Zito Still Shooting With Quimet, Frammento

By Charlie McCarthy

A decade after Nick Zito saddled five horses for five different owners in the Kentucky Derby (gr. I), some people might think the Hall of Fame trainer has scaled back intentionally to enjoy a lighter workload.

Those people would be wrong.

"If you look at me, I guess I'm a teenager compared to (79-year-old) D. Wayne Lukas," the 67-year-old Zito said this week. "No, I don't look at it that way.

"When you're in your 60s, if you have the horses, it's a different story than other sports. In baseball, for example, you start getting older and you have to go into management. When you are in your 60s in horse racing, you can be Woody Stephens, you can be Charlie Whittingham, you can be Wayne Lukas. If I get the players, I can still coach."

The man who has won two editions of the Kentucky Derby, two editions of the Belmont Stakes (gr. I), and one running of the Preakness (gr. I) has two "players" scheduled to run in Derby prep events the next two weekends. 

Frammento, who ran third to Itsaknockout and the disqualified Upstart in the Feb. 21 Fountain of Youth (gr. II) at Gulfstream Park, is headed to the Blue Grass Stakes (gr. I) on April 4 at Keeneland.

Lesser-known Quimet, a son of Zito-trained 2004 Belmont Stakes winner Birdstone  , is set to run as a 20-1 shot in the March 28 Besilu Stables Florida Derby (gr. I) at Gulfstream. The gelding races for Lucky Shamrock Stable, with Zito's wife, Kim, listed as the principal owner.

"It's true I don't have as many horses as I used to, but with what we got, you always try to get in there," Zito said of the Triple Crown races. "That's the thing we like to do.

"Actually, we're in two big races. I'm pretty sure Frammento will get a lot of attention when he goes to the Blue Grass. "

A chestnut son of Midshipman   out of the Golden Missile mare Ginger Bay, Frammento broke his maiden at Keeneland on Oct. 4 in a maiden special weight event going 1 1/16 miles.

Zito and owner Mossarosa considered several factors before deciding on the Blue Grass for Frammento, who donned blinkers for the Fountain of Youth. He'll be ridden by Gary Stevens.

"He's got the extra week (rather than running in the Florida Derby) if he needs it, and on the other hand, we just thought it would be a better track," Zito said.

"He's training very, very good. The blinkers are going to stay on."

Quimet, out of the Saint Ballado mare Comanche Star, will be ridden in the Florida Derby by Edgard Zayas.

BLOOD-HORSE STAFF: Upstart, Itsaknockout in FL Derby Rematch

"We're out of the breeding business now, but that's probably one of the last horses we bred," Zito said this week from his barn at Palm Meadows in Boynton Beach, Fla. "We don't have any more broodmares.

"He's a nice solid horse, a very nice horse to be around. His half brother is Declan's Warrior, a very nice horse that won the Bay Shore (gr. III at Aqueduct Racetrack) and was second in the Woody Stephens (gr. II at Belmont Park). A very, very solid horse."

Zito said the horse was named after legendary American amateur golfer Francis Ouimet, though the "O" had to be changed to a "Q." That's because the golfer's last name already was in use for a 5-year-old Kentucky-bred chestnut gelding owned by Steve Vanovich.

"It's named after the amateur golfer, but apparently that's the only way The Jockey Club would give us the nod," Zito said. "And the way (Gulfstream Park announcer) Larry Collmus calls the name, it's like a Spanish name—I don't know why. It's kind of funny."

Quimet finished third behind 4 1/2-length winner Materiality and Tradesman in the 1 1/8-mile Islamorada Handicap March 6 on Gulfstream's main track. In his previous start, the chestnut gelding finished second to Madefromlucky in an allowance optional claiming race at Gulfstream on Feb. 4.

Those two outings give Zito reason for hope in the Florida Derby against contenders such as Ralph Evans' Upstart, trained by Rick Violette Jr., and Starlight Racing's Madefromlucky and Alto Racing's Materiality from the barn of Todd Pletcher.

"You look on paper, it's tough to beat Upstart, it's tough to beat the Pletcher horses," Zito said. "But Quimet did finish second to one of Pletcher's horses (Madefromlucky) that ran in the Rebel Stakes (gr. II) and finished second to (2-year-old champion male) American Pharoah.

"Quimet's not a bad 3-year-old. It's a million-dollar race, they pay across the board. On paper it looks like we ain't gonna get by, but you never know. That's why you've got longshots—things happen in racing."

Zito, who has about 50 runners in training, has struggled to replace big-spending owner Robert LaPenta and is not enjoying the strong stable of horses he had when winning Triple Crown races. His 2015 record is a modest 4-6-4 from 67 starts, a 6% win rate good for just $191,700 in earnings to land him 192nd on the list of North American trainers. Despite those stats, a recent national story on the veteran conditioner downplayed recent success. At least, that was the way Zito's son Alex took it.

Thought article was fair BUT(1/2) “@NYTSports: Zito yearns to recapture glory with latest Kentucky Derby hopeful: http://t.co/bwbECpJRw5”

— Alex Zito (@Alex_Zito1) February 20, 2015

Article left out Ice Box, Dialed In, Jackson Bend, Fly Down this decade. It hasn't been that long...replacing big client takes time. (2/2)

— Alex Zito (@Alex_Zito1) February 20, 2015

Nick Zito laughed when told of the tweets.

"Well, you can't blame the son for trying and sticking up for me," Zito said. "When you get a reputation, Lukas... (Bob) Baffert... Nick Zito was there... that's a good thing but it also can be detrimental at times because if you don't do it (again), they're right there to say, 'This guy can do better.' That's the way it goes."

That lesson was reinforced in 2005, when none of Zito's then-record five Derby entrants hit the board. That race included eventual Preakness winner Afleet Alex  , whose owners donated a portion of his winnings to Alex's Lemonade Stand, started by a young girl with cancer.

That girl was partly on Zito's mind when he was asked immediately post-race about how he planed to deal with that day's disappointments.

"I said, 'Well, when you think of real life, this ain't so bad, losing a race,' " Zito said.

"(Track owner Richard) Duchossois and (former NBC Sports executive) Dick Ebersol sent me letters that I still have... those are two of the most important letters I have... about what's important."

Being grounded doesn't mean Zito has lost the desire to return to the winner's circle following a Triple Crown race. That's why Frammento will take a shot in the Blue Grass and why Quimet will run on Saturday.

"Basically, there's no pressure with this horse, obviously," Zito said. "Just trying to get something. So many things happen in races with longshots, who knows?"