Wildman Jack Gets Up to Win Daytona Stakes
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Photo: Benoit Photo
Wildman Jack (outside) wins the Daytona Stakes at Santa Anita Park
Wildman Jack, fresh off a group win in Dubai, captured a graded victory in a photo finish at Santa Anita Park May 23. The Doug O'Neill-trained 4-year-old, ridden by Mike Smith, got his nose down at the wire to beat pacesetting Sparky Ville in the $101,000 Daytona Stakes (G3T).
"He came back from Dubai in perfect shape, and he continued to train well. This race came up tough, like a Breeders' Cup race," O'Neill said. "It's nice to have 'Big Money' Mike, I can tell you that. Midway through the race, it looked like maybe we were dropping out of it, but he still had horse. I know this is a big win for (W. C. Racing's) Glenn Sorgenstein; he owns the horse and he bred him. This is huge."
A homebred, Wildman Jack completed 2019 with an allowance score at Del Mar before heading to Meydan with a string of O'Neill trainees. The Goldencents gelding was fourth in a handicap in Dubai before scoring a 4 3/4-length victory in his stakes debut in the March 7 Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint Sponsored by Arabian Adventures, a six-furlong sprint on the grass.
Wildman Jack was sent off as the 2-1 favorite in the 5 1/2-furlong Daytona. He broke from post 6 in the seven-horse field and sat off the pace as Sparky Ville, who broke from the rail, gunned for the lead. Cistron, who was to the inside of Wildman Jack in the starting gate and bobbled at the start, also vied for the lead and ran the first quarter-mile in :21.07. Sparky Ville then got his head in front as the half went in :43.54.
Smith used the three path to set Wildman Jack down for the drive, and multiple horses drifted down the stretch. Stubbins, making a bid from fifth, came out slightly then angled back in before taking the rail path. Cistron was between Wildman Jack and Sparky Ville. The former two both came in as the latter drifted out, and Cistron was steadied at the sixteenth pole, as was Stubbins. Despite the multiple movements, Wildman Jack continued his chase and got his nose down just in time to nail 70-1 Sparky Ville.
The final time was 1:01.01 on a firm course.
Stubbins was third, another half-length back, followed by Texas Wedge, Cistron, Murad Khan, and Blameitonthelaw.
The inquiry sign flashed across the board, but the order of finish stood after stewards ruled both Stubbins and Cistron were in tight when the incident occurred.
"The inquiry was that (Stubbins) was trying to squeeze between (Sparky Ville) and myself and (Cistron) all at once," Smith said. "We were all pretty tight in there. I did a pretty conscious job of keeping him straight, and then (Sparky Ville) started to drift out a little bit and made it worse. Fortunate for us, (Wildman Jack) was able to stay up, and he ran extremely well."
W. C. Racing campaigned Goldencents, another O'Neill trainee, in partnership, and the horse was retired to stud at Spendthrift Farm after his second Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) win in 2014. Wildman Jack was bred in Kentucky out of the Orientate mare Orientatious, who is also the dam of 2-year-old and 3-year-old sons of Goldencents.
The Daytona improved Wildman Jack's record to 4-2-1 in eight starts and increased his earnings to $373,630.