Ritchey reloading after Alex
Posted on Sunday, December 25, 2005
HOT SPRINGS — Life in 2006 A. A. (After Alex ) for trainer Tim Ritchey will begin in two places — Oaklawn Park and Gulfstream Park in suburban Miami.
The obvious question : Is there another potential Afleet Alex running around in either spot ?
Following that act, of course, may be impossible. But Ritchey is armed with enough candidates that he decided to keep 35 horses at Oaklawn for the 56-day live meeting that begins Jan. 20 and send another 15 to Gulfstream, which opens early next month.
“I’ve got four 2-year-old colts that are very nice,” said Ritchey, who had his entire string of horses in training stabled at Oaklawn during the 2005 season. “I couldn’t really have them all here and running against each other. You have three or four horses for one race, so I had to kind of split them up a little bit.
“ I had a lot of Florida-breds, and it’s a good fit to have them in Florida because you’re running for more money with the state-bred [purse enhancement ] deal.”
Obviously, Ritchey’s top Florida-bred this year was Afleet Alex, who is assured of being named 3-year-old champion after winning two jewels of the Triple Crown (Preakness and Belmont Stakes ), along with the $ 1 million Grade II Arkansas Derby and $ 50, 000 Mountain Valley Stakes at Oaklawn.
The champ in waiting was retired earlier this month because of a lingering ankle problem, leaving the door wide open for what Ritchey hopes is another run at the classics in 2006.
Squarely on the Oaklawn radar are Menacing and Dixiewink, who both kept some pretty fast company this fall.
After breaking his maiden at first asking, Menacing immediately took a quantum leap up the class ladder by tackling First Samuri and Henny Hughes — two of the country’s leading juveniles — in the $ 500, 000 Grade I Champagne Stakes on Oct. 8 at Belmont Park in New York.
A physically imposing son of 1999 Belmont Stakes winner Lemon Drop Kid, Menacing finished fourth. But he did break his maiden around two turns, something that could bode well for his future.
Dixiewink finished third to the highly regarded Private Vow in the $ 300, 000 Grade II Futurity Stakes on Sept. 17 at Belmont. Dixiewink is by Grade I winner Dixie Union.
A third 2-year-old to watch is Urban Guy, a $ 40, 000 claim by Ritchey in mid-October at Delaware Park. Urban Guy then earned a triple digit Beyer Speed Figure with an easy Nov. 1 allowance victory and finished second in the $ 75, 000 Huntington Stakes 12 days later at Aqueduct in New York.
Ritchey said he believes Urban Guy is a sprinter, but possesses enough talent to carry his speed a mile in a race like the $ 250, 000 Southwest Stakes on Feb. 20 at Oaklawn.
Dixiewink and Menacing, Ritchey said, are both on the same Arkansas Derby trail Afleet Alex blazed earlier this year.
Before winning the Arkansas Derby by a record 8 lengths, he ran in the Rebel, a Grade III event that is scheduled to a carry a record purse of $ 300, 000 next year.
“The other two horses hopefully can go through the three prep races, and we’ll see how it pans out,” Ritchey said.
Ritchey, who will split his time between Oaklawn and Gulfstream, said he will have most categories of races covered in Hot Springs.
Golden Rainbow, he said, is a candidate to run in the handicap series for older males. Golden Rainbow finished third in the $ 150, 000 Oklahoma Derby.
“I’ve got some young horses that haven’t run yet, 2-year-olds turning 3,” said Ritchey, who has a string of horses at Oaklawn for the third consecutive season. “I’ve got some mediocre kind of horses. I tried to bring a little bit of a mixture.”
Ritchey enjoyed his greatest season to date at Oaklawn in 2005, winning 19 of 84 starts.
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