Tip of the Week: Making the Leap

Photo by Eclipse Sportswire
As anyone who follows the Triple Crown closely knows, horses can often take a big step forward when the calendar turns to a new year and they transition from a 2-year-old into a 3-year-old.
A highly improved 3-year-old debut after a short break from racing is usually an excellent sign that everything is beginning to fall into place for a young, physically developing horse and it is poised for a solid sophomore campaign.
Add a surface switch into the mix and you have an even more compelling reason to expect that promising 3-year-old debut to be the start of a solid form cycle.
Cite certainly was one of those horses who relished his new life at three.
At two, he was barely mediocre with one third and two seventh-place finishes in his three starts.
But when he made his first start at three, off a break of nearly two months, Cite truly showed a dimension.
Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott had tried to enter Cite in a turf race last year, but the race was moved to the main track, where Cite turned in his third-place finish. But on Jan. 23 at Gulfstream Park, Cite finally made that delayed turf debut – and raced on the medication Lasix for the first time - and he turned in a career-best effort, finishing third by a length despite being bumped at the start and lacking running room at the top of the stretch.
It was a far cry from his efforts at two and with it coming at a time of year when young, precocious horses can begin their development into quality racehorses – and keeping in mind the fondness Cite showed for a new surface in his turf debut – it seemed quite logical that the son of Blame would also be formidable in his next start.
That second race at three came in the 13th race on Feb. 27 at Gulfstream, and that day’s 11th race added to Cite’s credentials. Both of the horses that finished in front of him in that Jan. 23 race, Gimlet and Kismet’s Heels, were entered in the $150,000 Palm Beach Stakes and both were considered main contenders in the Grade 3 as neither was priced above 5-1 in the morning line.
Cite, coming off that race against two tough rivals, was back in a maiden race on the turf and was listed as a narrow 3-1 morning-line favorite in a field that shaped up as quite competitive.
While Cite was ultimately sent off as the $3.30-to-1 second choice in a jammed field of 14, he proved that strong 3-year-old debut was not a mirage as he registered an even better effort, prevailing by a nose in a tight, four-horse finish and paying $8.60 for a $2 win bet.
THE LESSON: An improved effort in a horse’s 3-year-old debut can be a highly positive sign of good things to come in subsequent races.