This morning I, probably along with other bloggers, received an email from someone named Robert Gately politely informing me that he had recently converted some super 8 footage of Secretariat, Seattle Slew and Affirmed in their Triple Crown stretch runs in the Belmont and that I could feel free to share the clip if I wanted.
My access to almost anything at work is extremely limited so I had to wait until I got home to have a look…
Thank you Robert Gately! How great is it to have a close up, clear look at these immortals in the parade? They all look fantastic too although I have to say that I think Alydar looked a little a better, good thing I wasn’t wagering. Enjoy!
Azeri winning the 2004 Go For Wand at Saratoga (Walter Kobbe)
When times are tough there are bargains to be had. Tomorrow is no different at the January Keenland sale! Let’s say you have a few million sitting around, you might want to snap up the 2002 Horse of Year, Azeri.
She had a stellar careerthat included winning the Apple Blossom 3 consecutive years, winning the Distaff in the 2002, winning the Milady, the Vanity and Clement L. Hirsch in both 2002 and 2003, 2002 HOY and Champion Older Female 2002-2004.
She’s only the third female to win HOY since voting began in 1971 and the only to to not win against males. Perhaps she’s about to have company, but let’s not change the subject!
Still not convinced? See for yourself. Vic Stauffer summed it up best in his stretch call for the 2003 Milady. Happy bargain hunting!
The speed of Ruffian, the class of Lady’s Secret, the heart of Personal Ensign, one of the greats of all time… this is AZERI.
News of super Ladies has been pouring in all day, some good and some not.
Several folks havenicetributes to Genuine Risk, formerly the oldest living Derby winner. I first learned of the “big beautiful chestnut filly” here, when Val did the timely piece that the mainstream media missed (again) by doing a tie in to Rags to Riches’ Belmont win. Rest in peace Genuine Risk.
For those who may have missed it, check out Jessica’s excellent account of the post Alabama scene in the winner’s circle. Great stuff. She also has a nice day after post and Geno has a nice set of shots from what looks to be the perfect Saratoga weekend.
Country Star made her triumphant return with an allowance win on the Turf at the Spa.
And in crazy news, my jaw dropped when my phone buzzed and I read this!
Anyone who pays even moderate attention to racing in New York knows that Linda Rice is the queen of turf sprints but this is almost unbelievable… and it’s not like it was a small field!
And what makes it even more super that you can’t tell from the chart is that the first, second and forth place finishers were fillies and the 3rd place finisher was a colt. Seriously super all the way around. Does anyone know how often a trainer sweeps a super?
And just because I haven’t posted anything since Saturday’s races, GbG horse of interest National Pride showed up and won the 1st on Saturday holding off a hard closing and impressive looking Posse Cat. Thanks to his unfortunate stumble out of the gate last out he paid $8.10, which is you guessed it, super!
Regular reader ljk also pointed outTiznow’s 2001 Classic. With two comments pointing towards notable efforts, I finally made my way over there. I started at the top in chronological order. It didn’t take long too get to Pebbles in the 85 Turf…. WOW!
I had never heard of Pebbles. I thought by now I had probably at least heard of most, if not all, of the great horses of the past 25 years but apparently not! Perhaps it’s because she’s a Brit, or as the announcer called her, Britain’s Super Filly.
Naturally I wanted to see more so I headed over to YouTube. The first clip I found was a compilation of Pebbles winning the 1,000 Guineas, Eclipse Stakes, Champion Stakes & Breeders’ Cup Turf.
I also found this excellent profile of her at NTRA by Jim Tierney written a month after she passed away in 2005, 20 years after her incredible Breeders’ Cup victory. The feat, her only race on American soil, won her our Eclipse Award for Outstanding Turf Female (or is that Lady?).
Tierney writes of her:
Pebbles’ scintillating performance left the Aqueduct crowd and millions watching on NBC breathless.
In 1985, Pebbles defeated the winners of the Epsom Derby, Prix del Arc de Triomphe, Juddmonte International, Irish Champion Stakes, English Champion Stakes, Epsom Oaks, Arlington Million, Hollywood Gold Cup, and Breeders’ Cup Turf.
Pebbles defeated Lashkari, who won the inaugural Breeders’ Cup Turf in 1984, along with Theatrical, who would go on and win the Breeders’ Cup Turf two years later at Hollywood Park.
I also found these two clips marked as “Story of Horse of the Year Pebbles, commented by Ian Carnaby, Clive Brittain, Steve Cauthen, Capt. Lemus, Pat Eddery.”
If all this international footage and hearing of accents gets you in the mood for some Royal Ascot (a bit late, but who’s counting), check out fellow TBA-erSuperfecta as she’s been keeping tabs on all of the action.
I was so blown away by Pebbles that I haven’t even made it to Tiznow’s race yet!
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