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Fourstardave
In the dog days of summer, the sidewalks of New York swim with heat as the Belmont summer meeting winds down. But in sleepy Saratoga Springs the pace begins to quicken. Beneath the lazy shade of century-old trees, conversations turn to the meets of years gone by, the great horses of yesteryear, and the promising youngsters to be unveiled at this, the grand dame of all American racing meets. A stream of visitors begins to pour in, replacing the long-time residents who pay for their own vacations elsewhere by renting their homes to others for the racing season. Horses fill the stalls at the track, and the cool Adirondack dawn once again resonates with the pounding of galloping hooves. And here and there, perhaps, the ghost of a chestnut horse wanders contentedly through the shady lanes and along the shedrows, remembering the place where he was loved and the days when the cheering of his name shook the air. He was not a champion, this shade of Saratoga. He never won a grade I race, nor will his name ever grace the Racing Hall of Fame. But few horses have ever been more popular at the old Spa than Fourstardave, the “Sultan of Saratoga,” who gained his own unique place in the history of the venerable track by winning races there for eight consecutive seasons. Foaled in 1985, Fourstardave was sired by Compliance, a full brother to English champions Try My Best and El Gran Senor. Perhaps Compliance might have been the equal of his brothers in talent, but he proved extremely difficult in temperament and never became a good racehorse. In fact, he never even won a race, his best finish being a third in a minor Irish stakes. Had it not been for his stellar pedigree, he might well have become a gelding. As it was, he was given a chance at stud in New York, where Broadway Joan was fairly typical of the mares he got. No racehorse, she was by the poor sire Bold Arian out of Courtneys Doll, a mare that had shown toughness but not much class during her racing days. Fourstardave showed he was a considerable improvement on both parents as a two-year-old in 1987, winning three times in nine tries including two restricted stakes for New York-breds. One of those stakes was the Empire Stakes at Saratoga, a six-furlong affair on the dirt. Fourstardave won by two and one-half lengths, and though the spectators doubtless had no inkling of it at the time, a Saratoga legend had been born. No horse for cold weather, Fourstardave waited until the weather had warmed up to get going each year, which may help to account for his dismal record at Aqueduct, the home of New York winter racing. (He lost all twenty-one of his starts there, a record as forgettable as his feats at Saratoga were memorable.) At three the gelding won the grade II Saint Paul Derby at Canterbury Park, then returned to Saratoga to win the restricted Albany Stakes. He placed in five other stakes that season, three of them restricted to New York-breds, and people were beginning to take note of him as a useful performer that could be dangerous on the right day. What they had yet to realize was that his days usually came at Saratoga. By this time, Fourstardave had shown a distinct preference for the turf, and he was kept on this surface for most of his remaining career. His next Saratoga conquest was the restricted West Point Handicap in 1989, marking the third consecutive season in which he had won a stakes at the Spa. He also missed capturing the grade III Daryl’s Joy Stakes by half a length to Highland Springs, but the next season returned to take this event by two and one-half lengths. His streak of stakes-winning seasons at Saratoga was now up to four, and in 1991 he took his second editions of the West Point Handicap and the Daryl’s Joy Stakes, setting a Saratoga course record of 1:38-4/5 for one and one-sixteenth miles in the last-named event. Not only was his time for the Daryl’s Joy a new record for Saratoga, but it was the fastest time the distance had ever been run on any New York course or track. Five consecutive seasons as a stakes winner at Saratoga had brought Fourstardave to the attention of the Spa’s fans, and they were watching him with ever-increasing interest as he returned to Saratoga for his sixth season in 1992. Now seven years old, “Dave” was perhaps losing a step, and Nature was not in a mood to be kind to the aging warrior. Heavy rains brought the gelding’s primary target, the Daryl’s Joy, off the turf and onto the main track, where Fourstardave floundered home over eleven lengths behind Now Listen in fifth place. He fared little better in the West Point Handicap later in the meeting, running fourth behind Wild Cataract, and some observers doubtless wondered if the chestnut’s best days were behind him. But five days later, a spot popped up in a turf allowance and Fourstardave took the course, sauntering home two lengths in front. His streak of stakes victories at Saratoga was over, but he had still won for six straight seasons at America’s most prestigious race meeting, a rare feat indeed. And he still was not done. Eight years old and more popular with Saratogans than ever, Fourstardave was back in 1993. Getting a Saratoga win for the seventh straight year was not an easy task: he had to settle for second behind two-time Breeders’ Cup Mile (gr. I) winner Lure in the Daryl’s Joy, and although he finished first in the West Point Handicap, he was disqualified to fifth for interference. In between the two events, however, he had captured an overnight handicap on the turf, keeping his Saratoga win streak alive. He also won the grade III Poker Handicap at Belmont that year, leaving no doubt that the old legs still had some life in them. 1994 saw the “Fourstardave watch” in full swing at the Spa, and the nine-year-old gelding did not disappoint his growing legion of fans. “Dave” got his main business done on July 24 by taking down the Manila Purse, an allowance event, by five lengths. From the reception he got on coming back to the winner’s circle, a naive spectator might well have thought that the old horse had just swept the Triple Crown. A similar ovation greeted him when he took the track for the Bernard Baruch Handicap (gr. II) against the toughest competition of his career. Facing Lure and champion turf horse Paradise Creek, Fourstardave easily won the popularity contest but not the race, though he was hardly disgraced in finishing third. The effort was a costly one, however, as he wrenched an ankle. It was the first serious injury that “Dave” had suffered in eight seasons on the track, and it put him out of action for the rest of the year. The gelding attempted a comeback in 1995 at the age of ten, but not even Saratoga’s magic could cure the combination of injury and advancing age. After failing to win or even place in six starts that year, “Dave” was officially retired with a gala party at Siro’s Restaurant in Saratoga Springs, where he was presented with an edible key to the city and had a nearby lane named Fourstardave Way in his honor. He left racing having made ninety-nine official starts (he later participated in an exhibition race for charity at the age of thirteen) for twenty-one wins, eighteen seconds, and sixteen thirds, and at the time was the third-leading money winner in the history of the New York breeding industry. He was also one of the most successful “horses for the course” in the history of the old Spa: besides his unique accomplishment of eight consecutive years with a Saratoga victory, he racked up nine wins, three seconds, and one third from eighteen starts at the venerable track. As he was disqualified from a victory in the 1993 West Point Handicap, he actually finished first in ten of eighteen Saratoga starts compared to a record of twelve wins from eighty-one starts at all other tracks. Like many another Northern retiree, Fourstardave headed south to enjoy his golden years and was pensioned at Another Episode Farm in Ocala, Florida. He maintained an active lifestyle and was galloped daily as well as making appearances at charity events and returning to Saratoga annually to lead the post parade for the Fourstardave Handicap (formerly the Daryl’s Joy Stakes) through 1999. To the regret of his loyal legion of fans at Saratoga, his New York appearances were curtailed after he fell ill from shipping following his 1998 and 1999 trips, and afterwards his appearances were primarily confined to the warm South. Unfortunately, Fourstardave did not enjoy as long a retirement as might have been hoped, dying of a heart attack on October 15, 2002 just a few days before he was to have participated in Belmont Park’s New York Showcase Day. Coming home to Saratoga for the last time, he was buried in Claire Court on the track grounds, sharing his final resting place with the fine turf runner Mourjane (Ire) and the brilliant sprinter A Phenomenon. He is not forgotten, however. In addition to the lane and the race named for him, he is also honored by the New York Turf Writers Association, which now annually presents its Fourstardave Award to honor exceptional achievement at Saratoga. Better horses have come and gone at the Spa, but none have been more beloved by the fans of America’s oldest active racetrack. © 2005 by Avalyn Hunter |
