The long-standing formula in Hollywood is that the guy in the white hat always wins. When the formula is coupled with a megastar, success at the box office is guaranteed.
Audiences will flock to the theatre to see their hero overcome insurmountable obstacles and vanquish his rivals in the final minutes.
In real life, things are never that simple. Alan Jackson wrote a song about it:
Here in the real world,
It’s not that easy at all.
Real hearts get broken.
It’s real tears that fall.
Thoroughbred trainer Larry Jones has a white hat. He has worn it often while saddling champions like Proud Spell, winner of the 2008 Kentucky Oaks. Jones is also a man who knows that, here in the real world, wearing the white hat guarantees nothing. Sometimes the guy in the white hat loses.
Twice.
2007
On the first Saturday in May, Larry Jones walked across to the paddock at Churchill Downs to saddle a Kentucky Derby starter for the first time in his career. There can be no doubt that he had a lot going on underneath the white hat.
Hard Spun, the Rick Porter owned colt, was coming into the Kentucky Derby off of a layoff. His last race had been on March 24th in the Lane’s End Stakes at Turfway Park. Some in the industry questioned the wisdom of bypassing a final prep race. Then there was the question of the blistering five furlong workout just five days prior to the Derby. There were whispers on the Churchill Downs backside that Jones had worked the race out of Hard Spun. Through it all, Jones went about his business with the calm assurance of a man who knows what he is doing.
“He’s sittin’ on a good one,” Jones told the media when referring to Hard Spun's chances of making a good showing. "I’m sure of it.”
It would need to be a very good one. Hard Spun was going to be facing challenges to his front-running style from other speed horses, and that could spell disaster. There were two contenders in the Derby who would benefit from Hard Spun going too fast, too early--Curlin, a Steve Asmussen-trained colt who had materialized on the Derby trail out of nowhere, and the winner of the Breeder’s Cup Juvenile, Street Sense. Both had proven they could stalk a hot pace and finish well.
Hard Spun did indeed flash his customary speed, and although other horses tried to keep company with him for the first quarter of a mile, Jones’ colt found himself alone on the lead at the half-mile mark. The pace was fast enough--:46 for the half--and coming out of the final turn Hard Spun was up by almost three. He would cover the first mile of the race in 1:37.
But it was Street Sense, who had sat patiently behind the fast fractions, that came from 19th in a field of 20 and collared Hard Spun at the top of the stretch. He powered past and Jones’ colt finished second.
2008
Most thoroughbred trainers never get to saddle a horse in America’s most famous horse race. If they were only permitted one chance at glory, it would be enough for many of them. To do it more than once, however, speaks volumes about a trainer’s abilities. Just getting a colt in the gate on Derby Day is a road fraught with obstacles. Only 20 are chosen each year.
Larry Jones joined racing’s elite in the eyes of many when it was announced that his filly Eight Belles would bypass the Kentucky Oaks in favor of competing against the boys on Saturday. For the second year in a row, Jones would take that special walk into the paddock at Churchill Downs.
Again, there was immediate second-guessing of the man in the white hat. Fillies do not do well in the Kentucky Derby. Only 39 had ever run the race and only three had ever won it. Clearly, only the most talented filly could hope to compete. It was just as clear that Jones felt like he had one up to the task in Eight Belles.
Just hours before the race, Jones took Eight Belles to the track for a gallop. It is common for Jones to gallop many of his own horses. He develops a unique bond with each one and cares a great deal about their well-being. Someone on the track that morning would’ve heard Larry Jones talking to his filly as they galloped along.
“Larry to Eight Belles, Larry to Eight Belles. Slow down, honey.”
Not many gave the filly a chance. Big Brown, the buzz of the racing world, was expected to dominate the field and he did not disappoint. His lonely stretch run for the wire was no surprise. What caught many off guard was who was chasing him as he closed for the win. It was Eight Belles.
She had proven herself as 2nd best in the field of 20 and Jones was thrilled. For the second year in a row, he had saddled the runner-up in the Kentucky Derby. He and wife Cindy made their way to the track amidst hordes of people to greet Eight Belles upon her return.
Jones knew something was wrong when he saw jockey Gabriel Saez riding back on NBC correspondent Donna Brothers’ horse. Saez dismounted and told Larry and Cindy that Eight Belles had fallen while pulling up after the race. Jones rushed to the spot on the track where she went down, but the filly had already been taken from the track.
In the following moments, Jones discovered that Eight Belles had broken both front ankles. For a horse, this is a death sentence. She was euthanized by the time Jones reached her.
“She ran a whale of a race,” Jones told USA Today. “She ran the race of her life.” He could hardly fight back his tears.
2009
It has been a traumatic year for Larry Jones, a roller coaster of emotion.
In the wake of Eight Belles’ death, Jones became a target for PETA and other like-minded animal rights groups. He was accused by certain groups of treating his horses with illegal drugs, despite the fact that he had never received a bad test in all his years of training. The uproar was so loud that it was heard all the way in Washington. Congress convened hearings on the future of the sport.
Jones even began to step-up other methods to ensure the soundness of his horses. He frequently used an equine chiropractor.
On January 29th, Ms Good Cat, a Jones trained filly, was entered to run at Oaklawn Park. Before the race, Larry had his equine chiropractor treat the filly in her stall. A backside monitor at Oaklawn observed the treatment and notified the track stewards. Jones’ horse was summarily scratched from her race because of a rule in Arkansas which prevents treatment being given on race day.
Jones told reporters, “There is no pre-race exam at Oaklawn. This guy is hired by me to do flex tests on my horses, to make sure they are ready to go. We’re trying to do all we can to avoid another Eight Belles scenario. I want to know they are sound going in.”
In protest, Jones threatened to pull yet another Kentucky Derby hopeful from an upcoming stakes race at the Arkansas track. After a series of discussions, track officials in Arkansas agreed that the rule should be amended and Jones went back to work preparing not one, but two, horses for the 2009 Kentucky Derby.
Old Fashioned was the horse Jones had threatened to scratch. He was turning into a powerful performer. Friesan Fire had also been turning heads with a remarkable series of performances in New Orleans. It looked as though Jones would have a double threat in the 2009 Run For The Roses.
After his win in the Louisiana Derby, Jones announced that Friesan Fire would not run again until the Kentucky Derby. A six-week layoff. Almost the exact same strategy he used with Hard Spun in 2007.
Old Fashioned, who many considered the best of the two, had one more bridge to cross. Jones placed him in the Arkansas Derby on April 11th. He went to the post as the favorite.
Once again the man in the white hat was the victim of ill-fortune. Old Fashioned put in a good effort and ran second to Papa Clem, but a post-race exam revealed the colt had slab fractured his knee and would require surgery. Old Fashioned’s Derby quest was over.
This Saturday, trainer Larry Jones will again walk over to the paddock at Churchill Downs with his lone Derby starter, Friesan Fire, for what he has said will be the final time. Jones intends to retire from training at the end of 2009.
For many in the racing world, the ascent of Larry Jones has been like a Hollywood movie. He has been beset by a ton of obstacles on his way to a final date with destiny at this year’s Kentucky Derby. In the Hollywood formula, the end of Jones’ journey would be a forgone conclusion, but Jones takes nothing for granted. This is, after all, the real world.
Many fans of horseracing will be rooting for Larry Jones in May. I am one of the ones who want to see a happy ending. The kind of ending where the man in the white hat comes out on top and rides off into the sunset. For two minutes, we will all hold our breath and pray that Friesan Fire is good enough, because, like everything else in life, horseracing needs a happy ending once in a while.
Horseracing needs the man in the white hat.