Finding ‘Away to Win

Great horses should have names that inspire visions of greatness. They should have names like Man O’ War, Assault, Spectacular Bid or Bold Whatever.

When you hear of a horse named Secretariat, you imagine the leader of the United Nations or the Politburo. When you hear Cigar, you imagine powerful men with sleeves rolled up and ties loosened while deciding the fate of the nation in a smoke-filled room.

That brings us to the horse of the year so far this year, last year too if the Eclipse Award voters could have their ballots back. His name is Skip Away. As if that weren’t already too cute, his owner, Carolyn Hine, and her husband, trainer Sonny Hine, call him Skippy.

Skippy? That’s no Cigar. That’s a tiparillo. That’s the name of your kid’s Shetland pony. What was he doing as the 2-5 favorite in Sunday’s $1 million Hollywood Gold Cup?

Winning.

He flew out from New York on Thursday and 72 hours later took on Hollywood Park’s house horse, Gentlemen, in front of a hostile, or at least skeptical, crowd of 32,505, many of whom booed Skip Away in the paddock before the race.

Gentlemen, you might be thinking, is not a particularly fearsome name for a horse, either. You’re right, until you get to know him. It’s an ironic name, like calling a fat man Tiny. Gentlemen is anything but gentle.

He ran a mean race too, bravely making two charges at the urging of jockey Gary Stevens before surrendering in the stretch and finishing third behind stablemate Puerto Madero and Skip Away, who won by 1 3/4 lengths.

Greatness affirmed.

“It takes a great horse to come across the country and beat the likes of Gentlemen,” said Skip Away’s jockey, Jerry Bailey, who knows something about great horses. He also rode Cigar.

Because of his unique perspective, it was something else Bailey said that will capture the attention of everyone in the sport when they read it today.

“I’ll have a special place in my heart for Cigar,” he said, “but maybe Skip Away is a better horse.”

The numbers are adding up. The last time he finished out of the money was in the 1996 Kentucky Derby, but he was second in the Preakness and Belmont and has finished either first, second or third in 23 consecutive races. That includes seven consecutive firsts.

Although he won’t approach Cigar’s record of 16 because the 5-year-old Skip Away definitely won’t run beyond next year, if that long, he probably will become the first North American horse to win $10 million. With the $600,000 he earned Sunday, he is about $1.1 million short of Cigar’s record of $9,999,815.

Other than the undeniable fact that he’s fast, there are a number of theories about Skip Away’s emergence as a super horse. Mine is that, saddled with a name like Skippy, he had to develop the fighting edge of a “Boy Named Sue.”

Or perhaps his combativeness was instilled in him by his trainer, Hine, who parachuted behind enemy lines during the Korean War. Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, he was ordered beyond the 38th parallel to intercept messages from Chinese fighter pilots.

No less defiant at age 67, he posted Skip Away’s schedule for this year in January and dared trainers who believe their horses are better to prove it.

“I felt all along we had the best horse,” Hine said. “We haven’t ducked a soul.”

He wouldn’t say the same thing about Silver Charm, last year’s Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner who was entered here before withdrawing earlier in the week after trainer Bob Baffert detected a fever.

That didn’t surprise Hine, who earlier this year called Baffert a coward.

Baffert responded by referring to Hine as “Elmer Fudd,” a cruel remark making fun of his slurred speech. Hine suffers from Bell’s Palsy, which has nearly caved in the side of his face.

Tim Smith, commissioner of the new National Thoroughbred Racing Commission that is attempting to promote races like Sunday’s, gives Baffert the benefit of the doubt, saying he believes Silver Charm was ill.

Smith added, however, that he doesn’t mind the war of words between Baffert and Hine.

“Are you kidding?” he said. “That’s the kind of thing that drives discussion in sports bars and on sports talk radio.”

In the afterglow of Sunday’s win, Hine was unrelenting.

“I was hoping he’d run to get rid of the myth, what a great horse Silver is compared to Skip Away,” he said.

Asked where he believes Silver Charm would have finished, Hine said, “Third, fourth maybe.”

Even in complimenting Gentlemen’s trainer, Hine couldn’t resist one more jab at Baffert.

“He’ll be around a long time,” he said of Richard Mandella. “Maybe some of these others will come and go.”

Smith is hoping you will stay tuned at least until the Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Aug. 15, the next race in which Skip Away could meet Silver Charm and Gentlemen.

Until then, Skip Away is the undisputed No. 1.

Last year, after Skip Away came West to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Hollywood Park, Hine was so disappointed when Favorite Trick was voted the Eclipse Award as horse of the year that he wouldn’t shake hands with the unbeaten 2-year-old’s owner, Jack LaCombe.

“It’s a crying shame he wasn’t horse of the year last year,” trainer Jack Van Berg said. “Where’s that other horse? You couldn’t find him with a search light.”

Don’t bet against Skip Away this year. What’s in a name? When it comes to this horse, apparently nothing. John Wayne’s real first name, you know, was Marion.