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Buck’s Boy
Bred in Illinois by a Florida-based farm, Buck’s Boy was not exactly born into the height of Bluegrass fashion. His sire, Bucksplasher, was a useful son of the great Buckpasser but a long way from his illustrious father as either a racehorse or a sire, while his dam Molly’s Colleen was just another small-time sprinter, winning two of twelve starts in modest company. Yet from these plebeian beginnings, Buck’s Boy would emerge to become the best turf horse going in 1998, defeating some of the best grass runners from two continents along the way. Trainer Noel Hickey and his wife Bobby have owned and operated Irish Acres Farm near Ocala, Florida since 1970 and have bred over forty stakes winners there. Much of their success was with the progeny of their home sire Bucksplasher, so there was nothing surprising about the pairing of Bucksplasher and Molly’s Colleen. In fact, the mating had already been tried once before, producing the winning colt The Mass Splash. When Buck’s Boy first saw the light of day, however, his dam was in Illinois for a breeding to That’s a Nice, a stallion the Hickeys had previously used with success. Perhaps the Hickeys had hoped to duplicate the good fortune that had given them Lady Shirl, a daughter of That’s a Nice who in 1991 became the first Illinois-bred filly or mare to win a grade I race. If so, however, they were disappointed, for Molly’s Colleen’s 1994 foal died without being named. In the meantime, Buck’s Boy was just another youngster, and he was entered in the 1994 Ocala Breeders’ Sales January mixed sale as a yearling. He did not attract any particular interest, and Hickey ended up buying him back for $8000. The young horse clearly needed time to develop, and Hickey gave it to him; in fact, Buck’s Boy did not make his first start until the Arlington Park meeting in midsummer of 1996. The maiden event had been slated for the turf but came off due to bad weather, and Buck’s Boy ran fifth on the main track. Three weeks later, Buck’s Boy broke his maiden impressively in a similar event, winning by thirteen lengths. After an allowance victory in a race for non-winners of a race other than maiden or claiming, Buck’s Boy was purchased privately for an undisclosed sum by George Bunn’s Quarter B Farm, which retained Hickey as the gelding’s trainer. Bunn’s investment was well rewarded in 1997 when Buck’s Boy won three consecutive allowance races in open company before stepping up to stakes competition in the My Trip Stakes, a race restricted to Illinois-breds. Buck’s Boy finished second in that one but then won the similarly restricted W. H. Bishop Handicap on the grass at Arlington Park. His next performance was on an even higher level as he grabbed the early lead to score a wire-to-wire victory in the Hawthorne Gold Cup Handicap (gr. III) over the main track at Hawthorne. Although Buck’s Boy clearly preferred the turf to the dirt, his performance in the Hawthorne Gold Cup had been enough to start Hickey dreaming of bigger things, and he shipped the gelding up to Woodbine for the Breeders’ Cup Turf (gr. I). Written off at odds of 35-1, Buck’s Boy led the field through the first ten furlongs before giving way in deep stretch to finish fourth behind eventual turf champion Chief Bearhart, the top German filly Borgia, and the proven closer Flag Down. Following the Breeders’ Cup, Buck’s Boy was sent to Irish Acres for freshening. He made his first two starts of 1999 in Florida, running second to Flag Down in the Gulfstream Park Handicap (gr. II) and then winning the Pan American Handicap (gr. IIT). The latter race demonstrated that Buck’s Boy could in fact go twelve furlongs if he was not pressed early; not only did he win, but he set a new course record of 2:23-2/5 for the distance. Buck’s Boy’s next effort was in the Oaklawn Handicap (gr. I) on the main track at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas, but this turned out to be his worst race of the season as he finished seventh. He was afterwards sent to Delaware Park. From that base, he shipped to six consecutive turf races in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, winning four. The last was the Turf Classic (gr. IT) at Belmont Park, in which Buck’s Boy was the lone speed and scored an easy front-running victory. Three weeks later, in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Churchill Downs, Buck’s Boy was again the lone speed in the race and came in off a series of strong works over the Churchill Downs course. Under jockey Shane Sellers, Buck’s Boy galloped out the twelve furlongs without being seriously challenged, winning by 1-1/4 lengths. His victory made Hickey the first person to have both bred and trained a Breeders’ Cup winner, and in a year lacking any real standouts, it also boosted him to the championship of his division. Buck’s Boy struggled with various problems at age six and made only three starts that year following a layoff of nine months. He did not win any stakes events, and his best performance was a non-threatening third behind champion Daylami (Ire) in the Breeders’ Cup Turf. But he returned for one more top performance at age seven, winning the Pan American Handicap (gr. IIT) before his retirement to Quarter B Farm in Illinois. He left racing with sixteen wins from thirty starts and earnings of $2,750,148. © 2005 by Avalyn Hunter |
