Wilko: Look who's back

Heidilady · Postby **Heidilady** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 3:12 pm

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/horse/ ... id=2759976

He's going on turf in an optional claimer at 1 mile. It's apparently just a tightener and his dirt allowance didn't fill so here he is. Bless his heart, I hope he does well this year. All these owners retiring horses and they keep on keepin' on with Wilko.

Heidilady · Postby **Heidilady** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 4:48 pm

Oh well. Almost finished 3rd but missed it by a hair. I think he was 4th choice so it wasn't a shock to the bettors. I could tell he's still his gutsy lil self but it obviously wasn't something he was geared up to win at. How much of a tightening would you expect him to get from this?

Heidilady · Postby **Heidilady** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 2:58 am

Update: Now we know why he wasn't in the Big Cap. Firstly they say he just wasn't ready--I guess he probably needed another race beforehand to tighten--but he's been entered in a prep after which they hope to go to the Dubai World Cup again. Obviously it clicked pretty well last time for him in Dubai. I'm rooting for him to win one, but Dubai would be an awesome achievement. He's the little horse that (almost) could and I'm kinda fond of the lil guy.

Here's the blurb from the DRF, it was in amongst a bunch of news:

Thinking World Cup again with Wilko

Wilko, winless in 14 starts since the 2004 Breeders' Cup Juvenile, will start in the $75,000 Santana Mile on Sunday as a possible prep for the $6omillion Dubai World Cup at Nad Al Sheba on March 31, trainer Craig Dollase said on Wednesday.

Wilko finished third in the 2006 Dubai World Cup and was promoted to second after runner-up Brass Hat failed a postrace drug test.

Owned by Paul Reddam and Susan Roy, Wilko has made one start this year, finishing fourth in an allowance race over a mile on turf on Feb. 10. The race was his first start since last summer. Wilko underwent colic surgery last fall.

At one point earlier this year, Wilko was a candidate for the $1 million Santa Anita Handicap, which was run last Saturday, but he was pointed for the Santana Mile instead.

"We're hoping to get an invite to Dubai and this fits our plans," Dollase said of Sunday's race. "He wasn't ready for the Big Cap. He ran so well over that track in Dubai last year. We need to get a race into him. He'll be going in a fresh horse."

The field for the Santana Mile is expected to include C'Mon Tiger, Preachinatthebar, Raise the Bluff, and Yes He's a Pistol. C'Mon Tiger, a half-brother to 2000 Horse of the Year Tiznow, will be making his stakes debut. He has won a maiden race and an allowance race since joining trainer Bob Baffert's stable last fall.

Toccet02 · Postby **Toccet02** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 8:55 am

At the risk of offending anyone, I gotta say that horses like Wilko annoy me.
Winless in 14 starts since BC juvie...and they keep running him in Stakes. I like to see more realistic competitors than that. JMHO.

Rokeby Forever · Postby **Rokeby Forever** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 9:29 am

I never heard anyone say or write that Wilko is annoying. LOL!

C'mon...he's a pony sized horse that usually tries - it's not his fault that he's not placed properly. Give Wilko a break!

Toccet02 · Postby **Toccet02** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 9:54 am

Well yes, his CONNECTIONS are annoying me I suppose.
But it just makes me roll my eyes to see him or Caiman, Preachinatthebar, Balto Star when he was running . . .and running . . .I saw him at the track in person once. Jesus, I've never seen a horse hold his lead lower walking the paddock.
And how did Cat Thief ever reach stallion hood with 4 wins in many more starts??
I'd rather see lots of wins at levels the horse can handle.
But yes, Wilko dear, you have a break from me. Just please prop in your next race, wander over to the infield, and start eating grass until they drop you down a bit.
That'll Learn em.
:lol:

freshman · Postby **freshman** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 4:39 pm

I don't think that it makes sense to go to Dubai with Wilko, but he is obviously a stakes horse that has been competitive in good company over here.

The 'only 3 wins' and 'winless' in the past 14 starts' seems to be the focus, but it isn't an accurate summary of his career or give him credit for being the active competitor that he has been after his 2 year old season. On the board in something like 15 of 25 starts, GI and II placings each year, and a 2.4 million bank roll.

It is nice to see a horse run on after winning big as a juvenile. I like the fact that his connections have faced his injuries and supported him in trying to come back as a good, competitive racehorse. He doesn't belong in Dubai again this year, in my opinion, but at least it can be said that his owners seem to have a strong, sporting spirit. I'm glad that he is being run like a racehorse rather than being run as a stallion prospect.

Perhaps it is because the horse's size makes him less desirable as a stallion prospect, but he didn't rest on the laurels of a few good wins or one good season, and then scamper off to the shed like Bernadini and company. THAT annoys me.

Heidilady · Postby **Heidilady** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 5:27 pm

C'mon there's no point in dropping him out of stakes. They'd just retire him. He's not a gelding and it's not like allowance wins are going to boost his stud value. If he's just the eternal bridesmaid, it'd make him look worse to have 2nds in an allowance instead of a second in a G1. At 2 he won a G1, 3 he had a G1 placing, at 4 he placed in 2 G1s and a G2...he's obviously not just stakes caliber, he's graded stakes caliber. He's being managed better than Toccet, not that that's hard to do. I can think of worse things if it turns out he just loves running in Dubai.

There've been "big" stallions of small stature, Rahy's a prime example, but when you show off a stallion people seem to get all goo goo about the big pretty ones. I'm sure his being by Awesome Again isn't the biggest stud draw but if his get are anything like he is, Wilko's gonna throw some gutsy offspring.

Foggytrip · Postby **Foggytrip** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 7:17 am

Wonder what everyone will say when he wins in Dubai?

Caiman is a real hard knocker, I saw him over at Buelah running in starter races. He has horrible ankles, huge. Hes a real neat horse to be around though, quiet, smart.

Toccet02 · Postby **Toccet02** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 8:57 am

But isn't it frustrating to some of you when they Just Don't Win?
Doesn't it damage the horse's reputation?
I don't like to see them race 4 times and retire either; certainly not...
but a win every once in a while keeps the "faith" going.
Is it so awful to drop them in class, at least to ungraded stakes??

Rokeby Forever · Postby **Rokeby Forever** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 9:47 am

I don't know if seeing Wilko annoys me as much as seeing another Awesome again used to annoy me...Toccet.

What was he still doing in Grade 1s as a 3 year old - was he really going to beat Congaree in the NYRA Mile? He didn't win a thing as a 4 year old and still kept racing in Grade 2s. Why didn't he drop down to an optional claimer or something like that?

I just thought I'd bust Toccet's chops a little. LOL!

Toccet02 · Postby **Toccet02** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 11:30 am

Toccet was ruined by his connections, as most on this board know and agree.
He was never fully allowed to recover from sore shins as a 2YO, and should have either been given more time OFF, or run a bit lower. No scratch that, he should have been given time off period.
And he did, I believe, win one stake at 3 and at 4.
But yeah, I loved him and was cringing at his repeated older starts.

Heidilady · Postby **Heidilady** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 1:09 pm

Toccet02 wrote:But isn't it frustrating to some of you when they Just Don't Win?
Doesn't it damage the horse's reputation?
I don't like to see them race 4 times and retire either; certainly not...
but a win every once in a while keeps the "faith" going.
Is it so awful to drop them in class, at least to ungraded stakes??

I just don't think horses consistently capable of at least placing in graded stakes, particularly G1s, should be dropped down unless it's to gain confidence or use as a tightener or something--sporadic appearing in graded stakes or spotting an optional claimer that never should've seen a stakes race but is a local horse for the course doesn't count. If they've been in ungraded stakes and lost the spark, fine, but horses who've won a BC race and two years later are still placing in the Dubai World Cup aren't subpar, they've got issues but they've also got some level of talent and gutsy determination that it's just wrong to sell out. There's a point where you have to say either they've been run into the ground and need to stop because they're physically only gonna get worse or they're simply not good enough any more. When those things happen with a horse that has any intention of breeding, you really need to stop. So argue that Wilko should be retired if you want but arguing he needs to drop down is really not something I think makes sense. You really wanna sell mare owners on a horse that just finished 4th in an allowance mile on turf? Or one that placed in Dubai? He's gonna have a blue collar stud career as it is.

Toccet02 · Postby **Toccet02** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 1:29 pm

Those are pretty good points . . . I see the logic.
Remember (and I admit) that my post was really an emotional reaction...I said that Wilko (or his connections, more fairly) annoys me, by entering and losing stakes races. Not necessarily that I thought it was the wrong thing to do.
I was curious if folks here felt the same way and I see that the answer seems to be not really...which makes sense because many of you own/train/breed, which I do not.

Heidilady · Postby **Heidilady** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 11:31 pm

Toccet02 wrote:Those are pretty good points . . . I see the logic.
Remember (and I admit) that my post was really an emotional reaction...I said that Wilko (or his connections, more fairly) annoys me, by entering and losing stakes races. Not necessarily that I thought it was the wrong thing to do.
I was curious if folks here felt the same way and I see that the answer seems to be not really...which makes sense because many of you own/train/breed, which I do not.

Totally cool. If emotional reactions weren't a frequent presence in this forum, people would've stopped responding to Louis' stuff on Phalaris. See thought process indicates that you could talk til you're blue in the face and Louis, bless him, will never change his mind. Emotional reaction dictates that you may somehow still find yourself reading posts on Phalaris and breakdowns and be unable to restrain yourself from at some point posting the equivalent of "ahhhhhhhhh!!!!"