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Kentucky’s favorite son, who cut
his teeth near Aqueduct in Queens, New
York, Nick Zito knows a thing or two about
getting a runner to a particular race but
one of his best traits could be his adaptability.
For years, he was a very patient trainer
and never pushed his young horses, but
just in the last year or so he saw the
need for speed and the instant gratification
that engulfed the sport and he made direct
changes.
After jumping the fence at the tender
age of nine when his father didn’t
accompany him to the track, Nick immediately
embraced the sport and it got into his
blood in a hurry.
He started like most as a hotwalker, a
fledgling that would walk a horse around
the ring after he had worked out to cool
the runner off. He then learned at the
feet of classic trainer Johnny Campo and
was an assistant for Leroy Jolley, who
trained a number of champions including
Kentucky Derby winner Genuine Risk.
Zito became a household name in the early
1990s when he won the Derby twice within
four years with Strike the Gold and Go
for Gin, but he has now turned his training
concepts around and has allowed his 2-year-olds
to run and thrive from the get go.
It’s not easy to change, but these
days, especially in these days, with the
advent of the synthetic surface, those
that do no not become flexible will be
left out in the cold.
Consider what Zito did just last year
at the Saratoga meeting. He sent out 17
debuting juveniles and watched six of them
return to the winner’s circle. That
figure tied King Todd Pletcher for most
juvenile debut winners at the meet and
Pletcher sent out more horses.
What is more impressive is that Zito’s
runners paid a price. Besides winning at
a 35% clip, the flat-bet profit came back
with a gaudy near $5 mark.
In the last four years, Zito held his
own with Pletcher. He saddled 73 first-out
2-year-olds and a dozen of them greeted
the cameraman.
Another 11 made up the trifecta and Zito
is up to his old tricks already at this
meet. Just last Saturday, War Pass started
his carry under Corey Nakatani and they
took no prisoners.
Corey sent his runner from the sound of
the bell and they were inching away at
the end to win by nearly three lengths.
This runner has a very bright future.
He is out of a triple winning dam who was
never out of the money in three starts
and that dam is kin to triple stakes winner,
and over $225K earner, Packet.
His dam also dropped other stars like
near $200K earner Vision of Beauty and
Grade 1 Spinaway winner Oath.
How does a bettor isolate a live Zito
runner? Well, it’s not easy. He doesn’t
sizzle his runners in the a.m. so you have
to depend on the fact that he won’t
send out short horses. Look for a steady
7 or 8-day work pattern and pay special
attention if he has Lasix loaded for the
first start.
Another winning trend for bettors to watch
for in Zito runners is when he hires the
talented Frenchman Julien Leparoux. They
teamed 14 times during the 2006 Spa meet
and met each other in the charmed circle
4 times with 4 in the money finishes to
boot.
Zito is honest, he’s down to earth,
he’ll handicap like other normal
human beings, and he believes in just getting
a horse happy and to the racetrack in the
right way. Respect the Z man.
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Posted on 8/1/2007 4:20:23 PM
Betting on Horses - SLICK NICK
By Brian Mulligan
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