Columnist Ralph Siraco: Toccet shines, but won’t win an Eclipse Award

Ralph Siraco

Monday, Dec. 23, 2002 | 9:10 a.m.

Ralph Siraco's horse racing column appears Monday and his Southern California selections run Tuesday-Sunday.

Thoroughbred owner Daniel Borislow can be forgiven for bragging about his juvenile star Toccet. And his challenge to the connections of Breeders' Cup Juvenile champ Vindication for the Hollywood Futurity can also be taken as a proud owner's defensive effort to justify Toccet's abysmal performance in the Breeders' Cup showdown.

But, after Saturday's Grade I Hollywood Futurity victory, those who were around Borislow in the winners circle at Hollywood Park got another earfull and then some.

Toccet battled to a hard fought gutty victory in the track's autumn main event for two-year-olds and signed the check that Barislow's mouth wrote some two weeks ago.

Shortly after Toccet won the Nov. 30 Grade II Remsen at Aqueduct in New York, Borislow took out an expensive three-page advertisement in the industry's trade newspaper, the Daily Racing Form, challenging the connections of Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Vindication. In the ad, that ran for several days, Borislow declared the accomplishments of his durable juvenile and asked for another chance to race against Vindication. Toccet, breaking from the impossible post position 13, finished up the track while ninth -- beaten by 16 lengths -- to Vindication on Breeders' Cup day at Arlington Park.

And, Borislow was willing to put his money where his mouth -- and Toccet's talent -- is. He was willing to give Vindication's owner Satish Sanan 2-to-1 odds on a $100,000 head-to-head bet between the Eclipse favorite and Toccet. He said he wanted to settle the Eclipse Award vote on the track, horse-for-horse.

Of course, trainer Bob Baffert had Vindication already wound down from the October 26 Breeders' Cup victory as he soon prepares for the Kentucky Derby and Triple Crown next spring.

But, Baffert has a stable of talented youngsters, so, he sent in his number one reliever to carry the banner for the barn. Kafwain, who was runner up to his more famous stablemate in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, would take a Norfolk Stakes victory to the table against Toccet. Just 72 hours from the entry deadline, it looked as though the $406,507 Futurity might come down to a match race between the two. By post time, four others made up the window dressing.

Living up to the pre-race drama, the in-race version was just as nail biting.

Hollywood Prevue winner Roll Hennessy Roll did just that as he set the pace in the 1 1/16th mile event. Jockey Jorge Chavez, who learned his lessons from riding at the Inglewood oval in the week leading up to Saturday's race, put Toccet right in the mix while flanking the early pacesetter.

Kafwain, breaking from post one, was allowed by jockey Victor Espinoza to lag last through the backstretch run. As the field turned for home, Toccet had put away a retrieving Roll Hennessey Roll while Kafwain was making a sustained wide move after the leader. Kafwain, cut the corner in more ways than one, drew alongside Toccet and the race was on. The Baffert "second-stringer" had put a head in front in mid-stretch. But, Toccet and Chavez battled back to gain the lead, inching away by a head at the wire.

The drama continued when track stewards immediately posted the 'inquiry' sign on the tote board. Although numbers of the top four finishers continued to blink while the judges reviewed several angles of video replays, Kafwain, which is a difficult horse to ride, was flagged for interference on the final turn. It was ruled that Kafwain impeded fourth-place finisher Coax Kid and was disqualified from second to fourth while Coax Kid was moved to third. Ironically, Baffert's other starter, Domestic Dispute, was moved up from third to second in the official order of finish.

The Kentucky-bred son of Awesome Again has now won a pair of Grade I races from coast-to-coast with the Futurity in California and the Champagne in New York. He has won six times from eight career starts adding the Laurel Futurity and the Remsen as Grade III's, and amassed the record while winning stakes races at four different racetracks.

Borislow was quick to remind the Eclipse-voting media about Toccet's record when he said, "He (Toccet) beat everybody except for one unfortunate race in the Breeders' Cup. I think he deserves to be the champion this year."

But, he didn't beat the undefeated Vindication on the big day.

And, even his impressive Hollywood Futurity victory will not be enough to take the Eclipse Award away. Borislow did, at least, win a head-to-head wager with Baffert on Kafwain.

As far as the Vindication rematch? Well there's always the first Saturday in May at Louisville.