As the days count down to the Dec. 5 Cigar Mile Handicap (G1), a field of nine for the final grade 1 stakes of the year in New York serves a stark reminder of how quickly opportunities can come and go and how disappointing it can be to miss any top-level race.
Given that the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) is not just "any" race in anyone's estimation, disappointment does not even begin to describe the emotional anguish of having the Run for the Roses dangled in front of you and then taken away.
So, in a set of circumstances unique to 2020, just imagine having that happen twice in the span of four months with the same horse.
For owner Victor Martinez of Victoria's Ranch and trainer Juan Carlos Avila, the chance of a lifetime slipped away from them with their 3-year-old colt King Guillermo as fate socked them with a pulverizing 1-2 punch of missing the Kentucky Derby in both the spring and late summer.
"It was very tough to miss the Kentucky Derby. It's the race everyone knows and wants to win," Avila said. "But we did what was right."
The road to Saturday's $250,000 race at Aqueduct Racetrack was a rocky one for King Guillermo, who is owned by the 41-year-old Martinez, a former Major League Baseball player who was a five-time All-Star with the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, and Detroit Tigers.
Heading into the March 7 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby (G2), King Guillermo received about as much respect as the Cleveland Indians in the early part of the movie "Major League." The son of the Dixieland Band mare Slow Sand was dismissed at 49-1 odds based on finishing sixth in a maiden race in his lone dirt race but surprised even Avila with a huge effort in winning by 4 3/4 lengths.
"He didn't run well on the dirt and was third in a stakes on turf (the Pulpit Stakes at 2) and I was going to keep him on turf, but the owners asked me to give dirt another try, and they were right," Avila said.
Mindful of how well King Guillermo ran off a little more than three months of rest in the Tampa Bay Derby, Avila endeavored to train the son of Uncle Mo up to the May 2 Kentucky Derby.
King Guillermo did his part by staying sharp, but the COVID-19 pandemic ruined those plans, pushing the Kentucky Derby back to Sept. 5. Instead, King Guillermo spent May 2 running in the second—and better—division of the Arkansas Derby (G1), finishing second to the favored Nadal as the 9-2 second choice.
Undaunted, Avila took another swing at having a fresh horse for the Kentucky Derby, electing to once again train King Guillermo up to the Run for the Roses, this time giving him four months off.
Then, two days before the middle leg of the Triple Crown, King Guillermo came down with a fever and had to be scratched from the 1 1/4-mile classic.
"The best decision was not to run," Avila said. "I've been in the business 30 years and don't want to make a mistake like that in running him. It was a tough decision but the right one, and I'm hoping we will be rewarded for making it."
Rather than quickly regroup and point King Guillermo toward the Oct. 3 Preakness Stakes (G1), Avila exercised patience again, focusing on a year-end target that turned out to be the Cigar Mile.
"I thought about the Discovery Stakes (G3, for 3-year-olds Nov. 28 at Aqueduct), but we wanted to run in a grade 1 stakes," said Avila, who will also send out Victoria's Ranch's 2-year-old first-time starter King of Dreams in the first race at the Big A on Saturday.
In choosing the Cigar Mile, Avila picked a more formidable test against a field of tough older milers, but he believes the 3-year-old is coming into the race as sharp as could be despite not racing for the past seven months.
"It's a strong race, but he will like the mile. I think he's up to the challenge," Avila said about the winner of two of five starts who was bred by Carhue Investments, Grouseridge Limited, and Marengo Investments and bought by Martinez for $150,000 from the Gene Recio consignment at the 2019 Ocala Breeders' Sales Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. "He's perfect now. He will run well. I think he can do it."
King Guillermo is the lone 3-year-old in a race that was captured by 3-year-old champion Maximum Security in 2019.
Heading the competition is Phipps Stable and Claiborne Farm's Performer. Though Saturday will mark Performer's first start in a grade 1 race, there have been high expectations from no less of an authority than his Hall of Fame trainer, Shug McGaughey, ever since his win in last year's Discovery.
Unfortunately, those plans were thwarted by race cancellations in the spring due to the pandemic and then an ankle issue that combined to sideline the son of Speightstown for 11 months until Oct. 17, when he posted a scintillating allowance optional claiming victory in 1:33.93 at Belmont Park under the same one-turn mile conditions as the Cigar Mile.
It was the fifth consecutive win for the son of the A.P. Indy mare Protesting following a third in his Nov. 3, 2018, debut at Aqueduct.
"I was impressed with the way he ran. I know it was an allowance race, and the competition was not what it will be in the Cigar Mile, but I got into him what I wanted to get into him," McGaughey said. "It was a solid effort, and he's come out of it good."
Both King Guillermo and Performer could move on to the Jan. 23 $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) at Gulfstream Park if they turn in strong efforts.
Mr. Amore Stables' Firenze Fire, the 123-pound highweight, will stretch out to eight furlongs after closing from 11th to finish third last month in the six-furlong Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) for trainer Kelly Breen. A homebred $2.2 million earner for owner Ron Lombardi, the son of Poseidon's Warrior won the Champagne Stakes (G1) at a flat mile at 2 as one of his 30 starts. Overall, he has won three of six starts at a mile, including the Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct in 2018.
Also included in the field are Calumet Farm's True Timber , a son of Mineshaft who was third in last year's Cigar Mile and second in 2018; Chester and Mary Broman's Mr. Buff, a homebred Friend Or Foe gelding coming off a decisive win in the Empire Classic Handicap for New York-breds; and Red Oak Stable and Madaket Stables' multiple grade 1-winning Mind Control , a 4-year-old Stay Thirsty colt with four stakes wins out of five starts at the Big A.
Jack Sisterson, who trains True Timber, will also start Calumet Farm's Bon Raison, a son of Raison d'Etat who was claimed for $80,000 in July.
"They've shown us in the mornings that they both can run a competitive race," Sisterson said.
The Cigar Mile will air on "America's Day at the Races" on FS2 from 3:30-4:30 p.m. ET and on MSG+ from 3-4:30 p.m.
Equibase will provide free past performances for races on the broadcast at nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.
Aqueduct Racetrack, Saturday, December 5, 2020, Race 10Entries: Cigar Mile H. (G1)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Performer (KY) Joel Rosario 118 Claude R. McGaughey III 7/5 2 2Mind Control (KY) John R. Velazquez 121 Gregory D. Sacco 20/1 3 3Snapper Sinclair (KY) Manuel Franco 117 Steven M. Asmussen 20/1 4 4Firenze Fire (FL) Jose Lezcano 123 Kelly J. Breen 5/2 5 5Mr. Buff (NY) Junior Alvarado 118 John C. Kimmel 6/1 6 6King Guillermo (KY) Jose L. Ortiz 117 Juan Carlos Avila 9/2 7 7Majestic Dunhill (KY) Dylan Davis 119 George Weaver 20/1 8 8True Timber (KY) Kendrick Carmouche 118 Jack Sisterson 15/1 9 9Bon Raison (KY) Jorge A. Vargas, Jr. 116 Jack Sisterson 20/1
