Where Are They Now: Springboard Mile Winners

Remington Park

The final U.S. Kentucky Derby prep race of 2018, the Springboard Mile has attracted 11 2-year-olds in their quest for a spot in the Kentucky Derby next May. But before we look forward in coming days, we’ve taken a look back to see what the last 17 winners did before retirement or are still doing on the track and at stud today.

2001 – IT’SALLINTHECHASE (Take Me Out) - The 2001 winner of the Springboard Mile – then known as the Remington MEC Mile Stake – It’sallinthechase came into the race with quite a bit of race experience. The colt had run eight times and was already stakes placed with a second in the 2001 Arlington-Washington Futurity behind Publication (Petitionville). That experience came into play for the colt in the final stages of the MEC Mile when he was able to win the race by a neck as the favorite.

He gave his connections a big thrill on the Kentucky Derby trail in 2002, finishing third in the LeComte Stakes and the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby in his six races. His last career start was in that year’s Kentucky Derby when he finished 16th. He was retired to stud and has 53 foals with 13 winners from 33 runners, including multiple stakes placed Strawberry Chase. He last bred mares in 2012 according to The Jockey Club.

2002 – SHAWKLIT MAN (Woodman) – The first of three winners in four years for trainer Steve Asmussen, Shawklit Man started his careers with two straight wins – this being the second of those two victories. After finishing seventh in the Delta Jackpot in his final 2-year-old start, the colt missed the first six months of his 3-year-old season then won an allowance at Churchill Downs. He was stakes placed in his next two starts then had another extended break until March of his 4-year-old year. He spent his final seven races running in claiming races then retired as a 5-year-old.

2003 – DEPOP (Wertaloona) – An Oklahoma-bred, Depop started his career at Remington Park when he broke his maiden in his debut before finishing second in the Oklahoma Classics Juvenile Stakes. Returning to Remington after two starts in Louisiana, he won what was still the MEC Mile by 3 ½ lengths at odds of 13.90-to-1. It took him six more starts to win again but he turned into a useful horse in the claiming ranks as a 5-year-old, finishing in the top five four seven times.

2004 – SMOOTH BID (Rubiano) – The MEC Mile was Smooth Bid’s first stakes appearance but it wouldn’t be his last. The winner of the 2004 edition by half-length, Smooth Bid was briefly on the Kentucky Derby trail after this victory, finishing second in the Grade 3 LeComte Stakes before a ninth in the Grade 3 Risen Star had his connections take a different route. He then spent the rest of the spring in Texas where he placed in two stakes and won an allowance before a connection change saw him make the trip up to the Mid-Atlantic for a year. While he proved to be an extremely useful claiming horse on that circuit, ultimately he returned back to Oklahoma and Texas, where he added to his blacktype resume. Smooth Bid ended his career with a streak of five straight on the board finishes in stakes race including a win in the listed Winsham Lad Handicap in New Mexico by 2 ¼ lengths.

Smooth Bid retired with over $350,000 in earnings and bred mares in North America from 2009 to 2014 with 33 of his 35 foals making it to the track. From those 33, 23 are winners (70%) with Primordia placing third in multiple Woodbine stakes races.

2005 – TEST BOY (Brahms) – Third in the Listed Harrah’s Juvenile Breeders’ Cup Stakes in Louisiana in his third start, Test Boy went one better when he came to this race next out and just nosed out Out Our Way. From there, he went on to win the Centennial Stakes at this same track before missing a year of racing. It didn’t take him long to knock off the rust with a victory in an Oaklawn Park claiming race his second out post-layoff. From there, Test Boy worked his way back up to stakes level where he won his return to the level in the Teeworth Plate Handicap and spent a large part of the rest of his career in stakes before retiring in March of 2010. In all, the gelding ran in 18 blacktype events with seven victories and nine other on-the-board finishes to finish top three 16 of 18 times he ran in stakes.

2006 – GOING BALLISTIC (Lite The Fuse) – This win proved to be just the beginning of a long and versatile career for Going Ballistic. Winning the Listed Skyy El Joven Stakes at Retama Park on turf in his fourth start, he then won this race two starts later after finishing second in the Harrah’s Juvenile Stakes in Louisiana. The colt played on the Derby trail for a bit with a fourth in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (behind Tiz Wonderful, Any Given Saturday, and Dominican) and mid-pack finishes in three of the Oaklawn Park Kentucky Derby prep series. After a fifth in the Grade 2 Arkansas Derby, he headed to Texas where he made the switch back to turf. That return to the surface saw him finish third before winning the Pin Oak USA Stakes.

Throughout the rest of his career, he would make the switch between the surfaces multiple times, with a Grade 1 placing in the Grade 1 Secretariat on turf and a win in the Grade 2 Super Derby on dirt one start later. The winner of nearly $1.2 million, Going Ballistic won or placed in 18 stakes races with victories in two of Remington’s biggest races – adding the Oklahoma Derby to his resume almost exactly a year after winning the MEC. Retiring in 2012, Going Ballistic started his career at Victory Rose in California but only covered two mares before his untimely death with neither resulting in a foal.

2007 – GOLDEN YANK (Yankee Gentleman) – Winning his first three starts, his win in this race came second out when he beat a field of 12 by 4 ¾ lengths before winning another listed stakes two weeks later by 5 ¾ lengths. From there the gelding stepped up to graded stakes competition in an attempt to qualify for the Kentucky Derby, finishing third in the Grade 3 Boyd Gaming’s Delta Jackpot behind the dead-heat victory of Z Humor (Distorted Humor) and Turf War (Dixie Union). He didn’t find much luck the rest of that Kentucky Derby season, skipping the Triple Crown and running seventh in the Grade 3 Lone Star Derby before a close second in the Listed USA Stakes.

A switch to turf for a race seemed to help get him back in the right frame of mind with a second in the Grade 2 Jefferson Cup at Churchill Downs followed by a third in the Listed Super Derby Prelude Stakes back on dirt. The gelding ended his three-year-old season with back-to-back victories in the Listed Oklahoma Derby and the Listed Zia Park Derby with the gelding running for four more seasons. A good stakes horse, Golden Yank hit the board in seven more stakes in the rest of his career including a win in the Listed Unbridled Stakes at Louisiana Downs. He retired at the end of 2012 with earnings of $936,584 and 18 on-the-board finishes in 33 starts.

2008 – KICK ON (Wiseman’s Ferry) – Winning the then-MEC Mile in the midst of a four race win streak, Kick On often proved that Remington Park was his favorite track. The horse earned three of his five victories at the Oklahoma track with a second in the Listed Governor’s Cup at Remington complimenting his Mile victory. Kick On’s final victory came in a claiming race at Oaklawn in March 2012 with the gelding running five more times before retiring on July 4, 2013.

2009 – TURF MELODY (Maria’s Mon) – In the first running under its Springboard Mile name, Turf Melody came into the race well experienced with six races to his name. Three of those had come in stakes company with the colt finishing third behind Dixie Band (Dixie Union) in the Listed Spectacular Bid Stakes and in the same position behind Ghost Fleet (Arch) in two of those three starts. After winning the Springboard Mile by a nose over Man Chester Man (Grand On Dave), he jumped on the 3-year-old Kentucky Derby trail in the Grade 3 LeComte, Grade 3 Gotham Stakes, and Grade 3 Illinois Derby where he wasn’t able to hit the board. Fitting for his name, once his Kentucky Derby trial ended, Turf Melody moved over to the turf when he arrived in Saratoga in the summer of 2010. He was able to finish a close second in the Grade 3 Saranac to Lethal Combination (Broken Vow) in his second-to-last start before ending his career with an eight in the Grade 1 Jamaica Handicap.

2010 – GRANT JACK (Harlan’s Holiday) – Finishing second to future Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner Caleb’s Posse (Posse) in the Listed Clever Trevor Stakes the race before the Springboard Mile, Grant Jack was able to turn the tables on both that rival and the rest of the 12 horse field one start later when winning the Springboard Mile by a length. Following the path of shipping to Oaklawn after Remington, after a pair of Kentucky Derby preps the gelding finished third in the Listed Bachelor Stakes. Grant Jack struggled a bit during the rest of his career but on his return to Remington that fall, he won an allowance optional claiming race by 2 ¾ lengths before being out for nearly a year after two more starts.

That long break seemed to refresh the horse and in 2013, he won two races and hit the board four other times. He was retired in August of 2014 after finishing third in the Au Revoir Stakes with five wins and 10 other on-the-board finishes in 30 starts for $261,477 in earnings.

2011 – TED’S FOLLY (Wild Tale) – A war horse in the strongest sense of the word, 2011 Springboard Mile winner Ted’s Folly made 65 starts before retiring at the end of 2017. A top 2-year-old at Remington Park, the gelding won six straight races at the track with the Springboard Mile his third straight stakes victory. Traveling to the Fair Grounds, he had a bit of trouble finding his spot but when returning to Will Rogers he was back in the winners circle in spectacular style when winning the Oklahoma Stallion Stakes by 7 ½ lengths.

The gelding was never able to put together a streak like he had as a 2-year-old but did turn into a useful horse with 18 on-the-board finishes after his final stakes victory, including four victories. Ted’s Folly retired on December 29, 2017 with 11 wins and 14 other on-the-board finishes for $530,234 in earnings.

2012 – TEXAS BLING (Too Much Bling) – Breaking his maiden two starts before the Springboard Mile, Texas Bling pulled off a major upset when beating future champion 3-year-old Will Take Charge (Unbridled’s Song) by 1 ¾ lengths at odds of 128.80-to-1. He backed that win up by finishing second by only a neck to Will Take Charge in the Listed Smarty Jones Stakes next out. Staying on the Kentucky Derby trail during the Oaklawn meet, he wasn’t able to rise up to those heights again that year, returning to the winner’s circle again in 2014. Texas Bling was able to win back-to-back races that year, including the Assault Stakes – a race he would go on to win twice overall in his careers.

Overall, Texas Bling was able to win four more times after his Springboard win for a career of six wins and five other on-the-board finishes in 39 starts for $406,072 in earnings. He started his stallion career at ESMS On the Brazos Equine Reproduction Center in Texas in 2017 with his first foals arriving in 2018.

2013 – LOUIES FLOWER (Flower Alley) – The final of three consecutive victories for Louies Flower, the gelding then tried two races on the Kentucky Derby trail but wasn’t able to replicate that victory in his 3-year-old campaign but was able to finish third in the Super Derby Prelude that year. Finishing second and third many times over the next year and a half, Louie’s Flower was again able to get back to the winner’s circle in a big way when winning three straight claiming races at Remington and Fair Grounds as a 5-year-old. That seemed to be the confidence builder he needed, with the gelding finishing worse than fourth only two times in the final 12 races of his careers and winning an allowance over a field that included Grade 2 winner Big Kick at Churchill Downs.
Claimed by Scott Lake and Home Team Stables in January 2018, Louies Flower retired to Thoroughbred Retirement, Rehabilitation and Careers (TRRAC) with career earnings of 13 firsts and 17 other top three finishes for $404,421 in earnings from 54 starts.

2014 – BAYERD (Speightstown) – Steve Asmussen’s fourth Springboard Mile winner, Bayerd became a fan favorite throughout his career when showing up in 14 different stakes races from 2015 to 2018. The horse picked up nearly every time he ran in his career including in eight stakes. His resume was extended as a three and four year old when he won the Bonapaw Stakes as a 4-year-old and finishing third in the Grade 3 Gallant Bob Stakes as a 3-year-old.

So far in his career, Bayerd has finished in the top three 22 times in 34 starts (64.71%) for $638,736. He last ran on Sunday, December 9, 2018 at Woodbine where he finished second.

2015 – DISCREETNESS (Discreet Cat) – Trained by fan favorite William “Jinks” Fires, Discreetness ran in the Oaklawn Derby prep series after his victory here with a win in the Listed Smarty Jones Stakes to start him off. He wasn’t able to make it to the Kentucky Derby but did run at Churchill Downs when finishing ninth in the Grade 3 Pat Day Mile. Discreetness hasn’t been able to find the winners circle again since the Smarty Jones but has done well in his last four starts, finishing fourth or better every time. Off for over a year, Discreetness finished fourth in a claiming race at Churchill Downs on November 22. His career stats currently sit at four wins and two other top three finishes in 17 starts for $310,030 in earnings.

2016 – COOL ARROW (Into Mischief) – The first Springboard Mile winner for trainer Joe Sharp, Cool Arrow was already the winner of the Listed Kip Devile Stakes when returning here for the Springboard Mile in 2016. He spent a brief stint on the Kentucky Derby trail but his connections made the choice to go a different direction after two starts with the move paying off with a 3 ½ length victory in the Robert Hilton Memorial Stakes to win nearly $50,000 in April of his 3-year-old year. After a 12^th in another stakes on the 2017 Preakness undercard, Cool Arrow was off nearly a year, returning on the final day of March this year to win an optional allowance over a five horse field that included four stakes horses. Cool Arrow hasn’t run since late August after three off-the-board finishes over the summer.

2017 – GREYVITOS (Malibu Moon) – Coming into last year’s Springboard Mile as the Grade 3 Bob Hope Stakes winner and one of the first to evacuate from the San Luis Rey Training Center due to the Lilac Fire, Greyvitos left as a highly regarded Derby horse over a 2 ¼ length victory over future Kentucky Derby runner Combatant (Scat Daddy) but Greyvitos was about to run into more bad luck. The colt had to miss part of the spring when he was sidelined by minor knee surgery that saw him only able to run in the Grade 3 Stonestreet Lexington Stakes, finishing fourth after a four month break. Though he didn’t run in the Kentucky Derby, he ran on the same card in the Grade 3 Pat Day Mile presented by LG and E and KU where he finished a 13^th before another lengthy layoff. Greyvitos returned to the races on December 2 where he finished fifth at Del Mar. He currently has a record of two wins and a third from seven starts with $320,465 in earnings.