Oscar Performance Digs in for Woodbine Mile Rebound
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Photo: Michael Burns
Jose Ortiz celebrates winning the Woodbine Mile aboard Oscar Performance
Erin Lynch paused a few times to gather her thoughts and words.
In the aftermath of the Sept. 15 edition of the Ricoh Woodbine Mile Stakes (G1T), the wife and assistant to trainer Brian Lynch was asked what the last 36 days in the career of grade 1 winner Oscar Performance had been like. The short answer to it all was "emotional," but as she dabbed her eyes and searched for just the right phrase to describe the recent whirlwind of circumstances that hit the Amerman Racing homebred, it was clear the manner in which the last month had affected them went far deeper than a few phrases could do justice.
On Aug. 11, they stood on the Arlington International Racecourse turf watching the son of Kitten's Joy being vanned off, wondering if his career was over and hoping most of all that his life was not in jeopardy. If you had told his connections that the following month would see the bay colt handily earn his fourth grade 1 triumph, incredulous would have only scratched the surface of their feelings.
"He's a barn favorite horse. He's a ham to be around. Everybody loves him and so to see that happen to your best horse, it was heartbreaking," Erin Lynch said of Oscar Performance being pulled up as the favorite in the stretch of the Arlington Million XXXV (G1T). "But then to come back and do that, it just means the world."
The scare Oscar Performance gave his team in Chicago was replaced with a flood of relief and pride Saturday as the 4-year-old put on a frontrunning clinic to win the $800,000 Woodbine Mile by 1 1/2 lengths over local favorite Mr Havercamp.
Thoroughbred racing can dole out highs and lows like no other sport, and the roller coaster Oscar Performance's connections have been on of late speak to why this game demands iron mental fortitude.
When he appeared to take a bad step in the Arlington stretch, jockey Jose Ortiz acted quickly to pull his mount up and then could do nothing but wait for news as the colt was taken back to the barn for further examination. A crisis was averted when Oscar Performance cooled out sound and was given a subsequent clean bill of health after being checked out at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, and when his trainer put him back on the worktab Sept. 3, Oscar Performance confirmed he was unaffected by the incident.
Not wanting to pit the 2016 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T) winner against his fellow grade 1-winning stablemate Heart to Heart in Keeneland's Shadwell Turf Mile (G1T) in October, Brian Lynch made the decision to send Oscar Performance to Woodbine to see if indeed he was ready to return with a top performance. After setting fractions of :24.60 and :48.78 with Mr Havercamp tracking him second Saturday, the colt unleashed a turn of foot that might be at its best going eight furlongs.
"I think the biggest decision is, he didn't want to hook him up with Heart to Heart and he wanted to make sure especially coming off that incident at Arlington that wherever we put him back, he was going to do this today," Erin Lynch said. "I think he felt that the last two breezes he had were that good that we needed to push on and come here. We didn't have to hook Heart to Heart in the Shadwell and it gives up a couple extra weeks for Breeders' Cup (Mile G1T)."
With expected pacesetter La Sardane scratched out of the Woodbine Mile Saturday morning, the on-paper handicapping suggested the opportunity was there for Oscar Performance to have things his way in his attempt to put the Arlington debacle behind him.
Though he got off a step slow, Ortiz wasn't going to let any of his seven challengers dictate the action at his expense. He hustled Oscar Performance to the forward position and was never seriously challenged as he covered the distance in 1:33.12 over a course rated firm.
"I was going pretty comfortable the whole backstretch," Ortiz said. "When we hit the three-eighths pole I smootched at him and he just gave me that feeling that he gave me every other time he gave me his best.
"I was really emotional past the wire because this is one of my favorite horses," Ortiz continued. "He gave me my first Breeders' Cup win and to see him last time loading up back to the barn was painful for me. I'm just very happy he's back and back on form that is at the highest level."
Ontario-bred Mr Havercamp ran a monster race under Eurico Rosa Da Silva to hold for second by a neck over Stormy Antaractic in what was the first try against grade 1 company for the Court Vision gelding.
"I'm so proud of him. He gave it his best," Da Silva said. "We went a very slow pace for this race. But I needed to make a decision. If I press the pace, I probably lose second. Congratulations to the winner he's a nice horse, but my horse ran hard. Hopefully we try next year again. I feel like this horse is only going to get better."
Favored Delta Prince was fourth under Javier Castellano, with Divisidero, Lord Glitters, Good Samaritan, and Vanish rounding out the order.
"Really disappointing. He didn't show up today for some reason," Castellano said. "He was flat today. Had a nice comfortable rhythm behind the winner, but when I asked him at the top of the stretch, he just didn't respond today."
Oscar Performance opened his 2018 campaign with a victory in the June 17 Poker Stakes (G3T) at Belmont Park before his Arlington venture. Though he captured last year's Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T) over 10 furlongs, Ortiz thinks the mile distance is where he might be best going forward.
"I think the mile is what he wants to do," the rider said. "When he hits that spot in the mile, he's going to give you 110% every time."
Bred in Kentucky out of the Theatrical (IRE) mare Devine Actress, Oscar Performance improved his record to eight wins from 14 starts with $2,345,696. Erin Lynch said the colt would ship back to Saratoga Race Course Sept. 16 and train up to a start in the Breeders' Cup Mile, which he earned a paid entry to by virtue of his Woodbine Mile triumph.
"It's nice to see him back and it's a 'Win and You're In' and we've got six weeks to the Breeders' Cup," Brian Lynch said by phone. "Now we can take a deep breath and do the best we can to have him right on that day."