Tweet
It's almost more about the old racecourse versus the champion than the other horses in the Woodward today. As everyone knows, the place is nicknamed "the Graveyard of Champions", and one filly champion takes to the gate today to try and put that nickname aside and become the first filly to win the Woodward since its inaugural race in 1954.
Here's the one list, the Jess Jackson filly wants to stay off of:
Hamburg
Gallant Fox
Man o' War
Stymie
Cigar
Lonesome Glory
Skip Away
Secretariat
Affirmed
Forego
Inside Information
Tom Fool
I could list twenty more. Some races, such as the Jim Dandy, were named after the horses who pulled giant upsets at Saratoga. Allen Jerkens, the Giant Killer who trained horses that beat Kelso three times, and Forego, Buckpasser, Skip Away and Gentlemen once, tried to explain it in the foreward of Bill Heller's novel Graveyard of Champion: Saratoga's Fallen Favorites:
"It's kind of hard to explain the upsets at Saratoga. It's the middle fo the year when some of the horses are tailing off slightly, like the 3yos that have been running hard in the spring. That could be one of the reasons. The track, the feed, and the altitude are a tiny bit different. And there are so many horses from different parts of the country racing at Saratoga. Some of them coming in are better than we thought. I think some horses just take to the climate. It's been hot at Belmont; then it kind of gets nice up there. The evenings are cooler. Some of the horses like the track. I always liked it."
Today, the filly who has captured the fancy of America's racing public, takes on her biggest challenge and it's not just the older males, it's the legend of Saratoga that beckons.
3 Comments:
Even though she is getting 8 pounds and runs like seb coe in the 800, I'm going to take a stand against her in today's feature. Last year, Curlin needed to belly down to catch a fresh Darley owned frontrunner and won on heart and talent alone. The fresh It's a Bird and last year's runner up present a deep threat to her much deserved favorite status. If she wins, I'll be ecstatic. But she needs to run better than she did on Preakness day when she came back exhausted and outfinished a charging Mine that Bird (with a first time jockey and wide trip) by a narrowing margin.
Today I witnessed a matchless performance for the ages. I stood in section H of the clubhouse in awe. The noise of the crowd was deafening. Everyone was on their feet when she turned for home and the finish left me with goosebumps. I don't know how she held off Macho.
JB...what a thrilling finish. Macho Again made a solid run at her...thwarted by greatness. You won't see another like her in a long time.
Post a Comment