Colins Ghost

One of the things I avoid on this site is ranking the merits of horses across eras. Racing has changed enough over the years that most such comparisons are useless. This week, however, I am going against this maxim in light of the latest feat by Rachel Alexandra. While this isn’t going to be a “she’s better than post…”, I’d like to consider the possibilities of her place in racing history if her connections make some bold moves over the next few months.

Image: Rachel Alexandra winning the Haskell as seen through lens of the brilliant Sarah K. Andrew

Its easy to get caught up in the moment but some deep breaths and a look in the history books is always a good way to go.

The comparisons that I have heard most often for Rachel Alexandra are to Ruffian. I have a hard time understanding her as a point of comparison. There are many still around who have a living memory of Ruffian, and that is one of the reasons – I believe – she dominates the “best filly” discussion. (If I had seen Ruffian live, my opinion might be different).

The two fillies noticeably absent from the debate are — oddly enough — the only two three-year-old fillies to actually win Horse of the Year: Busher and Twilight Tear. There is a precedent that applies here and I think (for once) using a comparison from over 50 years ago is a worthwhile endeavor.

The obvious difference is the number of times Twilight Tear and Busher ran during their three-year-old season in comparison with Rachel Alexandra but we can compare quality of wins and competition. This is especially relevant when you consider that a three-year-old filly has the most hills to conquer outside of their division (colts, older males, older females).

So what does it take for one of racing’s rarities: A three-year-old filly winning Horse of the Year? Let’s take a look at Twilight Tear and Busher.

Twilight Tear (pictured with her first foal) won HOY in 1944. Here is the resume for the daughter of Bull Lea:

* In 17 starts during her three-year-old campaign, won 14 and finished off the board only once

* Beat three-year-old fillies in the Pimlico Oaks, Acorn, Coaching Club American Oaks, Princess Dorreen (Washington Park), and the Queen Isabella (Laurel)

* Beat colts seven times including a win in May, beating future HOY Armed in the Rennert Handicap at Pimlico

* In July 1944, she beat Pensive – the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner – three times at Washington Park

* Beat older fillies and mares in a handicap at Belmont

* In her final start of the year, she beat Devil Diver — 1944’s champion older male — in the Pimlico Special. She won by 6 lengths and matched Seabiscuit’s stakes record.

A year later, in 1945, Busher (pictured) became the second, and last, three-year-old filly to win Horse of the Year. The resume for War Admiral’s greatest filly:

* Won 10 races from 13 starts and never finished out of the money. [Due to racing restrictions related to the war, Busher did not start her three-year-old season until May]

* Beat fillies in an allowance and the San Susanna Stakes at Santa Anita in her first two starts

* Beat colts for the first time in the San Vicente in her third start and soon after finished second by a half length in the Santa Anita Derby

* Beat older females in the 5th start of the season in the Santa Margarita

* Shipped to Washington Park for the summer, where she won 4 of 5 starts including two wins against older males

* Beat four-year-old Armed in the Washington Park Handicap

* In her final two starts of the year, she beat colts again in the Hollywood Derby and older females in the Vanity

What stands out in the accomplishments of Twilight Tear and Busher is that they beat older males. It was this feat that solidified their Horse of the Year status.

Rachel Alexandra may have done enough already to win Horse of the Year but, for her to be mentioned in the same breath as Twilight Tear and Busher, she has more to do. So far, Rachel Alexandra has won the Preakness and beaten both the Kentucky Derby and Belmont winners. This is remarkable, but a real possibility exists that she could pull an even more impressive feat. While she wouldn’t be facing the likes of Armed and Devil Diver in racing against the current crop of older males, if she won Woodward or the Clark (just a few possibilities) it would put her in elite company. Then we could say we were witness to greatness without caveats or conditions.

Certainly, Rachel Alexandra deserves the over-used adjective “great” even if she doesn’t beat older males. However, to move into a class of greatness that spans the long arc of modern racing history — she has one more (manageable) hill to climb. While a great filly can beat colts, an immortal one can beat any horse regardless of age or sex.

Either way, it has been a privilege to watch the campaign that Rachel Alexandra has run up to this point. Looking forward to see what happens next!

SOURCES, NOTES, AND OBSERVATIONS

Detailed career overviews from the Unofficial Hall of Fame for Busher and Twilight Tear

Article at about.com by Ron Hale on Busher

Article from 1990 by Bill Christine in the L.A. Times about racing’s “battle of the sexes”

Twilight Tear and Busher both from Brooklyn Backstretch (also a thank you to Teresa from BB for sending me a piece she wrote on Twilight Tear that was published in this years Belmont Stakes program)

CAVEAT: This is specifically about American racing where cases of 3-year-old fillies competing against older males has been non-existent over the last 50 years. Three-year-old filly Goldikova shipped in from Europe to win the BC Mile on turf last year, but when was the last time an American-based 3-year-old filly beat (or even raced against) older males on dirt in a race of significance? Please post a comment if you are aware of any examples in the U.S. that I missed.

REVISION (9/1/2009): Allen Carter from the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame put together this outstanding piece of research examining 3-year-old fillies racing in open company. Valerie on her FilliesFirst site also wrote an excellent piece contextualizing Rachel Alexandra’s accomplishments this year.

Gary West brought up the topic of Rachel A running against older males in a July column. He mentioned it again on his blog after the Haskell.

Valerie at Foolish Pleasure also wrote recently about the possibility of running Rachel Alexandra in the Woodward

Speaking of Valerie she is starting a new site called Fillies First about racing’s fillies and mares. Valerie does great work and it looks like this site will include a fair share of history — looking forward to it!

THANKS FOR READING AND GOOD LUCK!

The filly Regret was the last Derby winner with only three career starts. How hard is it to do? Curlin tried to buck the long trend last year and managed third. Can Big Brown do what Curlin could not? I have my doubts.

One thing you won’t hear on Derby Day is much of anything about the race Regret ran to pull off what hasn’t been done since. This, of course, is understandable considering the only evidence of the race (as far as I can tell) exists in text — not the most visually compelling medium.

In researching Regret’s Derby, I started by taking a look at the 1915 chart. The filly faced 16 opponents (the largest ever Derby field to that point in time, see NYT story below) and won wire to wire. Her comment line read: “Start good and slow. Won easily; second and third driving. REGRET, from a fast start and well ridden, took the lead at once and was rated in front until the last eighth, where she drew away, to win easing up.” While running times can be misleading from this era, for the record, Regret’s running line looked like this: :23 3/5, :48 3/5, 1:13 3/5, 1:39 2/5, 2:05 2/5 over a fast track.

The New York Times reported the day before the race:

“Annually for many years past this event has been looked upon as the biggest race in the United States, and the glamor that surrounds this year’s race eclipses the previous races by far.”

While it may have been considered a big race in 1915, it had yet to become the media circus that it is today. Evident in the reporting of the race itself. The race’s result appeared on the second page of the sports section in the New York Times and Baltimore Sun. The Sun had more coverage for the races at Pimlico then the big race in Kentucky. Regret’s win shared a headline on page two of the Washington Post sports section:

None of these major newspapers had a reporter attend the race and none published photographs. The Post article is the longest of the three but all were compiled from the same wire story.

Read from a PDF created from microfilm or read the transcript of the Washington Post story from May 9, 1915 below:

“Louisville, May 8 — Regret, the wonderful daughter of Broomstick, owned by H.P. Whitney and ridden by Jockey J. Notter, upset tradition in the running of the forty-first Kentucky derby this afternoon when she led all the way. She was the first filly to ever triumph in the Kentucky classic. Pebbles, the Butler crack, was second all the way, and, despite urgent handling by Borel, was not good enough. Sharpshooter came from far back in the third money.

“This time, 2:05 2/5 was surprising, as it was believed that the old track record would go by the boards.

“The race was run and won on its merits, with the best one of the lot winning. The filly was hardly blowing when she pulled up within the charmed circle before the judges stand. She was given the greatest ovation ever given a winner of the derby.

“It was 5:23 before Starter Morrissey got the field off. Regret showed in front, with Pebbles hanging close up. They passed the stand in this way, with Emerson Cochran showing a brief flash of speed.

“At the mile Borel made a determined bid with Pebbles, but Notter loosened a wrap on the representative of H.P. Whitney, and she came on, to win with much in reserve.

“Mr. Whitney witnessed the victory of his filly. Other visitors included William F. McCombs, New York chairman of the Democratic national committee; former United States Senator Johnson N. Camden, James Butler, Foxhall Keene, Andrew Miller, Barney Dreyfuss and August Belmont

“Regret was installed favorite in the betting, but so open was the content thought to be that a $2 winning mutuel tickets paid $7.30.”

So who did Regret beat? The New York Times article published the day of the race provides some insight on how challenging the pundits viewed the 1915 Derby. The New York Times had this to say a day before the race:

“Looking backward over all the Derby races run in the United States it is difficult to find a counterpart of what the Kentucky Derby bids fair to be this Spring. It is very probable that even in numbers the field will break all previous records, while in class the like has never before been quite so great. The greatest number of starters that even went to post in this race was in its inaugural year, 1875, when fifteen three-year-olds faced the starter.”

Regret’s trainer James Rowe Sr. (who gets no mention in the news stories) won 8 Belmont Stakes including the legendary 1908 Belmont won by our pal Colin. His win with Regret was his second Kentucky Derby win (the first: 1881 with Hindoo). Rowe’s list of owners he trained for included: James R. Keene, August Belmont, and Harry Payne Whitney (the owner of Regret). Needless to say, the term “super trainer”, though not yet coined, would apply here.

A final note, Regret’s sire, Broomstick, also sired the 1911 Derby winner Meridian. An article published a few days after Regret’s Derby stated, Broomstick “…has headed the list of winning sires for the last two seasons, and the start he has made this year indicates that he will enjoy that honor again in 1915.”

The article said nothing of the Broomstick daughter who had just won the Derby.

So what do we make of all this. Is it worthwhile to use this level of historical detail about Regret in the context of this year’s Derby? Why not? If we think it is important enough to talk about the long drought for 4th time starters in the Derby then I think it should be considered. What we can surmise from what we uncovered here is that Regret ran against a tough and full field, was trained by one of the best trainers of his era, for one of the best sires of the era, and had an owner and breeder whose name has become legendary in the history of racing. Big Brown is trained by Richard Dutrow, by Boundary, and owned by an alphabet soup consortium called IEAH stables. Not to knock Dutrow or his owners but, in this context, making a comparison is fair.

The most important lesson learned about Regret from the pages of history: She was one of the sport’s all time greats. She lost only two races (9 wins from 11 starts) in four season from 1914-1917. If Big Brown is able to pull this off (from post 20!), we might be witness to a great one.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON REGRET

Derby Chart and Career Overview

Regret’s Wiki page

Regret’s Hall of Fame page

SOURCES

FOURTEEN IN DERBY.; Best American Horses in Kentucky Fixture to be Run Today, New York Times, May 8, 1915

THE KENTUCKY DERBY.; A Remarkable Field Ready for This Year’s Race at Churchill Downs, New York Times, May 7, 1915

REGRET WINS DERBY; H.P. Whitney’s Filly, First of Her Sex to Capture Kentucky Classic, New York Times, May 9, 1915

Regret is First Filly in Classic Race, Washington Post, May 9, 1915

WHITNEY 2-YEAR-OLDS FAST; Five Races Won By Broomstick Youngsters this Season, New York Times, May 13, 1915

I found the 1915 Derby Chart on the Churchill Downs Inc. website. CDI has done an outstanding job with the Kentucky Derby website. They thoroughly cover the upcoming race and the design is slick. It can be somewhat difficult to navigate if you are hunting for something specific but if you like to browse you could spend hours. Paul Moran’s historic On the Muscle articles are top notch and visually stunning.

Needless to say, I was psyched about the endorsement for Colin’s Ghost on the Crist Blog. I have been a reader of Steven Crist’s work with DRF since becoming a race fan. His entertaining memoir Betting on Myself was one of the books that pushed me “all in” as a racing enthusiast. To see him write that my blog was “worth a click” gave me quite a thrill.

Thanks to the mention in the Crist Blog, I saw my first comments come in. I am grateful for the kind words from those who took a minute to send me a comment. Eddie C asked about the track at Havre de Grace mentioned in one of the sources I quoted. I have done some prior research on the track and will outline its history in a future post.

Yesterday was indeed a good day. A visit to the course at Atlantic City capped off a memorable Friday. I am working on a post about the AC course that will include some historic images of the track’s opening day in 1946. The Brooklyn Backstretch had a nice piece about a visit to AC that is definitely worth a look.

Correction: I mentioned in the Belmont Park piece that the track opened this Saturday (April 26) which was obviously wrong. A classic case of missing the forest for the trees. I have updated the page to correct the error.