Treve

Racing fans were treated to some thrilling stretch runs on both sides of the Atlantic last weekend. The performances of Treve taking her second straight Arc and Wise Dan winning…again…were most remarkable. So let’s honor both greats in this week’s Horse of the Week post.

Both champions have overcome physical ailments to climb back to the pinnacle of the racing world in North America and Europe. Treve, the victim of hoof and back issues, had been absent from the winner’s circle until Saturday at Longchamp. Wise Dan landed on the operating table after a serious bout of colic over the summer.

The Blood-Horse lead their coverage of Treve’s Arc triumph with this sentence: ‘Treve left both detractors and admirers in awe’. Those words equally apply to Wise Dan’s performance in the Shadwell Turf Mile, the first seven figure race ever run at Keeneland. While he had previously returned a winner in Saratoga’s Bernard Baruch Handicap his razor-thin victory that day left many wondering if he was still the same animal. Some doubts began to manifest even before his surgery when he downed Seek Again by just a head (after a brutal trip) in the Turf Classic on Derby Day.

Treve goes out a winner. Her owner, Sheikh Joaan confirmed via Twitter on October 7 that his great mare was done racing and would visit the court of leading European stallion Dubawi next year. Wise Dan, however, is on to the Breeders’ Cup. But which race? Wise Dan’s connections have flirted with the Breeders’ Cup Classic in the past before collecting a pair of Breeders’ Cup Mile trophies. After the Shadwell Turf Mile trainer Charlie LoPresti was interviewed by Mike Battaglia and said ‘you don’t know how many more Breeders’ Cups he has left’, indicating that a run on dirt in the Classic is being more seriously considered this time around.

Imagine a Breeders’ Cup Classic with the unbeaten Shared Belief, dual Classic winner California Chrome, Belmont/Jockey Club Gold Cup winner Tonalist, the speedy Bayern AND Wise Dan? It’s easy if you try. Let’s hope LoPresti and owner Morton Fink are dreaming along with us.

So we say ‘merci, au revoir’ to Treve and ‘thanks for another thrill, see you in Cali’ to Wise Dan, two all-time champions riding off to different sunsets.

-originally posted on http://www.myfantasystable.com