Sometimes I’m not sure if it’s more fun to write this blog or sit back and read the comments from its knowledgeable and passionate group of regular contributors.
I can usually count on some lively replies from the likes of Mike Relva or Common Sense and in response to my article on the Top 10 fillies and mares since 1970, there have been a few postings that have me second-guessing my choices, specifically the absence of Go For Wand.
In fairness, I guess an explanation is necessary, so let me share my thought process on her.
I’m surely aware of Go For Wand’s accomplishments and was a big fan of hers. I bet on her in both of her Breeders’ Cup races and covered the ill-fated 1990 BC Distaff. I also had the unenviable task that day of being one of a handful of reporters who had to follow trainer Bill Badgett as he left the track to get some form of a comment for a heartbreaking story that was difficult to write.
Perhaps the awful sight I witnessed that day has clouded my judgment and prevented me from looking at the participants more analytically, but I do have to disagree with CJK’s comments on what would have happened that day if fate had not intervened in such a horrific manner. I can’t say for sure that Go For Wand was going to win that race. I certainly was not counting my money at the eighth pole. Watching a replay only reinforced my recollection that the race was far from over when Go For Wand broke down. Bayakoa was unrelenting that day. Maybe she would have gone by Go For Wand; maybe she would not have. We’ll never know.
What we do know is that the race was destined to become a distaff version of the Affirmed-Alydar Belmont Stakes until tragedy struck. Yet because of that uncertainty, I couldn’t really separate Go For Wand and Bayakoa. The difference between them promised to be inches and to put just one of them in the Top 10 seemed unfair to the other.
Since I couldn’t move them ahead of two of the other exceptional horses on the list, I decided to leave them both off. It was purely a subjective opinion and I’ll admit I might deserve to get DQ’d for that, but for now I’ll still give Winning Colors a narrow edge for the No. 10 spot off the races she gave us in the Santa Anita Derby, Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup Distaff.
My mistake was not mentioning Go For Wand, which was largely due to the feeling of a 2-for-1 coupled entry with Bayakoa. My listing of Susan’s Girl as No. 11 was just the old timer in me giving a tip of my beat-up Yankee cap to a great and underappreciated mare from my early days in the sport.
On another note, kudos to EKY Slowhorse and the rest of you who mentioned Ta Wee. She was an amazing runner and in my opinion ranks ahead of Safely Kept on the list of this era’s top distaff sprinters. I just couldn’t pull the trigger and put a sprinter on the list, though I can’t blame others for doing so.
Elsewhere, one of my favorite comments came from Marcus from Seattle, who got the baseball fan in me all worked up. Loved his analogy involving Roger Maris and Rags To Riches, but I can’t buy it – and I believe Roger Maris belongs in the Hall of Fame for breaking his sport’s most coveted record and being the only person in nearly 50 years to hit that many home runs without chemical additives. Rags To Riches’ win over Curlin in the Belmont was indeed impressive, but it came at a time when Curlin was vulnerable due to running in all three legs of the Triple Crown. Rags To Riches had five weeks rest and in recent years we’ve seen how big of an advantage that much rest can be heading into the Belmont. To me, Rags To Riches was similar to Winning Colors, except Winning Colors beat the boys twice and she was also part of an epic race in the Breeders’ Cup. Rags To Riches’ last hurrah was the Belmont Stakes, so I’m not second-guessing putting Winning Colors ahead of her.
As for Go For Wand, the jury’s still out and I’ll probably revise the rankings after the Breeders’ Cup. Let’s see how Zenyatta fares, if she does indeed run in the BC Classic. Who knows? There might be an opening in the Top 10 within a couple of weeks.
And what are your thoughts on all of this, and who would you put in your list of the Top 10 fillies and mares since 1970?