Every now and then, the racetrack provides moments that stop time. Such was the case for the Sunday crowd at Saratoga Race Course Aug. 4 as they cheered home another stellar performance by one of the great marathoners, Next, in the $130,500 Birdstone Stakes.
As the 6-year-old gelding drew off from his competitors, track announcer Frank Mirahmadi stirred up the crowd with a "let him hear it." The crowd answered enthusiastically as a roar echoed throughout the sacred grounds.
That was NEXT LEVEL! 🏇🏼 NEXT wins the Birdstone Stakes impressively for the second year in a row with @luanmachado85 aboard for trainer @doug_cowans! pic.twitter.com/twYyuHGf9W
— NYRA (🌳) (@TheNYRA) August 4, 2024
"I got goosebumps," said trainer Doug Cowans. "I thought that was a really nice thing for Mirahmadi to do. The horse really deserves that, he's a super special horse."
Facing just three competitors, the marathon king was justly bet down to favoritism of five cents to the dollar but experienced a bit of chaos in the opening half mile of the 1 3/4-mile affair.
After initially taking the lead, Time for Trouble abruptly faded to last and was eased by jockey Flavien Prat. He would gallop out the entire length of the stretch and walk off on his own.
Slip Mahoney pounced on the opportunity and took the lead. Next, praised by his connections for his intelligence, was unphased by the chaos to his inside.
"He takes everything in stride every day," Cowans said. "Something going wrong in the race, I don't think it even phased him at all."
"I didn't know what was going to happen next," said jockey Luan Machado. "I just got him separated from the field and let him do his thing."
Next did his thing in style.
Content to stalk second behind a dawdling pace of :51.09, 1:16.73, 1:43.05, and 2:08.49, Machado barely needed to move to signal the son of Not This Time to go. Manny Franco aboard Masqueparade made an early jump on the far turn to attempt catching Machado off guard, but it had no effect.
"As soon as I got to him, he just went on," Franco said. "He is a push-button horse."
Machado stood like a statue as Next poured it on with no mercy to his adoring crowd, streaking to the wire 22 1/4 lengths ahead of Masqueparade and stopping the clock in 2:57.83.
"You can't even say how it really feels," Machado said of his experience separating from the competition. "Everybody dreams of riding a horse like this. I'm so thankful that he came to me, I am so blessed."
Cowans was equally appreciative, "This is a dream come true for me to stand here in the winner's circle at Saratoga and have a horse that's so incredible and the fans cheering for him. It's an extra special moment."
Asked whether Next was tired, Machado smiled and said, "He was very happy doing this, he's a happy horse."
Fans outside the winner's circle voiced their desire to see Next shorten to 1 1/4 miles and take on the best in the $7 million Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Del Mar Nov. 2. Cowans was noncommittal to such a move with he and owner Michael Foster indicating he will likely reappear Sept. 21 in the 1 1/2-mile Greenwood Cup (G3) at Parx Racing.
"That was always the plan from January 1, the Greenwood Cup, he had a four-race plan" Cowans said. "The horse is a marathon horse."
