Somebody Should Have Wanted 'The Horse Nobody Wanted'

Monday, March 28, 2016

Bernies Blog

The first time Great Attack visited an auction ring was as a short yearling in 2008. The son of Greatness and the Storm Cat mare Cat Attack was consigned by Hidden Brook, agent, who eventually took him home for $10,000.

Nine months later, Great Attack came back at the OBS October sale, and this time Hidden Brook let him go to Solera Farm for a measly $7,000. Six more months go by, and the colt shows up in the Eddie Woods consignment at the 2009 OBS April 2-year-old sale. He sells for $37,000 to Patrice Miller, partner in EQB with bloodstock guru Jeff Seder.

Seder and Miller have a boatload of wealthy racing clients and they assume they will get one or more to take Great Attack. Not a peep. Seder dubs him "The horse nobody wanted." So they come up with the weirdly-named Houyhnhmh Stable, and race the colt themselves.

And Great Attack turns into a better than average, gutty sprinter, especially going short on the grass. They campaign him for five seasons during which he becomes a multiple stakes-winner, and as 2013 is coming to a close - Nov. 20, to be exact - Great Attack is approaching $500,000 in earnings.

On that date, racing five furlongs on the grass under Kent Desormeaux, Great Attack wins a $62,500 allowance optional claimer at Churchill Downs and boosts his earnings to $492,410. And the Houyhnhmns lose him for the $62,500.

Now turn the clock ahead to Saturday at Gulfstream Park. Great Attack is 2-1 on the morning line in the eighth race - five furlongs on the grass for a purse of $24,000 - and the claiming tag is $16,000. The horse nobody wanted is now nine and he turns in a creditable effort, finishing second to Deer Dog as part of the Rainbow Pick 6 saga. Although he's been in several barns since his first claim three years ago, nobody takes him this time. Great Attack earns $4,800 and raises his career total to $717,102 on a sterling record of 11-12-7 in 47 starts. He's the third leading runner for his sire.

Nobody wanted the son of Greatness as a youngster, and Jeff Seder and Patrice Miller will be eternally grateful.

CAN SUNLAND BE REAL? - The racing calendar for Easter Sunday was sparse, with just five tracks running, three of them owned by the Stronach Group. Santa Anita was the wagering leader with a handle of $8.2 million, followed by Gulfstream Park with $5.4 million and Golden Gate Fields with $2.5 million.

Fair Grounds doesn't announce its figures, so Sunland Park is the only one left. Incredibly, an announced crowd of 1,008 wagered $47,399 on-track. That's not a typo. The off-track wagering came to $763,589. Sunland has a casino and if ever a facility was ripe for de-coupling, this is it.