Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association of New Jersey
Bill Finley, Thoroughbred Daily News
On the day before the win in the GI Forego Stakes by Book 'em Danno (Bucchero), trainer Derek Ryan had already made up his mind about the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint. He had no plans to go.
“I'm really not that interested in the Breeders' Cup,” Ryan said. “I have no desire to go there. I'm sure I'll be pressured into it, but the Breeders' Cup is not on my radar. I'm not keen to run him on a track that I don't think will suit him. The stretch is too short and the track is speed-favoring. I don't know why they keep running the Breeders' Cup in California. We have some very good tracks here in the East.”
Book 'em Danno is a 4-year-old and a gelding and Ryan wants to keep him around for several more years.
“He's run four monster races in a row, starting with the race at Churchill,” he said. “They've been tough races. It has taken a little bit out of him. We want him to last. I need him around for a few more years. I'll get together with the partners and we will discuss it. Of course, the $2 million purse means something but I want the horse around for a few years. We'd like to extend his career for as long as possible and that's why I'm not convinced that going to the Breeders' Cup is the right thing to do.”
In the Forego, Book 'em Danno, the New Jersey-bred, won by a length in what may have been his hardest race to date. But it also firmly established him as the top sprinter in the country. If the Breeders' Cup were run next week, he'd likely be the favorite. He's won three graded stakes in a row, all of them at Saratoga. The list also includes the GIII True North S. and the GII Alfred G. Vanderbilt S.
The Forego might have been a game-changer. After what he showed on Saturday at Saratoga, how can you not run him in the Breeders' Cup?
By Sunday, Ryan had softened his stance a little bit.
“We'll talk about it down the road,” he said. “I am sure I will have a meeting with the partners. I'm a bit set in my ways. It's not a no, and it's not a yes. It's a maybe.”
Book 'em Danno is owned by Atlantic Six Racing, a group of six friends, all of them from the Jersey Shore.
Jay Briscione is the managing partner. His thoughts on the Breeders' Cup?
“It's the trainer's job is to do what he is doing,” Briscione said. “By any metric you look at, this is probably the most consistent horse in training. He deserves all the credit, and Derek has done a great job. We have a good relationship with Dere,k and we always kick these things around and try to figure out the best spots for him. He is a gelding. We have a stewardship of him now because we want to keep him going and racing because he's developed such a following. Having said that, none of us has ever had a horse for the Breeders' Cup, and it's an unbelievably exciting thing. I know it's a cliche. But we want to first see how he reacts and how he comes out of this race. Then we'll make our decision.”
“The negatives are that he'll have to face some very good, fresh horses like Straight No Chaser and Bentornado. They'll be fresh and we've gone through a tough campaign. We'd have to ship all the way across the country. It's a speed-favoring track with a short stretch. Those are the negatives. The positive is the $2 million purse. We're keeping an open mind.”