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Horsephotos
You won't find many high-priced pedigrees
in Buff Bradley's
barn. | By BYRON
KING, The Daily Racing FormAlthough Greg Foley won the Turfway Park training title
during the winter-spring meet that concluded in April, it was
trainer William "Buff" Bradley who won the hearts of bettors. With
many of his 13 winners during the meet coming with high-priced
horses, a $2 wager on each of his 72 starters would have generated
an average return of $3.53 - the highest return on investment of any
trainer that finished that meet in the top 10.
When the fall Turfway meet begins Wednesday, Bradley appears
poised for another run of success - even without his stable star,
$1.2 million earner Brass Hat, who fractured his right front ankle
following a workout at Churchill Downs Trackside in early July.
Bradley has consistently done well at Turfway over the years, and
his horses have seemed to peak when racing over the Polytrack
surface there.
His numbers reflect as much. Besides going 13 for 73 during the
winter-spring meet, Bradley was 7 for 29 with a $3.31 ROI during the
holiday meet at Turfway last December. He was not as dominant during
the September meet at Turfway a year ago, going 1 for 10.
Bradley's favorable statistics extend beyond Turfway as well. The
accompanying statistics reveal positive returns with first- and
second-time starters who were overlooked in the wagering, with
horses switching surfaces, with horses stretching out in distance,
and with horses seeking to score repeat victories.
He has also shown a positive return on investment with all of his
dirt and turf horses, his claiming runners, and his allowance and
stakes competitors.
Many of Bradley's runners get overlooked in the wagering. Many of
his trainees are homebreds with modest pedigrees, or inexpensive
horses purchased at auction. Very infrequently does he train one
with flashy bloodlines.
Even Brass Hat - who rose to become one of the top older horses
in the country with victories in the New Orleans and Donn handicaps
- came from fairly humble beginnings. A son of Prized owned and bred
by Fred Bradley, Buff's father and a former Kentucky state senator,
Brass Hat debuted for a maiden $15,000 tag at Turfway in January of
2004 before winning the Rushaway and Ohio Derby later that year.
Bradley also regularly uses riders such as Willie Martinez and
Calvin Borel. Although well known, they typically do not attract as
much mutuel attention at the windows as the leading riders.
Despite Bradley's success, 2006 has not been entirely rosy for
him and his family, which operates Indian Ridge Farm
in Frankfort,
Ky. Brass Hat has experienced nearly as many lows as highs this
year. Besides his injury in July, he was disqualified from a
runner-up finish in the Dubai World Cup in March for a prohibited
corticosteroid. The disqualification cost the horse $1.2 million in
earnings.
In unsuccessfully appealing the disqualification ruling, Bradley
argued that Brass Hat's veterinarian administered an
anti-inflammatory drug, methylprednisolone acetate, 28 days prior to
the World Cup, five days outside of a guideline contained in a
document distributed by a representative of the World Cup. Racing in
Dubai is conducted under a zero-tolerance drug policy.
With Brass Hat sidelined due to injury, Bradley's stable looks
much as it did before Brass Hat came on the scene. Most of his
horses are claimers or low- to mid-end allowance runners - just the
types of horses that fill many of the races at Turfway Park.
INSIDE THE STABLE
| Horse |
Age/Sex |
Last race |
Finish |
Last 3 Beyers |
Career record |
Earnings |
| Artful Launch |
4F |
N1X Alw |
1 |
77 64 71 |
17-4-3-2 |
$67,264 |
| Big Case |
3C |
Md Sp Wt |
3 |
69 35 NA |
2-0-0-1 |
2,050 |
| Case Chaser |
3F |
N1X Alw |
6 |
64 67 58 |
8-1-2-1 |
20,895 |
| Chief Export |
4G |
N3X Alw |
2 |
92 92 89 |
22-4-6-2 |
148,208 |
| Hour Queen |
2F |
Md Sp Wt |
4 |
40 NA NA |
1-0-0-0 |
1,025 |
| Wrapper |
3F |
Md $30,000 |
2 |
59 47 10 |
8-0-2-0 |
5,905 |
VITAL STATISTICS
| Category |
Sts. |
W% |
ROI |
| 1st race after claim |
3 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
| 2nd race after claim |
3 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
| 1st race with trainer |
9 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
| +180 days since last race |
9 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
| 60-180 days since last race |
15 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
| Second off layoff 45-180 days |
18 |
0.06 |
0.28 |
| Second off layoff +180 days |
8 |
0.25 |
2.52 |
| 1-7 days since last race |
1 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
| 1st time starter |
22 |
0.09 |
3.65 |
| 2nd start as maiden |
20 |
0.05 |
2.81 |
| Maiden special to maiden claimer |
8 |
0.12 |
1.20 |
| 1st time turf |
9 |
0.11 |
6.24 |
| 1st time blinkers |
6 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
| 2-year-olds |
33 |
0.15 |
3.92 |
| Dirt to turf |
20 |
0.10 |
4.18 |
| Turf to dirt |
15 |
0.20 |
2.39 |
| Blinkers on |
8 |
0.12 |
2.28 |
| Blinkers off |
6 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
| Sprint to route |
42 |
0.12 |
2.65 |
| Route to sprint |
31 |
0.06 |
1.49 |
| 31-60 days since last race |
29 |
0.14 |
1.53 |
| Won last start |
38 |
0.24 |
3.65 |
| Wet tracks |
45 |
0.13 |
2.16 |
| Dirt |
277 |
0.15 |
2.45 |
| Turf |
31 |
0.10 |
3.43 |
| Sprints |
156 |
0.12 |
1.86 |
| Routes |
152 |
0.16 |
3.25 |
| Maiden claiming |
77 |
0.13 |
2.50 |
| Maiden special weight |
50 |
0.04 |
0.28 |
| Claiming |
109 |
0.17 |
3.43 |
| Allowance |
39 |
0.23 |
3.99 |
| Stakes |
20 |
0.20 |
2.47 |
| Graded stakes |
5 |
0.40 |
5.24 |
| Debut in a maiden claiming race |
12 |
0.17 |
6.68 |
| Debut greater than/equal to 1 mile |
1 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
Trainer statistics reflect North American starts from Jan. 1,
2005 through Aug. 27, 2006 | 
