The Last Word
Wando took a big step racing against age-old thoroughbreds in the Atto Mile, but whether this colt is ready for the Breeders' Cup remains to be seen.
By KEN FIDLIN -- Toronto Sun
It's been awhile since we've had a horse quite so charismatic in these parts as Wando, so it's natural enough if his legion of fans went away from Woodbine yesterday with a Touch of the Blues.
But, just a touch. In his first test against the big boys of his sport, Wando wasn't embarrassed. Barely beaten is all.
So, now what?
The Atto Mile was supposed to answer a host of questions about Wando's immediate future and indeed, in the clear light of hindsight, it may in fact have done that. But it wasn't at all clear last evening.
In his first opportunity against international competition in a Grade 1 race, Wando finished fourth. For a moment, as the field swept around the head of the stretch on Woodbine's turf course, it looked as if Wando was going to drive away from this exotic gathering of thoroughbred talent in the same way he has drawn away from his domestic competition all summer. He darted to the lead, briefly, between horses, with a quarter-mile to go.
But that's when Touch of the Blues, Soaring Free and Perfect Soul put their collective feet down. Wando was in a new league and as they all came to the wire, Touch of the Blues completed his dramatic stretch run, coming from eighth at the half and fifth at the three-quarter pole. Wando was shuffled back to fourth in the final strides, missing the opportunity to be the very first three-year-old to finish in the money at the Atto Mile.
For a three-year-old, as Wando is, to be taking on aged horses is similar for a teenaged hockey or basketball player to be thrust into the NHL or NBA. It is a big step up and some young stars will make it and some won't. Some will need just a bit more seasoning.
It's six weeks until the Breeders' Cup races at Santa Anita, in California, and the questions this week will surround whether Wando will compete in the Turf or the Classic, or if he will compete there at all.
For a three-year-old thoroughbred, six weeks late in the season is a very long time. Time enough to reach another level of maturity.
"We had a perfect trip," jockey Patrick Husbands said. "He's a three-year-old and he was just beaten by some of the best sprinters over a mile in the world. He ran a fantastic race.
"You give him two more months of training, this is a very nice horse. Just keep your fingers crossed that we will be able to go to the next step."
That next step is, of course, the Breeders' Cup but in what race? Did yesterday's result justify inclusion in the Breeders' Cup Mile, on the turf? Or should he go back to a mile-and-a-half for the Breeders' Cup Turf? Or is Wando better suited to racing on dirt, which puts him in the Breeders' Cup Classic against some monster competition?
Or, when all is said and done, will trainer Mike Keogh and owner Gus Schickedanz decide that he's not yet ready for any of it? That's certainly a legitimate consideration but one that the braintrust will have to ruminate upon.
"I think his effort was excellent," Schickedanz said. "They just beat him, that's all.
"We'll see how he comes out of the race. I hope that we will (go to California) but give us a little time to digest it all. He's a wonderful horse."
There's little doubt that Sam-Son Farms' Soaring Free and the Roger attfield-trained Perfect Soul are strong candidates for Santa Anita. Both were impressive.
It's difficult to comprehend how a $1-million test like the Atto Mile isn't an end unto itself but, in the sport of kings, everything leads to the Breeders' Cup, the Super Bowl of racing. It is where reputations are made or destroyed. It is where future millions in breeding fees are earned or lost. It's a place where even a Canadian Triple Crown winner can get eaten up and spit out.
For a horse to go and not measure up could be devastating. Given the kind of summer he has had here -- his win streak was broken off at five yesterday -- it's hard to imagine Wando coming up short, especially if he can use yesterday's race as a springboard.
