New Kid on the Block: Minsky

A new member of the Mark Glatt barn catches the eye ahead of Santa Anita debut

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Happy New Year! With the new year comes a new batch of horses to get to know some of whom were previously raced overseas. Oftentimes, the horses with the biggest names and resumes get the most attention before their debuts, but I want to focus on the lesser known horses who could make a splash in the US.

In the third edition of this five part series, New Kid on the Block heads back to California, where a quirky gelding now resides.

Minsky

Zoffany - Castle Cross, by Cape Cross

Former trainers: John Butler, Joseph O’Brien

New trainer: Mark Glatt

As a son of Zoffany and out of a half-sister to G1 winning two-year-old Damson, Minsky brings a strong and speedy pedigree to the table.

After showing very little on debut for Joseph O’Brien’s stable, he was sold for $5,496 -- far less than his $65,396 purchase price as a yearling -- but given the level of excellence so often produced from that yard, their clear focus on staying types and that him having been one of the cheaper prospects in that yard, I personally wouldn’t read too much into it. Perhaps, the greater concern is how quickly he was sent straight back to the sales ring. Aided by the fact he’s a gelding, however, I can also see the logic behind selling him when his stock was highest. The move to sell turned out to be a wise one, as he was sold for more than his original purchase price. In fact, his $82,215 price tag was over 15 times higher than those connections had paid for him.

Minsky was purchased by Red Baron’s Barn LLC and Rancho Temescal LLC, who found recent success on the Southern California turf scene with G1 winner and fellow European import River Boyne. From a ratings perspective, Minsky looks decently similar in ability to River Boyne albeit with a win under his belt, which is something the son of Dandy Man did not achieve until moving to the US. 

Overseas, Minsky improved with each subsequent race under his belt. His victory at Yarmouth is encouraging given it’s a flat track and thus more similar to a US course. The fact he was able to show speed in his latest effort additionally bodes well for his chances against American sprinters. It is worth noting he wore a Figure-8 noseband during his winning effort. These are primarily used in an effort to keep the horse’s mouth closed. In racing in particular, however, they are sometimes worn by racehorses to encourage them to drop their head. Those horses are often more tough to settle, hard-pulling types, of which Minsky has shown signs of demonstrating.

While Minsky was sold only a month after his lone victory, what we have learned since is that the form from that race has come back well enough. Runner-up Razor Glass immediately won two straight and his lone defeat since was in a photo finish where he spotted the winner six pounds. There have been two additional winners to emerge from that nine horse field with fifth place finisher Conservatoire also having gone on to win multiple races in the four months since the race. 

Minsky has worked consistently on the dirt since December. The only vision available is of his 12/25 solo five furlong work in which he appeared to still show slight signs of being headstrong. The figure-8 noseband was swapped for a sheepskin noseband cover in this piece of work and his head carriage was still a touch higher than ideal. He clearly has his quirks and to be frank, he appears more one-dimensional than the others we’ve profiled in this series, but with quirks, comes scope for improvement. Given the right pace scenario, he appears capable of racking up a few wins Stateside in what is traditionally a weak three-year-old turf sprint division. His stock, of course, would rise significantly should he in time learn to settle enough to ration his speed over a mile.

Did you miss part one or two of New Kid on the Block? If so, find them: Part 1, Part 2.