Trivia

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Talk about disrespect ... I just happened to lookup Sky Jack on pedigree query and they only have him as 6-for-10 lifetime and earning 372K. He ran 18 times and made over $1 million.

http://www.pedigreequery.com/sky+jack

He's basically the California version of Commentator ... though I liked him more because he could take pressure better.

He was 4-for-6 lifetime in Graded Stakes races ... the two he lost were the Pacific Classic and Santa Anita Handicap.

The Pacific Classic loss shouldn't even count because the connections of Came Home entered Bosque Rodondo as a rabbit. War Emblem and Sky Jack were the two big threats to Came Home and both were one-way speeds - so Bosque Rodondo went head-to-head with Sky Jack through 22 2/5 and 45 2/5 while War Emblem backed off the duel. Bosque Rondondo almost put Sky Jack over the fence turning for home - his stablemate Came Home is rated back in mid-pack and closes for the win - and Bosque breaks down just a few jumps past the wire and has to be euthanized.

Besides the 4-for-6 career record in Graded Stakes .. he also won the richest race for Cal Breds - the 250K Cal Cup Classic with the outright highest Beyer ever run in it. The collection of winners from that race isn't chopped liver, horses like Best Pal and Budroyale.

His final career start came as a 7yo in the Longacres Mile. He took insane head-to-head early pressure from a one-way speed sprinter. He won the duel through fractions of 22.20 - 44.40 - 1:08.20 - 1:20.40 and the final time of 1:33 flat is a track record that still stands.

The sprinter he dueled with finished dead last and may even have been eased - and the horses racing 8-7-9-10 after a half mile in a 10 horse field finished 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th. On top of the track record - his margin of victory broke Chinook Pass's record for largest margin of victory in the history of the race.

That type of horse would have been a lot more appreciated in any different region of the country.