GOLDEN GLIMPSES #132

September 15, 1998

By ED GOLDEN

In the minds of some jaded members of the press, there’s a sense that Free House is the Rodney Dangerfield of the handicap division.

No respect, no respect at all.

Maybe it’s because he failed to win a Triple Crown race last year, although he was in the money in all three. Maybe it’s because he broke his maiden as a 2-year-old at Fairplex Park, a 5/8-mile track in Pomona that’s considered the runt of the litter compared to debonair big brothers Santa Anita, Hollywood Park and Del Mar.

Or maybe it’s because he was bred in California, a state where image is everything.

Whatever, John Toffan has no problem with the reality of Free House’s talent, substance and esteem.

"He does rank second to Skip Away in the latest Daily Racing Form’s Top 40 poll," points out Toffan, who owns the striking white/gray 4-year-old son of Smokester with partner Trudy McCaffery. "How much respect do you need? I really don’t feel he doesn’t get any respect. They love him in New York and they loved him in Kentucky. They love him wherever, because he’s that kind of a horse."

Free House has a chance to earn nationwide admiration Saturday when he makes the most important start of his career at Belmont Park in the $500,000 Woodward Stakes, against Skip Away, Gentlemen and Coronado’s Quest. Some are calling it the Race of the Year. Breeders’ Cup Classic aside, this one could go a long way in deciding Horse of the Year.

"At this point in time Skip Away is the best horse in the country, and what are you gonna do?" asks Toffan, rhetorically. "But if we beat him, they can’t say anything, right? We decided on the Woodward because there was nowhere else to run. It was five weeks since the Pacific Classic and as I said after that race, we’d sort of like to test Skip Away and see what happens. It’s not for me to say whether I’d be encouraged or discouraged by Skip Away’s (nose) victory in the Iselin. I just think he had a very hard race and he came back like a good horse should."

Toffan understandably wouldn’t speak for Shug McGaughey on the trainer’s unexpected decision to run the 3-year-old Coronado’s Quest against the elite of the handicap division, instead of what seemed like a softer spot in the Super Derby.

"I’m not going to think for Shug," said Toffan, not one to mince words, "but shipping down to Louisiana is tough. We’ve been there (Free House finished a distant sixth in last year’s Super Derby). That’s a tough track. In the Woodward, Coronado’s Quest is at home in New York, so why ship? If he wins this, he’s 3-year-old of the year without having to run down there, so I think it was a smart move on Shug’s part."

Toffan wouldn’t offer a definitive opinion on whether it’s an advantage or not for a 3-year-old to tackle older foes at this time of year.

"It depends on the horses," Toffan said. "Unless I’m wrong, this year’s crop of older horses is pretty tough. Coronado’s Quest is a very nice horse, but he’s going to be tested."

Free House is trained by Paco Gonzalez, a meticulous horseman who rigidly maintains a low profile. He does not enjoy moving among and parrying with the paparazzi, a la Wayne Lukas and Bob Baffert. Paco thinks the spotlight is something that should be reserved for movie premieres.

California Boy Free House is not eligible to the Breeders’ Cup. McCaffery and Toffan would have to put up $800,000 to make the race. It’s a risky gamble on a possible return of $2.4 million, but money isn’t everything.

"The Breeders’ Cup Classic could be in the picture for Free House," Toffan said. "That’s why we’re running in the Woodward. If he does well in this race, we’ll certainly have to think about the Breeders’ Cup. It’s more than the prize money. If we beat Skip Away twice, I suppose Free House would have to be considered for Horse of the Year, and Horse of the Year certainly increases his stallion value down the line."

Meanwhile, Free House, the most eye-catching of thoroughbreds, is feeling his oats, despite a very eventful trip to the Big Apple.

"He’s doing wonderful," Toffan said of Free House, who scored his most important and impressive victory to date in the Pacific Classic over Gentlemen and Touch Gold, among others. "He arrived in New York Monday and it was a tough flight because they had a tornado there and he had to wait three or four hours in Kentucky. But he finally got there and he’s fine."

Now, until the Woodward, he can rest easy and enjoy some California dreamin’.

THE HOMESTRETCH: Toffan on how Chris McCarron supplanted Kent Desormeaux on Free House: "There wasn’t anything to it. We were just looking for a new rider. Everybody rode him but we always wanted Chris and he was never available. But he suits the horse. It’s nothing against Kent or anybody else. It’s just one of those things. You can’t go wrong with McCarron. He’s a money rider." . . . No less an authority than Trevor Denman says they will have to beat Del Mar Futurity winner Worldly Manner to win the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Nov. 7. The son of Riverman, owned by Golden Eagle Farm, trained by Baffert and ridden by Desormeaux, was a smashing five-length winner over stablemate Daring General . . . The $25 million project to expand Fairplex Park from a 5/8-mile main track to one mile, and add a 7/8-mile turf course, is on hold. "To make a long story short," says Fairplex Park Vice President Racing Neil O’Dwyer, "RSB 281 never got out of committee in Sacramento. So we don’t have the financing. If the racing industry in Southern California were to ever get totally behind this project, I believe it will happen. I don’t think that’s going to happen as long as we have two major race tracks in Los Angeles County. We’re here, we’re going about our business the way we know best and what that will bring by way of the use of this land in the future, your guess is as good as mine."

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