It was expected to be the fastest race of the day -
twelve crackerjack sprinters lining up for an epic
clash of speed on speed. The G2 Apollo Special lived
up to expectations, but no one expected the chaos this
incredible speed would nearly cause. So brilliant and
freakishly fast did the colts run, that it nearly
created a catastrophe that would have dampened the
spirit of the Equinics for the rest of the day.
As the twelve competitors streaked around the far turn
and down the homestretch, spectators had one thing on
their minds: Track Record. All eyes turned to the
tote as the winner, Sweden's Billy Cayenne hit
the wire 2-1/2 lengths clear of a flying Lever
Sparky of Team Ireland. And, Oh! That glorious
TIME! An astonishing 1:15 FLAT for the
6-1/2 furlongs!
The stands had erupted in frenzy of noise and
jubilation, when the wind suddenly hit them, sending
programs and mutual tickets flying. And the
flame! In its cauldron high above the
infield.... the Equinics Flame! It was sputtering and
flickering in the wind tunnel created by the best
sprinters in the world!! Shrieks of terror rang out,
after all of its thousands of miles of travels, the
flame must continue to burn! Ladyssecret to
the rescue! As the wind rush passed, she grabbed a
nearby Maple Martini and dropped a match into the
concoction. She then leaped onto the back of a
beautiful winged horse, who had appeared out of
nowhere. They flew over the infield, where Lady
dropped the flaming martini into the cauldron. To the
relief of thousands watching, the Equinics Flame
roared back to life!
And now the attention could go back to the deserving
winner of the race. The Viking team was a little
miffed over the distraction when the attention should
have been all upon priest1's glorious
four-year-old Billy Cayenne. The handsome bay
son of Forty Niner had just run the race of his life,
leading from gate to wire to beat some of the best
sprinters in the world. He was dead tired in the
stretch, but had enough left to hold off the furious
closing charge of cencall's 1999 Sprint
Champion Lever Sparky. A European sweep of the
medals was only 2-1/2 lengths short, as hometown hero,
Vermont's Alyoro (O/T greentreef) just
held on for the Bronze over Cuvee Beau (Iowa)
and a flying Notion Teddy representing
Turfstar/France.
Billy Cayenne shook clear early and was being tracked
by Alyoro, with Lever Sparky well back in eighth place
as they hit the stretch. It was only then that
Ireland's hope for gold hit his best stride - the
massive gray came flying with huge strides to pass
Alyoro and fall just 2-1/2 lengths short of the
Olympic glory. Following Alyoro, Cuvee Beau, and
Notion Teddy, came West the Star, Gordon Road,
Ninety Two Sea, Aegon's Deposits, Stormy the Stormy,
Necessary Deed, and Grim Dancer.
Billy Cayenne, lightly raced, and never strongly
tested on dirt, was a bit of a surprise to the betting
public, and he was sent off at 7/1, paying $16.30 for
the win. He'd had much stakes success on turf,
including a G3 win last time out, but he hadn't run on
the dirt since February - an allowance race in which
he ran second. In fact, he'd only earned $58,285 in
seven dirt starts - clearly this was his first dirt
stakes win. O/T priest1 did a masterful
training job to have his colt ready. The resulting
120 speed figure complement's the colt's
earlier 119 on turf.
This colt is a sprinting machine that can run at
astronomical speeds on either surface. Even
after the victory, he's only ranked #79 and may not
have enough points to make the Breeders' Bowl Sprint,
where Lever Sparky will be hoping for a rematch.
However, no doubt the Breeders' Bowl is the farthest
thing from the minds of Team Sweden who will relish in
this Gold Medal for the next four years.
Equinics
