JC / Railbird

Horses Archive

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

Triumphant Returns

Roman Ruler and Kitten’s Joy both turned in impressive performances in their first starts off long layoffs, with Roman Ruler winning the Dwyer by half a length over a game Flower Alley in his first race in nearly four months, and Kitten’s Joy blowing by the rest of the Firecracker field to win by a length in his first start since finishing second in the Breeders’ Cup Turf last October. The four-year-old has been out this year owing to surgery last fall for a bone chip in his knee. Trainer Dale Romans, delighted at the win, told Jennie Rees, “I think he’s better than last year” (Courier-Journal). Owner Ken Ramsey has plotted out an ambitious campaign for the turf champ that will take him to the Arlington Million, the Arc de Triomphe, the Breeders’ Cup, and then the Japan Cup. “If he could win the Arc and that race in Tokyo, there would be nobody else they could compare him to as far as achievement goes,” said Ramsey.
After the Belmont Stakes, the three-year-old division looked a little lopsided — there was Afleet Alex, and then there was everyone else — but Roman Ruler’s Dwyer victory serves notice that dual classic winner Alex can expect some competition for end of the year honors. In one of the best comeback races this year, Roman Ruler moved from the back of a tight pack to the lead at the top of the stretch, and managed to keep a challenging Flower Alley at bay through the final furlong, to the relief of trainer Bob Baffert. “It was a must win,” he said after the race (New York Post). The Dwyer has Roman Ruler’s owners excited at the possibility of taking on this spring’s big horse:

Roman Ruler will stay in New York and may start next in the Haskell or the Travers.
The Times article also mentions that Bellamy Road is recovering well from a minor injury sustained in the Kentucky Derby, but probably won’t return to racing before the end of the summer. “He’s galloping right now,” said trainer Nick Zito. “Maybe we’ll have him ready by the end of Saratoga. The Travers is out. It’s too much of a long stretch to make that, a mile-and-a-quarter race with him just getting back now.”

Posted in Horses on July 5, 2005