Charlie Fellowes paused from packing for a trip to Portugal. The British-based trainer fired up At the Races from his sitting room near Newmarket to watch Luther run in the Grade 2 National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame Stakes at Saratoga Friday.
Like watching a drivers’ ed video on what not to do behind the wheel.
Luther and jockey Joel Rosario crashed into the rail into the first turn and found trouble again on the second turn of the inner turf. The 3-year-old wound up second, 1 ½ lengths behind favorite Zulu Kingdom.
“The race was so messy. I was cursing really,” Fellowes said. “He had such a horrible trip round. Nearly got brought down around the first bend, it looked like everything had gone against us again and he ran so well. We passed the line in second, my initial reaction was disappointment the way the race panned out.”
Then Fellowes’ phone blew up.
Will Douglas…Miguel Clement…Tom Morley…Bill Mathis…The Special.
Douglas was the first with the news. Stewards’ inquiry. Unfamiliar with the American system, Fellowes thought the worst.
“Because there was such a big gap between me and the winner, I was worried that it had something to do with my horse and we could get demoted,” Fellowes said.
Training horses will do that to you.
The messages continued.
“You could get this…”
Morley called his old friend.
“The longer this goes on, the more chance you have of it being overturned,” the British-born, American-based trainer said.
It took 11 minutes.
“You’ve won,” Morley said. “You’ve won.”
Stewards took down the winner and placed him fourth, behind Tiz Dashing who was part of a three-horse chain reaction into the first turn.
“It was a bizarre race. A really bizarre race to watch. I just sat there thinking, ‘This cannot seriously be happening.’ At the time, I hadn’t realized the interference in the first turn. That Zulu Kingdom had gone off a straight line and potentially caused all the interference,” Fellowes said. “For me, it was like, ‘We’ve been beaten by a length and a half and how has that been overturned?’ In England, it would not have happened because it happened so far out. The jockey would have gotten a nasty ban for careless riding, but the result would never have been overturned.”
Like it or hate it, agree or disagree, it was final.
“I read some comments from the owner of Zulu Kingdom who spoke really well,” Fellowes said. “And that’s kind of how we dealt with the French Guineas.”
Ah, the French One Thousand Guineas at Longchamp in May. Fellowes thought he had notched his first Group 1 stakes win when Shes Perfect edged Zarigana in the French classic. Stewards disqualified Shes Perfect for interference. It was marginal.
“The rules are the rules. That’s racing,” Fellowes said. “It’s not how you want to win these races. At all. But as I experienced firsthand, take it when you get it.”
And Luther got it.
Owned by Paul Hickman and Nicholas Jones, the son of Frankel won his debut at Salisbury last June, finished second to New Century in his second start and won the Ascendant Stakes at Haydock in his third start. He got stuck in the mud and lost on the undulations at Newmarket to close his 2-year-old season. This year, he finished second at Chelmsford City, before finishing fourth and 15th in Group 1 tries in France. Shipped to Saratoga for the summer, he finished third in the Grade 1 Belmont Derby and finished with a $220,000 check for winning the Hall of Fame.
“I’m just delighted for the horse, delighted for the owners. We would have loved to win it legitimately and I do think if there had not been any interference and we got a smooth passage around, we would have given him a proper race,” Fellowes said. “It would have been a really, really, really good horse race and I don’t think anyone could deny that. I’m definitely not going to stand here and argue that we would have won it, but I do think it would have been a really good horse race. The interference robbed everyone of that.”
And put some salve on a trying season for Fellowes.
“This year has been a hard year for us. The number of horses we have in the yard are down, the number of winners have been down. It’s been really tough to get through, mentally,” Fellowes said. “We’ve had three horses place in Group 1s and now to go and win a Grade 2, to do all that, it’s a remarkable achievement. We needed that win yesterday. We really needed that win.”
Luther and assistant Stuart Ritchie were due to fly back to England, but Fellowes is thinking big. Perhaps a Grade 1 stakes at Woodbine or the Golden Eagle in Australia. Maybe a trip back to Saratoga someday.
“I love traveling horses and we are going to do a lot of traveling with him,” Fellowes said. “The owner was up for it. And Saratoga, although guttingly I didn’t get out for either of his runs, I’m told it’s the most awesome place. It just seemed like the right thing to do.”
Luther’s effort backed that up, with or without the steward’s decision.
“He’s not big. He’s like a little terrier. He’s got the iron cast will to win. He’s got an electric turn of foot,” Fellowes said. “Because he’s small, he really handles those tracks like Saratoga, you saw how he wings around the bends. He’s so well balanced. He just loves racing. He just wants to win. So, few horses will run through a brick wall for you.”
And in a way he did.
