Trainer Stall Has Duo Of Departing, Medal Count Ready For Firecracker
Departing is one of a pair of Al Stall trainees who will contest the Firecracker Handicap at Churchill Downs
The willingness to improvise is a trait of most good horsemen. Additionally, many successful operations run their horses in races where they can succeed, but are keen to roll the dice when an opportunity is presented. After all, as the saying goes: you can’t win it if you’re not in it.
Such may be the case with veteran 53-year-old trainer Al Stall Jr., a winner of more than 1,300 races and 28 graded stakes since 1991 who’ll start Claiborne Farm and Adele B. Dilschneider’s Departing and Spendthrift Farm LLC’s Medal Count in the 26th running of the $200,000 Firecracker (Grade II) on Saturday night at Churchill Downs.
The Firecracker for 3-year-olds and up at one mile on the Matt Winn Turf Course is one of four stakes events on a deep 11-race nighttime card billed as “Downs After Dark Presented by Stella Artois and Finlandia Vodka” – closing night of Churchill Downs’ 38-day Spring Meet.
“I drove through the stable gate for work (Wednesday) morning and wasn’t planning on putting any horse in the Firecracker and the next thing you know I’ve got two in there that look like they have chances,” said Stall, who is best known for up-ending previously unbeaten Zenyatta with eventual champion older male Blame in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs.
Departing is the 3-1 second choice on Mike Battaglia’s morning line odds (behind 5-2 favorite Frac Daddy) while Medal Count is 15-1.
Departing (16-7-2-3—$1,600,279), the 2013 winner of the Illinois Derby (GIII), West Virginia Derby (GII) and Super Derby (GII), finished a head back of Frac Daddy and 2 ½ lengths back of rail-skimming winner The Pizza Man in the $57,672 Opening Verse overnight stakes, Churchill Downs’ traditional Firecracker prep over 1 1/16 miles on turf on May 30. That race marked the 5-year-old gelding’s turf debut and was his first race in 183 days.
Stall considered a return to dirt and cut-back in distance for Departing next start in Saturday’s $70,000-added Kelly’s Landing overnight stakes at seven furlongs, but called an audible Wednesday morning.
“Departing had a great 3-year-old year (in 2013),” Stall said. “Whether he did or did not take a step forward as an older horse, his form doesn’t show it. Maybe he just caught the right fields as a 3-year-old.
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“Being by War Front, we always had grass in the back of our mind. He’s trained well. He ran about the same type of race on the grass that we’d seen on the dirt as a 4-year-old. So we didn’t learn a whole lot. (The Opening Verse) wasn’t a bad race, it wasn’t a great race. It was okay; he handled the course properly which is more important than anything else.
“You would think he’d move forward off that race. We had 183 days off. I just hope he’s fitter and little more mentally dialed in. He’ll have a chance if that happens.”
Medal Count (13-3-2-1—$478,671), meanwhile, also was entered one week after a head-scratching last place finish in a 1 1/16-mile off-the-turf allowance/optional claimer over a “wet fast” surface in his first start for Stall on June 20. It was his first race after a 266-day layoff.
The 4-year-old Kentucky-bred son of Dynaformer won the Transylvania (GIII), was second in the Blue Grass (GI), eighth in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) and third in the Belmont Stakes (GI) at age 3 while under the care of Dale Romans. He also showed promise on turf with a narrow defeat in the $230,417 Dueling Grounds Derby at Kentucky Downs before finishing last of seven in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic (GI) at Belmont Park in late September.
“Entering Medal Count was an audible, too,” Stall said. “The race last week came off the turf and he didn’t try at all. This meet’s getting ready to end and you don’t want to take a horse to Saratoga – that’s a long haul – who might run in an allowance race and run up against the (Christophe) Clements and the Chad Browns. If he goes up there and tries it can be a wasted van ride, a lot of time and money.
“He’s given us an indication – the way he’s eating and his brightness – that he can turn right around and do it again. We’re just looking to see some effort out of him because a lot of times when you give those stud horses time away from the racetrack they don’t come back as true blue as they left. You can’t identify anything that’s bugging him so we’re just looking for a little effort out of him. He’s got the potential to fit right in there so it’s just a fact-finding mission.
“The race came up just like the Racing Office had advertised. That’s how this game works. We’ll take a win any way we can get it. But as far as the horses go, both of them look wonderful, they’re sound and happy. Now it’s up to them. Rain or shine, Departing will go. Medal Count will be turf only. But we’re going to go over there and see what happens.”
Saturday will be an action-packed day for the Stall barn. In addition to his Churchill Downs starters, the trainer has Claiborne Farm and Dilschneider’s 3-year-old filly Chide, a first-level allowance winner at Churchill Downs, entered in Belmont Park’s $300,000 Mother Goose (GI) at one mile.
Stall won’t be in Louisville on Saturday and he won’t be in New York. Instead, he’ll be at the Natchitoches Events Center in Natchitoches, La. as his mentor Frankie Brothers, the retired trainer and Louisville resident, is inducted into Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Stall said. “But don’t kid yourself. We’ll have the iPad with the video going so there’ll be plenty of hootin’ and hollerin’ come post time.”
