Kentucky Derby contender Cyberknife's emotional ties to group of Monmouth Park friends

Al Gold bought his first racehorse 18 years ago. Its name was Coup de Grace. And he went in on it with his good friend Lou Filoso, a fellow Monmouth Park regular and Ocean Township resident.

“Henry Carroll was the trainer and he owned half the horse, and we each owned a quarter,” Gold said. “Chad Brown had one with the same name a few years later. That was a good horse. Our horse was not.”

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From that auspicious start, Gold’s stable, Gold Square, has produced its share of exhilarating moments. But none like when Cyberknife punched a ticket to the Kentucky Derby with an impressive victory in the Arkansas Derby, Gold’s first Grade 1 win.

“It’s very special,” he said. “I’ve been going to the track since I was 16. I’m 66. And I’ve been owning horses since 2004, so when one comes around like this it’s a once in a lifetime deal and it’s a great feeling.”

“It’s like a dream come true for him,” Filoso said.

Cyberknife’s journey traces from a sales ring in Lexington, Kentucky, to the Fair Grounds in New Orleans and Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and back to Churchill Downs barn of trainer Brad Cox, who won last year’s Kentucky Derby with Mandaloun.

Cyberknife, ridden by jockey Florent Geroux, wins the Arkansas Derby (Grade I) at Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort in Hot Springs, Arkansas on April 2, 2022.
Cyberknife, ridden by jockey Florent Geroux, wins the Arkansas Derby (Grade I) at Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort in Hot Springs, Arkansas on April 2, 2022.

But at its heart this is a Monmouth Park story, with the Jersey Shore to be well represented beneath the iconic twin spires on May 7.

Unbreakable bonds

Gold, who sold his home in Ocean two years ago and now splits time between Del Ray Beach, Florida, and Saratoga, and Filoso are part of a bunch of guys who love handicapping and enjoy each other’s company, forming a strong bond at Monmouth Park over the years.

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The group includes Ron Riccio, the Little Silver attorney who represented the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association in the landmark Supreme Court case that opened the sports betting floodgates, Tom Luicci, the long-time New Jersey sportswriter now Monmouth Park’s media director, and Ocean resident Al Squillante.

And an integral member of the crew was the late Bill Handleman, long-time sports columnist at the Asbury Park Press.

“Al’s ties to Monmouth are deep and strong,” Luicci said. “He was a fixture at Monmouth Park forever. He knew everyone there. He was always the first one there.”

A group that became close friends at Monmouth Park, including (left-to-right) Ron Riccio, Al Gold, Al Squillante, Lou Filoso, Tom Luicci and Jerry Barash, shown last summer in Saratoga Springs, New York.
A group that became close friends at Monmouth Park, including (left-to-right) Ron Riccio, Al Gold, Al Squillante, Lou Filoso, Tom Luicci and Jerry Barash, shown last summer in Saratoga Springs, New York.

It’s a tangled web.

“I met Ron through my father around 1973,” Filoso said. “My father worked at the A&P in Little Silver and Ron and Nina had just gotten married and moved to Little Silver.

“I met Al through Bill (Handleman), when we used to go to the simulcasting when you only simulcast Jersey races. We used to go to Monmouth at night and bet the old Garden State and Meadowlands. We used to have our group, Al Gold and myself and a few other guys. I introduced Al to Ronnie. It just snowballed. We all became pretty close.”

Handleman, who passed away in 2010, was the glue that held the group together

“Bill, he would have eaten this up,” Gold said.

“The affect he had on us. Between Lou and Luicci and me. When Bill passed, both Tom and I talked every single day for years after that, and we still talk a lot. And Louie almost every day after. Because we all used to call Bill. He was the connector between us, and when he was gone we continued being friends, but a lot closer because we counted on him so much. He was that curmudgeon on the exterior but inside Bill was a really good person.”

Gold is flying everyone who can make it out to Louisville to join him for the biggest moment of his racing life. And they’ll all join Gold and his family on the iconic walk from the barn area to the paddock prior to the 148th renewal of America;s greatest race.

“More than anybody we wish that Bill was with us,” Filoso said.

Deeper meaning

The Gold Square numbers are solid, with 155 wins from 785 starts, with 384 runners in the money and $7.8 million in earnings.

Cyberknife was identified at a yearling sale by Gold’s racing manager, Joe Hardoon, with the gavel coming down at $400,000.

“Previously, a horse had gone for $1.25 million at that sale,” Gold said. “(Hardoon) called me up said ‘you have to get this horse. He’s great.’ It’s a yearling sale so you’re just watching them walk. No workout or anything. I said if it goes for over a million, I’m not going to buy it. Luckily, it went for $400,000. That I could afford.”

Cyberknife has already bankrolled $860,000 in earnings, with three wins in six starts. But his values is soaring as a member of the first crop from red-hot sire Gun Runner, with a class that includes Santa Anita Derby winner Taiba, Wood Memorial runner-up Early Voting, and unbeaten Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Echo Zulu, among the Kentucky Oaks favorites.

But the personal connection here runs deep on several different levels.

Over the years, Gold has come up with some unique names, including Lunchwithgodzilla and U.S. Minnow. But no name has had more meaning than the one he bestowed on his Derby horse.

“I was diagnosed with prostate cancer on my 65th birthday,” said Gold, who named Cyberknife after the non-invasive radiation treatment he underwent at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch.

“I am fine now. When I went to the hospital for my first treatment with my wife (Hilary), Louie and Ron were there to wish me luck, which was very nice of them.”

Dream come true

Gold ended up having to watch the Arkansas Derby from Florida after the private jet he chartered had to make an emergency landing back at the airport just 15 minutes after takeoff.

“I hate flying,” he said. “I was sweating profusely, in fetal position, my ears started bothering me. And then we had a cabin pressure problem so we had to return to the airport at West Palm Beach. So it was a hell of an experience. Hopefully we’ll have a better experience getting to Kentucky.”

For Cyberknife, the Run for the Roses will be his toughest assignment yet.

Cyberknife was credited with a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 92 in the Arkansas Derby. Some 12 potential Kentucky Derby starters have posted better Beyers this year. What's unclear is who will run well at 1 1/4-mile distance.

“We’ll see what happens in the Derby. He is going to face a lot fast horses and be 20-1, so it’s going to be a different story than in Arkansas,” Gold said.

Not to get ahead of ourselves here, but wouldn’t it be fitting if Gold and his pals were at Monmouth Park this summer to watch Cyberknife run in the $1 million TVG.com Haskell Stakes on July 23?

“Hopefully we’ll get there for the Haskell if the horse is doing well at the time. I would like to run in the Haskell,” Gold said.

“It would be something I’d look forward to. I never had a horse there. I used to go every year when I lived in Jersey. Louie has his box at the finish line so I could sit there with him and Ron. It would be a nice experience, but that is down the road - if we’re there, we’re there.”

For now, it’s about living out a dream at the temple of American racing, surrounded by family and friends.

Stephen Edelson is a USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey sports columnist who has been covering athletics in the state and at the Jersey Shore for nearly 35 years. Contact him at: @SteveEdelsonAPP; sedelson@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Kentucky Derby 2022: Cyberknife has ties to Monmouth Park