Railbird 2004–2019

Horses Archive

Happy Ticket BC Bound?

Ballerina winner Happy Ticket, the Lousiana-bred filly with a 10-for-11 record, is being pointed to the October 1 Beldame at Belmont, and may go on to start in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, said trainer Andrew Leggio (Daily Racing Form).

Posted in Horses on September 21, 2005

Another One Out

Add Commentator to the injured list (Thoroughbred Times). The Whitney winner is out for the fall season with a shin injury that was aggravated during the Woodward on September 10. Trainer Nick Zito had said after that race that Commentator would return to sprinting, which raised the exciting prospect of a matchup with Lost in the Fog in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. I’ll guess we’ll have to wait until next spring to see anything like that. You know, if all the horses (Bellamy Road, Afleet Alex, Giacomo, etc.) out with injuries come back in 2006 as promised, it will be very good year of racing.
Related: The return of Declan’s Moon is on hold (Blood-Horse). The colt, who hasn’t raced since winning the Santa Catalina in March, was scheduled to start in the October 14 Perryville Stakes at Keeneland, but will miss that race due to body soreness. Trainer Ron Ellis has “no plans for him” right now.
9/25 Update: Declan’s Moon is out until 2006 (Blood-Horse).
Funny Cide is out for the rest of the year as well, with a sore back (Blood-Horse). He’ll be prepped for a return during the Gulfstream meet. “We just have to give him a little time,” said trainer Barclay Tagg.

Posted in Horses on September 20, 2005

Afleet Alex Gallops

Afleet Alex went out for his first gallop in nearly two months this morning at Belmont. “I spoke to Dr. Hogan and Dr. Bramlage yesterday, and they said the x-rays were really good,” trainer Tim Ritchey said (Blood-Horse). Alex galloped with a pony today and will do so for the next two or three days before going out on his own. “He’s a little eager, obviously,” said Ritchey. The trainer said yesterday that he’d still like to try to get Afleet Alex to the Breeders’ Cup Classic, which must be hoped for (although, obviously, I don’t mean at the price of rushing him back or pushing too hard). The Classic field may shape up nicely with the impending return of Rock Hard Ten and the likely entry of horses such as Sun King, but no other starter will have Alex’s star power, something the sport desperately needs this fall.

Posted in Horses on September 16, 2005

Afleet Alex Works

In his first workout since winning the Belmont Stakes on June 11, Afleet Alex breezed five furlongs in 1:00.9 at Belmont this morning. It’s expected that Afleet Alex will make his next start in the August 7 Haskell Invitational at Monmouth.

Posted in Horses on July 10, 2005

Remembering Ruffian

It was 30 years ago today that the undefeated Ruffian met the 1975 Kentucky Derby winner Foolish Pleasure in a match race billed as a “battle of the sexes.” Ruffian was the perfect filly: “Raced 10 times. Won 10 times. Led at every call of every race. All those 1’s made her past performance chart look like a picket fence” (Philadelphia Inquirer). Foolish Pleasure was a pretty good colt. Like much from the 1970s, all I know of Ruffian comes from photographs, fuzzy television footage, and other people’s stories. ESPN Classic aired a “SportsCenter Flashback” episode on Ruffian this afternoon that filled in the gaps (ESPN), with interviews from her connections and film from the match race, including the scenes where Ruffian breaks down (previous documentaries about the race have blurred the images). The moment that really got me was when announcer Dave Johnson calls Foolish Pleasure taking the lead and then cries, “Ruffian has broken down.” His voice glides from astonishment to grief in a second. It’s absolutely heartbreaking.
Related: For Christy Cassady, a horse-crazy 16-year-old in 1975, “Ruffian symbolized something significant for a teenage girl trying to find her way in the male-dominated world of athletics. Ruffian didn’t just win, she won big, taking the lead from the start and never looking back against the best fillies in the country” (Lexington Herald-Leader).

Posted in Horses on July 6, 2005