Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Mandella, rarely in Derby fray, has two prospects progressing
For all that he’s accomplished in his career, and it’s been a lot, Richard Mandella has had no luck in the Kentucky Derby. Not that it’s been a priority. After all, he’s only run six horses in the race, beginning in 1984, and hasn’t had a starter since 2004.
Over the years, Mandella instead has focused his considerable training talents on older horses. He’s won the Pacific Classic four times, owns three wins in the Santa Anita Handicap, and has taken down the Dubai World Cup and Breeders’ Cup Classic. He’s won nine Breeders’ Cup races overall, which ties him for seventh all time, and every person above him has had at least 20 more starters than his 43, giving him an outstanding strike rate of nearly 21 percent. He got into the Hall of Fame long ago, back in 2001, and hasn’t rested on those laurels; witness his work with Hall of Famer-to-be Beholder, among others.
This year, though, Mandella finds himself heading down the Derby trail with a pair of prospects. Extra Hope and Omaha Beach were expected to race one week apart, but because of the suspension of racing at Santa Anita and the cancellation of the San Felipe, both have made their way to Oaklawn Park to compete in $750,000 divisions of the Grade 2 Rebel on Saturday.
“At my age,” the 68-year-old Mandella said, “I’m getting desperate.”
Not really. Here’s how it works with Mandella: You ask a question, and he gives a witty, pithy reply, pauses, then forthrightly addresses the topic while leaving room for more self-deprecating jokes down the line.
Actually, Omaha Beach and Extra Hope have earned these chances by being brought along patiently to the point where they are now ready to take this significant step.
“It’s time to step up and see what they’re made of,” he said.
Omaha Beach, a War Front colt whom owner Rick Porter named for another significant piece of World War II history (see Normandy Invasion, Battle of Midway, etc.), touted himself early. Last summer at Del Mar, nearly two months before he first started, Mandella pointed him out as one to watch.
“He’s always led us to believe he was a really good horse,” Mandella said.
But Omaha Beach was slow to catch on. He finished third in his debut Sept. 2 and then was second in three straight races – all by close margins – before he romped by nine lengths when beating maidens on a sloppy, sealed track at Santa Anita last time out Feb. 2. Coming out of that race, he has trained brilliantly, even following a slight hiccup to deal with a quarter crack.
“We patched it, and it’s in good shape,” Mandella said.
Mandella pointed to the Rebel with Omaha Beach, rather than a race last weekend like the Gotham, because, he said, “we wanted an extra week to let it grow out.”
“That was an important part of the decision,” Mandella said. “Get a little more growth.”
Omaha Beach shipped to Oaklawn on Wednesday and went to the barn of Larry Jones, who also trains for Porter and, in fact, gave Omaha Beach some early lessons at Keeneland before he came to Mandella last year.
“He trained him for a month or so before he came to me,” Mandella said. “Put him down for an assist. I’m pretty sure he’ll want part of the purse. He’s had better results in the Derby than I have, so I need to lean on him.”
Extra Hope, a colt by Shanghai Bobby, was bred and is owned by Samantha Siegel, for whom Mandella trains two runners. He has won twice in seven starts, most recently beating allowance runners at Santa Anita on Jan. 31. In his prior start, he was third in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Futurity behind the high-class pair of Improbable and Mucho Gusto.
“He seems to be progressing with every start,” Mandella said. “He’s now a show-off work horse. He’s a real kindhearted horse. When we first started with him, his works were okay. He didn’t break any clocks. Racing has made him a better horse.
“He’s gotten very professional. He’ll do anything you want now.”
No equipment changes, nothing. Just time, the patience of his trainer, and . . . what’s that, Richard?
“We did put faster shoes on him,” Mandella said. “But that only works if they can run.”