Racing Wins With Top Colts but Loses a Good Man

On the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings, Sovereignty is rated five pounds ahead of Journalism in the list's most recent July 6 update. On the Global Rankings issued weekly by Thoroughbred Racing Commentary, Journalism is ranked at No. 4 in the world, while Sovereignty sits at No. 10. These are subjective measurements that have nothing to do with the unambiguous scoreboard that sits at 2-0 in favor of Sovereignty in head-to-head competition. Longines bases its rankings on the single best performance by an individual, while the Global Rankings evaluates an entire body of work over an extended period of time. Take all such exercises with a healthy pinch of salt, since they should rightfully come with the warning, "For entertainment purposes only." Back in the real world, on July 26, Sovereignty will try to win his third straight major event since early May when he takes on four opponents in the 1 1/8-mile Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) at Saratoga Race Course. On that same morning at Del Mar, Journalism will have a light gallop around the main track, one week after winning his latest nail-biter in the Haskell Stakes (G1) at Monmouth Park. The New Jersey trip was Journalism's fourth cross-country jaunt of the season. The son of Curlin has racked up nearly 18,000 air miles in 2025, plus van rides. In deciding when and where Journalism will run next, trainer Michael McCarthy must take into account the hidden impact, if any, on the colt's racing readiness after such a relentless 90 days of travel. Compare this to Sovereignty's regal life of relative leisure, befitting the winner of the Kentucky Derby (G1) and a foreshortened Belmont Stakes (G1). Since tucking into Churchill Downs to prepare for the Derby, he has awakened each morning in a familiar stall in a Bill Mott stable, playing home games and commuting only once, from Louisville, Ky., to Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Ahh, such a life. In the meantime, Journalism keeps a bag packed, just in case. McCarthy is in no hurry to choose between the Travers Stakes (G1) Aug. 23, and the Pacific Classic Stakes (G1) Aug. 30. As far as jet lag, though, Journalism seemed none the worse for his latest sojourn while languishing in his Del Mar stall Thursday afternoon, having returned the night before. "We weigh him at Santa Anita because there's a scale available," McCarthy noted. "He was right at 1,200 pounds when he left for New Jersey. I haven't seen much change if any after the race and the ship. And he's been abusing his feed tub." Journalism's big, bay broadside filled his stall door opening as he searched the bottom of the helpless tub for lingering bits of grain. He finally gave up, shifted to inhale a deep draught of water, then let loose a guttural sigh of temporary content. Kind enough for a young stud, he does not throw his weight around, and he spends a lot of time looking over his webbing, wondering what's next. "I'm getting a lot of help training him and where to run," McCarthy said. "Can you believe social media? Of course, with the advice they give their full names—Chuckie from Jersey, Bobby from Vegas." With a full house occupying two long shed rows at the east end of the Del Mar backstretch, McCarthy has plenty of work to do this summer that has nothing to do with Journalism. On July 27, the barn runs Frank E. Kilroe Mile Stakes (G1T) winner Formidable Man in the Eddie Read Stakes (G2T) at Del Mar. Then on Aug. 2, McCarthy has the Test Stakes (G1) at Saratoga circled for the 3-year-old filly Look Forward, who has made four cross-country trips of her own this year. Remembering All-Star Assistant Humberto Ascanio It takes a well-run village to keep the home front afloat while the main man is on the road. McCarthy is lucky to have a crackerjack California staff, led by assistant trainer Felipe Rivera, who worked in a similar capacity for John Shirreffs and Richard Baltas, but truly learned his trade as a groom for Bobby Frankel during the 1980s. That means Rivera answered to Humberto Ascanio, whose death at age 78 earlier this week was accompanied by fulsome praise for his consummate horsemanship and lingering regrets for what might have been. Ascanio worked for Frankel for 36 years, a relationship that only ended in the head man's death in November of 2009 but would have gone on forever. He was the senior member of a triumvirate of Frankel lieutenants that included Ruban Loza and Jose Cuevas. Ascanio ran the stable's West Coast operation while Frankel headquartered in the East, given free rein to train the runners of clients such as Juddmonte Farm, Frank Stronach, and Edmund Gann. They were a matchless pair, the very definition of synergy at work. Frankel the master planner, evaluating talent and mapping peerless campaigns, while Ascanio serving as field marshal, keeping both hands on the wheel, attuned to every detail required to derive the best from man and beast. Champion trainer Chad Brown, a former Frankel aide, has spent the last few days extolling Ascanio's virtuosity to anyone who will listen, and rightfully so. Before Brown came Dan Ward, now on his own after a long and fruitful stint with Jerry Hollendorfer, and before that, with Frankel. "When I went to work for Bobby, the only thing I knew about horses was handicapping," Ward said from his current base in New Jersey. "I was 18, and I'd just worked my way up to groom for Joe Manzi when I heard about an opening with Frankel. Humberto said, 'We like you, but you're just not ready to groom yet for us. We'll give you a couple horses to walk, and you can work your way up.' "Humberto was great," Ward said. "They treated me fantastic and taught me everything." Ward learned well enough to become a traveling assistant for Frankel, most notably at the 2007 Breeders' Cup at Monmouth Park when he handled the stable's starters—including the victorious Ginger Punch—while Bobby returned to California to tend to his ailing dog. "We went to a lot of hockey games, me and Humberto," Ward recalled. "Boxing at the San Diego Sports Arena. In 1978 Bobby gave us his tickets to the World Series, Dodgers and Yankees. We still talked a lot after his stroke, but it was tough to see." Following Frankel's death, Ascanio had barely two years in the books as a public trainer when he was stricken, at age 64, on Dec. 30, 2011. Although mobile and mentally sharp as ever, he was unable to return to work and spent years in various versions of physical rehabilitation before another stroke last year rendered him homebound. For those of us who require a degree of insight to crank out tales of the turf, Ascanio was an indispensable resource, generous with his time even during his busy working days. In his forced retirement, he visited the track when he could and answered the phone on two rings, ready to revisit the greatest hits of the Frankel years in vivid detail. Our last interview took place a few years ago about the pocket rocket named Megahertz, trained primarily by Humberto in California. "She was an easy horse to train," Ascanio said, typically refusing the credit. "Different, but easy. In the morning she might take a half hour, 45 minutes to get to the track. Then when she was ready she would go on. Every day the same thing. Worked every seven days, half a mile, was all she needed to keep herself fit." Fit enough to win 13 stakes over four campaigns. "Around the barn she was nice, quiet, but she could be mean in her stall," Ascanio added. "She didn't like anybody going in there, so I would take care of her. I didn't try to boss her around, just treated her nice, and she would be okay. A little filly, yes. But she had a big heart." Just like Humberto.