JC / Railbird

Saratoga Archive

At Saratoga

Forgive me a bit of redboarding.

(Don’t worry, I’m not going to claim to have had Persistently. I played the undercard, passed on the feature.)

We were in our seats at Saratoga well before first post. Mr. Railbird, usually good for about three hours at the track, was considering a mid-afternoon stroll into town, and wondering, if he took that walk up Broadway, if he would regret missing the Personal Ensign.

“It’s not going to be another Woodward,” I said. “I expect her to lose.”

It was true. I could already see the finish, the head or half-length of another horse in front of Rachel Alexandra. I didn’t think it would be 21-1 Persistently, running in her first graded stakes race in two years, a result that I would only appreciate later — there’s an undeniable narrative satisfaction to the winning connections being those of the race’s namesake, dead this year at 26.

I’m a fangirl, though, and I still hoped, and when she looked to be pulling away at the top of the stretch, having put away Life At Ten with ease after a solid opening half in :47.73 and three-quarters in 1:12.02, I let out a cheer. There was a flash of her old brilliance, a moment in which she looked like the Rachel of 2009. Then came Persistently, and all was over. A tired Rachel Alexandra going 10 furlongs for the first time, needing more than :27 seconds for the final quarter, was outrun by a length. “I didn’t feel any acceleration and I got worried,” said jockey Calvin Borel. “She wasn’t really there. I knew if anyone was running behind us, we were in trouble.”

“We don’t want the magic to end.”

It’s hard to let go of what was.

“But, let’s face it, ladies and gentlemen. Rachel Alexandra this year is not the same horse she was last year.”

A different horse, surely, but still tough and full of heart.

“The time has come to send her home.”

How silly.

With every loss this year have come more calls to retire the filly. What it is about losing that provokes this reaction? It says so much more about the human ego than it does about the horse, who’s hardly disgracing herself on track (even if it is a shame about the 95 Beyer speed figure in the Personal Ensign, ending her streak of 12 consecutive triple-digit Beyers). “I don’t want to give up on getting her back to where we were,” said trainer Steve Asmussen. And why should he? The Breeders’ Cup Classic is probably out, but with a record of two wins and three seconds from five starts, there’s no reason to think Rachel Alexandra can’t be competitive in the Distaff Ladies’ Classic.

“Her poor showing Sunday doesn’t mean that her achievements were in any way a fluke,” writes Andrew Beyer. “Her loss only demonstrates that she is flesh and blood, not a running machine.”

And still — as a friend emailed to say this morning — a hell of a horse.

Rarely is there as much dissonance between a race call and what’s happening on track as there was in the Travers Stakes. Watching the replay, the excitement in Tom Durkin’s voice as the field comes down the stretch just doesn’t square with Fly Down and Afleet Express looking for all the world like two horses at Aqueduct in February who really don’t want to pass each other while the other runners stagger behind to the wire. The final time of 2:03.28 was the slowest since 1998 (and somehow earns a Beyer speed figure of 105 for the first two finishers). Per Formulator, Afleet Express ran the last quarter in :26.44, Fly Down in :26.37. That’s just ugly. Track condition was certainly a factor. “The inside part of the racing strip was the path to victory,” notes Beyer. Gary West shares his analysis: “… the winning times on the day, when compared, don’t make any sense unless the track, for whatever reason, was slowing down. And slowing down.”

One of the more interesting juveniles running this summer is Theyskens’ Theory, a three-quarter sibling to 2005 juvenile champion Stevie Wonderboy and the first stakes winner for freshman sire Bernardini following her visually easy 1 1/4 length victory in the seven-furlong Prestige Stakes at Goodwood. The race was her third start; she won her second at Newmarket last month, going quicker than 3-year-olds on the same card. Too bad she doesn’t seem likely for the Breeders’ Cup, with trainer Brian Meehan saying that he plans to run ‘Theory’ once more this year, possibly in the Fillies’ Mile at Ascot, then shelve her until next spring. “When she strengthens over the winter she will be a top-class three-year-old.” Maybe Churchill in 2011, then?

Posted in Saratoga on August 30, 2010 / Tagged Afleet Express, Distaffers, Juveniles, Life At Ten, Persistently, Personal Ensign Stakes, Prestige Stakes, Rachel Alexandra, Saratoga, Theyskens' Theory, Travers Stakes

Saratoga, 1939

Inspired by Brooklyn Backstretch’s look back at Saratoga 100 years ago on opening day eve, I headed to the LIFE photo archive in search of historical pictures. An extensive series from 1939 turned up (unfortunately, missing labels and descriptions), which show the Spa, much the same, 71 years ago.

Cooling out.

There are many photos of this horse in the series. Someone noteworthy, or a horse who happened to catch the photographer’s fancy?

Harrowing the track.

The backyard.

Turf terrace.

Superterrific and Swifty, in a previous incarnation?

Stewards talking to a jockey.

Yearling auction.

The press box, open to the air.

All photos LIFE/Alfred Eisenstaedt. Follow the links to view the originals.

Posted in Saratoga on July 23, 2010

In the Books

Curlin entering the winner’s circle following the Woodward.
– Onward to the fall championship meet at Belmont, opening Friday, and the upcoming Breeders’ Cup, but first a farewell to the 2008 Saratoga season, which passed too quickly. This was the first summer I stayed the meet without working in the barns, which was a pleasant change (even if I did still begin each day before dawn). The six weeks passed with a feeling of dreamy sojourn, hard to shake even now back in real world Brooklyn. I’ve already forgotten the rain that dominated the first three weeks; what sticks out days after returning is the Alabama, Proud Spell and Music Note dueling down the stretch, Larry Jones exultant and teary in the winner’s circle; the Travers finish, the hush as the crowd waited for the photo, then the roar, and Colonel John’s owner-breeder Susan Casner trembling in excitement, taking in the results; and Ginger Punch in the Go For Wand, so determined to get through in the stretch after she was boxed in and blocked through most of the race. What I remember of Curlin is not the Woodward, an ordinary win in hindsight, for which he had to work too hard, but seeing the glowing chestnut gallop effortlessly in the pearly early morning light.
– Congratulations to Alan Garcia, leading jockey with 39 wins in only his second year on the New York circuit, and to Kiaran McLaughlin, leading Spa trainer for the first time in his career with 17 wins.
– Jeremy Plonk lists the top 20 performances by 2-year-olds. I’d add Mani Bhavan, winner of the Adirondack (for which she was given a 100 BSF, the best of any baby at the meet) and the Spinaway (in which she was reminiscent of Indian Blessing as a juvenile), and Miss Ocean City, a debut winner for trainer Nick Zito during the first week. The Mineshaft filly beat a bunch of unknown quality over a sloppy track, but she did it in front-running fashion, opening up in the final yards, and she has an interesting pedigree, being 3×3 to Mr. Prospector and Seattle Slew, and out of an unraced Kingmambo mare named Madam Lagonza.
– In comparison, I’m dashing out the door on Saratoga, but then, while I have an appreciation for the long goodbye, I’ve never had the knack.

Posted in Saratoga on September 3, 2008

Closing Weekend

Saddling jumpers before the Thursday NY Turf Writers Cup.
Six weeks have nearly passed and Saratoga comes to an end on Monday, despite my fervent wishes that the meet go on and on. In honor of Curlin Day (and the other, official holiday being celebrated), I’m taking the weekend off from posting (but will still be on Twitter). Railbird returns Tuesday Wednesday, with a Spa wrap-up from Brooklyn.

Posted in Saratoga on August 29, 2008