Futurity Looks Like an Eclipse Showcase

Trainer Craig Dollase said Friday night that a hoof injury would not prevent Wilko, the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner, from running today in the $449,500 Hollywood Futurity.

“It should be no problem,” Dollase said. “It’s a minor thing and we’ll put [an acrylic patch] on it. I expect him to run.”

Eclipse Awards voters are hanging on the result of the Futurity, which is expected to determine the champion among 2-year-old males. Besides Wilko, the other contenders, the undefeated Declan’s Moon and Proud Accolade, are also running.

Dollase said that the injury to the inside of Wilko’s left front hoof -- a quarter crack -- was discovered after the colt finished his morning gallop Friday.

The morning line, which was set by Hollywood Park oddsmaker Russ Hudak when entries were drawn Thursday, lists Wilko as the third choice at 3-1. Declan’s Moon is the 7-5 favorite and Proud Accolade is 5-2.

Wilko has made a career of going off a non-favorite. Winning two of 10 pre-Breeders’ Cup races in England, he was favored in only one start. He was 28-1 in the Breeders’ Cup at Lone Star Park on Oct. 30, and neither his former trainer nor Dollase expected him to win.

“Finishing third would have been a great result,” the England-based Jeremy Noseda said the morning after Wilko’s 28-1 upset at Lone Star Park on Oct. 30. “Everything else was a bonus.”

Wilko was bought by a Californian, J. Paul Reddam, a few weeks before the Breeders’ Cup and transferred after the race to Dollase, who has trained for Reddam for several years.

“I’d be lying if I said I thought he was going to win at Lone Star,” Dollase said. “He’s bred to run on dirt, but he had never tried dirt before, so that was the question.”

Although the last eight winners of the Juvenile have also won Eclipse Awards, Wilko has been beaten eight times out of 11 and needs to do more to sway voters. Declan’s Moon has made no mistakes and Proud Accolade, a New York invader who has had three workouts over the Hollywood Park layout, was unstopped before his sixth-place finish as the second choice in the Breeders’ Cup. If some horse other than one in the top three wins today, the vote will turn into a head scratcher.

With eight horses entered, Wilko has drawn the No. 1 post. He’ll be ridden by Corey Nakatani for the first time. Another of the entrants, the English import General Jumbo, ran a fever earlier this week and has become a doubtful starter.

Wilko, a son of Awesome Again, winner of the 1998 Breeders’ Cup Classic and sire of Ghostzapper, winner of this year’s Classic, is a Kentucky-bred who was bought by Susan Roy at Keeneland for $75,000 in September 2003. When Roy, who lives in England, runs a horse in the U.S., bettors had best pay attention. In 1998, she and her partners won the Belmont Stakes with Sarava, costing War Emblem a sweep of the Triple Crown. Sarava paid $142.50, a Belmont record.

Roy has retained a 25% interest in Wilko. Reddam, who lives in Laguna Beach, paid an estimated $1 million for his 75%. Wilko was named after Jonny Wilkinson, a top English rugby player and captain of the national team that won the World Cup last year. A recent press update on the currently injured Wilkinson hailed his “dedication and mental toughness,” and that also describes Wilko.

“He’s a very laid-back horse around the barn,” Dollase said. “He’s like the barn pony. But you put a saddle on him and he’s all business.”

Said Noseda, Wilko’s former trainer: “He’s a grinder. He’s an incredibly tough horse -- a tough, hard-knocking horse. We took a chance, and it worked out. I’ll live with the memory for a long time.”

With 11 races, Wilko has run more than Declan’s Moon and Proud Accolade combined. Declan’s Moon, winner of the Del Mar Futurity in September, was withheld from the Breeders’ Cup because his trainer, Ron Ellis, thought he needed a rest. The gelding returned Nov. 20 with a win in the Hollywood Prevue.

Proud Accolade is trained by Todd Pletcher, the country’s leader in purse money, winner of two Breeders’ Cup races this year and one of the favorites for a personal Eclipse Award. After winning the Champagne, a Grade I race, at Belmont Park in early October, Proud Accolade was never a factor at Lone Star. John Velazquez, No. 1 nationally in jockey purses and in line for an Eclipse of his own, and Pletcher were stumped by the outcome.

“He didn’t fire, and he still came within [five] lengths,” Pletcher said. Proud Accolade, who was bought at auction for $450,000 last March, will wear blinkers for the first time today.