Haskell 2022: Cyberknife making Jersey Shore native Al Gold's racing dreams come true

It will be a moment a half-century in the making when Al Gold makes his way along with his family up to a parterre box at Monmouth Park Saturday.

But connecting the dots between a 16-year-old getting bitten after walking into a packed Monticello Raceway in upstate New York in 1972 and Haskell Day is a complicated process, with the joy of constructing a successful trifecta ticket or winner’s circle photo balanced by the pound of flesh that racing extracts.

Now Cyberknife, who punched Gold’s ticket to the Kentucky Derby, has a legitimate shot at winning the $1 million TVG.com Haskell Stakes, the signature race at the track Gold called home for decades, where a love of the sport deepened and lifelong friendships were cultivated.

How will Cyberknife do?:Betting guide for Haskell 2022 with expert predictions, analysis

“It was all worth it – although I don’t really think of it in those terms,” said Gold, a long-time Jersey Shore resident who now calls Saratoga Springs, New York home.

“You’re going to the track for years, and some days you have a really good day and most days you don’t. And the really exceptional days are so far apart from each other that when you have them you remember them, like when you win a lot of money on a particular day. And now like this, one horse out of the blue. This one just stood out and was really successful and was really talented, and it’s really good to have him. Does that make any sense?”

It makes a lot of sense.

Call it karma, or whatever you like. It’s an intervention by the racing gods for someone who did the hard work, put in the time at simulcasting and believed in the process of developing a stable – and loved doing it.

“For Al to get a top horse like this is a nice reward for his patience, his investment and his enthusiasm,” said Gold’s close friend Ron Riccio, the Little Silver attorney who argued for the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in the case that opened the sports betting floodgates.

So while Taiba and Jack Christopher will be the favorites, the sentimental choice will break from the rail and carry the hopes of everyone who ever parked along Oceanport Avenue and walked through the turnstiles with a dream.

Friends for life

For much of Saturday, Gold will be with his family – his wife, Hilary, and children, Bryan and Dayna and their families, along with his racing manager, Joe Hardoon, who plucked Cyberknife out of a yearling sale for what now seems like the bargain basement price of $400,000 given the fact his sire, Gun Runner, is the hottest name in the sports, having fathered Taiba and Preakness winner Early Voting from his first crop.

But as the Haskell approaches, Gold will make his way down towards box 117 near the finish line, where Riccio, Ocean Township’s Lou Filoso and a few other close friends, who spent countless hours together at Monmouth Park, will be gathered to watch the race.

They all go back a long way. Tom Luicci, the longtime New Jersey sportswriter now serving as Monmouth Park’s director of media relations, is part of the group and figures to stop in periodically during what will be a hectic day for him. A key member of the group was longtime Asbury Park Press sports columnist Bill Handleman, who died in 2010 but is always in their thoughts.

It was the group Gold flew down to Louisville on a private plane so they could enjoy the Kentucky Derby experience with him. And while the race didn’t go as planned, with Cyberknife finishing 18th, the memories created are what's made this whole journey worthwhile.

“I never had anybody close to me that had a really good horse. Friendly with some guys, but not that close,” Gold said. “So it’s a tremendous feeling to be able to do thing with friends like this, that they really appreciate.”

And it all culminates Saturday at their home track.

“It’s almost like a lifelong dream, to run in the Derby and then the Haskell. You can’t ask for much more than that,” Filoso said.

“We’re just so excited for him. Lord knows he’s taken a lot of blows along the way, and this justifies him doing what he’s been doing.”

Enjoying the moment

While it’s unclear how many times the Haskell will play out in Gold’s mind before horses are loaded into the starting gate, suffice it to say it will be a lot.

“I’ve thought about so many different scenarios, who is going to get the lead and where we’re going to be early,” Gold said. “However it happens it’s going to be great. I’m just looking forward to it.”

More:Haskell 2022: 'He has speed and he doesn't get tired' Baffert says of Taiba

Pretty much everything you need to know about Cyberknife, who thrust himself into the 3-year-old picture with an impressive win in the Arkansas Derby, is encapsulated in his last race.

More than a few talented horses have emerged from a difficult Kentucky Derby experience and never won another race. But trainer Brad Cox entered him in the Grade 3 Matt Winn at Churchill Downs last month and the result was a gritty victory, prevailing by a nose over Howling Time, also running in the Haskell.

“He got 6.5 Ragozin in that race, which tied for the best by a 3-year-old around two turns this year,” said Gold, referring to the Ragozin Sheets, his handicapping tool of choice.

At this point, last workouts have been clocked - Cyberknife arrived by van from the Churchill Downs on Wednesday - and all the arrangements settled. Now it’s time for everyone to soak in the moment.

“We all enjoy horse racing, we enjoy handicapping and probably more than anything we enjoy the camaraderie. Because over the years, many of my best friends are people I met at the racetrack,” Riccio said.

Because whether Cyberknife bounces – a negative reaction to a strenuous last start – or rebounds, the Haskell Day experience will be the latest chapter in what has been a long journey for Gold.

“I’ve anticipated this day for a long time,” he said. “It’s going to be an experience. I’m looking forward to just walking in there again – I haven’t been there in a few years – and enjoying the whole day.”

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Haskell 2022: Cyberknife, Jersey Shore native Al Gold on dream ride