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THEY SAID IT

APRIL 11, 2010

"Looking back, even her maiden race was impressive. She had trained well going into it, but you always like to see them put it out there on the racetrack, and she did."

—trainer Shug McGaughey on undefeated Hall of Famer PERSONAL ENSIGN's (Private Account) 12 3/4-length maiden romp at Belmont Park on September 28, 1986

"I hadn't been getting on her in the mornings, but her exercise rider had told me she could really run. She was very frisky before that first start, and was slow breaking from the gate, but when I asked her, she swooped to the lead and never looked back. It took one race for me to know she was the best I had ever ridden."

— Randy Romero, Personal Ensign's regular rider, on what her maiden win told him

"They ran the Matron (G1) the same day (as her maiden race), and she ran faster than the winner (1:22 4/5 versus Tappiano's 1:23 2/5 in the seven-furlong Matron), which is why I nominated her to a Grade 1, the Frizette, in her next start. She had to run a little bit in the Frizette (scoring by a head), which is the day I think she learned what it was all about."

—McGaughey on why he pitched Personal Ensign straight into the Frizette off her maiden race

Personal Ensign subdued champion Gulch in the Whitney (Courtesy of NYRA) "I'll never forget the Whitney. It was a muddy day, and Gulch and King's Swan were battling it out on the front. I was able to get Personal Ensign to settle in third, and at the five-sixteenths pole I urged my mare and she just swallowed them. She was much the best that day." —Romero on Personal Ensign's victory over males in the 1988 Whitney H. (G1) at Saratoga "I was very anxious for most of her races, because there were a lot of variables for each -- facing colts, running in a Grade 1 coming off a seven-month layoff -- but the one race I really enjoyed watching was the 1988 Beldame. I remember telling myself as we walked out of the paddock, 'She's the best. Just sit down and enjoy it.' I had confidence going in that she would run well, and if she broke well, I knew she would run well." —McGaughey on Personal Ensign's title defense in the 1988 Beldame, where she rolled home by 5 1/2 lengths

More They Said It:

Breeders' Cup Saturday They Said It

Breeders' Cup Friday They Said It

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Travers TSI

Firecracker & Bashford Manor TSI

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