Horse madness is back! We are bringing back our annual tradition where you, the fan, helps us fill out a bracket of horse racing matchups. There will be upsets, surprises, buzzer beaters, all the excitement of the college basketball version without the gambling losses. This year we are trying to determine the biggest upset in the history of horse racing. We have 18 contenders, seeded 1-18. Here is the Horse Madness 2016 Bracket. Today we continue with the second of our two play-games.
Today’s matchup in our quest to determine the greatest upset in racing history features 18th seeded 1999 Derby darling Charismatic and the 15th seeded 2002 Breeder’s Cup Classic crasher Volponi. Both horses scored shocking upsets at long odds on a grand stage. Both horses, although underdogs, were trained and piloted by Hall of Famers. So who scored the bigger surprise upset?
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Here’s the tale of the tape.
Volponi
Entering the 2002 Breeders’ Cup Classic, the scouting report on Volponi read: honest and versatile. A hard trying consistent horse with solid efforts on dirt and turf. But he was often a bridesmaid, with seven wins in 27 starts entering the Breeders Cup and 0-3 in hitting the exacta against Grade 1 competition. He was a beaten favorite in the Grade 2 Meadowlands Cup in his final BC prep.
Volponi did have the benefit of Hall of Fame connections as he was trained by Phil Johnson and piloted by Jose Santos. He was also adding blinkers–a move which prompted Steve Haskins to make Volponi his best bet of the cup–and was proven at the distance.
Nevertheless, on paper Volponi appeared to be in way over his head. Medaglia D’Oro, War Emblem, Harlan’s Holiday, Macho Uno, Evening Attire, Milwaukee Brew, Perfect Drift, and others highlighted a star studded field. And the betting public agreed, as Volponi entered the gate at 43-1, the longest shot on the board. However, as the field turned for home in the Classic, Volponi sprinted away from the field like a 4/5 favorite. His stunned rivals could not catch up as Volponi pulled away to win by a dominating six and half lengths, the largest margin of victory in Classic history (equaled this year by American Pharoah).
With Volponi’s shocking upset, there was only one winning Pick 6 ticket. An announcement that probably made Chris Harn say “oh shit, I hope that four singles followed by two ‘all’ buttons ticket doesn’t look suspicious.”
Volponi would lose his next eight starts, including a tenth place finish in the 2003 Breeders Cup.
Charismatic
Anybody with a spare $62,500 could have owned Charismatic in February of ’99, just three months before he won the Kentucky Derby. Charismatic’s record coming into Churchill Downs was 14 starts, with just 3 wins, 2 seconds and 3 third place finishes. He had run in two different claiming races – including one needed to break his maiden. The February 1999 claiming race, however, kick-started something for Charismatic, as he followed that effort with three consecutive 90+ Beyer speed figures, including a second place finish in the El Camino Real Derby and a fourth in the Santa Anita Derby. Sensing that Charismatic was getting better as he continued to race, his legendary trainer D. Wayne Lukas fired him right back in the Lexington Stakes at Keeneland. With Jerry Bailey aboard for the first time, Charismatic exploded, running a 108 Beyer speed figure and taking down his first graded stakes victory at 12-1. Unfortunately, Lukas would have to find a new Derby rider, as Bailey was already committed to riding Worldly Manner. Enter Ant-Man.
Charismatic was 31-1 when the gates opened in the ’99 Derby. While that year’s race did not have any clear cut favorite (the post time chalk was the entry of Excellent Meeting and General Challenge), there were some big time horses in the race: Menifee, Cat Thief, Lemon Drop Kid and Stephen Got Even, to name a few. In fact, Charismatic was the third longest shot on the board . Charismatic and Chris Antley, however, ran a magnificent race – even overcoming getting shuffled back around the first turn to get first run down the lane and then hold off the hard charging Menifee at the wire. Charismatic matched his 108 Beyer speed figure from the Lexington Stakes, which was 13 points higher than his previous top. Charismatic had pulled off the upset and run the race of his life.
Of course, Charismatic’s Derby victory was vindicated by his Preakness score two weeks later. Unfortunately, his Triple Crown bid was interrupted by injury and, according to some (Lukas included) a questionable ride by Antley. Despite the gallant Triple Crown try, make no mistake about it, the maiden claimer graduate’s Derby victory was unexpected.
