WON: Breeders Bowl Juvenile Turf (G1), Apparently Juvenile (G3), The Fast Gold Special
3rd: ASR Diamond (G1), The Manacle(GB) Stakes

By Euan Dempster

When breeder, Santiago, brought the unremarkable and small black colt to the track for his first workout in late March, he was unsure of how his son of Nureyev would perform. At home, he had shown very little and it had to be said that he did not shine on either surface at this first track workout but did show a slight preference for the dirt which came as a surprise as his father was awesome on grass.

So it was with more hope than optimism that Santiago brought him to the scenic track of Spain to run in his first race in week 991. It was a short sprint over 5 furlongs on good dirt. His jockey placed him in mid-field from the start and he ran well enough until entering the stretch when his jockey felt him tire and eased up on him to finish a reasonable 3rd place only 4 lengths off the winner. The jockey reported that he felt that the colt had more to offer and maybe he should be tried on grass next time out.

After 5 weeks rest where again The Pretender had showed little at home, Santiago returned to Spain with him to try him on turf. This time he was up against 11 other hopefuls over 5.5 furlongs on fast turf. This time he was placed just behind the leaders and tracked them all the way until entering the stretch where he found another gear and swept to a fine victory by 2 lengths. Santiago was overjoyed and a little surprised by the impressive victory but after chatting with the jockey decided to aim the colt at a Stakes race and bypass the Allowance ranks. After much thought, Santiago decided on a Stakes race in France in week 1054 and went about training the colt for this race.

Although the small black colt was filling out a little he was no easier to train and definitely saved all his efforts for the racetrack but he did enjoy his food and the company of his stable mates. So after 4 weeks of eating fine food and playing with his mates, The Pretender arrived in France in week 1054 to take on his first Stakes race. His previous run had impressed the bookies enough for his odds to be in single figures. From the start, he was placed in midfield, a couple of lengths behind the leader. By the time the field were entering the stretch, The Pretender was 3 lengths behind and could not find anymore but he stayed on well to take a creditable 3rd place and to prove that he belonged in Stakes company.

The Pretender came back from his trip to France feeling a bit tired and Santiago decided to give him 6 weeks rest before sending him out on his next venture. His trainer, still unable to get his colt to do a stroke at home, selected a Group 1 race at Norway over 6 furlongs as his next target. The Pretender arrived at Norway looking fatter than he had in a while and in an interview, Santiago stated, that all though the colt was full of promise and still growing he was beginning to despair at how to train him to get the best out of him. Despite his slightly portly frame, The Pretender set off well in the race and was never more than half a length from the front throughout until the last half furlong where his lack of condition told and he finished in 3rd place, tired but not disgraced.

When they got home, Santiago decided to give The Pretender a couple of weeks complete rest as he was very tired after his race. During this rest period, Santiago was contacted by a trainer from America who had been impressed with the colt and who had some ideas on how best to train him. It was agreed that the trainer would come over from America and watch the colt in his next race. After his 2 weeks rest, Santiago picked out a Group 1 race in Ireland in week 1145 as his next target and duly informed the American trainer. Horsepower arrived in Ireland the day before the race and met The Pretender for the first time that night. Immediately Horsepower felt a bond with the colt and the colt seemed to like him as well. The 2 trainers watched the race from the owners box where The Pretender was trying a mile for the first time. The colt started off in 3rd place and slowly went backwards through out the race and finished in 5th place, over 8 lengths behind the winner.

Despite the poor race, Horsepower had fallen for The Pretender and immediately offered Santiago a large sum of money to make the colt his. After a bit of haggling, a price was agreed and travel arrangements for shipping the colt to America were made. Santiago was pleased with the price but obviously sad to see the colt go but felt his future would be better served in America. Horsepower did not waste much time before getting The Pretender into shape, using a lot of swimming which he loved. Three weeks after his last run, The Pretender lined up for a mile turf Stakes at California looking in great shape. He led them out and was never out of the first two until the stretch where he changed gear and took a fine victory by nearly 4 lengths. Horsepower was so pleased with his colt that he immediately signed him up for the Breeder’s Bowl Juvenile Turf race in week 1194.

Back at his new stable the colt continued to work hard in the pool and was looking better each day. As the Breeder’s Bowl approached, word of the colt’s well being had reached the ears of the bookies and they had cut his odds to 13/2. On the day of the Bowl, there were a lot of very nervous people in the owners boxes but nobody was more nervous than Horsepower as he had watched his colt steadily improve since his arrival and he felt he had a real shot at glory. As if in a dream, he watched his colt start off the race towards the back of the pack and make a great run from two out to sweep to the front and take a great win by 3 lengths with the best of the world’s two year old colts trailing in his wake. The celebrations went on for weeks and some would say they still have not finished but The Pretender took it all in his stride and proved that he had scope, when in his next race he won a Group 111 9 furlong race in Hong Kong without breaking sweat.

Since his move to America, The Pretender is unbeaten and by winning the Turf Bowl he has proved himself to be the best turf colt around and a wholly justified winner of the 2001 2 year old Turf Colt Eclipse award. He is ranked as the 9th best colt around (he can only go up) and in Davarto’s excellent rankings he is positioned at number 4. He returns to the track for the first time as a 3 year old this week, 1271, in the Group 111 Panhandle Park Derby at Kentucky and only a fool would bet against him making it 4 in a row. I had a chat with Horsepower and he would not rule anything out of The Pretender’s future as he thinks he may go a lot further and he may even try him on dirt which will send shivers through the owners of the good dirt colts. After a great 2001 season the one thing this colt is not, is a Pretender. Congratulations go to Horsepower and also to his breeder Santiago.

Race ID	Trk	RST	S	D	Race	Time	SP#	#	PP	C1	C2	C3	FIN	Jockey	Odds
1229.6002	HK	2yo	T	9	Apparently Juvenile -G3	1:50 3/5	92	8	5	5 5-1/2	4 8	2 4-3/4	1 3-1/2	T Brewer	.90
1194.0407	NY	2yo	T	8.5	Breeders Bowl Juvenile Turf -G1	1:43	102	14	5	9 4-3/4	9 6-1/2	3 1/2	1 3	F Gossett	6.50
1166.011	CA	2yo	T	8	The FAST GOLD Special -Stk	1:36 2/5	95	7	1	2 3/4	2 3/4	1 1-3/4	1 3-3/4	F Gossett	2.50
1145.5915	IR	2yo	T	8	High Flyer Stakes -G1	1:36	88	12	3	4 3-1/2	4 6	4 7-3/4	5 8-1/2	R Flint	5.80
1096.6613	NW	2yo	T	6	-G1	1:10 4/5	87	8	6	4 1/2	3 1/2	2 1/4	3 1-1/2	P Kalbfleisch	5.30
1054.6212	FR	2yo	T	6.5	The MANACLE(GB) Stakes -Stk	1:17 3/5	83	12	11	5 2-1/4	3 3-1/2	2 3	3 1	B Tatum	8.10
1026.5714	SP	2yo	T	5.5	MSW-27500	1:05 3/5	67	12	3	4 1	3 1-1/4	2 1/4	1 2	H Marshall	2.50
991.5704	SP	2yo	D	5	MSW-27500	:58 3/5	70	8	4	5 1-1/4	4 1-3/4	3 1	3 4	L Staysniak	3.00