Eh, Not So Much

Well, I could have called that one better. Guess I used up all my racing luck on the weekend. Still it was an eventful Southwest Stakes!

Denis of Cork (Harlan's Holiday-Unbridled Girl by Unbridled) proved that he's not just a pretty face, winning in style in front of some classy contenders and remaining undefeated in 3 starts. His closing move, if not as earth shatteringly impressive as Pyro's last to first romp in the Risen Star, was considerably more professional in appearance. Between the two of them, we can hopefully look to have an exciting Derby finish. Liberty Bull, my pick for the win, finished third, and he had to share that too, dead heating with Sacred Journey. The latter, I have to admit, did better than I thought he would. He lead pretty much the whole way, with fractions of 22.7, 45.3 and 1:10.8 (that are nothing to sneeze at), and still held on to be in the money in his first time beyond 6 furlongs. He seemed bewildered by the distance in the replay and I think, next time out, he might put in a better performance. And my show pick, Isabull? Umm...yeah. Nowhere to be found. Oh well, could have been worse. I was totally right about Turf War, who didn't race anywhere near his Delta Jackpot form.

So what will happen in the future? Well, the Southwest is just the opening volley of the Oaklawn triple (followed by the Rebel Stakes and Arkansas Derby), which may be lengthened to a four race Derby prep schedule if the Smarty Jones Stakes takes off. There's no good reason for most of these horses to leave (aside from not wanting to face one another again). Liberty Bull has already won once over the track and come close a second time. He's more than likely to stick around for the remaining races. If I were Sacred Journey's trainers I'd want to give the track another go. Will Denis of Cork stick around? Depends. He seemed a little slow in his closing drive, despite confidently overtaking the leaders, and his Beyer figures leave much to be desired. He might benefit from a move to a polytrack course like Keenland. We'll see come March 15th.

In other news...

The great racing filly Winning Colors (Caro-all Rainbows by Bold Hour) was humanely euthanized yesterday, after suffering complications from colic. Most famous for being only one of three fillies to ever win the Kentucky Derby, she also won the Santa Anita Derby and placed third in the Preakness (all, of course, against colts). She failed to come through in the 1988 Breeder's Cup Distaff against her own sex, losing out to her primary female rival, Personal Ensign. She never amounted to much as a 4-year old or as a broodmare, producing only one stakes winner in Japan.

I just finished reading Gold Rush: How Mr. Prospector Became Racing's Billion Dollar Sire (I'll review in a later post), and I find it topical, given that Winning Colors beat both Forty Niner and Seeking the Gold. Both Mr. Prospector sons were great racing colts (Forty Niner is in the above photo, shown losing the Kentucky Derby by a neck to Winning Colors) who ended up founding their own breeding dynasties. Tells you something about the filly's character and abilities.

Sadly, I never knew Winning Colors. I watched my first horse race in the summer on 1988, after the close of her Triple Crown bid, and I didn't see a race on TV until the following year's Belmont Stakes. By that time, Winning Colors was out of the picture. I can't help thinking how much, if I'd even known she existed, I would have loved this hardy, grey beauty who wasn't afraid to take on the boys.

Photo: CDI