Authentic wins Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park
On a day when Monmouth Park set a handle record for a non-Breeders' Cup card, which was very popular Authentic extended Hall of Fame coach Bob Baffert's record for Class 1 wins to nine, bravely pushing through on Saturday to hold off the fast-closing New York traffic at a distance.
Despite restrictions on on-track attendance due to protocols to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, a total of $20,479,392 was wagered on the 14-race card from all sources.
This surpassed the previous mark of $20,024,509 for a non-Breeders' Cup card set on Haskell Day on August 2, 2015.
“The reality is that this will go down in history as one of the most challenging yet enjoyable Haskell Days,” said John Heims, race secretary and Monmouth Park race director. “We thank the governor for his leadership and for giving us the opportunity to give racing fans the opportunity to enjoy this great experience and be part of a day that will long be remembered.”
Racing outside of Southern California for the first time in his five-race career, Authentic led the $1 million race from start to finish. He earned 100 Kentucky Derby qualifying points and finished second to Tiz the Law with a total of 200 points. Due to the reshuffled Triple Crown racing schedule this pandemic year, the Haskell for the first time had Kentucky Derby qualifying points of 100-40-20-10 up for grabs for the top four finishers.
Additionally, Authentic's victory guarantees the son of Into Mischief a berth in the $7 million Breeders' Cup Classic on Nov. 7 at Keeneland as part of the Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” Challenge Series.
Although Authentic secured his spots in the Kentucky Derby and the Breeders' Cup Classic, both run over 1¼ miles, the 3-5 favorite in the field of seven didn't make it easy in the Haskell over a mile and an eighth.
It took all the cunning and skill of Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith to stop Ny Traffic and Paco Lopez.
“He is a colt with a wealth of talent. He doesn't lack skills. He’s got a lot of it,” Smith said. “But he’s learning what he’s missing at the moment. He's growing up He looked at each and every one of them and wouldn't let me go near the fence because he looked at them too much.
“Then he stepped away as if I wanted him to go home. When the horse started charging at him, I wanted to penetrate him a little, just to get him going. If he started playing again, I was like, “I.” You better just keep going and hope he holds out at that point. I rode him way past the barrier just to show him to keep running when he hit the barrier. ”
Authentic, the 3-5 favorite in the field of seven, and Ny Traffic ran a 1-2 race over the nine furlongs.
Traffic in New Yorkwho was hoping for his first race victory, had lost ground in the upper section, got his second wind at the sixteenth pole and came powerfully through the track while under Lopez, who said afterwards he was “100 percent sure” that he won, quickly made up ground in the race.
Smith, who had guided Authentic to a seemingly comfortable 2½-length lead, used his right-handed club to put Authentic back in charge.
Ny Traffic never let up and narrowly missed, while Authentic barely landed with his nose on the wire in 1:50.45.
“I'm just so proud of him, but I said to Mike like everyone else, 'You'd better stay behind him. You'd better stay busy.' “He (Authentic) is looking at everything like we’ve seen in his past races,” said Baffert, who watched the race from his home in Southern California. “I could tell he wasn't focused on the track, but he held on. He saw the horse coming towards him and he set off again.”
“Jimmy (assistant trainer Barnes) said he didn't really come back tired. He just didn't put it down and the horse came to him and kept holding him. But he ran a great race.”
Dr. posttrained by Todd Pletcher, finished third, 4½ lengths behind Ny Traffic.
The end result was a heavy defeat for New York Traffic's connections, but trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. found solace in the performance and the 40 Kentucky Derby qualifying points earned.
“I thought he ran well,” Joseph said. “Coming into this race, he missed a job and I was a little worried: Have we had enough? At the quarter pole you could see that Authentic was on the move and my horse was no longer under control.”
“You can’t be proud of that anymore. I was pretty sure we lost when I first saw it. Immediately after the bobsleigh at the barrier we were head on. I just want to keep going.’ That’s the most important thing.”
The Kentucky-raised Authentic, who owns Spendthrift Farm, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables and Myracehorse.com, returned $3.20 on a $2 bet and became a millionaire with the winning share of the purse, bringing his balance to $1,011,200 increased. His record is now 4-1-0 from five starts and his other wins include the Grade 3 Sham Stakes and the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes.
