Md. Million: Limited View, Clever Mind cause anxious moments in wins
Limited View was along in time to win the Maryland Millon Lassie. Photo by Laurie Asseo.
by Frank Vespe
Trainer John Salzman, Jr. tried to collect his thoughts. But that was no easy task.
“The way she did it was impressive, but the boys went (much faster),” he said. “So it wasn’t that impressive. Maybe it was just bad horses. But I don’t know. I’m impressed.”
Or at least happy.
On the 32nd Jim McKay Maryland Million day, in the $100,000 Lassie for two-year-old fillies, his charge Limited View had displayed all of the qualities that make her so very exasperating.
There were the fearfulness and the flightiness that have bedeviled her young career. Those characteristics have led her to be a late scratch from a stakes race at Saratoga and a distant sixth in another added money event at the Spa. And they led her, today, to act up in the gate and get away slowly, seemingly spotting the field far too much ground; she was 13 lengths off the lead after the opening quarter mile.
And then there was the supreme talent that allowed her to win two of her first three starts. That was on display here, too, as she circled the field, was six wide entering the turn, and wore down Pikachu Princess to win by three parts of a length over that rival.
“It’s a hard horse to figure, and I haven’t figured her yet, but we’re getting closer,” Salzman said with a relieved laugh. “I don’t know if I’ll live through it but I’m not going to give up.”
After her early travails in today’s Lassie, Limited View’s rider Edgar Prado was content to let the early speed go on with it while he and his mount regrouped.
Margie’s Money, the 9-5 favorite, made the early lead but was pressed, first by longshot Talk About Magic and then by Pikachu Princess. It was the latter rival, under Angel Cruz, who was just a head behind after a half-mile in 46.45 seconds and who, soon thereafter, surged to control. She led by two lengths leaving the furlong grounds but could not withstand the bid of Limited View.
Running time for the six-furlong Lassie was 1:12.15. Limited View paid $7.60 to win and topped an exacta worth $36.80.
The Lassie bore a striking similarity to the day’s other two-year-old race, the six-furlong, $100,000 Nursery. There, Clever Mind, a first-timer for trainer Graham Motion, broke tardily, was a dozen lengths behind after the opening quarter, and then rallied while wide on the track to win by two lengths under jockey Nik Juarez. Running time for the Nursery was a solid 1:10.05, and Clever Mind returned $16.80 to win.
Motion “just told me he’s a real classy colt,” Juarez said after the race. “Graham does a great job so I had a lot confidence in him.”
Clever Mind, a Buffum colt bred by Richard Golden’s Sycamore Hall Thoroughbreds LLC, was offered for sale at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic fall yearling sale last year but did not meet his reserve, bidding topping out at $100,000. When it was time to train, Golden sent him off to Motion.
“We have complete confidence in Graham, as we should, and he obviously had confidence in the horse,” said Golden’s son, Michael. “I had no idea the horse was running until Wednesday. It was a complete surprise to me but couldn’t be happier.”
After that smashing debut, Golden is likely to field some offers for his horse. The same is true of Limited View’s owners, Salzman, Fred Wasserloos, and George Greenwalt. How generous those offers will be, and whether the owners are inclined to take them, are different questions. Limited View, a Freedom Child filly, cost just $5,200 at the same sale at which Clever Mind was offered.
And then, of course, there is her flightiness.
“John has done a job that no one else could do with this filly,” Wasserloos said. “She’s more than a handful.”
A still keyed-up Salzman suggested no sale was likely.
“Owners of mine don’t really want to sell,” he said, adding, “We’ve had some offers, but we’ve had some issues. Everybody wants a runner, but I don’t think anybody wants to lose 20 pounds every time she runs.”
