Head May Continue Mile Success with Anodin

If Freddy Head has one race mastered, it's the Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. IT). The French conditioner began his assault on the storied grass event in 1987-1988 when still in the midst of a championship riding career, booting Hall of Fame filly Miesque to consecutive victories.

In 2008 Head became the first person ever to win a Breeders' Cup race as both a jockey and a trainer, sending out Goldikova at Santa Anita Park. The brilliant filly raced close to the pace and drew clear by 1 1/4 lengths as the only 3-year-old and one of two females an the 11-horse field. Little did the racing world know what memories would await.

In 2009, Goldikova returned to the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita to defend her Mile title. She did so despite drawing post 11 and getting stuck at the back of a 10-horse pack early, closing to get in front of Courageous Cat   with a late finish for a half-length score.

Remarkably, the daughter of champion Anabaa made it back to the World Championships for yet another Mile bid in 2010, traveling to Churchill Downs in an attempt to become the first horse ever to win three consecutive Breeders' Cup races. She now holds that honor, having held off Christophe Clement trainee Gio Ponti   by 1 3/4 lengths.

That year, Clement had this to say about the runner who held off his eventual three-time champion: "I wish the filly was not in the race, The filly is a freak. She's the best miler we've seen for a long, long time."   

Goldikova sought a fourth Mile score, but fell short in 2011 to 64-1 shot Court Vision   and Turallure. Her remarkable career complete, "Goldi," as racing fans called her, was retired by breeders Wertheimer & Frere. She has produced a yearling colt and a weanling filly, both by Galileo, since then.

For the following two years, the Mile was dominated by two-time Horse of the Year Wise Dan, who dashed to consecutive victories—including a record-setting 1:31.78 in 2012. But with the champion gelding sidelined due to a minor injury, this year's edition of the Mile is wide-open, and 67-year-old Head, armed with Goldi's little brother, is back for another run at the race.

Anodin, by Anabaa, is the only full sibling to Goldikova bred by Wertheimer & Frere. Out of the Blushing Groom mare Born Gold, he targets the Mile off a troubled fifth in the Oct. 5 Qatar Prix de la Foret (Fr-I) at Longchamp, but actually sports better form than his past performances indicate at first glance.

It took the 4-year-old colt a few tries to break his maiden for Head, but after runner-up finishes on back-to-back occasions, he finally broke through in an allowance race at Longchamp last April. He next ran a creditable seventh in the French Two Thousand Guineas (Fr-I), beaten less than three lengths for it all. In his following start he became a graded stakes winner, taking the Prix Paul de Moussac (Fr-III) at Chantilly. 

While Anodin counts back to that victory in June 2013 for his latest score, he has run against some of Europe's best including fellow Mile contender Toronado and the highly regarded Kingman, now retired. He beat all but the outstanding Longchamp course specialist Cirrus des Aigles in the group I Prix d'Ispahan on May 1, was a fine third—beaten only two lengths by Toronado—in the Queen Anne Stakes (Eng-I) at Royal Ascot May 25, and missed by 2 1/2 lengths to Kingman in the Jacques Le Marois (Fr-I) Aug. 17 at Deauville.

Although Anodin must recover from that fifth last time out in the Prix de la Foret, Head believes he is suited to the firm turf course at Santa Anita and that, given time and the right opportunity, the same brilliance displayed by his sister may shine through.

"Like his sister, he's a horse who's taken a little time but he's shown us something there with a good burst of finishing speed," the trainer said.