Lashkari driving past All Along (center) to win the Breeders' Cup Turf. PHOTO: Breeders' Cup
By: Walter Lazary /// XXXXX Words /// Includes: Charts, Slides, Video.
1984 Breeders' Cup Turf
Three-Year-Old & Up - Twelve Furlongs
The Breeders’ Cup Turf and Turf Mile were especially important to the success of the inaugural Breeders’ Cup because turf racing dominated European horse racing and it was hoped that these two races would add a truly international flavor to the event. With so many great milers in Europe, the European response to the Mile was disappointing in that only three of the ten starters were European, and one of them, the eventual winner Royal Heroine, had spent the entire year in North America.
However, if there was a single race with an even more disappointing field, it was the twelve-furlong Turf, a race that at one time held so much promise but, because of injuries, ineligibles, late scratches, and a general reluctance to compete, clearly had the wind taken out of its sales.
There is no question that the two best turf horses in America in 1984 were the 1981 Horse of the Year John Henry, the defending male turf champion – the third time in four years that the nine-year-old gelding had won that award – and David Sofro’s four-year-old colt Interco who was outstanding on both turf and dirt.
Early in 1984, after suffering back-to-back defeats to Interco in the G1 Santa Anita Handicap on dirt and the G1 San Louis Rey at twelve furlongs on turf, John Henry set a course record when he won the eleven-furlong G3 Golden Gate Handicap in 2:13, following which, he stepped up in class and won the G1 Hollywood Invitational over the Andre Farbe trained French group three winner Galant Vert, then finished second to Desert Wine in the G1 Hollywood Gold Cup, his second loss that year on dirt.
John Henry
From that point on, John Henry ran exclusively on turf, and he won his next four races: the G1 Sunset Handicap over Load the Cannons – who earlier that year won the mile and three-quarter San Juan Capistrano; the G1 Arlington Million when he was just too tough for a game Royal Heroine – who earlier on the Breeders’ Cup card won the Turf Mile; the G1 Turf Classic at Belmont Park over Win and Majesty’s Prince (who would be favored to win the Breeders’ Cup Turf); and the $900,000 Ballantine’s Scotch Classic Handicap at the Meadowlands. John was at his best in this one, tying the eleven-furlong track record of 2:13 while drawing off to win by three lengths over the second-place finisher Who’s For Dinner, who carried eleven pounds less. John’s dramatic finish when he swooped into the lead after being eighth, nine lengths out of it early on, electrified the crowd of 37,112. However, the old-timer came out of the race with a minor leg injury, which was not considered serious.
Interco was also a major star. The four-year-old son of Intrepid Hero x Yale Coed entered 1984 in the midst of a seven-race winning streak which began on December 2nd when he came from well off the pace to win his first stake race, the nine-furlong Spence Stakes at Hollywood Park in 1:48 with Pac Mania finishing third. Stakes placed in France when he was two, and coming off a second-place finish by three-quarters of a length to Royal Heroine in a division of the G1 Hollywood Derby on November 20th, Interco won three stakes that December as he followed the Spence with a one-length triumph in the G2 Bay Meadows Handicap and a week later won the G3 Bay Meadows Derby by a length giving him three stakes wins, all on turf with two of them graded, in just sixteen days.
Interco
Interco began his 1984 season on January 21st with a victory in the nine-furlong G1 San Fernando Stakes on dirt over Desert Wine, following which he defeated Journey at Home and Gato Del Sol in the G1 Santa Anita Handicap on March 4th (John Henry was fifth). He then won the G1 San Louis Rey at twelve furlongs on turf by a neck over Gato Del Sol with John Henry another half-length further back in third and followed that with a victory in the nine-furlong G1 Century Handicap over the Pan American Handicap winner Tonzarun for his seventh stakes win in a row.
Interco’s win streak was snapped on June 10th when he finished second by a length to Desert Wine in the G1 Californian Stakes on dirt at Hollywood Park as the odds-on 2-5 favorite. Unfortunately, this was Interco’s final career race as he was retired to stand at Spendthrift Farm because of foot problems. His trainer Ted West said that Interco probably wouldn’t have run in either the Breeders’ Cup Turf or the Classic anyway because at the time he was to be nominated, he was in the process of being sold, and through an oversight, neither party submitted his name, which meant that he would have had to be supplemented at an enormous cost.
One of the unique features of the Breeders’ Cup was that if an owner had a horse that was by a stallion that was not fully nominated for the Breeders’ Cup, said horse could still be allowed to compete provided the owner paid supplemental and nomination fees. In 1984, five horses were allowed to compete in various Breeders’ Cup races after being supplemented, their fee ranging from 12% to 20% of the total purse value of their race. Four of them ran: Spend A Buck in the Juvenile Colt, Pac Mania in the Sprint, Night Mover in the turf Mile, and Wild Again in the Classic. The fifth horse that was nominated but didn’t run was John Henry, whose sire, Ol Bob Bowers, was not an accredited Breeders Cup sire.
Interco’s absence from the Breeders’ Cup was a big blow when it came to America’s chances of winning the twelve-furlong Turf, but an even bigger disappointment was the scratching of John Henry, who at one time was considered to be the face of the event. John Henry’s owner, Sam Ruben, was reluctant to pay the $400,000 supplemental fee (20% of $2,000,000) so John could run in the Turf, the biggest stumbling block being the fact that the fee would not be included in the current race’s purse structure but would be added to the Breeders’ Cup account to be paid out the following year. Rubens was adamant when he stated that unless the fee was included in the current race’s purse, John wouldn’t run, but after strong urging by trainer Ron McAnally, plus the fact that John Henry and Slew o’ Gold, which was favored to win the Classic, were considered the two leading candidates for the honor of being crowned Horse of the Year, Rubens changed his mind and wrote a cheque in the amount of $133,333.33. This was the initial payment, which was non-refundable in the event of a scratch, which John eventually was when his leg injury failed to respond to treatment. Unfortunately, John was not only scratched from the race, but he was also retired, his $6,597,947 career earnings a world record.
With America’s two greatest threats to win the Turf now retired, there were still other American horses that would have been competitive, one of which was Win, a New York State bred son of the Northern Dancer stallion Barachois. Foaled by the unraced Buckpasser mare, Par Ci Par La, Win had a good year winning a trio of stakes: the G2 Bernard Baruch over Intensify and Cozzene, the G2 Tidal Handicap over Anne’s Lover, and the G1 Manhattan Handicap over Fortnightly. The four-year-old gelding also finished second in the G1 Man o’ War to Majesty’s Prince, a division of the G2 Red Smith Handicap to Hero’s Honor, and the G1 Turf Classic, a short neck behind John Henry. Win also finished third to John Henry in the Ballantine’s Scotch Classic Handicap.
Other top stars that were missing were: Load the Canons, who won the G1 San Juan Capistrano Invitational and gave John Henry all he could handle in the Sunset Handicap; Both Ends Burning, which won the G1 Oak Tree Invitational over Gato Del Sol and Raami; Nijinsky’s Secret, winner of the G1 Hialeah Turf Club Handicap over Four Bases; and Hero’s Honor a son of Northern Dancer who won four added money events: the G1 United Nations Handicap over Cozzene, the G1 Bowling Green Handicap over Nassipour, a division of the G2 Red Smith Handicap over Win, and the G3 Fort Marcy Handicap over Super Sunrise.
With several of America’s top turf stars missing, there is no doubt that the European response to the Turf was also underwhelming as, other than All Along, none of those that did compete, Alphabatim, Lashkari, Raami, Morcon, and Treizieme, all of whom represented either England or France, had ever won a major stake or what was considered a classic. Among those who stayed away were Palace Music, Secreto, Sadler’s Wells, El Grand Senor, Commanche Run, Sagace, Seattle Song, Darshaan, Teenoso, Time Charter, Sun Princess, Princess Pati, Circus Plume, Northern Trick, Siberian Express, and Rainbow Quest.
There is no doubt that the top horse in the race was the great French-bred five-year-old mare All Along. By Targowice, a Round Table stallion that was voted the 1972 French two-year-old champion, All Along was foaled by Aquita, who was a daughter of the French group one winning sire Vieux Manoir. In 1983, this magnificent mare, who finished fifteenth in the 1982 Arc de la Triomphe to Akiyda, was winless after three starts and surprised everyone by winning the twelve-furlong Arc over Sun Princess on October 2nd at 17-1. That race was the beginning of an incredible journey that would see her cross the ocean and win the thirteen-furlong Rothman’s International at Toronto’s Woodbine on October 16, move down to New York and win the twelve-furlong Turf Classic at Aqueduct on October 29, then travel to Laurel and win the twelve-furlong Washington D.C. International on November 12. This feat was unprecedented – four races totaling forty-nine furlongs (the last three of which were on tiring yielding turf courses), in three different countries, France, Canada, and the United States, and in the short span of forty-one days. It turned out that this tiring ordeal was worth it, however, as All Along was rewarded with a $1,000,000 bonus for winning the three North American races. She also received an Eclipse Award as the top turf filly or mare and then garnered the crown jewel of all awards, the title of the Horse of the Year, the first of her sex to be honored since Busher in 1945. She was also the first foreign bred to be voted Horse of the Year, and she was the first to win it while racing exclusively on turf.
All Along
In 1984, All Along, who was owned by Daniel Wildenstein and trained by Patrick Biancone, was obviously trying to catch lightning in a bottle and, in doing so, would be subjected to another trying schedule. On September 22, she once again made the journey across the Atlantic and, making her first start since winning the D.C. International the previous year, finished fourth in the Turf Classic. She then returned to France and finished third in the Arc on October 7th, following which, she re-crossed the Atlantic and ran a fast closing fourth to Majesty’s Prince in the Rothman’s International at Woodbine. That race was on October 21, and given twenty days off, she was now ready to tackle a good, but not great, field in the Breeders’ Cup Turf.
Of the other Europeans, Morcon, who would run as an entry with Raami, had started the year off well. The son of Morston, the 1973 Epsom Derby winner, won his first three starts, among them the group three Westbury Stakes and the group two Prince of Wales. His next three starts were all in group ones: the Eclipse Stakes, in which he finished third by a half-length to Saddler’s Wells, a sixth-place finish in the Benson and Hedges to Cormorant Wood, and an unimpressive seventh-place finish in the Champion Stakes to Palace Music. If anything, the colt’s form showed that he was slacking off from earlier that year, a fact that wasn’t lost on the bettors as he was sent off at 13-1 with his stablemate Raami, odds that surely would have been higher if he was running uncoupled. Another hint that he was an outsider was the fact that his regular rider, Harry Carson, stayed home, and Chris McCarron was hired to ride.
Raami, who was a son of the Northern Dancer stallion Be My Guest, won three listed stakes in England and Scotland before coming to America: the seven-furlong Foster Draught at Lingfield, the ten-furlong Kalaglow at Newmarket, and the eleven-furlong Scottish Derby at Ayr in Scotland. A three-year-old, Raami was an improving colt with a big finishing kick, and he showed that he could be competitive in America when he finished second in the G2 Rutgers to Roving Minstrel at the Meadowlands on September 28. He was coming into the Turf after finishing third to Both Ends Burning in the G1 Oak Tree Invitational on October 20th at Santa Anita.
The three-year-old French filly Treizieme was a horse that, when looking at her form, seemed to be going in the wrong direction. Owned by the Oak Cliff Stable, Treizieme was trained by the legendary Maurice Zilber, who trained Hall of Fame inductees Dahlia and Exceller as well as the Epsom Derby winner Empery and North American turf champion Youth. When she was two, Treizieme won both her starts, one of which was the group one Grand Criterium, in which she was the first filly to win this race in seventeen years. She continued her winning ways and captured her first two starts in 1984, both group threes, the Prix de la Grotte, and the Prix de Psyche. After showing so much promise, she then slowly lost her form and twice finished third to Northern Trick, the first time in the group three Prix de la Nonette, when she was beaten by just three-quarters of a length, following which she was a non-threatening third in the group one Prix Vermeille. Coming to North America for her next two starts, Treizieme was the surprise even-money favorite to win the Washington D.C. International but could only manage an eighth-place finish. She then traveled west to Santa Anita, where she was a lackluster seventh in the Oak Tree Invitation to Both Ends Burning, her final start before the B.C. Turf.
Treizieme
Kentucky-bred Alphabatim was a product of Elmendorf Farm and was the first of his dam Morning Games’s eighteen foals. The son of Verbatim, who was owned by Khaled Abdullah and trained by Guy Harwood, would eventually earn more than $1.3M in his career and was already a group one winner, having won the Futurity Stakes in England in 1983 (he would eventually win the G1 Hollywood Turf Stakes twice, the second time over the 1987 Breeders’ Cup Turf winner, Theatrical). Alphabatim won his first two starts of 1984, the Guardian Classic Trial at Sandow in England and the group three Derby Trial Stakes at Lingfield before finishing fifth in the group one Epsom Derby to Secreto and third in the group one Saint Leger to Commanche Run. In between, he was second in the group two Geoffrey Stakes to Baynoun. In his lone North American start, Alphabatim led the Washington D.C. International into the stretch before fading to finish ninth by five lengths to Seattle Song.
Alphabatim
The final European was the longshot French colt Lashkari, a three-year-old son of Mill Reef who was owned and bred by the Aga Khan and trained by De Royer Dupre Alain. Unraced at two, Lashkari broke his maiden in his first start which was at twelve furlongs. He then lost his next four races, including among them the group one Prix de Paris. Lashkari showed improvement after that and won his final two races before traveling to America, the listed Prix des Bravres and the group two Prix Conseil de Paris, both those races at twelve furlongs. Despite the colt’s highest odds in any of his races being just 4-1, for some reason he was completely overlooked in America and would go off with the longest odds in the Turf, 53-1.
There were several compelling stories aligned to that first Breeders’ Cup, and Strawberry Road’s was one of them. After traveling for forty-four hours on several different airplanes that saw him touch down for races in Germany and France, the five-year-old Australian, who was his nation’s Horse of the Year in 1982, finally arrived in California. A winner of Australia’s premiere race, the Cox Plate in 1983, Strawberry Road had only one win in eight starts in 1984, but according to his trainer John Nicholls, bad rides and bad decisions had cost him at least two very important victories, and in another, he lost by the thinnest of noses.
Strawberry Road
Strawberry Road could only manage a third-place finish in four starts in Australia early in 1984, but his lackluster performances didn’t alter the plan to run in both the Arc de la Triomphe and the Breeders’ Cup. His journey began when he left his native land for Germany and the G3 Ottingen Rennen at Baden Baden on August 24, a one-mile race on turf that he lost by a nose. He returned to the races on September 2 at Baden Baden in the G1 Grossen Preis Von Baden at twelve furlongs, and the well-bred son of Whiskey Road got up to beat group one winner Esprit du Nord by a head.
In his races in Germany, Strawberry Road carried 132 pounds. In the Arc de la Triomphe on October 7 he carried 130 and was ridden by Greyville Starkey. Off at 11-1, Strawberry Road, who was racing in mid-pack, suddenly burst away and opened up a four-length lead mid-way in the stretch, but Starkey had moved him too early, and Strawberry Road tired late and finished 5th of 22 starters by nine-lengths to Sagace with All Along finishing third. Trainer Jim Nicholls wasn’t happy, but on the other hand he was satisfied that his horse was back to his old self.
Two weeks later Strawberry Road was in Maryland to run in the Washington D.C. International. Off as the third choice at 9-2 behind even-money favorite Treizieme, he was ridden by Greg Moore and was in position to win but was trapped in a pocket and forced to check near the three-quarter pole. When he finally got out, he was forced to check yet again when Moore brought him up behind a wall of horses at the quarter pole. When Moore finally got him clear he closed strongly but couldn’t catch the winner, Seattle Song, who won by three lengths over Persian Tiara, with Strawberry Road a half-length further back in third.
Still upset about how Strawberry Road was repeatedly in trouble in the International and how the premature move might have cost him a shot at winning the Arc, both races that he thought his horse could have won, trainer John Nicholls quipped that maybe he should ride the horse himself in the Breeders’ Cup. In the end, he ignored owner Ray Stehr’s suggestion that he import an Australian jockey in to ride Strawberry Road in the Breeders’ Cup, instead jumping at the chance to land Bill Shoemaker when John Henry was declared. “I know I needed a local jockey who knows Hollywood Park backwards,” he said. Like most people, Nicholls quipped that the road to victory became that much easier with America’s greatest turf horse now relegated to the sidelines.
The Americans
The United States would have just four horses entered in what was up to that time, the richest turf race in the country, but they seemed to be well represented. Leading the way was Majesty’s Prince, the 5-2 morning line favorite, who won three grade one races that year.
Majesty’s Prince didn’t make his first start in 1984 until July 14 when he finished fourth, beaten just a length and one-half by Hero’s Honor in the G1 United Nations Handicap at Atlantic City. He then followed that with an emphatic three-and-one-half length score in the twelve-furlong Sword Dancer at Belmont Park before running fourth to John Henry in the Arlington Million. Continuing his pattern of lose one, win one, the son of His Majesty then won the Man o’ War before finishing third to John Henry and Win in the Turf Classic. In his final start before the Turf, he won the Rothman’s at Woodbine by two lengths over 90-1 shot. Jack Slade, as the 3-4 favorite, All Along, finished fourth.
Majesty's Prince
Whose For Dinner, who was considered an outsider in a race like the Turf on his best day, nevertheless still had a chance. The son of Native Charger, who was owned by Tartan Farm and trained by John Nerud, a big supporter of the Breeders’ Cup program, earlier won the G1 twelve-furlong Arlington Handicap over Nijinsky’s Secret and Star Choice, which was the surprise second in the Turf Mile. There was a downside to his career, however. On September 14 he won a mile and one-sixteenth allowance race on the turf at Belmont Park over Disco Count and the 3-5 favorite Hero’s Honor only to be disqualified out of the purse money sometime later. Whose For Dinner prepped for the Turf with an emphatic score in the G3, ten-furlong, Kelso Handicap at Belmont Park would once again be ridden by Walter Guerra.
Who's For Dinner
Of the other two American starters, the four-year-old mare, Persian Tiara, an Irish-bred daughter of Persian Bold, was a four-time turf winner in 1984, having annexed the G2 Golden Harvest at Louisiana Downs, a hard fought nose victory on a soft course in the G3 Seneca Handicap at Saratoga, and the G2 Dixie Handicap over another soft course at Pimlico, those latter two victories against colts. The filly also finished a strong second in the Washington D.C. International to Seattle Song. It should mentioned, however, that she was no match for Sabin when she ran sixth in the eleven-furlong Sheepshead Bay Handicap and was eighth in her next start, the Sword Dancer Handicap to Majesty’s Prince with both those races back in July.
Owned by Marion Donoghue of Connecticut, Persian Tiara was trained by English-born Adrian Maxwell. When she arrived in North America from England, she had a nasty habit of lugging in towards the rail. Maxwell finally changed her bit before she won the Seneca Handicap at Saratoga. He borrowed the bit from Joe Cantey, Majesty Prince’s trainer, and the filly hadn’t been worse than second with it. Maxwell knew that his filly would be in tough in the Turf, but he also felt that the tight turns would help her.
“Majesty’s Prince looks pretty tough, and Seattle Song is out, which helps my cause,” Maxwell said. “We might get third. My filly has a heart as big as herself and wants to run well. That’s always half the battle.”
Gato Del Sol
The fourth American starter was Gato del Sol, a five-year-old son of Cougar II and the first Kentucky Derby winner to race at five since Chateaugay in the mid-1960s. Owned by Arthur Hancock III in partnership with Leone Peters, Gato del Sol had become a horse that was difficult to figure out. The son of Cougar II was raced exclusively on dirt early in his career and won the Kentucky Derby with just two career wins to his credit, an MSW and the Delmar Futurity. After skipping the Preakness, he then came back to finish second to Conquistador Cielo in the Belmont. He would win only one other race in nine starts at three and that was an allowance race in August. In 1983, Gato Del Sol won two of ten starts, an allowance and the listed Cabrillo Stakes. Later on in his career he was switched to turf and was coming into the Breeders’ Cup Turf with just one win in fourteen starts to his credit on grass, though he did finish second by a neck to Interco in the G1 San Luis Rey with John Henry finishing third, and was second in his latest start, the G1 Oak Tree Invitational to Both Ends Burning. So far in 1984 he was winless in nine starts. However, with his late running style, which most often saw him make the board, he was always a threat, and with a fast pace and clear running, he could be one to look out for.
The Breeders' Cup Turf
The Turf, at twelve furlongs, was the longest of the seven Breeders’ Cup races. It began at the far end of the backstretch and would see the field navigate around three turns. The field might not have been the strongest, but that did not prevent the huge crowd from witnessing an exciting finish. From the start, Strawberry Road, with Bill Shoemaker in the irons, took the lead and, while being dogged by Treizieme, Morcon, and Alphabatim, cruised through early fractions of 49 1/5, 1:13 1/5 and 1:37 4/5 for the mile. It was then that Angel Cordero Jr., who had the mount on All Along, made a sharp move while slipping into third place midway through the final turn. Turning into the stretch, All Along took off and put Strawberry Road away, then tried to stem the late challenge from Lashkari but could not fend off the longest shot on the board. Lashkari, who was sixth after the first mile, roared through the stretch and went on to defeat the gallant mare by a neck as Raami came from last place to finish third. The race favorite, Majesty’s Prince, showed little and finished sixth, while the 1982 Derby winner, Gato Del Sol, was eighth. The time for the twelve furlongs was 2:25 1/5, well off the course record 2:24 set by Sirlad when he won the Sunset Handicap in 1979.
For Lashkari, this was the colt’s third straight win and first in a group one. The son of Mill Reef, who was owned by the Aga Khan and trained by Alain de Royer-Dupre, made eight starts in 1984 and finished with four wins, a second and a third, and earned $960,672, $900,000 of which came from his victory in the Turf. Lashkari returned to the races in France in 1985 and won one of his five starts, an allowance-type race. His final career start came when he tried to defend his title in the 1985 Breeders’ Cup Turf at Aqueduct Race Track in New York. Off at 7-1, the four-year-old colt finished fourth of fourteen, 2 ¾ lengths behind Pebbles, as Strawberry Road finished second and Mourjane third.
Win
Place
Show
Tap on image for slide presentation:
