Lava Man - Later Career

Later Career

In Lava Man's first 2006 race, the $1,000,000 Sunshine Millions Classic restricted to California- and Florida-bred horses, he won with a Beyer Speed Figure of 99. Critics doubted that, once matched against all comers, he could be competitive. In his next race, the $1,000,000 Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap, Lava Man faced favorite High Limit, 2005 Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo, and 2004 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Champion Wilko. He scored a 3/4 length victory over Magnum, who was getting 7 pounds. Lava Man earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 113. Because of his turf pedigree, O'Neill next entered him in the restricted Khaled Stakes at Hollywood Park Racetrack. Lava Man won easily and set a new track record for 1⅛ miles while earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 106. Keeping him on the turf, O'Neill followed up the Khaled victory by entering the horse in the Grade 1 Charles Whittingham Memorial Handicap (formerly Turf Invitational Handicap) at Hollywood Park Racetrack. Lava Man rolled to victory in the 1¼ mile Whittingham, earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 107. This victory made him the first horse since Eclipse Award winner Vanlandingham in 1985 to win a Grade 1 Turf and Dirt race in the same year.

Next up for Lava Man was an attempt to repeat in the Hollywood Gold Cup. Only California-bred Hall of Famer Native Diver had ever repeated in the Gold Cup in 1965-66-67. Lava Man stumbled badly at the start of the race and settled farther off the pace than he generally preferred. Nevertheless, he took the lead in mid-stretch and won by a short nose over longshot Ace Blue, who was carrying 10 pounds fewer than Lava Man. Lava Man earned a 109 Beyer Speed Figure for his win. He also won the Gold Cup by both the biggest and smallest margins in race history.

Lava Man became the first horse since Triple Crown Winner Affirmed in 1979 to win the Santa Anita Handicap and Hollywood Gold Cup in the same year. He also became the first horse to win the Whittingham and the Gold Cup in the same year since Exceller in 1978. He was named "Horse of the Meet" for the second consecutive year at Hollywood Park Racetrack - the first horse to repeat the title since Native Diver.

After Lava Man's Gold Cup win, Daily Racing Form columnist Dick Jerardi wrote, "early 27 months after his first visit to Hollywood Park Racetrack, Lava Man was 3-5 in the Grade 1 Hollywood Gold Cup. This is about as close to Seabiscuit as this sport has seen since Seabiscuit."

In August 2006, Lava Man won the Grade 1 Pacific Classic Stakes over a strong field of equal-weighted thoroughbreds including Giacomo, Perfect Drift, Good Reward, Super Frolic, and Magnum, while earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 109. By virtue of this win, he became the first horse ever to take the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap, the Grade 1 Hollywood Gold Cup, and the Grade 1 Pacific Classic Stakes in the same calendar year. In September, he was named "Horse of the Meet" for the 2006 Del Mar racing season. In October 2006, Lava Man won the Grade 2 Goodwood Breeders' Cup Handicap at the Oak Tree Racing Association's Santa Anita Park meet while carrying 126 lbs., 10 more lbs. than runner-up Brother Derek, and earned a 109 Beyer Speed Figure. He was later named the Oak Tree Racing Association's "Horse of the Meet."

He was touted by many racing observers as a possible 2006 Horse of the Year candidate if he could beat favored Bernardini in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Churchill Downs on November 4, 2006. However, he was never a factor in the Classic, finishing seventh, well behind Bernardini (placing by a length) and the winner, Invasor, who came from Argentina by way of Uruguay. Blood-Horse magazine stated that Lava Man bled in the race. Despite his Breeders' Cup Classic loss, Lava Man's likeness was inserted into a snowglobe given to paid admissions at Hollywood Park Racetrack in December 2006.

In January 2007, Lava Man's first start of the year was the $500,000 Sunshine Millions Turf at Santa Anita Park. Racing wide most of the way, he won by two lengths with a Beyer Speed Figure of 100. John Mucciolo of Brisnet.com wrote: "Lava Man continues to add to his legacy as one of the best California-bred runners we've witnessed in the past 20 years, and the ovation he received from the fans turning for home signifies just how loved this animal really is." The crowd at Santa Anita Park for the Sunshine Millions exceeded 36,000 which represented a record-high attendance for the event.

In March 2007, Lava Man repeated his 2006 victory in the $1,000,000 Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap, becoming only the third horse to do so (after John Henry and Milwaukee Brew). In this race, he earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 109 while beating Molengao, Boboman, and 2007 Sunshine Millions Classic winner McCann's Mojave in front of 43,024 fans. He became the only horse to win two Santa Anita Handicaps and two Hollywood Gold Cups. Three weeks after this win, he was shipped to Dubai to compete in the $5,000,000 Dubai Duty Free Stakes over approximately 1⅛ miles on the turf. As was his characteristic when traveling away from California, Lava Man did not fare well. He finished last of 16 horses after he had the lead 3 furlongs from the finish line. In April 2007, at the close of the Santa Anita Park season, he was unanimously named "Horse of the Meet."

In June 2007, Lava Man returned to the California race circuit with a second place finish in the Grade 1 Charles Whittingham Memorial Handicap. It was an open question as to whether the pace of the race, the after-effects of Dubai, age, or a better challenger in After Market produced the loss. However, Lava Man won his third consecutive Grade 1 Hollywood Gold Cup, beating A.P. Xcellent, Big Booster, and Molengao on June 30, 2007. John Mucciolo of Brisnet.com wrote: "STD Racing and Wood's Lava Man added to his living-legend status with a courageous nose win in this historic event for conditioner Doug O'Neill. The Cal-bred six-year-old looked beaten in the final furlong but somehow found just enough to eke out the win under Corey Nakatani. The incredible gelding went 1¼ miles in 2:03⅕." John Shirreffs, A.P. Xcellent's trainer, stated after the race, "I was really proud of him . He showed his character and there is a reason Lava Man is Lava Man." Lava Man's third consecutive Gold Cup matched Native Diver's three-peat of 1965–1967, earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 105, and set a new course record for 1¼ miles on the new Hollywood cushion track surface. With his win on cushion track, Lava Man became the first horse to win Grade 1 races on three different surfaces: conventional dirt, turf, and cushion track.

After his Gold Cup win, Steve Haskin of the Blood-Horse contemplated Lava Man's failure to win outside of the state of California and called upon his owners to make another attempt at the Breeders' Cup. Haskin wrote: "Sure, it could backfire, but it’s not as if Lava Man’s reputation is going to suffer if it did. He’ll still be the king of California. He’ll still be a racing treasure. He’ll still be a legend. In short, he’ll still be Lava Man. And that’s enough in anyone’s lifetime." On July 15, 2007, Lava Man was named "Horse of the Meet" for the Hollywood Park Spring/Summer Meet for the third consecutive year.

On July 23, 2007, Lava Man's long-time groom, Noe Garcia, suffered serious injuries in an automobile accident just outside of the Del Mar Racetrack, where Lava Man was stabled in preparation for the Pacific Classic Stakes. The accident left Garcia without his left arm. O'Neill said, "He's lucky to be alive and he's got a lot to live for. He's got a job with this stable forever."

On August 19, 2007, Lava Man was sent-off as the 6-5 favorite in the Pacific Classic Stakes but did not take well to Del Mar's new Polytrack and finished a well-beaten sixth. He was then pointed to the October 7, 2007, Oak Tree Mile Stakes at Santa Anita's Oak Tree meet in hopes that the shorter distance and firmer turf might benefit him. The gelding placed sixth and last, and jockey Corey Nakatani said, “There was no energy level there at all. We were sitting in a real good spot right behind the leaders, and then I can normally push the horse outside, but he just had no fight today. I don't know what the deal was.”

After a pre-race workout on October 28, 2007, Lava Man went off as the favorite in the November 3, 2007, California Cup Classic at Santa Anita Park. The gelding broke well and assumed a stalking position. However, in mid stretch he again ran out of steam and placed 6th. Veterinarians at Alamo Pintado Equine Medical Center in Santa Barbara, CA, were unable to identify anything physically wrong with the horse, and O'Neill sent Lava Man to NexStar farm in Temecula, CA, for a planned several-month vacation from racing. Lava Man was also featured in an hour-plus DVD Biography giveaway at Hollywood Park Racetrack in December 2007. The biography was narrated by Jim Forbes of VH1 Behind the Music fame, and was later incorporated into the TVG Racing Network's biography series Legends.