Can't I Get Respect?

"Soaring Empire, beat him twice. First Dude, the dude couldn't catch me. Rule, I ruled him."

One horse has defeated these three horses in three races. That horse is Tackleberry and he is possibly the most under the radar potential superstar in the US right now. Yet he may not have been getting the respect that he deserves until Saturday's Gulfstream Park Handicap. In what was the last major older horse race until the Met Mile, Tackleberry once again defeated Soaring Empire like he did when he turned the tables on him in the Gulfstream Sprint, but also turned the tables on Rule who finished in front of him in the Hal's Hope.

The Montbrook gelding has a knack for being a bit of a wiseguy horse. It took him three times to break his maiden (he was unraced at 2), and then three allowance races (2 wins and a second) before entering stakes company which resulted in two stakes wins including a G3 in the Fred Hooper. However, those races where all at Calder and with it being time for the big horses to come down to Florida, you would expect for him to back up in stakes races. He didn't. After a fourth place finish in the Hal's Hope, he skipped the Donn and instead went for the Sunshine Millions Classic which he was eligible for since he was born in Florida.

In that race he would face First Dude who was second in the Preakness, Dry Martini who won the Suburban a few years back, Duke of Mischief who faced Champions Big Drama, Summer Bird and Rachel Alexandra in the Haskell two years ago. You would think Tackleberry was up against it, you would be right. Except he didn't faulter when it counted leading the field gate to wire to win the SM Classic, the longest shot on the board.



His next race would be the Gulfstream Park Sprint Championship where he would once again be facing Soaring Empire. Sitting off the pace setter he was able to get first run, forcing SE to chase him down which he couldn't do. Tackle finished 2 lengths better then his Hal's Hope vanquisher. Then on Saturday he defeated Soaring Empire again, along with Rule (who finished third in the Donn) in the Gulfstream Park Handicap.



With Tackleberry's wins combined with Giant Oak's upset win in the Donn, for now they are the top two horses on the East Coast. What makes Tackleberry's wins even more impressive is that he does not run on race day medications that most top horses run on in the US like lasix. According to his owner/trainer Luis Olivares, Tackleberry (the earner of $ 757,225) is going to Charles Town and their big race the Charles Town Classic. This will be a fun horse to watch over the next couple of months. Especially when it's time to head to Saratoga and we will see how good he actually is.