/5, which missed the stakes record by three-fifths of a second.

Gary Stevens, in from California to ride Anet after David Flores was injured in a spill at Del Mar on Friday, might be getting a complex about Touch Gold.

“This was the same blur that I saw in the Belmont,” Stevens said.

Riding Silver Charm in New York, Stevens couldn’t hold off Touch Gold in a result that cost his colt the $5-million bonus that goes with a Triple Crown sweep.

Touch Gold was last for three-quarters of a mile, but never more than four lengths behind Anet and the lightly raced Tale Of The Cat. The opening fractions were :22 3/5, :46 1/5 and 1:09 4/5.

“I was concerned about my horse,” McCarron said, “because he was pulling hard, just like he did at Pimlico [in the Preakness]. He was trying to pull me out of the saddle.”

Free House was second behind Anet after a half-mile, then at one point surged up to vie for the lead. Paco Gonzalez, Free House’s trainer, didn’t want his horse up that close, and he didn’t like what he saw behind him, either.

“Frisk Me Now came up alongside my horse and got him going,” Gonzalez said. “But I could also see that Chris had a lot of horse left.”

On the turn for home, Touch Gold wanted to roll, and this time McCarron let him have his way.

“I gave him a couple of taps and he threw me in the back seat,” McCarron said.

Mixing at least one metaphor, Hofmans applauded McCarron’s ride.

“He’s the master,” the trainer said. “He was patient early, and he kept the elephant away from the bale of hay.”

Free House, winner of the Santa Anita Derby and the Swaps, two weeks ago, added $100,000 to his purse total.

“I had no intention of putting my horse in a bad spot,” said Kent Desormeaux, who rode Free House. “There was pressure every step of the way, and my horse had made four runs even before we got to the three-eighths pole. Then when we turned for home, he stuck his neck out, but all those moves took their toll.”

Trainer Bob Baffert, unable to run Silver Charm in the Haskell, brought Anet to the New Jersey shore and the tiny brown colt earned $200,000.

“They wouldn’t let us steal the race,” Baffert said. “But my horse ran his [tail] off. I thought the pace would be slower, but they were all over him. We got beat by a better horse, plain and simple.”

Austrian native Stronach, 64, is an auto-parts manufacturer who has become one of Canada’s richest industrialists. He bred Awesome Again, sending Deputy Minister to Primal Force, a Blushing Groom mare. Stronach bought Touch Gold as a yearling for $375,000 and later sold 25% of the colt to Texans Robert and Janice McNair.

Hofmans brought Touch Gold into the Belmont with a cracked left front hoof that was stabilized by an acrylic patch. The hoof grew out naturally in recent weeks at Hollywood Park, and two days before the Haskell Hofmans found that it was unnecessary to repatch.

At Saratoga, with Michelle Jensen saddling Awesome Again for Hofmans and Mike Smith riding, Stronach’s other colt won with a late move to defeat Glitman by three lengths on a sloppy track. Awesome Again paid $8.10 to win. The 2-1 favorite, Behrens, finished fourth, suffering his first loss.

“Know what I’m going to do tomorrow, Chris?” Hofmans said to McCarron in the Monmouth winner’s circle. “I’m going to sleep.”

His dreams won’t be any better than the reality of Sunday.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Haskell Finish

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Horse, Jockey, Wt Win Place Show Touch Gold, Chris McCarron, 125 $4.40 $3.20 $2.10 Anet, Gary Stevens, 120 $4.40 $2.10 Free House, Kent Desormeaux, 125 $2.10

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