Cheesy, Howl To The Hounds biggest rival?

Well it certainly looks as though on TC form up to now it is going to be this horse and Locomotive that pose the biggest threat to HRP’s first TC winner

Many saw how Cheesy was running down Howl To The Hound in the KYD and felt that with a better trip and a better draw then he may just have stopped this history making run before it started.

I decided to talk to Keikowen Racing about what looks like the main threat to the Triple Crown aspirations of Mb Stables and get some insight into how the horse has progressed since that KYD second placing.

First of all the trainer raised a very interesting question, has he got any choice but to run Cheesy? If he leaves him out does that give HRP the right to cancel the bonus as he looks the best hope outside of Mb’s own stable of running the TC chaser down? It is damned if you do and damned if you don’t for Keikowin as he also doesn’t want to be the man that broke Howl To The Hounds winning record right at the point of HRP history.

So lets talk more about Cheesy.Over to Keikowin Racing:

I hear talk of how great HOTH is, and maybe I’m biased, but Cheesy ran 10 wide the whole race. If Cheesy win’s the Belmont, it will be me who was screwed out of  50K. The SRF gave Cheesy a 96 speed figure and HOTH a 97 speed figure with a margin of victory set at .04 seconds. I had Cheesy perfectly trained for the TC. He was set to breeze 5f on the 11th of May to prep for Preakness and STILL have those meters green and arrows green, all set up for 2 works at BEL for TC victory. All of the accolades to Dan, the guy who takes everyone’s money, via sales ring, breeding op, race day but the cold hard reality is that Cheesy is from me, the comeback kid. I am the little guy, the guy who is operating under a much lighter budget, a guy who sought out a trainer to be his mentor because his results were poor, and after getting great mentorship, turned things around, and won every TC prep race over a mile @ SA, a sweep, unheard of accomplishment for the little guy. Well, guess what? Cheesy will tear the Belmont to pieces. Then he will crush the Travers and then the Classic.

All of the haters who have been hating on me, get to hate me even more!!!! It’s their karma, its my karma. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe Cheesy can’t make the mile and a half, but he’s sure as hell not giving me any indicators that its going to be a problem. By the way, I train him at the track, no sitting on the farm between works, you know, like the olden days?

Wow you are not mincing your words there Keik, so let’s learn a little more about Cheesy, firstly the name where on earth does that come from?

I named him Cheesy after the snack similiar to cheetos and the sense of taste that I enjoy like pizza , ie; mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm thats Cheesy. I also thought that Cheesy is also a form of good humour ie; IT AINT EASY BEING CHEESY! Whimsical and appropriate for a chestnut horse, he’s the color of cheese you could say too.

Now let’s talk about his bloodlines because they are certainly ‘your’ bloodlines with very little influence from the big winning names.

Exultant was great on the track racing just 4 times and winning the BC Juvenile Turf, his progeny though have been a little disappointing, what made you buy him for your breeding program in 2019?

I looked at Exultant and saw he won the BC juvi Turf and was very game when he did it. He was on HL for his racing life. I bought him because I knew Joshua has a keen eye and was disappointed in his results overall and he never raced him again. He was working 1:10’2 handily on the dirt as a 2yo in November/Dec. I thought he was worth a gamble, and by the way, Exultant Gal also made the Oaks. I’ve got several winners and up and comers from Exultant, but one thing is for certain…great horses are harrrrd to get a hold of, let alone breed one and to hold on them. I had a lot of interest in Cheesy for big $.

You own both the stallion and the mare, the mare herself only ran once and again boasts somewhat different bloodlines to the top players. There is plenty of Charley Farley influence through her lines. Is that why you retired and bred her or was there another influence you liked?

Amazing Andrea upon reflection, could of been that old saying, had I known what I know today.  I never gave her a chance, but she had desire and she’s big and beautiful. I was breeding a lot of my Inspector Jacques mares to Exultant and she popped out Cheesy.

OK so onto the horse itself, he started off on turf winning a maiden on debut and a stakes race next up before a very close fifth in the Summer Stakes. What made you think he was a turfer and why did you then switch him to the dirt?

After his disappointing result in the Summer Stakes on the turf, I thought I’d better see what he can do on the dirt, so after his race he did a 137’0 and at the time it was in the top 10 for other stakes 3yos, so I thought lets try, and he did  an incredible 2nd place in the Champagne, a hallmark race for 2yos in N-America. I knew I had something really special right there and then and that was when the TC hopes began. It was going to be up to me to manage him.

We have talked about the KYD and his fine run for second from a terrible draw. Do you think he can only beat Howl To The Hound from a decent draw, let’s face it if HOTH gets drawn 2 again and you are out in the car park it may scupper your chances?

I think if I had the 18th hole instead of the 19th hole in the KYD I beat him, lol. I think I will beat him definitely if I draw the 16 and he draws the 2. Cheesy is a bully. HOWEVER, maybe HOTH cannot be passed down the stretch? Maybe he cannot be beat? I thought I was going to run him down in the derby. I thought I had him dead to rights. So, maybe, just maybe he is a special horse, I don’t know, but I will after the BEL..

Finally, and thank you for talking to me, how has been freshening since the Derby, improving, the same, has he put weight back on, just how would you measure him up against the horse that ran in the KYD?

He is eating and training like a machine. That 5 furlong breeze was his best ever. I was disappointed in his seven furlong work but hopefully that’s just an unknown factor such as track variant or the like.

Again, thank you Keikowin for talking to me. Is this rivalry HRP’s version of Sham and Secretariat or will Cheesy do what Sham couldn’t and snatch the TC away from Howl To The Hound. Plenty of confidence in this trainers camp that is for sure!

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES