In Sharper Focus: Far Right
by Ben Massam
When Far Right (Notional–Zindi, by Vindication) came dashing up the rail to capture yesterday’s Smarty Jones S. at Oaklawn, co-owner Harry Rosenblum understandably felt a mixture of satisfaction and relief. A self-proclaimed student of the game for roughly 30 years, Rosenblum took a risk and purchased the modestly bred colt in July after two career races.
“I’m doing a lot better since that race was over,” admitted Rosenblum, who was headed off to a celebratory dinner on Monday evening with his wife, Kay, and some family friends. “I’m fortunate that my wife enjoys the business like I do. She’s pretty excited [about the win] herself.”
In many ways, Rosenblum’s careful study of racetrack performance and pedigrees was on full display with Far Right. The colt, who was purchased for just $2,500 as a Keeneland January yearling by previous owner Jon Jazdzewski, had been on his radar ever since his Apr. 25 debut at Keeneland.
“I had watched this horse run his first race and I knew he was second to a good horse [Conquest Tsunami (Stormy Atlantic)]”, explained Rosenblum. “And then the previous ownership ran him back in a couple of weeks and he was second to Cinco Charlie (Indian Charlie), and I knew that Cinco Charlie was a good horse. At that point in time, I started to try to buy the horse.”
Rosenblum said that although he began to inquire about Far Right after his second start in early May, circumstances did not allow him to finalize a deal for another two months.
“It took me several months to get this horse bought,” he noted. “My wife had back surgery May 30 and she had recuperated enough for me to travel, so I drove to Lexington July 2 and made the deal to buy the horse then.”
Rosenblum believes that Far Right’s bloodlines–modest on a surface level–likely served as a deterrent to others who may have considered purchasing the colt. Still, the owner feels that there are underlying indicators of stamina in his charge’s pedigree.
“You know, a lot of people wouldn’t have bought this horse because he kind of has an obscure pedigree, but his father was second in the GI Florida Derby,” Rosenblum noted. “One of the reasons why I bought him was that he has a dosage that indicates the further he goes, the better he’s going to get, and he’s got a very good turn of foot.”
Transferred to the care of trainer Ron Moquett after the purchase, the colt returned immediate dividends and graduated from the maiden ranks with a dominant five-length score at Churchill Downs Sept. 13. He followed with a fourth-place finish in the GII Futurity S. at Belmont Oct. 5 and a rallying third-place effort in Churchill’s Street Sense S. Oct 26. Shipped to Delta Downs for the $1-million GIII Delta Jackpot S. Nov. 22, Far Right encountered traffic problems, but uncorked a prolonged rally to check in third again, beaten just four lengths by Ocho Ocho Ocho (Street Sense).
“We just tried to bring him along judiciously, and the rest is history,” remarked Rosenblum. “Robert LaPenta is a good friend of mine and we previously owned another horse together. We have a business relationship outside of horse racing, and he called me after the [Delta Jackpot] and asked me if he could buy a third of the horse. So I sold him a third of the horse.”
Rosenblum and LaPenta teamed up to campaign Truman’s Commander (Friends Lake), who reached the starting gate for the GI Arkansas Derby in 2011, but was injured during the running of the race. Rosenblum is hopeful that Far Right can carry his colors at the highest level of the game.
“We probably will go in the GIII Southwest [Feb. 16] with the horse next, and we’ll get another 10 Kentucky Derby points if we’re fortunate enough to win that,” revealed the owner. “With a little over 20 points, you can run in the Kentucky Derby. That’s our obvious goal. Our other goal would be to run in the Arkansas Derby before the Kentucky Derby.”
The Little Rock, Arkansas, native, who works as a financial advisor, recalls being captivated by the game since the first day he became involved.
“The very first horse we bought won, and then I was hooked, and I decided I was going to learn everything I can learn about it,” he said. “I’ve tried to become a student of it.”
Nevertheless, Rosenblum acknowledges that no matter how much work an owner or horseman puts into the game, it can be both extremely humbling and intensely gratifying at times. His stable endured some difficult times in 2014.
“You know, you have good years and bad years,” Rosenblum continued. “We were plagued with quite a few injuries in our modest-sized stable. We generally carry about 10 or 12 head. I think we have eight or nine right now, but we closed the year very well. We had another nice horse win the other day, a pretty nice horse by Curlin, that’s called Sakima.”
The owner concluded, “You never know everything in this business. No matter how long you’ve been in it, it can make a fool of you.”
Despite being well aware of the pitfalls of the game he follows so closely, Rosenblum can’t hide his optimism and excitement when it comes to his sophomore star of the stable.
“Far Right is a very game and determined horse and we’re fortunate to have him. We’re looking forward to him doing some very good things.”