No Sleeping on Melatonin at Santa Anita

In the wake of California Chrome's domination of the GI Pacific Classic at Del Mar in late August and the GI Awesome Again S. at Santa Anita last Saturday, it is next to impossible to imagine another member of the handicap division who comes close to what the emblazoned superstar has accomplished this year, much less if anyone will be in any proximity of defeating him in the $6-million GI Breeders' Cup Classic Nov. 5. Still, one must be careful when things are adjacent–yet not squarely upon–'impossible', as they have a tendency to awaken an upset. A sleeper, if you will.

Enter Melatonin (Kodiak Kowboy).

In four 2016 starts, the son of champion sprinter Kodiak Kowboy has three victories and a runner-up effort and is the lone American horse with two domestic Grade I victories over the Classic's 10-furlong trip. A flashy front-running victor in the GI Santa Anita H. in mid-March, the David Hofmans trainee then shipped east to run a valiant second in the GII Oaklawn H. at its namesake course. Two months later he returned to 1 1/4 miles and Santa Anita's dirt to post a gritty and arguably even more impressive victory in the GI Gold Cup at Santa Anita. He now takes dead aim on the big dogs on racing's biggest weekend, while returning to the conditions that have suited him so well before.

“He's coming along great,” Hofmans reported. “We are pointing toward the Breeders' Cup Classic and bringing him up on works since his last race. Our original plan was to run in the Pacific Classic, but he got a temperature and we lost enough training to where we couldn't have him ready for the Awesome Again, either, so we decided to train him up to the Breeders' Cup.”

Owned by Tarabilla Farms, Inc., the lightly raced 5-year-old bay gelding laid down a sharp piece of work Sunday morning at The Great Race Place, bulleting six furlongs in 1:11.80 under regular jockey Joe Talamo. The drill was part of a steady stream of recent breezes for the $20,000 bargain Keeneland September Sale graduate and earner of more than $1.2 million.

“There's no advantage when you're running against California Chrome, but hopefully we're coming in with a horse that's more fresh than his competition, and I know he loves this racetrack,” Hofmans said. “This is his track and he's run well and fast over it. This horse is doing very well, so it gives you some hope.”

The Kentucky-bred has been a project of sorts for Hofmans and his crew. As a juvenile he went winless in a trio of attempts and only started twice his sophomore year, graduating over 6 1/2 furlongs in a rained-off maiden for previous trainer Jeff Bonde in Feb. 2014. He returned in allowance company 18 months later under new colors and Hofmans' tutelage, and the result was the same, as he rewarded his supporters with a $63 payout.

“He went through a battle of EPM (Equine Protozoal Myeloen-cephalitis) and when we got that resolved he changed and became this big strong horse,” Hofmans explained. “He's also a very smart horse and has that confident air about him like any good horse or athlete does. You see it in horses like California Chrome and all the good ones. He has that intelligence about himself, and that helps him more than anything. He's going to win races he shouldn't because he's simply more intelligent.”

Much like in his races, Melatonin has made a habit of outrunning what comes at him–whether it be illness, expectation or even his own pedigree. Out of stakes-placed turf filly Yankee Reign, a daughter of top dirt miler Yankee Victor, and being by a speedy champion whose best trips were squarely between seven and eight furlongs, Melatonin was not exactly expected to run so fluidly over America's Classic distance.

“With his pedigree, I never thought he'd get over six furlongs, but when Joe got off him at Del Mar last year, he said that the horse needs to run long,” Hofmans recollected. “After that, we put him in an allowance in February at Santa Anita and he won, but Joe said the race was still too short for him. So, we decided to give him a shot in the Santa Anita Handicap. He won that and the crazy part is that a mile and a quarter is possibly just the beginning. He might be better going even longer and he definitely showed his [stamina] in [the Gold Cup] when he was hooked every step and then drew off. Granted, I know it wasn't a stellar field, but it was the way he did it. It gives you a glimmer of hope.”

A more intense look at Melatonin's bloodlines shows subtle pieces of stamina influence. Inbred 5×3 to 13-time Canadian champion sire Vice Regent (Northern Dancer), whose son Deputy Minister continues to be a Classic influence in pedigrees today, Melatonin has prolific broodmare sire and considerable stamina source Prince John (Princequillo) in his fifth generation. Even more telling is that his dam's best efforts were at nine furlongs and beyond on both surfaces, including a smart dirt allowance win going 1 1/8 miles and a good third in the 1 1/2-miles Clair Marine S. on the Arlington turf.

All in all, it seems that a recurring theme with Melatonin is not to rest on surface value, especially with a trainer at the helm whose Alphabet Soup (Cozzene) won the 1996 Breeders' Cup Classic over the great Cigar (Palace Music) after coming into the race with a similar look.

“He will come back and go another seven eighths next week,” Hofmans, a three-time Breeders' Cup winner, concluded. “I'll decide what to do with him after that. It all depends on how he does, but the next two weeks are crucial and I feel great about how well he's doing right now.”