Key race

Once a race of national prominence, one that counted Kelso and Broad Brush among its champions, the John B. Campbell Handicap has largely receded into the background of racing noise on the East Coast.

This year, the nine-furlong Campbell was merely an undercard race for Laurel’s Valentine’s Day feature, the Grade 2 Barbara Fritchie.

But something just a tad unusual happened in this year’s Campbell.  Well, after it, anyway.

The 9-10 favorite in that race was denied his first-ever stakes win when a 10-1 shot rallied down the middle of the track to get the money.  It was the longshot’s first stakes victory.

What happened next?

The 9-10 favorite has gone on to get his stakes victory — three of them, in fact.  Indeed, he’s catapulted himself into the upper tier of East Coast handicap horses.  His name is Bullsbay, and he validated his G1 Whitney triumph with a solid third place finish, behind Rachel Alexandra and Macho Again, in the Woodward.

The winner of the Campbell, however, had seemed destined for mediocrity following his upset triumph.  Three straight mediocre efforts on the main track had considerably dimmed his star — but not so much to scare off Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert or owner Arnold Zetcher LLC, who purchased the son of Lemon Drop Kid, out of a Broad Brush mare.

This horse now seems to have found his stride going long on synthetic tracks.  His name is Richard’s Kid, and he delivered the surprise of the weekend when, at 24-1, he ran down Einstein and favored Rail Trip to win the G1 Pacific Classic on Sunday at Delmar.

Handicappers traditionally define a “key race” as one out of which two or more runners win their next race.

But when two previously non-descript horses come out of a non-descript race ultimately to become Grade 1 winners… well, maybe it’s time to give a little more thought to what a key race really is.

In other words, these days, PV Lightening’s third place finish in this year’s Campbell doesn’t look so bad!