Thunder Snow misses, Mckinzie wins Whitney
SARATOGA SPRINGS: Mckinzie won the $1 million Whitney by 1 3/4 lengths at Saratoga on Saturday, giving Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert his first victory in the Grade 1 race.
Meanwhile, dual Dubai World Cup hero Thunder Snow did not run in the G1 Whitney Stakes due to an elevated temperature.
Trainer Saeed Bin Suroor commented: “We took Thunder Snow to the track this morning and he came back to the barn and coughed a few times.
“We took his temperature and he is running a litle bit of a fever. In the best interests of the horse, we decided not to run him.”
It was Baffert’s second starter in the race and first since 2004. Mckinzie earned an automatic berth to the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic in November at Santa Anita, where the colt is based.
Baffert was also overcome with emotion as he described how it felt to win the Whitney for the first time with a horse named ater his dear friend Brad Mckinzie, the late Los Alamitos Race Course executive who passed away in August 2017.
“I told John Hendrickson, ‘I’m just as emotional because I was thinking about Brad Mckinzie and how we loved him,’” the trainer said. “I started choking up. It was very emotional for me. I know his mother’s watching, all his friends are watching. Mckinzie will always be (in the record books) at Saratoga there with the best, and that’s important.
“I’m just glad that this horse is as good as he is, because we named him at Brad’s funeral.” “Watching all the crowd when they went in the gate, it was just packed all the way up there (on the apron),” Baffert said. “Just a beautiful sight. When you see that, you know that racing is still alive and strong, so it’s good to see that.”
It was the second Whitney win for Smith, who won the 1993 edition with Brunswick, and the first for Baffert and owners Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman.
“I’ve never won a Whitney, so it was the first thing I told the owners: ‘I got my Whitney!’” Baffert said. “It’s sad that Marylou wasn’t here. I’d really like that. You know, that’s the only thing missing. She was always so nice to us.
“My group, they just want to run, travel, have fun, and enjoy this weather and racing. And when you get a good horse, you go travel and take on the best and find out what you have.
“I could have stayed home for a million-dollar race in my backyard, but we wanted to come and do it here, in front of this unbelievable crowd. It’s tough racing. You have to bring really good horses here. You’d beter come with a good one.
“I was nervous today. I’ve been nervous because I knew down deep he could win the race. I was going to be very disappointed if he didn’t win.
“I knew he’s that kind of horse. I’ve had really good horses, and he’s ranked right up there with them. I was going to be just totally shocked if he didn’t win today, but the way he did it was really impressive. I’m just glad we got it done. The connections, they’re great guys, and Jane Lyons, who bred him, also happens to be here.”