Classic Empire Retired to Coolmore Ashford
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2017 OLCZYK LIKING HIS ODDS CLASSIC EMPIRE RETIRED by Perry Lefko TO COOLMORE ASHFORD Eddie Olczyk is used to playing the odds as a horseplayer and handicapper, and now the popular broadcaster and former NHL center affectionately known as Edzo is giving himself a good chance to beat cancer. Olczyk, who does horse racing and hockey broadcasts for NBC Sports, has done three of 12 rounds of chemotherapy as part of treatment since he was diagnosed with colon cancer earlier this year and subsequently underwent surgery. AConferring with my doctors, I would go ahead and put some money on my nose,@ the 51-year-old Chicago native told Thoroughbred Daily News about his cancer battle. AI think with the medical support and all the prayers, I am going to beat this. I am going to win.@ Cont. p4 (Click here) Classic Empire | Horsephotos IN TDN EUROPE TODAY SIYOUNI COLT TOPS ARQANA DAY TWO Classic Empire (Pioneerof the Nile--Sambuca Classica, by Cat A colt by Siyouni (Fr) is bound for next year’s breeze-up Thief), champion 2-year-old colt of 2016, has been retired from sales after selling to Roger Marley on behalf of Margaret racing and will stand at Coolmore America=s Ashford Stud in O’Toole for €140,000 at Arqana on Wednesday. Click or tap here to go straight to TDN Europe. 2018, it was announced Wednesday. A two-time Grade I winner at two, having annexed the GI Claiborne Breeders= Futurity (video) and GI Breeders= Cup Juvenile (video), Classic Empire captured the GI Arkansas Derby (video) this April and most recently ran second in the May 20 GI Preakness S. AUnfortunately we just ran out of time to get him to the [Nov. 4 GI] Breeders= Cup Classic,@ said trainer Mark Casse. AI could never get him completely over his foot abscess and it wasn=t possible to train him the way I needed in order to bring him back at the highest level, which is where he deserved to be. He=s an extremely talented horse that can do anything and he overcame a lot of adversity to achieve what he did. I still believe he was the most talented horse of his generation.@ Classic Empire retires with a record of 9-5-1-1 and earnings of $2,520,220. Bred in Kentucky by Steven and Brandi Nicholson, the colt was acquired by owner John Oxley for $475,000 as a Keeneland September yearling. Cont. p3 PRESIDENT & CO-PUBLISHER Barry Weisbord @barryweisbord [email protected] SR. V.P. & CO-PUBLISHER Sue Morris Finley @suefinley [email protected] V.P., INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS Gary King @garykingTDN [email protected] EDITORIAL Thursday, October 19, 2017 [email protected] Editor-in-Chief Jessica Martini @JessMartiniTDN Managing Editor Alan Carasso @EquinealTDN Senior Editor Steve Sherack @SteveSherackTDN Racing Editor Brian DiDonato @BDiDonatoTDN Associate Editors Christie DeBernardis @CDeBernardisTDN Ben Massam @BMassamTDN Joe Bianca @JBiancaTDN Assistant Editor Bobby Klatt ADVERTISING [email protected] Director of Advertising Alycia Borer Advertising Manager Lia Best Advertising Designer Amanda Crelin Sagamore Farm Fall Fest 2017. Children and adults alike visit the Sagamore Farm Advertising Assistants Alexa Reisfield barns and training track and enjoy hayrides, face painting, games, vendors, hay Michelle Benson mazes, food, live music, and pumpkin painting during Saturday’s fifth-annual Sagamore Farm Fall Fest in Reisterstown, MD. | Matt Ryb Photo Editor/Dir. of Distribution Sarah K. Andrew @SarahKAndrew [email protected] GUN RUNNER PLANS TO BE ANNOUNCED POST-BC 7 Social Media Strategist Winchell Thoroughbreds and Three Chimneys Farm announced in a press Justina Severni release Wednesday evening that stud plans for Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}) will be determined after the GI Breeders' Cup Classic Director of Customer Service Vicki Forbes [email protected] SMILING TIGER FILLY TOPS BARRETTS FALL SALE RR1 Marketing Manager A yearling filly by Smiling Tiger, topped Tuesday’s Barrets Fall Alayna Cullen @AlaynaCullen Yearlings and Horses of Racing Age Sale. Director of Information Technology Ray Villa TODAY’S GRADED STAKES [email protected] EST Race Click for TV 4:57p Sycamore S.-GIII, KEE TJCIS PPs TVG Bookkeeper Terry May [email protected] WORLDWIDE INFORMATION International Editor Kelsey Riley @kelseynrileyTDN [email protected] European Editor Emma Berry [email protected] Associate International Editor Heather Anderson @HLAndersonTDN Newmarket Bureau, Cafe Racing Sean Cronin & Tom Frary [email protected] 60 Broad Street, Suite 100 TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 3 OF 7 • THETDN.COM THURSDAY • OCTOBER 19, 2017 Classic Empire cont. from p1 Classic Empire, rider Julien Leparoux & trainer Mark Casse after the BC Juvenile | Eclipse Sportswire AClassic Empire was an exceptionally talented 2-year-old,@ said Ashford=s Director of Sales Charlie O=Connor.@ He broke his maiden over 4 1/2 furlongs in early May and ended his juvenile campaign winning a very strong running of the Breeders= Cup Juvenile for which he earned a 102 Beyer Speed Figure. Not only was he the champion 2-year-old, but he backed it up again this year with a Grade I win at three. His brilliance on the track is reinforced with a pedigree full of black type that traces back to Harlan=s Holiday. We couldn=t be more excited to be standing him.@ A stud fee will be announced at a later date. >TDN Rising Star= Unique Bella (Tapit) fired a four-furlong bullet from the gate in :47.20 (1/34) Wednesday at Santa Anita as she prepares for the GI Breeders= Cup F/M Sprint. | Horsephotos TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 4 OF 7 • THETDN.COM THURSDAY • OCTOBER 19, 2017 Olczyk continued from p1 Eddie Olczyk | Ronald Martinez/Getty Images Olczyk continued, ABut, yeah, I'm scared. Sadly, millions and millions of people deal with this. But this is something I'll have to deal with the rest of my life. I'm prepared for that. Yeah, I want to get through this chemotherapy as fast as I can. AAs I mentioned to someone the other day, I'm three furlongs into the classic distance. I'm ready for the next nine furlongs. It's been a battle.@ Olczyk first sensed something was not right with his health at the end of July. He had been scheduled to work the GI Haskell Invitational S. broadcast for NBC, but told his bosses he couldn't do it because he wasn't feeling well. Three days later, he was being operated on for 5 1/2 hours and four days afterward it was explained what was discovered in the surgery. He was diagnosed as having Stage 3 colon cancer, four being the most significant. They removed 14 inches of his colon to take out a tumor and extracted 23 lymph nodes, seven of which were tainted. He said that is a good number comparatively speaking when battling and killing the disease. AIf you take 23 lymph nodes and they are all tainted, you are in a battle,@ Olczyk said. AThe oncologist said >I'm here to cure you, not treat you.' My scans look clean. There's nothing there they can tell right now. If they just went on looks I probably would not do any chemo, but they don't know if something is sitting there festering.@ The chemotherapy treatments are every two weeks for six months. AThis is all foreign to us because we've had no one in our family go through it,@ he added. AI'm glad it's me and nobody else in my circle because I can't imagine anyone else close to me going through this. I'd be a wreck. I'd just be devastated. So it's me for some reason and, unfortunately, I've just got to battle it and listen to what the doctors say. The mental thing has probably been the greatest challenge. I've been to places I've never been before and it's hard to get out of there sometimes, but when you've got family and support you've just got to believe.@ Cont. p5 TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 5 OF 7 • THETDN.COM THURSDAY • OCTOBER 19, 2017 Olczyk cont. Olczyk has been married for 30 years and he and his wife, Diana, have four children. AI'm scared, but the medicine is there to help me,@ he said. AYeah it hurts, it's awful and it's poison and everything else, but I'd like to think I'm trading in six months for 50 more years. If that's the case I think I'd make a pretty good general manager. AI've had incredible support obviously from my family, the Blackhawks, the National Hockey League, the hockey community and the horse racing community. I'm kind of overwhelmed. It's been appreciated and needed. AI've had enough quiet time to last me a lifetime the last 3 1/2 months. Hopefully I'll come out on the better end of this and be an inspiration to other people that are or will be going through anything, whether it's cancer or not. It's been a catch-your-breath moment and put things in perspective a little bit clearer.@ A Blackhawks fan shows her support | Bill Smith/Getty Images Olczyk has been surprised and touched by the outpouring of emotion from the horse racing community that have contacted him with well wishes. Bob Baffert, who trains a horse that Olczyk owns, and his wife, Jill, have been supportive with kind words and a framed horseshoe that Arrogate wore in training before he traveled to Dubai for the G1 Dubai World Cup. The framed shoe came with an accompanying profound message from the Bafferts pertaining to Arrogate's win in the race, starting off last and winning going away: AWe all know what happened at the start of the race and we all saw what happened at the end of the race, and that's the motto you will lead as well." The Bafferts' son, Bode, also wrote a note.