Spotlight: Love As I Am

As we close out Week 4 the Steward has tentatively selected Bob Oliva's homebred Love As I Am. Here we will profile his breeding and accomplishments and examine why the Steward believes he is a star in the making.

A tall and stately dark bay colt, Love As I Am is quite an eyeful and turns heads on the racetrack, even when merely jogging in the mornings. He is a son of undefeated Triple Crown hero Awake As I Am, who won from distances ranging from seven furlongs to a mile and a half while running coast to coast. Already at six with his oldest progeny only three, he carries the robust statistic of over 10% stakes winners from runners. Somewhat surprisingly, Love As I Am isn't even in his sire's top six earnings-wise -- that list is headed by Talented As I Am, who himself will head to Louisville will plenty of supporters having annexed the Fountain of Gold (gr. II) and New York, New York Stakes (gr. I) in his last two outings.

Love As I Am is the fifth foal out of the Giacomo mare Ifyoulovesomeone, herself a mediocre racemare at best with just two wins out of twelve starts. She certainly seemed best going a route of ground, with those wins coming at 1-1/4 and 1-1/2 miles for her breeder Laura Ferguson. Aside from Love As I Am her record as a broodmare has been solid but certainly not extraordinary: From five foals to race she has produced four winners; two of those being stakes winners (Love As I Am and the retired mare Doyoubelieveingod). Love As I Am has an unraced full brother in training for Oliva, but his workouts have been significantly slower than his older sibling's.

Love As I Am flashed talent from the beginning, producing sizzling workouts of :58.21 before his debut at two. Going a flat mile over a muddy Futurity Park strip, Love As I Am broke sharply and never looked back when drawing away to win by 4-1/2 lengths. He earned a 78, a remarkable speed figure for a first-time starter. Love As I Am was wheeled back a fortnight later for the Graduation Year Stakes (gr. III) over the same track (again muddy) and came home victorious by 2-1/4 lengths, while showing a new dimension by rallying off the pace. Finishing second that day was the highly regarded Singed, a royally-bred Sun Raider from the formidable Eric Nalbone barn. Out of the late champion Spark, Singed is a half-brother to multiple grade I winner Anvil, grade II winner Stands With A Fist and leading sire and millionaire Boise. He too will start in the Louisville Derby off a fierce 4-1/2-length triumph in the Hot Springs Derby (gr. I).

Love As I Am would close out his juvenile season in the 1-1/16-mile Buckingham Stakes (gr. III), again over an off track at Futurity Park. In a gritty effort, the colt dueled all the way on the rail before settling for third, two lengths behind winner Thriller, a fellow Awake As I Am colt --also Louisville-bound-- who earned a monstrous 94 speed figure, and a head behind Cause to Burn (most recently second in the Sunshine Park Derby (gr. I)). Love As I Am was back in action early this year in the aforementioned Fountain of Gold in Week 2, in which Talented As I Am beat him by 1-3/4 lengths into third after a slow start by the former.

Love As I Am does head to Louisville off a win, accomplished in the 1-1/8-mile Albuquerque Derby (gr. III) in New Mexico. This time breaking quickly from the gate, he settled mid-pack before rallying to a facile 1-3/4-length triumph over the swiftly-working Noble Venture. Love As I Am earned a 76 speed figure in running the distance in 1:49.83.

Love As I Am is an intriguing selection by the Steward. While by a dynamic sire he comes from a relatively ordinary female family whose top offspring have done their best running at 1-1/8 miles. What he does have going for him is a crafty trainer who has chosen the past of least resistance to Louisville. Love As I Am enters the Triple Crown series extremely fresh and his speed figures are on the rise, signaling a big effort. Additionally, the versatile colt can settle off the pace and rally but has won wire-to-wire as well. Love As I Am is flying under the radar heading into Louisville --this may well change now with the Steward's endorsement-- but he is quite live and could very well be the best of his sire's freshman crop. Only time will tell.