|
Early Christmas – by
Tom Dawson for SureBet
On Saturday, Dec. 10, we get a peek at Quarter Horse racing’s annual
pre-Christmas gift, the Champion of Champions at Los Alamitos. The magnitude of
the race is such that the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity -- as in $2.2
million purse -- serves as the Friday night warm up.
This will be the 40th Champion of Champions, a distressing fact for those of us
who remember the first one. Through the years, only the All American Futurity
has had a greater impact on the whole of Quarter Horse racing. But it is the C
of C that has been the foreteller of World Champions.
I had the pleasure of covering more than half of the 39 renewals for TV,
starting with Dash For Cash’s encore performance in 1977. Ten years later came
his son, First Down Dash, in an equally impressive performance.
There was the period of filly and mare dominance, which ran from 1978 through
1984, when distaffers accounted for five of the seven contests.
That group included the fan favorite Denim N Diamonds in 1981, and World
Champion Dashs Dream, who splashed to the wettest C of C victory in my personal
recollection in 1984.
There was the Refrigerator era from 1992 through 1994. His three consecutive C
of C victories are not only a record, they propelled him to his 17-year reign as
the sport’s leading money-earner.
There was a trainer named Baffert who saddled winners in 1986 and 1988. A short
time later, he embarked
on another reasonably successful career path.
And speaking of trainers, Blane Schvaneveldt won the race nine times. That’s one
more C of C than Jack
Brooks has All Americans. I remember a few years in which Blane was so loaded
with finalists that Chris Lincoln and I could get most of our preparatory
telecast work done at just one barn.
The fact that the C of C has succeeded is no accident of fate, but rather a
product of design and execution.
A few decades ago, the Horsemen’s Quarter Horse Racing Association, of which
current track owner Ed Allred was a board member, annually leased the Los
Alamitos facility for its winter meeting.
In the early 1970s, the HQHRA and Director of Racing Curly Smith conceived the
idea of bringing together winners of pre-selected major races from various parts
of the country for a year-end championship showdown.
The impact was immediate, and lasting. The very first winner, Mr. Jet Moore, was
named World Champion,
as were 25 others since. On six occasions, the eventual title winner was a
starter in the C of C field.
That makes 32 of 39. I can’t think of a sport in which those numbers wouldn’t be
dominant.
In fact, I have occasionally heard complaints that the C of C has too much
impact on the year-end titles.
But isn’t that one of the greatest compliments you can get? To have others
complain that your event is too dominant?
George Steinbrenner would have loved it. He heard that a lot.
However, this year there is a viable second-chance drawing for otherwise worthy
contenders who suffer defeat
in California, or those who didn’t make the West Coast guest list.
On Dec. 31, the $350,000 Champion at Sunland Park will be run. With three weeks
between the C of C
and this New Year’s Eve event, someone might be popping their champagne in the
Southwest.
Even if the World Championship is all but decided, some of the divisional races
may still be in question.
Just look back to last year. No way Noconi wins the 2010 Aged Gelding title
without his Sunland Championship score.
The “other” big race on the weekend of Dec. 9 and 10 is the Los Alamitos Two
Million Futurity. Compared to the C of C, it is a late bloomer with its
inaugural running coming in 1995. In its 16-year history, the race has bought
more than one pickup truck for the Bassett family.
John Bassett has trained four of the winners, starting off with Evening Snow in
the inaugural edition. His son Joe accounted for another, and has the second
fastest qualifier for 2011, I Like The Odds. It is a historically accurate name
for a Bassett trainee in this race.
The $2 mil has often served as a breakthrough for late bloomers. Many of those
who were prominent in May and June have given way to others who were reserved
early or are just finding their best strides.
When it comes to championship voting, a major late season victory is not always
enough to vault past those with more complete Grade 1 resumes.
But the winner’s share of over $900,000 will cure a lot of blues.
|
