'War Cry' Owner a Link to Jersey Racing's Glory Days

de Tomaso (left) & sister Hope Jones | Equi-Photo

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The New Jersey breeding industry, in sharp decline, hasn't had much to cheer about for a long time, but that wasn't the case Saturday at Gulfstream as not only did a Jersey-bred win the GII Lambholm Holy Bull S., but the owner and breeder of 'TDN Rising Star' Irish War Cry (Curlin) is racing royalty in the Garden State.

Since she no longer goes by her birth name, Isabelle de Tomaso's connection to the history of Monmouth Park and New Jersey racing is often overlooked. De Tomaso, 86, is the daughter of Amory L. Haskell, the first president and chairman of the Monmouth Park Jockey Club and the person for whom the GI Haskell is named after (Note that fellow 'Rising Star' and leading GI Kentucky Derby contender McCraken {Ghostzapper} is owned by 83-year-old Janis Whitham.).

Though de Tomaso, who grew up in Red Bank, no longer lives in New Jersey (she splits her time between Italy and Palm Beach, Florida) she has stayed loyal to the New Jersey breeding program. Along with her sister, Hope Jones, she is among the last breeders with any degree of prominence or quality mares to do so.

“As you know, my father founded Monmouth Park and I always lived in New Jersey growing up,” she said. “I don't live there anymore, but my sister and I will come back and visit in the summers. We want Jersey-breds, and we certainly hope that things will get better there soon.”

That doesn't seem likely. New Jersey racing is reeling because it is the only state up and down the East Coast that does not benefit from casino gambling. All that's left is about 70 days of racing, the bulk at Monmouth, plus a short turf only meet at the Meadowlands. With so few opportunities for New Jersey-breds to run in state-bred competition, it's hard to justify breeding in the state.

“With the type of mares they have, the runners they've produced and the stallions they go to, Mrs. Jones and Mrs. de Tomaso could foal those horses anywhere and be competitive,” said Mike Campbell, the executive director of the New Jersey Thoroughbred Breeders' Association. “The fact that they stayed so loyal to New Jersey is admirable.”

There were 115 foals born in New Jersey in 2014, the year of Irish War Cry's birth. Campbell estimates that between 1,200 and 1,400 foals were born annually in the state in the mid-1980's. In 2015, the last year for which figures are available through The Jockey Club, only 45 mares were bred in the state, just 1% of all the mares bred in North America.

With New Jersey at such a disadvantage against states like Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York, Campbell doesn't expect Irish War Cry's success to have people flocking back to the Jersey breeding industry. But he hopes that this horse's presence in the spotlight could have ancillary benefits. In Pennsylvania, the popularity and success of Smarty Jones (Elusive Quality) is widely credited for getting that state's politicians to push for casinos at the racetracks there.

“This horse is causing a lot of excitement and we've gotten a lot of phone calls at the office from different people talking about how wonderful it is that the horse is undefeated and how well he is progressing,” Campbell said. “Everybody is hoping he continues to improve and move forward. The excitement is about the horse in general and the owner-breeder. I don't expect people to start foaling their mares here because of this horse. But on the other side, and I don't want to get too carried away with this after just three races, maybe he'll be the type of horse Smarty Jones was for Pennsylvania. He allowed them to move forward and get slot machines. Maybe this is the kind of horse that people in New Jersey outside of the racing industry will take notice of and pay attention to the sport, our issues, farms and open space.”

Two New Jersey-breds have won the Kentucky Derby: Regret in 1915 and Cavalcade in 1934. If de Tomaso is to become the owner and breeder of the third it will be just the latest accomplishment in what has been a fascinating life. She married Italian Alejandro de Tomaso, whose De Tomaso Automobili produced, among other cars, a high-performance Italian sports car known as the Pantera. They met through auto racing circles, where the then Isabelle Haskell was a pioneering female racer. She was competitive against the best in the world. With husband Alejandro as her partner, she finished eighth in the prestigious 12 Hours of Sebring event in 1958.

De Tomaso also raced Irish War Cry's dam, Irish Sovereign (Polish Numbers). Also a New Jersey-bred, she wasn't a star, but did win three times and earn $109,014 before retiring in 2005. Her best offspring prior to Irish War Cry was Irish Strait (English Channel), who has made $154,218 to date. With de Tomaso among the few New Jersey breeders who can afford to breed to top stallions, she went to Curlin and the result was the promising colt who may run next in the GII Fountain of Youth and is ranked first among all 3-year-olds in the NTRA Top 10 poll.

“You are always hoping to get a horse like this,” she said. “When we saw him as a 2-year-old at Webb Carroll's we all really liked him. He was a little backward then, but we really liked him.”

Irish War Cry broke his maiden at Laurel and then won a small stakes there before trainer Graham Motion shipped him to Florida and threw him into the deep end of the pool for the Holy Bull. De Tomaso never expected what was to come–a dominant 3 3/4-length win under Joel Rosario over the likes of champion 2-year-old Classic Empire (Pioneerof the Nile).

“I was hoping he would finish third,” she admitted.

The Derby is in her plans, but so, too, of course, is the race named for her father, the Haskell. Despite all his success, Amory Haskell never had a top 3-year-old colt as his best horse was Blue Sparkler, a Jersey-bred who was named champion older mare in 1956.

“I'd love to win the Haskell,” de Tomaso said. “I just hope things keep going with him the way they have. But you know how things are when it comes to racing. You just never know.”

 

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