The Week in Review: Colloquial is Very Fast, but is he Derby Material?

In his debut and in his lone start prior to showing up last week in a maiden special weight race at Aqueduct, Colloquial (Vekoma) showed that he was a horse with potential. Though he lost, by a nose, the winner was Mentee (City of Light), a full-brother to Eclipse Award winner Fierceness (City of Light). And the final time of :56.97 established a new track record at Aqueduct, eclipsing the mark set 61 years earlier.

But few could have expected what Colloquial, who is trained by George Weaver, would do in his return on Friday at Aqueduct. He won the 6 1/2-furlong race in 1:16.89, earning a 106 Beyer figure. It was the fastest number run by any 3-year-old, male or female, this year. The winning margin was seven lengths and the effort earned the horse 'TDN Rising Star' status.

“I thought the horse would win,” said Jack Wolf, whose Starlight Racing partnership owns the colt with Curtis Harrell. “His 88 Beyer from last year sort of stood out in that field. But you never know when you come back from all that time off how a horse is going to perform.”

Colloquial looks like what is part of a murderer's row for Starlight. It also co-owns the horses with the second and third best Beyer figures among 3-year-olds this year. One is last year's 2-year-old champion Citizen Bull (Into Mischief), and the other is Rodriguez (Authentic). Though Colloquial has the faster number, Citizen Bull looks like the top Derby threat for Starlight and its partners. But that could all change depending on what Colloquial does moving forward.

After the promising debut, Colloquial was sent to the sidelines with a very minor injury.

“After his first race, we actually had a part of the horse sold,” Wolf explained. “He was sound and everything, but he had a P1 chip and he failed the vet. We stopped on him and gave him the time he needed off and here we are. Thank goodness we didn't sell him.”

Now that Colloquial has entered the conversation for the GI Kentucky Derby, he's going to have to prove two things: that he's not just a sprinter and can he be ready in time when it's already February and all he has done this year is win a 6 1/2-furlong maiden?

Wolf said that he and Harrell have agreed that all racing decisions will be left up to Weaver, who has yet to announce any sort of schedule for the colt.

“All I can give you is that same old pat answers you always get from the trainers,” Wolf said. “The horse came out of the race well and he ate up and we'll let him tell us what to do. I wish I could say we have a game plan, but we don't.”

Though officially remaining non-committal, Wolf didn't exactly sound like someone who was eager to make this year's Derby with Colloquial.

“I don't have Derby Fever,” Wolf said. “I'm not going to put any pressure on George and I don't think Curtis will either. I hope he decides to give him at least five weeks off. He ran a 4 minus on the sheets. If you run back too soon, you're probably going to bounce.”

Wolf is trying to be realistic. Maybe what Colloquial showed Friday is what to expect going forward, a fast performance by a very fast horse. Wolf would be OK with that.

“I'm very excited about this horse,” he said. “Even if he isn't a two-turn horse, he's certainly got the speed and talent to be a very good horse.”

 Tampa Bay HBPA President Optimistic Florida Track Will Survive Decoupling Effort

Things went from bad to worse last week in Florida as legislation moved forward that would allow, not only Gulfstream Park to decouple its casino and racing licenses, but also allow Tampa Bay Downs to decouple. A House subcommittee not only advanced a bill that would remove the requirement that Gulfstream Park run a minimum number of live Thoroughbred races in order to operate its casino, it also amended the bill to say that pari-mutuel facilities that have cardroom gaming license may also cease racing while keeping their card rooms.

Tampa Bay Downs does not have casino, but has a poker room. Should decoupling pass Tampa could also continue to import simulcasting signals.

When asked by the TDN what the track's intentions are now that it may be in a position to drop live racing, Tampa Bay Downs Vice President and General Manager Peter Berube said he had no comment.

Mike Dini, who is the president of the Tampa Bay Downs HBPA, said he wasn't surprised when Tampa was included in the decoupling legislation.

“I expected it,” he said. “I always thought Tampa would go for the decoupling because why should they be the only track left in the state where decoupling wasn't allowed?”

But Dini explained the situation at Tampa Bay Downs is quite different from the one at Gulfstream. Belinda Stronach calls the shots for Gulfstream, which is owned by The Stronach Group, and Tampa is under the direction of track owner Stella Thayer. Dini believes the two look at racing very differently.

“Management here isn't like Gulfstream,” he said. “They're not looking to sell their facility. The land is valuable here too.  [Thayer] could walk out of here with $500 million if she sold. The difference is she likes racing. I heard there were no intentions to close. Still, I am scared of decoupling, but I don't think that it's going to have a big impact on Tampa Bay Downs.”

Dini added there's a possibility that the passage of the decoupling bill might mean a much longer season at Tampa Bay. There has been speculation that South Florida racing might move to a new facility, but only race during the prime winter dates that now make up the “Championship Meet.”

Florida-breds and the cheaper horses now competing at Gulfstream will need a place to race the rest of the year, and that could be at Tampa Bay Downs.

“We could help the Florida-breds by running maybe seven or eight months at Tampa,” Dini said. “We could fill a void. I'm not a big shot, but that is my plan.”

While Dini is optimistic Tampa Bay Downs will be around for a while, he said he will help in every way he can when it comes to the decoupling situation at Gulfstream.

“We will fight this because I'm looking out for racing throughout the country and not just in the state of Florida,” he said. “Once it happens here, there will be a chain reaction around the country. We have to stop it here to keep it from going everywhere.”